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In this guide
Thermos sells the FUNtainer in three sizes and dozens of prints, and the plain 12-ounce version is the one to start with. It is a double-wall stainless steel bottle with a push-button lid that flips open to expose a silicone straw, a soft-grip handle that folds flat, and a body 6.9 inches tall by 3.1 wide. The solid colors are $16.99 on thermos.com; the patterned and licensed versions of the same bottle run $19.99 to $20.99.
Thermos frames the product narrowly, and usefully: cold drinks only, kids aged three to ten, and a shape that fits most elementary backpack side pockets. Thermos rates it to hold a cold drink for up to 12 hours and clears it for the dishwasher's upper basket. The questions left are whether 12 ounces is enough for your child, and whether a straw lid is the right closure for how the bottle will be carried.
Our verdict
A sensible $16.99 school bottle for a child of three to ten, with insulation that keeps water cold through the day and spare parts sold by the maker; the 12-ounce capacity and the cold-only rule are the limits to accept.
- A good fit for
- A parent packing a lunchbox for an elementary-school kid who wants a bottle that fits a backpack side pocket, survives drops, and can go in the dishwasher.
- We would skip it if
- Your child drinks more than 12 ounces between refills, you want one bottle that also carries warm drinks, or straws are something you avoid on principle.
Reasons to consider it
- Double-wall vacuum insulation rated for 12 hours cold, with a sweat-proof exterior
- Push-button lid covers a removable silicone straw; replacement straws and lids are sold by Thermos
- FUNtainer products sit in Thermos's five-year warranty tier
The compromises
- 12 ounces is a half-day of water for an active kid, so it gets refilled or supplemented
- Cold drinks only; Thermos points hot-food users to the separate FUNtainer food jar
- At 0.6 pounds empty it is heavier than a plastic bottle of the same volume
What we have not verified: The bottle was not filled, dropped or dishwashed for this review; the real cold-hold time with ice, how the push button holds up to a year of lunchboxes, and whether the straw valve leaks in a bag on its side were not assessed.
The things in this guide
A closer look at the products, who they may suit, and what to check before buying.
FUNtainer 12 oz Water Bottle · Navy
Vacuum-insulated stainless steel rated for 12 hours cold, a covered straw that comes out for washing, a fold-down handle, upper-basket dishwasher approval, and spare straws and lids sold by the maker.
Before you buy: Only 12 ounces, cold liquids only, and 0.6 pounds before water goes in.
Price checked September 11, 2026. Retailer prices can change.Twelve ounces, 0.6 pounds, and a side pocket
Thermos lists the 12-ounce FUNtainer at 6.9 inches high, 3.1 wide and 2.7 deep, weighing 0.6 pounds empty, with a 350 ml capacity and China as the place of manufacture. Those dimensions are the point of the product. The brand says it fits most elementary backpack side pockets and is aimed at ages three to ten, and a bottle that rides outside the bag is one fewer thing to spill inside it. The trade is volume: 12 ounces is a morning of drinking for a small child and less than that for a kid on the playground in September.
Thermos sells the same design in 16 ounces at $18.99 with a locking lid, and the catalog feed shows the 12-ounce pattern versions at $19.99 and the licensed characters at $20.99. If your child drinks more than 12 ounces between refills, the 16-ounce wins and the extra $2 is trivial. The 12-ounce earns its spot for younger kids and smaller pockets, where a taller bottle tips the bag or does not fit at all.
A push button, a covered straw, and parts you can replace
The lid is the part that makes or breaks a kids bottle, and the FUNtainer's is a push-button cap that flips up to reveal a silicone straw. Closed, the straw is covered, which keeps it off the lunchroom table and out of the bottom of the bag. The straw is removable for cleaning, and Thermos clears every part of the bottle for the dishwasher's upper basket. The handle folds down when it is not in use, which matters in a side pocket where a fixed loop would catch.
Straws get chewed and lids get lost, and Thermos sells both as parts: a replacement straw lid for $5.99 and a 2-pack of 12-ounce replacement straws for $6.99 on thermos.com. That changes the economics of a $16.99 bottle. A steel body that outlasts three lids is a cheaper bottle over two school years than a plastic one that gets replaced whole. Whether the push button itself survives that long is exactly what a spec page cannot tell you, and no lunchbox year was simulated for this review.
Twelve hours cold, and never hot
The bottle is double-wall vacuum insulated stainless steel with a sweat-proof exterior, and Thermos rates it to keep drinks cold for up to 12 hours with no ice pack. Twelve hours is a maker's number under maker's conditions; the useful reading is that water packed cold at 7 a.m. is still cold at afternoon pickup, which is the whole ask for a school bottle. Steel also means the bottle does not take on the taste of yesterday's juice the way some plastics do.
The limit is stated three times on the maker's page: not for hot liquids. A straw lid on a pressurized hot bottle is a burn hazard, and Thermos points a parent who wants warm food at school to its FUNtainer food jar instead. Read it as a cold-water and cold-milk bottle. Milk also argues for the removable straw, since a straw that cannot come out is a straw that cannot be cleaned properly after a dairy day.
Five years from Thermos, thirty days from thermos.com
Thermos puts FUNtainer products in its five-year tier, the same as its adult stainless vacuumware, where foam bottles and plastic products get a single year. Coverage is limited to flaws in the materials or the assembly during ordinary use, with the clock starting on the first sale, and it excludes wear, color fading, abuse and improper cleaning. Thermos calls it a factory guarantee and tells you to skip the store: you file through its contact form with a written explanation and a photo, or by mail to its service address in Batesville, Mississippi, and Thermos can request the bottle itself before ruling. Coverage applies to bottles bought in the US or Canada, and a replacement only ships to whichever of those two countries the bottle came from.
Returns are a different document. For a thermos.com order, Thermos gives you a 30-day clock that starts when the parcel lands and asks for an email with the order ID before it credits what you paid, less the shipping, once the unused bottle is back in its packaging. Damage claims have a tighter clock of 72 hours after delivery, and Thermos pays the return postage on confirmed defects, though only from the lower 48 states. Bottles bought elsewhere follow that retailer's rules, and customized bottles cannot be returned at all.
Skip it if 12 ounces runs dry by recess
Pass on the 12-ounce FUNtainer if your child is older, plays sports after school, or comes home with an empty bottle by lunch. The 16-ounce version costs $2 more and solves that, and a teenager will want something larger still. Also skip it if one bottle has to serve the whole year including cocoa in January; Thermos rules out hot liquids and the design of a straw lid is the reason, not caution for its own sake.
Buy it for a three- to ten-year-old whose bottle lives in a backpack side pocket and gets refilled at school. The steel body, the covered straw, the fold-down handle and the dishwasher approval are the right set of features for that life, and the $5.99 lid and $6.99 straw pack mean the first chewed straw does not end the bottle. It is a plain product backed by the factory for a half-decade, which is more than most $17 kids gear can say.
How we put this together
Built from the product pages and listings below, without test scores or results we have not measured. Specifications and prices change, so check the original page for the exact model, current price, delivery, and returns.
- Thermos: 12oz FUNtainer Water Bottle product page (opens in a new tab)
- Thermos: Warranty (opens in a new tab)
- Thermos: Returns (opens in a new tab)
- Thermos: products.json catalog feed (opens in a new tab)
