Marguerite Preston is an editor covering kitchen gear. She has spent countless hours in the test kitchen and edited hundreds of guides since 2017.
I'm a picnic person.
Every summer, every chance I get, whether it’s a long weekend or an average weeknight, I eat my meals outside.
For the decade-plus that I’ve lived in Brooklyn, the park has been the closest thing I’ve had to a backyard, and picnics have been my go-to for every get-together (including my wedding party).
I dine in the park so often that I’ve started keeping a giant tote bag in my closet, ready and packed with all of the essentials: blanket, bug spray, plates, utensils, and—as of last year—a set of eight Falcon Enamelware tumblers.
Falcon tumblers, which I have in a rainbow of chic colors, have become the star of my picnic go-bag, eliciting compliments and cries of “where did you get these?” every time I pass them around. My guests are delighted to receive something that’s not a plastic cup. And they are charmed by the option of choosing their favorite color from hues like a moody, blue-tinged Pigeon Grey and a cheery, pastel Olive Oil green.
These tumblers are cute, durable, perfectly sized, and endlessly reusable. At every picnic, they save me from blowing through a sleeve of Solo Cups, and they come to the rescue each time someone shows up with a bottle of wine and nothing to drink out of.
Our pick
These durable enamelware tumblers come in a huge array of attractive colors. They’re ideal for outdoor dining, but they’re also useful indoors, whether on a desk or by your bed.
Stylish and deceptively rugged
Before I started using the Falcon tumblers, cups were the weak point in my otherwise finely tuned picnic game. I had a few plastic cups in my bag, but they scuffed easily, and they attracted grease and dirt. I was always a bit embarrassed to hand one to a friend.
I’ve tried disposable cups, too. But I cringe at the pile of trash they become by the end of a picnic—a problem made worse by friends (often) losing track of their drinks in the sea of identical cups and grabbing another from the stack.
Falcon Enamelware’s tumblers come in a huge array of colors—18 at the time of writing. So they are an elegant solution to the issue of cup confusion (which, of course, isn’t unique to disposables). Every tumbler in my set is a different color, giving guests an easy way to identify which one is theirs (no wine charms or Sharpies necessary).
Beyond the wide-ranging palette of colors, what sets the Falcon tumbler apart from other enamelware is the superior build quality. These cups are sturdy. Even at just 3.5 inches tall, these vessels are heftier and more substantial than the basic enameled dishes I grew up camping with. They won’t dent, and they haven’t chipped—even when tossed in a bag over and over again.
Falcon Enamelware’s plates are a pick in our guide to the best outdoor dinnerware. As staff writer Dorie Chevlen reports, “They didn’t crack or chip when we dropped them, they didn’t stain under sauce, and they didn’t scratch when we scraped a knife against them.” Falcon Enamelware pieces are also dishwasher-safe.
Great for the outdoors and around the house
There’s no need to relegate these lovely tumblers to a picnic bag, either. I do so only because picnics are a weekly occurrence for me during the summer. But if you don’t share that habit, you might prefer to keep them out where they can shine in other ways year-round. They’re also ideal for patio cocktails and outdoor dinner parties (for which you might want to consider a matching pitcher).
I also love them as a plastic-free, everyday drinking glass for kids. My almost-3-year-old does just fine with the 10.5-ounce size I own, but they also come in an adorable, petite 4.5-ounce size.
And they’ll come in handy all around the house, say, on your desk or bedside table. Kitchen editor Gabriella Gershenson keeps one in her guest bathroom, and after four years of use, she says “it’s held up beautifully.”
The uses go beyond drinks, too: a nice pencil cup, a trinket dish for your dresser, a rustic little vase for flowers. Gabriella sometimes uses hers to bathe her daughter.
Pricey and a little rough around the edges, but worth it
As with the Falcon Enamelware plates we tested, the underside of the tumblers’ rolled lip may have some patches of exposed metal, which can feel a little rough (though not sharp). But they aren’t visible (unless you look under the rim). So far, this has not affected their durability, and after many trips through the dishwasher, these tumblers show no signs of rust.
I’ve also found that the Falcon tumblers occasionally stick together when they’re stacked. But with some gentle wiggling—nothing rough enough to scratch or damage the enamel—they easily become unstuck.
And, yes, at $11 a cup, these tumblers aren’t cheap. My parents gave me a set for my birthday (that’s right, they also make a great gift!). But knowing how long they’ll last, and how delightful they are to use, I’ll happily invest in more as my picnic crew grows to include friends’ kids, kids’ friends, and anyone else I can wrangle into my picnic habit.
This article was edited by Alex Aciman and Catherine Kast.
Meet your guide
Marguerite Preston is a senior editor covering kitchen gear and appliances at Wirecutter, and has written guides to baking equipment, meal kit delivery services, and more. She previously worked as an editor for Eater New York and as a freelance food writer. Before that, she learned her way around professional kitchens as a pastry cook in New York.