About Owala
Owala is a drinkware brand from Trove Brands, the Utah-based company built by Kim and Steve Sorenson (best known for the BlenderBottle shaker) and now run by their son Michael Sorenson as CEO. Owala launched in 2020 with the FreeSip, a bottle built around a patented dual-function lid that switches between a built-in straw and a wider push-button swig spout, and the line has since grown into tumblers, kids' bottles, and coffee-focused mugs sold alongside a slate of replacement parts and cleaning accessories.
The FreeSip's straw-or-spout design made TIME's Best Inventions of 2023 list, and the #owala hashtag has passed 272 million views on TikTok, a scale of organic attention few drinkware brands see. That same double-wall vacuum-insulation engineering carries into the SmoothSip coffee tumbler line we tested for our travel mug guide, which trades the straw for a slide-top spout built to handle hot coffee and iced coffee in the same mug.
Brand website: owalalife.com
What Owala makes
Owala's range runs wider than the products we review. The lines we know best from our own testing are marked with a star:
FreeSip water bottles
the flagship line, built around Owala's patented push-button lid that switches between a straw and a wide swig spout
SmoothSip coffee tumblers
slide-top spout insulated tumblers built for hot and iced coffee alike -- our featured pick — featured on Brew Gazette
Kids' FreeSip
scaled-down FreeSip bottles with an easy-grip silicone sleeve for smaller hands
Pet bowls
insulated stainless steel bowls extending the same drinkware materials to pet gear
Replacement parts and accessories
replacement straws, lids, spout gaskets, and bottle-cleaning tablets sold direct
Why we recognized Owala
The Brew Gazette Top Brand recognition isn't paid for and can't be applied for. We award it to the brands whose products consistently stand out in our hands-on category reviews. Owala earned it on the strength of the products below, evaluated the same way every product on this site is: bought, brewed with daily, and judged on what lands in the cup.
Owala products we rated highly
Owala SmoothSip Slider Insulated Stainless Steel Coffee Tumbler 20 oz
The SmoothSip is built to do double duty for hot coffee and iced drinks, with a slide-top spout that sips cleanly without needing a straw -- the most versatile single mug we tested for someone who switches between the two through the day. The slide mechanism covers the drink opening when closed, so it stays more secure than an open tumbler while still being quick to sip, and double-wall vacuum insulation kept hot coffee warm for five to six hours in our testing with iced coffee holding well beyond that. It carried more than 13,000 Amazon ratings at a 4.6-star average in our review, real momentum for a mug line that only launched a few years ago, though it skips a handle and its spout is spill-resistant rather than fully leakproof, so it is not the one for a packed bag.
Read the 10 Best Travel Coffee Mugs of 2026 guide →What earned Owala the recognition
- The SmoothSip Slider Coffee Tumbler carried more than 13,000 Amazon ratings at a 4.6-star average in our travel coffee mug testing, with double-wall vacuum insulation holding hot coffee for five to six hours.
- Its slide-top spout lets one mug handle both hot morning coffee and iced afternoon coffee without switching containers or needing a straw, the most versatile dual-temperature mug in our lineup.
- The brand's flagship FreeSip bottle made TIME's Best Inventions of 2023 list, and the #owala hashtag has passed 272 million views on TikTok, independent evidence of real reach beyond our own testing.
- Owala is a Trove Brands label, the Utah company behind BlenderBottle, giving the SmoothSip line established drinkware engineering and manufacturing behind it rather than a first-time product.
- The SmoothSip's slide-closed spout covers the drink opening when not in use, giving it more day-to-day security than an open tumbler while staying just as quick to sip from.