Long Island's back-to-school water bottle battle: Stanley vs. Owala and more
Lexi Papageorge, 10, of Kings Park, is entering fifth grade with her 30-ounce Brumate Era water bottle, which she decorated with stickers. Bayla Bogolubsky, 10, of West Islip, used to use a Stanley brand water bottle but this year asked for this berry-colored Owala brand bottle.
Credit: Jessica Bogolubsky; Trish Papageorge
Desperate times call for desperate measures, and Stefanie Murphy has become desperate.
The fourth-grade teacher at R.J.O. Intermediate School in Kings Park is trying to solve a seemingly universal classroom challenge on Long Island: Every child comes to school with a refillable water bottle and sets it on the corner of his or her desk – and the bottles inevitably get knocked off, leaking onto the floor, distracting the class while students wipe up using the school’s not-super-absorbent paper towels. “We’ve had plastic ones that have fallen on the floor and cracked, and then there’s an even bigger mess,” she says. The bottles drip onto schoolwork even when they stay on the desk.
The “craziness” got so bad that last year Murphy banned bottles with straws in her classroom -- such as the uber-popular Stanleys -- because those are the ones that leak most when they topple over, she says. This year, she’s taking her next step – she’s currently testing out a gadget she found on Amazon that lets students attach a water bottle to the chair to get them off their desks completely.
That’s just one way water bottles are on teachers’, parents’ and students’ minds as they are getting back into the school-year mode. Apparently, choosing one is not so simple. A recent post on a Long Island Facebook parenting group asking fellow moms for advice – Which won’t leak in a backpack? Which will fit into a car’s cup holder? Which stays cold longest? Which is the must-have brand? -- garnered more than 220 comments, with everyone extolling a favorite: Stanley. Yeti. HydroFlask. Gatorade. Brumate. Owala. Simply Modern.
Call it the battle of the water bottles.
FROM STANLEY TO OWALA
Last year, Stanley was undeniably the brand all the kids wanted – a bottle with a mug-style handle and a straw protruding from the top made popular on -- where else? -- TikTok. “They have nailed the influencer and celebrity market, that’s what makes them more desirable,” says Aly Stacey, of Mineola, who owns a PR agency working with social media influencers. A new 40-ounce Stanley that launched in August for $60 – a flowered version in collaboration with the brand Love Shack Fancy – sold out in minutes and is now being hawked on eBay, some for more than $100 each.
Khalani Dixon, 13, and her mom, Chevonne, display their collection of Stanley mugs in the kitchen of their Freeport home. Credit: Jeff Bachner
Yes, it’s environmentally friendly to use a refillable bottle, and certainly it’s healthy to stay hydrated. But there’s also a peer element to it – if everybody has one, it makes other children want one, too. “Especially here in this little bubble of Long Island where we live," Stacey says. "When all the other kids have them and your kids want them…"
This year, the Owala brand seems to be supplanting Stanley, at least anecdotally, according to Long Island parents and kids who say they like its functionality.
Jessica Bogolubsky, 48, a call center administrator from West Islip, says her daughter, Bayla, 10, “was all about the Stanley” for fifth grade last year, but asked for an Owala as she enters sixth grade. Explains Bayla: "I saw a YouTube video that said Owala's better." It has two openings to drink from, one for using a straw and another when you want to pour water, and it has a locking cap to prevent leakage. She chose a wild berry color with a metal body and plastic cap.
“I never thought I’d be spending $40 on a water bottle,” Bogolubsky says.
Amanda Merckling, 44, of Yaphank, a chiropractor who is currently a stay at home mother, is the one who posted the Facebook query that got such a huge response. She has four children, in kindergarten, second, fourth and sixth grades. “We went with the Owala,” she says. “Everybody was able to pick their color and size.”
Her daughter Annabelle, 11, is happy with the choice. “Last year on the bus my Stanley leaked a lot. If you’re not perfectly holding it, a bunch of water comes out. I was looking for something that would fit in my backpack.”
WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE
Others stand by other choices.
“I’m a Brumate girl,” says Trish Papageorge, 43, a special education teacher from Kings Park. That’s what she’s sending her daughter, Lexi, 10, to fifth grade with this year. “I like them because, unlike the Stanleys, they have a wider bottom, so they don’t fall off desks,” Papageorge says. Their straw system also locks closed so that the water doesn’t leak if they do tip over, she says.
Lauren Chenault, 32, a photographer from Ocean Beach on Fire Island, sends her three children ages 9, 7, and 4, to school with Yetis. She says she likes that they are stainless steel, so there are no chemicals from plastics that can leach into their water. Plus, they are easy to clean, keep water cold, and don’t dent when dropped, she says.
Manny Bucala, 12, of Patchogue, who is starting seventh grade, says many kids at his school prefer the refillable Gatorade bottles. And, says his sister, Allana, 13, who is entering eighth grade, some favor the opaque bottles rather than clear because then they can fill them with Starbucks or Dunkin’ coffee or juice or soda without anyone knowing. And when those bottles with the contraband spill, the floor gets sticky, compounding the problem, she says.
Manny Bucala, 12, of Patchogue, takes disposable water bottles to school each day. Credit: Jennifer Bucala
“Every day in class there’s always one kid who spills their water bottle,” Allana says.
Oh, and don’t get Murphy started on the startling sound that metal ones make when they hit the ground unexpectedly during a lesson. “The noise is awful,” she says.
The Bucalas go to school with disposable water bottles, says mom Jennifer, 45, an event planner and DJ. “The main reason is because they lose them,” Bucala says. And they’d be expensive to constantly replace, she adds. She has her children bring the bottles home each night to refill or recycle, she says.
What happened to the days of just going to the water fountain to get a drink?
“They have to be able to go in between classes,” Bucala says of her middle school kids, and that’s not practical. “They’ve only got a few minutes.”
Beth Whitehouse writes about families, parenting and great things to do with the kids on Long Island. She’s been a Newsday editor and shared a 1997 Newsday staff Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the crash of TWA Flight 800.
