ASPERO Reusable Straw Collapsible Stainless Steel Straws Length of 8.7 inch Retractable Metal Drink Straw Keychain Case with Cleaning Brush [Suit]

Edit: The mouthpieces for the straws have been updated with new material. They no longer break easily as before. Changing the star-review to a full, 5-stars.The ASPERO Expandable and Retractable Stainless Steel Straw is a nifty little contraption that is great for many a social occasion or for some quiet time at home. It comes with two attachable halves placed neatly in a cute blue pouch that looks somewhat like denim. The design of the pouch seems to be targeted towards teenage and millennial girls and women, but it is not by any means inappropriate for men or for other ages. (The reviewer, in fact, is male.) The design is sleek, yet plain, making it perfect for those who want to stand out with something new, or for those who simply want a tool to use. Also included in the pouch is a wire cleaner brush that fits perfectly inside half of a contracted straw.The straw separates into two halves for easy cleaning. The wire bristle brush fits inside either contracted half, and when extended, is able to reach the inside of either side of both extended halves. It is recommended to clean with the halves separated, begin with each half contracted, and then finally on both sides of each half extended.The plastic lip pieces also detach for easy cleaning. However, this seems to be unintentional, and may be a design flaw of the straws. The plastic lip pieces seem to crack easily on the straw side, and this may over time extend over to the lip side. While placing one's lips on the cracks does not cause any discomfort, if a crack extended all the way from the straw side to the lip side of the plastic lip pieces, the lip piece would likely be rendered unusable. If both lip pieces were to break, use of the the straw itself may produce significant discomfort if used for either very hot or very cold drinks.While the straw has a variety of potential uses, its best use seems to be for hot drinks. The wide opening of and shaft throughout the straw allow the user to inhale the drink slowly into a more open mouth ready to handle hot drinks. The straw also works well for thicker drinks such as milkshakes that may be difficult to suck up with a traditionally thin straw.On the other hand, the straw does not provide a lot of suction power, making it difficult to suck up something solid like crushed ice or ice cream confections. Imagine or practice blowing a whistle through tightly pursed lips, and contrast that with attempting to blow a whistle with a mouth wide open. Naturally, the tightly pursed lips give more force, and such is the case when sucking or blowing through a straw. This lack of suction power also makes it difficult to get those last few sips stuck in the corner of a round cup.The straw is also quite versatile in size. Theoretically, a parent could use half the straw for a micro cup of real, hot tea while playing with a child's tea party set. Doing so would make the straw only 6.6 cm (2-5/8 in) long with the lip piece on, or even smaller at 5.5 cm (2-1/4 in) without the lip piece. For standard use, the straw is 12.5 cm (5 in) when both halves are screwed together, and can be extended up to 20.8 cm (8-1/4 in), or anywhere in between.All in all this is a fun little straw that would be great as a gift for one's self or for a friend or family member.---IN SUMMARY (AKA TL;DR)---THE GOOD: Looks neat, is fun and easy to clean. Versatile for both hot and cold drinks, and for short and tall cups, ranging from 12.5 cm (5 in) to 20.8 cm (8-1/4 in).THE BAD: Lacks suction power for solid items and last sips. Mouth pieces crack easily.OVERALL: I'd recommend this product especially to those who want to be able to drink hot drinks, and to teens and millennials who want to carry around a cool utensil that sets them apart as chic, dapper, or suave.

I love how this straw gets so small and has a carrying pouch so I can take it on the go! I was considering the regular plastic straws that came with a pouch, but then they were 9-11 inches long which did not work in my small purse. Then I saw these. This even has a clip to attach it to a belt look or keychain. Having both sizes means no matter what drink I decide to order I will have the correct straw to use. Cleaning is simple, especially with the enclosed brushes. One tip: do not shorten the straw before taking apart so you can be sure to wash all of it. Once taken apart it is difficult to extend. These are a nice size for most glasses as you can leave them partially extended for shorter glasses, unlike a plastic straw that has one size. Another point I'd like to make, although the straw end will not fit through the hole in my plastic cup lids, you can put one end of the straw through before you screw the smaller straw together. Now I have a replacement for the hard to find short straws in my kids' cups!

Update: I should have waited one more day before I posted my last update. I deleted it and will start over. The customer service from Aspero has really blown me away. They sent me two, new, thin straws with better plastic tips and small carry cases that fit nicely in my purse. I also got an entire bag of large and small replacement tips. This came in two seperate shipments so the second straw and tips surprised me. The plastic is much better quality but I am still seeing signs of stress and minor cracking in spite of careful cleaning. Huge improvement though. I am ultimately giving them four stars because the platic tips still leave room for improvement. The design of the metal straw is great and works beautifully. If I was only scoring them on customer service, they'd have a solid 5 star rating from me.I like how these are made overall. Easy to use, assemble, and clean. My only gripe is the plastic tips. This is one of the biggest reasons I got this type. One cap was cracked upon arrival and 2 others were cracked after first use. A better quality plastic or silicone would be much better. That said, I still use them and love that I can help mitigate landfill capacity in a small way. (Our city is having some growing pains with that.) I like the carrying case but need to invest in a slightly larger purse. As most people know, purses (and man purses) are tough to shop for and not cheap. Plus, apparently the case still cannot protect the plastic tips. Overall, a keeper.

I have tried several of these permanent straws and paper straws. This one is the best of the group of "foldable" easily-carried permanent straw. Unfortunately, the weakness is the plastic tips. Both of mine cracked within 5 days of my initial use. The tips fell off. I replaced one end with a silicone tip and left the other end as a metal end, putting it into the glass using the silicone tip for the drinking end. By doing that, it works perfectly. Being able to screw this together is much more elegant than the origami foldable straws. It is easily cleaned and doesn't have any taste from a plastic liner. I bought several more for my friends but will buy silicone tips to go with them. If you are serious, this is a good solution. Much smaller to carry than the other foldable ones. I chose the thin one, I am sure the thick one would work as well for thicker drinks.