Sturdy Glassware, Disintegrating Feature, ThinkGeek Disappoints With The Battle Of Hoth Pint Glasses [2017 Review This Again]!

The Good: Good initial artwork, Good glassware
The Bad: Expensive for pint glasses, "Function" does not work properly, Not dishwasher safe, Incredibly poor durability - decals wear off completely!
The Basics: The Star Wars Battle Of Hoth Pint Glasses from ThinkGeek quickly degenerate into pretty standard pint glasses, making for a disappointing investment.


[There is a big meme in the art community going around now called "Draw This Again." In the meme, artists illustrate how they have grown in their chosen medium by putting side-by-side pictures of art they created in the past and now. My wife had the great idea that I should do something similar with my reviewing. So, for 2017, I will be posting occasional "Review This Again" reviews, where I revisit subjects I had previously reviewed and review them again, through a lens of increased age, more experience, and - for some - greater familiarity with the subject. This review is one such review, where I am re-experiencing ThinkGeek's image-changing Star Wars pint glasses. These glasses were originally reviewed here!]

My wife is pretty incredible in terms of finding gifts for me, despite me being a tough person to shop for. Despite that, she often finds fun things to give me and it always stinks when she makes the effort and the gift turns out to be a lemon. Such, however, is the case with the Star Wars Battle Of Hoth pint glasses. My wife picked me up a pair of the ThinkGeek Star Wars Battle Of Hoth pint glasses, but within a month of hand-washing the glassware, the decals on them had completely worn off, making them virtually indistinguishable from other, plain clear-glass pint glasses.

The Star Wars Battle Of Hoth Pint Glass Set Of 2 are two identical pint glasses that feature artwork from The Empire Strikes Back (reviewed here!). The pint glasses are predominantly blue and white and feature the AT-AT's coming across the ice plains of Hoth with a snowspeeder headed toward them.

The Star Wars Pint Glass Set Of 2 features artwork that is identical to the promotional photos of the AT-ATs on Hoth that have appeared in books and things like toy boxes for years - since The Empire Strikes Back was released. The AT-ATs are silkscreened on heavy, clear glass. Each set of two is identical. As the name implies, each pint glass holds a little over two cups worth of liquid. A whole 16 fl. oz. fits into the glass. Wider at the top, the 5 3/4” tall clear glass drinking glasses are both identical, including the image silkscreened onto them.

The Star Wars Battle Of Hoth Pint Glass Set Of 2 was constructed with a color-changing gimmick. The snowspeeder is supposed to be invisible until a cold liquid is placed into the glass. Unfortunately, the snowspeeder is entirely visible, regardless of there being any liquid in the glass and while it is initially faint, it does get darker like it is supposed to. When a cold liquid is placed in the pint glass, the snowspeeder gets more distinct and darker, but it never truly fades to be anywhere near close to surprising for its appearance when a liquid is added. This was less of a detraction for me because the snowspeeder being visible the whole time looks authentic and cool - and is appropriate for the setting without any form of "cloaking."

Unfortunately, the Star Wars Battle Of Hoth Pint Glass Set Of 2 is entirely lacking on the durability front. It took less than a week of using and cleaning the pint glasses before each of them showed noticeable wear. While the snowspeeder on the glasses held up fine, the rest of the silkscreening showed some chips and scratches. The glasses are not dishwasher safe and having hand washed the pint glasses with softer cloths to try to avoid damage, it was especially frustrating that the glasses already show wear to the silkscreening. It took less than a month of use before the entire decal sleeve slid right off both of the glasses, making them just plain, dull pint glasses. This is entirely disappointing for any Star Wars fan who likes the concept and spends the money on them.

ThinkGeek appeared to rush the Star Wars Battle Of Hoth pint glasses to market before the technology was perfected, making for a gift that will ultimately disappoint their target audience.

For other kitchen supplies, be sure to visit my reviews of:
Buffy The Vampire Slayer Pint Glass Set Of 4
Star Trek Decloaking Klingon Bird Of Prey Mug
Norpro Deluxe Stainless Steel Baster Set

.5/10

For other kitchen product reviews, please be sure to visit my Kitchen Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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