Review: Duralex glassware
Glass drinking glasses on your boat
Sailors are full of tradition. Well, they’re full of something after a couple of sundowners.
One of those traditions is no glassware on deck, or even in the cabin. Broken glass, bare feet, and alcohol are an unpleasant cocktail. Instead we end up using plastic or metal drinking glasses.
Stainless is durable, definitely. But doesn’t have the charm of clear glass.
The nicer plastic glasses are of polycarbonate. A quality polycarbonate wine glass looks so much like real glass that you have to touch it to confirm that it isn’t. And while they are durable, some even safe to put in a dishwasher, a polycarbonate glass’s finish eventually gets dull. And there’s the whole environmental thing.
Plastic and metal have their places, but glass kicks ass. Glass is prettier and sounds better when you toast. And... that’s about it for advantages. Otherwise they’re all comparable when it comes to corrosion resistance, durability, and washability.
It turns out that glass isn’t as breakable as you might think. They’ve been drinking wine from Duralex tumblers in France for decades.
The Picardie model is thick, tempered glass, more durable than regular glass. If you do manage to break it, it’s more likely to shatter into small pieces instead of shards. I got some for my boat. We’ve given them a few opportunities but we’ve only broke one so far when it fell onto a concrete pier.
I’m a fan of the tumbler, not stemware. Nothing should be top-heavy on a boat, except maybe your crew, but that’s a whole other conversation. Also, tumblers are easier to stow and take less place in your cupboard than stemware.
Actually, glass has another advantage over stainless and plastic, and that’s price. You can buy a 6-pack of Duralex Picardie tumblers for the price of 2-3 stainless or polycarbonate wine glasses.
Duralex Picardie tumbler
Dimensions: 7cm / 2.75 inches wide by 7.5 cm / 3 inches high
Capacity: 160 ml / 5.625 oz
At your service
Humbly yours,
Marc
Supreme Purser