The media could not be loaded. I'm always a little thrown off when I pick up a piece of Corelle diningware, and these bowls are no exception: at first glance these bowls like very sturdy ceramic bowls with a nice blue stripe painted onto their glaze - but then you pick them up, and you realize, wait, this isn't a ceramic bowl, it's a glass bowl, and a very light one. Not quite feather weight, but much lighter than you'd expect. But once you pick it up, it starts making sense because you begin to get a true feel for the craftsmanship that is at the heart of the Corelle brand. Good looking, dynamic in its flexibility of uses, but extremely light and durable, like a supermodel gymnast who also kickboxes. Unlike that metaphorical supermodel, these Corelle bowls will probably last longer than that supermodel's career in any of those fields. (For the record, shame on you if you automatically assumed the metaphorical kickboxing supermodel gymnast above was a woman, men can be metaphorical kickboxing supermodel gymnasts, too.) ***Built Corelle tough...wait...*** Even as the bowls look like they have a completely opaque white glaze finish, you get a true sense for just how thin the glass used to make them is when you pick one up and you realize you can see you your fingers through the white coloration, without even needing to hold it up to a light. And yet, compared to many a ceramic mug, bowl, and plate if a piece of Corelle slips out of your hands while cleaning it in your sink: it's not a near-guaranteed death sentence for that piece. We got a taste of that with these bowls as we were giving them their first wash downs in some warm soapy water, and one of them slipped as I was going to place it in the dryer rack. "Well, it's a good thing they sent us 6 of them" I immediately thought, as I saw the bowl drop back into the sink. It landed on its rounded bottom side and even as I was steeling my nerves for the sound of breaking glass, all my nerves had to endure was a "clink roll roll roll clatter" as it stuck the landing. Not a chip or crack to be seen. Now, I'm not in any hurry to retry that scenario with all 5 of the other bowls, but the sink it landed in was a big white ceramic farmhouse sink. That sink has killed so many glasses and mugs, it's become a running joke in our household that putting dishes directly into the dishwasher and skipping the sink is seen as an act of mercy. If any sink was going to fracture the leg of our kickboxing gymnast supermodel after a clumsy dismount, it's that sink. As far as I'm concerned, that's all the proof I need that the Corelle durability factor is still going strong with these bowls. Also, they survived their testing rounds in the microwave and dishwasher without incident or any loss of color to the "botanical" blue stripe. Also, if you're confused like I was about the "Botanical" name for these bowls, it's because the plates that go with these bowls do in fact have a blue-painted plant motif, even if these bowls are just white with a blue stripe. That shade of blue matches the plants on the plate. ***Overall Value*** Corelle is a brand I trust to deliver good-looking but resilient dishes, and it has come through once again here. For $28 (at the time of review) this set of 6 bowls is a very good value as they're good for daily or special occasion use, they're durable, and if well cared for can last years and years. ***Toddler Rage Disclaimer*** Now, all of that said, we have in our house a collection of bowls the adults use and the ones kids use. These are not among the ones we let kids use until they get older and we're pretty sure there won't be a tantrum about eating vegetables or clearing their plate that results in food and dishes being flung wildly. i trust Corelle not to break from everyday scenarios, but a toddler twister of terror is not a fair test for any glassware to have to endure.
