To me a standup toothpaste tube is one of those simple ideas that once you see it you have to wonder why someone didn’t think of it 50 years earlier.
That said, this is not the best design. IMO, the smaller ones are better designed, because
1. you can stand them upsidedown so the toothpaste readily comes out when you open it.
2. it uses less plastic and takes up less space
I agree with Michael. The upside down design is better (with a wide, round cap like the new ketchup bottles), but it doesn’t seem to be available in the U.S. This package seems designed to cheat you of toothpaste, to wit:
1. It’s impossible to tell how much toothpaste is inside, except by weight. The paste is actually in an interior bag which could be much smaller than the exterior shell, for all I know. Likewise, there’s no way to tell how much has been used up as you go.
2. Sometimes the valve at the bottom malfunctions and doesn’t create a vacuum inside, making it almost impossible to get any more toothpaste out.
3. Even when it works properly, you can’t squeeze out every last iota of toothpaste like a regular tube.
4. I haven’t noticed the nozzle to be neater than other designs. You still get toothpaste inside the cap if you aren’t careful. Sometimes air bubbles reverse down inside the bag and when you squeeze, a big blog of toothpaste comes out by accident.
I think I like the original tubes better. It seems like i waste less toothpaste with them. This design doesn’t really make me want to change my habits. It offers me something promising… but neverless seems to fail. The neat squeeze. They don’t always squeeze so neat and just create a different kind of mess.
2 problems with this design for me:
1. too much plastic, not good for the environment. I prefer products that don’t generate a lot of waster and can be reused. Why aren’t there any refillable toothpaste containers? They are already available for soaps.
2. You cannot get the last drop, as a few people already mentioned. The same applies to the standing bottles of lotion.
My kids use the bubble gum flavor in this Tube. They have experienced difficulty with removing the lid once the spout gets gummed up with dried toothpaste – the regular tubes seem to be easier.
I think this design missed out on the feedback cues. I feel I am wasting toothpaste because I cant squeeze the tube to death because of the rigidity of the plastic around the lid. I feel frustrated when I give the tube a good squeeze and all I get is air because of the air valve on the base of the Tube.
I do like the stand-up feature since I can keep it in a cupboard away from my toothpaste eating two year old!
Totally loses the Roy Lichtenstein effect of a 7.8 oz tube contorted across the counter top with its cap oozing of human frailty and a reminder of the perils of gingivitis if its not consumed in due time.
Interesting that the logo orientation communicates that it is o.k. to lay it down. How do you tell when its empty?
Perhaps its time for a new toothpaste container semiology … the past efforst are more anal than oral.
That’s a lot of stuff just to hold toothpaste. I like metal tubes because I can hammer the last milligram of paste out. But I guess it’s like the Onion headline: “Comb technology: Why does it lag so far behind toothbrushes and disposable razors?”
I am trying to obtain a tube of Crest toothpaste in a metal tube to replace the one I mistakenly used that belonged to a friend for whom I was housesitting. Can anyone tell me where I can get one?
October 13th, 2008 at 11:00 am
Hey –
To me a standup toothpaste tube is one of those simple ideas that once you see it you have to wonder why someone didn’t think of it 50 years earlier.
That said, this is not the best design. IMO, the smaller ones are better designed, because
1. you can stand them upsidedown so the toothpaste readily comes out when you open it.
2. it uses less plastic and takes up less space
http://www.amazon.com/Crest-Whitening-Toothpaste-Peppermint-4-6-Ounce/dp/B000FKGGQ2/ref=tag_tdp_sv_edpp_i
October 13th, 2008 at 4:51 pm
I agree with Michael. The upside down design is better (with a wide, round cap like the new ketchup bottles), but it doesn’t seem to be available in the U.S. This package seems designed to cheat you of toothpaste, to wit:
1. It’s impossible to tell how much toothpaste is inside, except by weight. The paste is actually in an interior bag which could be much smaller than the exterior shell, for all I know. Likewise, there’s no way to tell how much has been used up as you go.
2. Sometimes the valve at the bottom malfunctions and doesn’t create a vacuum inside, making it almost impossible to get any more toothpaste out.
3. Even when it works properly, you can’t squeeze out every last iota of toothpaste like a regular tube.
4. I haven’t noticed the nozzle to be neater than other designs. You still get toothpaste inside the cap if you aren’t careful. Sometimes air bubbles reverse down inside the bag and when you squeeze, a big blog of toothpaste comes out by accident.
October 13th, 2008 at 5:02 pm
This is the stand-up design I like better:
http://stealthisidea.com/wp-content/standing-toothpaste/standing-toothpaste.jpg
October 23rd, 2008 at 6:24 pm
I think I like the original tubes better. It seems like i waste less toothpaste with them. This design doesn’t really make me want to change my habits. It offers me something promising… but neverless seems to fail. The neat squeeze. They don’t always squeeze so neat and just create a different kind of mess.
November 10th, 2008 at 9:13 pm
It has a clean look, and reminds me of a dentists office.
I guess in small bathrooms where real estate is pretty small, going up is the only better way.
November 13th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
2 problems with this design for me:
1. too much plastic, not good for the environment. I prefer products that don’t generate a lot of waster and can be reused. Why aren’t there any refillable toothpaste containers? They are already available for soaps.
2. You cannot get the last drop, as a few people already mentioned. The same applies to the standing bottles of lotion.
December 2nd, 2008 at 12:57 pm
My kids use the bubble gum flavor in this Tube. They have experienced difficulty with removing the lid once the spout gets gummed up with dried toothpaste – the regular tubes seem to be easier.
I think this design missed out on the feedback cues. I feel I am wasting toothpaste because I cant squeeze the tube to death because of the rigidity of the plastic around the lid. I feel frustrated when I give the tube a good squeeze and all I get is air because of the air valve on the base of the Tube.
I do like the stand-up feature since I can keep it in a cupboard away from my toothpaste eating two year old!
May 9th, 2009 at 12:56 am
Totally loses the Roy Lichtenstein effect of a 7.8 oz tube contorted across the counter top with its cap oozing of human frailty and a reminder of the perils of gingivitis if its not consumed in due time.
Interesting that the logo orientation communicates that it is o.k. to lay it down. How do you tell when its empty?
Perhaps its time for a new toothpaste container semiology … the past efforst are more anal than oral.
May 9th, 2009 at 12:57 am
typo on “efforts”
September 10th, 2009 at 9:46 pm
That’s a lot of stuff just to hold toothpaste. I like metal tubes because I can hammer the last milligram of paste out. But I guess it’s like the Onion headline: “Comb technology: Why does it lag so far behind toothbrushes and disposable razors?”
January 27th, 2010 at 11:55 am
I am trying to obtain a tube of Crest toothpaste in a metal tube to replace the one I mistakenly used that belonged to a friend for whom I was housesitting. Can anyone tell me where I can get one?
Crestfallen in Billings, Montana