Do Stubby Holders Really Keep Drinks Cold Longer?

Stubby holders work on the principle of insulation -- that is, they simply slow the transfer of heat between the air and the bottle. Most stubby holders do this by putting a layer of foam material around the bottle. Tiny pockets of air act as insulation, trapping heat between the surface of the stubby holder and the surface of the bottle. This doesn't prevent the bottle from warming up, but it does slow the rate at which it happens. Quite a useful thing on a hot Aussie day!

Branded Coolers Keeping Your Hands Safe

Another useful aspect of this insulation is that it slows the movement of heat from your hand to the bottle. This keeps your warm hand from heating the bottle, and it also prevents ice-cold drinks from freezing your fingers.

Do Personalised Drink Holders Really Maintain Coolness?

Well, it turns out that scientists like a drink too! Two scientists from the University of Washington wanted to make sure that their drinks were staying cold, so put their stubby holders to the test. Their results were published in the science journal Physics Today. They showed that stubby holders really do slow down the rate at which cold drinks get warm -- and they even found another reason for how they work.

How Drink Koozies Keep Things Cold

When a liquid evaporates, it creates a cooling effect -- this is how refrigerators and air conditioners work. The reverse of this is that when water vapour condenses, it has the effect of warming the object that the water is condensing on. This means that when condensation forms on the outside of a cold bottle, it's actually warming the contents inside! By keeping humid air away from your bottle, stubby holders prevent condensation forming and preventing this sort of warming, too. It's through this dual action -- insulation and preventing condensation -  that stubby holders keep your drink cool and refreshing, even on a hot, humid day.