Smart and useful – that’s how I’d describe L’il Suckers. L’il Suckers are neoprene donuts which can be used to keep most sized water bottles in place. Simply slide the L’il Sucker over your drink at the bottom and put it on any non-porous surface, and the L’il Sucker should stay put.
When I first saw Lilsuckers at the Outdoor Retailer Convention in Denver this summer, I wasn’t sure what to think. The sales representative asked me to try to lift the water bottle on their display, so I did. In doing so I nearly lifted the entire display up, partially knocking it over!
Immediately I thought this product would be great for paddling SUP. I chose the small and medium size models to test out on my paddleboard.
Field testing the L’il Sucker
I took my Hala Nass out on Lake Dillon in early August for a morning paddle before the wind picked up. I brought a small and medium size L’il Sucker using the small sucker on an average size water bottle and the medium sucker for a Nalgene (32oz, 1L). I cruised on the lake encountering some wind and waves from boats, neither of which knocked over the water bottles on my two hour paddle. It was relatively easy to pull up both water bottles to take a drink and put them back securely my SUP.
The next weekend I tested the L’il Sucker on class II/III rapids while attached to my SUP. To hedge against losing a water bottle I attached a string to my Nalgene and tied it to one of the D-rings on my Hala Straight-Up; I’m glad I did. Once I hit the rapids, it didn’t take long for the L’il Sucker to lose grip during the rapids section. I’m not sure if the inventor envisioned using a L’il Sucker on a SUP while going down class III rapids, but I had to test the full limits of the sucker.
Overall, it’s a great product with multiple uses for boating, paddling on lakes or Class I river sections.
No cup-holder available? No problem with the L’il Sucker!
They come in a two sizes to fit most water bottles, coffee cups, or squirt bottles. The L’il suckers have standard designs and the company also offers custom designs. If you’re a recreational paddler looking for a quick and easy solution to safely secure a water bottle to your paddleboard, kayak or canoe, the L’il Sucker is a great option worth trying out.
