For the person who isn’t in the house
It works without you there.
No installation, no wifi, no account, no app and no visit. It goes on the table under the glass they already drink from, and it does its job whether or not anybody is watching.
About the word at the top of this page. It is what you typed into a search box because you needed a word. It is not what we would call your mother or your dad, and it does not appear anywhere else on this page.
4.9 average · 120 reviews
Ships from Orange, California to any US address. 90 days to change your mind, used or not.
—What you get told to do
Everything on the list needs something.
Search for how to help from a distance and you get the same list every time. It is good advice. It is also almost entirely made of things that cost money every month, need wiring, need somebody on site, or need a parent who agrees to be watched.
| What they recommend | What it asks of you |
|---|---|
| A weekly housekeeping service | Recurring, hundreds a month |
| A house-call physician or care manager | Recurring, and a coordination job |
| Grab bars, better lighting, trip hazards | Somebody has to be there to fit them |
| A medical alert button | A device, a subscription, and a conversation |
| Pill dispensers, wearables, cameras, check-in apps | Wifi, accounts, and agreement to be monitored |
| A cup holder | $14.95, once. Nothing else. |
It is not on the list because it is not a solution to anything large. It is a small object that works on a table without you.
—What actually happens
You notice it on the visit. Then you go home.
- The ring on the side table
You see it on the Saturday. You mention it on the Sunday. By the time you are back at your own kitchen table it is a thing you meant to sort out.
- The glass by the bed
The one that gets reached for at two in the morning in the dark, which is the one nobody sees coming.
- The next visit
Four to six weeks. That is the real cadence, and it is the same for people who live an hour away as for people who live five.
—Does it actually work
It wobbles. Then it settles.
Someone sits down beside it and the drink comes back level. Nothing to switch on, nothing to explain over the phone.
Filmed on a couch cushion — softer and less predictable than the table it will probably live on.
—How it holds
Three things, and none of them needs you.
A wider edge to cross
The 5.2-inch base moves the edge the glass would have to tip over much farther out. The whole thing has to lean much farther before it goes over than the glass does on its own.
Six fins on the bottom inch
Glasses and tumblers drop in; cans and bottles slide on. Glass and base then rock as one piece instead of separating.
Grip, then a clean lift
The rubber plants the base where it is set and lifts away clean. It marks nothing and there is nothing to adjust, ever.
—From where you are
Why what you send has to work on its own.
Researchers have measured how much hands-on help an adult child actually gives, by how far away they live. Hours per week:
- Living together5.99
- Same block3.16
- Two to five miles1.16
- Five to ten miles0.79
- Over a hundred miles0.58
That is not a comment on anybody. It is a fact about geography, and it is the reason the useful question is not how do I do more but what can I put in that house that keeps working after I leave.
Figures from published research on residential proximity and care activities. Around five to seven million people in the US are doing this from an average of 450 miles away.
—The object
One piece of rubber, and that is the whole of it.
Nothing to assemble, nothing to charge, nothing to pair with anything. It arrives, it goes on a table, and that is the end of the setup instructions.
- Base5.2″ — fixed
- Height2.8″
- Opening at rest1.64″
- Fins6, from 0.92″ up, flexing to 3.15″
- MaterialShore 85A TPU
- SetupPut it on the table
- CleaningRinse, wipe, or dishwasher
—Will it fit what they drink
The hard one first: a mug with a handle does not fit.
The honest no. A handled mug does not seat — the handle lands exactly where the fins grip, so it perches instead of settling. If tea in a handled mug is most of the day in that house, this is not the right thing to send.
A glass, a tumbler, a lidded travel mug without a handle, a can or a small bottle all seat fine. If you are not sure what they actually use, that is a good excuse for a phone call.
Containers are physical truth; drink names are aliases for them.
The version you can do over the phone
A standard sticky note is three inches square. Ask them to stand the glass on one. If the base sits inside the paper, it seats. If it hangs over, email hello@steadilabs.com and you will get an honest answer either way, including a no.
—Where they end up
The chair, and then the bedside.
The chair they actually sit in is the obvious one. The second tends to go beside the bed, because the glass at two in the morning is the one that causes the most trouble for the least reason.
After that they move around the house on their own, which is a good sign and not a problem.
—What things cost
We are not competing with any of this. That is the point.
Prices below were looked up, not estimated, and the comparison is deliberately unfair in our favour on one axis only: what it asks of you after the money.
| What gets bought | Price | And then |
|---|---|---|
| Weighted cup with lid | $19.99 | Genuinely helps some people hold a cup. It is also a new cup, which is the part that gets refused. |
| Two-handle mug | $36.14 | Works, and looks like it came from a hospital. |
| Budget two-handled cup | $7.51 | Cheaper than us. Still a new cup. |
| A gift set, the safe default | ~$13 | A kind thought, and the thing everybody sends. Nothing in the house is different afterwards. |
| The Elderly Cup Holder | $24.95 — $12.48 each | Nothing. Their glass stays their glass and nobody has to learn anything. |
If holding the cup is the actual problem, a weighted cup does something we do not. Buy that instead.
