We are thinking about getting some plastic wine glasses for outside "happy hours"

Any suggestions of glasses that are easily available?

We have been pleased with our Govinos.

If you’re talking about warm weather or poolside happy hour fun, I highly recommend getting the metallic, insulated kind with a top that you can keep in the freezer. Wine in anything clear (plastic or crystal) will quickly warm up outside, and will warm up even faster if there’s any sunlight involved…I’ve also found that the plastic ones seem to even warm up faster. I’m not sure if that’s because the plastic itself (i) has a higher thermal mass due to its thickness as compared to crystal, (ii) simply conducts heat more efficiently, or (iii) creates a stronger greenhouse effect (i.e. traps heat that comes in via the sunlight)…

We have the Rabbit double wall stainless steel wine tumblers for this purpose. https://www.amazon.com/Rabbit-Double-Stainless-Wine-Tumbler/dp/B07WXLHYJW
The only other hot weather solution (which I also do frequently) is just to keep the wine in an insulated bag (with a chiller sleeve over it for whites and sparklers), and then pour very small pours into a normal wine glass (or, if you prefer, any plastic, outdoor wine glass) so that you can consume each small pour before it warms up.

That being said, I’m in Texas where it stays in the mid 90s (or upper 90s) until about 10pm all summer long…If you’re located somewhere that cools down a bit in the earlier evening hours, or have a nice breezy, shady spot for your outdoor happy hours, go with the Govinos or something similar.

Crate and Barrel has a variety of acrylic wine glasses, stemmed and stemless.

https://www.crateandbarrel.com/acrylic-wine-glass/s570257

I have Govinos for camping use, but they have a rather sharp rim. The crate and Barrel by contrast has a larger rim than desirable. I have yet to use any plastic glass that feels like good stemware.

We use these acrylic ones a lot. I think we got ours from Target and they were made in China but only cost about $2.99 each (years back). They have served us well, but I’ve always hated the thick rim that you mention…While my wife and lots of our friends continue to use them, I personally prefer a Red Solo Cup to these…Believe it or not, the Red Solo Cup has a pretty decent feeling rim, and particularly for red wines, I find that the wines actually taste pretty good that way…Sounds horrible, I know, but these are my “outdoor happy hour” glass of choice during cooler weather.

We recently got glasses from Vinglace.

Similar to the metal ones above, but with a glass insert.

I am not much of a glass snob, but just haven’t found any plastic wine glasses I don’t hate.

I’m with John, on the beach I’d rather have a solo cup.

My wife likes Paul’s glasses for the beach.

Last year we picked up a pair at HomeGoods that looks very similar to these:

shorturl.at/bcdvC

They are unmarked so can’t be certain of the source. Clear acrylic with a fairly thin crisp rim and no visible mold lines (a real pet peeve of mine). We only use them for travel picnics as I have broken too many stems in picnic transit over the years and don’t always want to carry an extra case for stems depending on where we are going. Otherwise, we use any of our usual glassware outside - never found it to be a problem. In fact, we host a large gathering in our backyard each summer when I pull out 40 or so glasses and we have yet to have one get broken.

Howard, not exactly plastic glasses, but would these serve the same purpose: https://www.amazon.com/Ello-Stemless-Glass-Silicone-Sleeves/dp/B07YQNHR69

I don’t normally like stemless glasses, but for picnics these come in handy. Someone got us a set as a gift, and while the rim is a little thicker than I like they are nice outside because the silicon protects the glass and also gives you a little extra grip if the glass has condensation or gets wet.

Same. Great little glasses by the pool, camping, etc. Best plastic glasses I’ve seen for sure.

We have several we use when at the lake, beach, poolside or just on a picnic.

Halovino - we like these because they collapse down so small and they’ve held their shape nicely. Most used for picnics or at outdoor events that are BYOW.

Silipint - these are used on the pool deck quite a bit. Definitely have a thicker rum but they’re indestructible and generally float. I wouldn’t suggest the frosted color as they do show water spots.

Yeti - When we are at the beach or lake and aren’t worried about dropping metal on concrete we use the Yeti brand tumblers. We first got them last summer for a beach trip and they are my favorite because they keep wine at a good temp. During our covid sip I took to carrying one of these with me in the evening while I walked the neighborhood.

The glass interior model mentioned above has intrigued me but I don’t need another outdoor wine glass. Ha.

Govinos. The new ones are also dishwasher safe. We have wine, cocktail and beer shapes.

Thanks for all the info. I appreciate the help. I ended up getting some plastic stemless glasses by a company called MICHLEY based on the recommendation of a friend who saw this thread. Hopefully, I will like them well enough.

We’re really happy with these:

Solo cups or those plastic cups that come from hotels do the trick. I wouldn’t be a snob about plastic - anything would work - and the rims on these are not really that thick.

Amazon has the Govinos in a set of 72 for $189.95. Less than $3/glass: https://www.amazon.com/Anywhere-Dishwasher-Flexible-Shatterproof-Recyclable/dp/B01DMFI1A0/ref=sr_1_3?crid=PRD31FM37SKW&dchild=1&keywords=govino&qid=1590977553&sprefix=govinos%2Caps%2C159&sr=8-3

My problem with Govinos is that if it is windy they will move, fall over, spill or fly away. I also prefer the metal lidded goblet shaped that can be had a Costco.

I have collected in excess of a 100 riedels of various shapes and sizes, so at my age
I use whatever is handy.

That’s a fair point for sure. I guess I probably dont notice as I spend too much time with the glass in my hand

I’m also very happy with Govino. For me, I’d much rather have a thin rim, and am willing to put up with reduced insulation and light weight as a tradeoff. Keep the bottle on ice, pour small, and drink quickly if temperature is a big concern. Mainly used for the pool area, where breakage would be a huge problem. Honestly I’ve found that while reds suffer a bit in these glasses, whites and roses show very well.