SplashGuard

How many times have you twisted open the top of a wide-mouth water bottle and lifted it toward your lips to gulp down the liquid inside… only to end up slopping more down your face and chest than actually made it down the hatch? Especially if you’re walking, hiking, juggling the bottle with one hand, driving, or just trying to move quickly during a class or workout.

Frustrating endeavor sometimes, that drinking thing, and it should be so simple, like breathing! Josh Guyot of Guyot Designs rides to the rescue with the simplest of inexpensive little widgets called the SplashGuard. The current version, which stores can hardly keep on the shelves these days, was introduced the middle of 2003.

The SplashGuard is a small plastic insert for the wide mouth of Nalgene-brand bottles. It provides a smaller drinking hole – a bit like an adult-style sippy cup – with an air hole on the other side of the drinking hole, which also serves as an easy way to refill the bottle without removing the SplashGuard. It sits securely in the bottle mouth, won’t push through into the bottle, pops in and out easily for filling and cleaning, is dishwasher-safe, and won’t come out in your face for a surprise downpour. What a creation! We get a lot of widgets, gadgets, and gear landing in SNEWS headquarters for testing and review – some of it quite expensive – but this for a measly couple of bucks is one of the best of the year.

While we’re fighting over the one we have now, the SplashGuard won’t garner a perfect rating until versions are available for other brands of wide-mouth water bottles.

SNEWS Rating: 4.5 hands clapping (1 to 5 hands clapping possible, with 5 clapping hands representing functional and design perfection)

Suggested retail: $2.95

For more information:www.guyotdesigns.com