—Send one
How many, and what colour.
One is enough to find out whether it lands. Most people end up with one where they sit and one by the bed. Free shipping on all three, to any US address.
Checkout is handled by Steadi Labs — the company that makes The Elderly Cup Holder. Secure checkout at steadilabs.com. Orders ship to any US address, so it can go straight to them. Free shipping on every order, and 90 days to change your mind, used or not.
—From people who bought one
One of these was bought as a gift for somebody’s mother.
Nobody here is described as elderly, and we are not going to describe them that way. They are here because they describe the set-down and the reach. Verbatim, unedited, not filtered by rating.
★★★★★
I love my Steadi can holder. I use an ottoman beside my couch for drinks and remotes. This keeps a can steady and allows me to have a can of soda or water nearby. Im disabled and its hard to get up repeatedly for a drink!
Kathi Davidson · August 2026
★★★★★
Steadi works very well in stabilizing my drinks on soft surfaces, like the couch or by the chair I use as a nightstand.
Marie Adams · July 2026
★★★★
So I bought one as a mother’s day gift. It took a sec to figure it out and then she tried it, not so long story short she loves it. She as one in her office, one here and I think she gave the other two away as gifts because they’re that good. And I have to say it’s pretty sturdy and come in a nice range of colors that fit in pretty much anywhere.
Riley H · July 2026
★★★★★
Very pleased with this. Feels premium and sturdy, and nice to look at when in use. As someone who once spilled a can of cola on the bed, I now confidently place my soda can on the bed without worry!
Michael Mendoza · May 2026
—The limits, in one place
What it does not do.
- It tells you nothing. There is no app, no alert and no way for you to know from where you are whether it is being used at all. If that is what you actually want, this is the wrong product and you should look at something else.
- It is not a safety device, and we make no claim about anybody’s health.
- It does nothing while the glass is in someone’s hand. It works on the table.
- It is not spill-proof — nothing is. It resists tipping. A hard enough knock moves anything.
- A handled mug does not seat. The handle lands where the fins grip.
—If it turns out to be wrong
Ninety days. Used is fine. Nobody ships anything back.
You are buying something for a house you cannot see, so the risk of getting it wrong sits with us rather than with you. Email hello@steadilabs.com and you get your money back — no form, no restocking fee, no questions about its condition, and nothing for anybody to pack up and post.
- You order. Free shipping, every order, always.
- It leaves Orange, California within one business day.
- USPS, 2–5 days, tracked, to any US address.
—Who makes it
Steadi Labs. One person, in Orange, California.
Scott Rodriguez made the first one after a full drink went over on a soft cushion with three kids under three in the house. It was built for spills, not for anybody in particular, and it was on the market before the first person bought one to send to a parent.
Injection moulded in small runs a few miles from his desk; every order ships from the zip code it was made in. Patent pending. The email address on this page reaches him, which matters if you are ordering something for an address you will not be at.
— Scott, Steadi Labs
—Questions
Straight answers.
Can it ship straight to them?
Yes. Orders go to any US address, so you can put theirs in at checkout. Free shipping either way, and it leaves Orange within one business day.
Will they think I am managing them?
We cannot answer that for your family. What we can tell you is what arrives: a coloured rubber base that goes on a table with their own glass in it. No lid, no second handle, no branding anybody can read across a room, and nothing that says it came from a catalogue of aids.
How will I know if they actually use it?
You will not, unless they tell you. It has no app, no sensor and no way to report anything to anyone, which is deliberate but is also just the truth. If you need to know things about that house from where you are, this is not the product that does that.
Is this a medical device?
No. It is a cup holder. Not a medical device, not a mobility aid, not adaptive equipment, and no health claim is made for it.
They drink tea from a mug all day. Does that work?
Not for the mug — the handle blocks a fin. A glass, a tumbler or a lidded travel mug without a handle works. If the handled mug is the whole story, we would rather you spent nothing here.
Why does this site only sell one thing?
Because it is one thing. It is a Steadi, made by Steadi Labs in Orange, California, and checkout finishes at steadilabs.com where the company lives. This page exists because a lot of people have bought one for somebody else’s table.
—Still deciding
They say they don’t need anything.
They probably say that about most things. This one does not ask them to do anything differently, which is why it tends to survive where other presents do not.
I don’t know what they drink from.
Then order one, not two, and find out. It is $14.95 and it will answer the question better than guessing will.
It feels like a small thing to send.
It is a small thing. It is also one of the few things on any list that costs $14.95 and needs nothing from anybody after it arrives.
Can I get it there before I next visit?
It leaves Orange within one business day and USPS takes two to five, tracked. So yes, easily.
Stop waiting for the next visit.
It is one small thing, it costs $14.95, and it does not need you to be in the room.
Free shipping on every order · 90-day guarantee, used is fine · Made in Orange, California