Tovolo King Cube Ice Mold System, Crystal Clear Seamless 2 Inch Cubes for Whiskey Cocktails & More - Set of 4 Molds

I purchased the Tovolo Sphere Clear Ice System, (4 balls), 3 + weeks ago. I have made a batch of 4 balls almost everyday since I got the kit. My first batch was in the freezer for about 20 hours and had a flat spot on the top, and the bottom (not full, and did not fully freeze). EVERY batch since has created round clear balls. I use "purified drinking water", (when I used tap water, the balls were a little bit cloudy). I have a small funnel I leave in the fill tube. I add 2 cups water to the assembled "kit", then carry it to my freezer. I then top off the kit, approximately 2 more cups water. I leave the kit in the freezer for approx 24 hours. I sit it on the counter for 3-5 minutes, then gently pry apart the Styrofoam mold that insulates the plastic "tank" and the silicone "molds". If a lot of water (more than a drop or two), gets between the tank and Styrofoam, it can be a little harder to pry apart, you will have to let it "thaw" out first. I have let the kit stay in the freezer for 48 hours, 2 times to see how the plastic "tank" would hold up. It did fine even with the water in the tank freezing solid. I love this product! I am storing the clear ice balls in gallon Ziploc bags in the freezer. When showing up at a party, the clear ice balls quickly became the "hit" of the party! Everyone wanted a cocktail with clear round ice. I read ALL of the reviews about this product, before I purchased and was a little bit skeptic. Put your mind at ease, purchase, and enjoy your adult beverages with beautiful, round, clear ice balls. I highly recommend!***** UPDATE ***** It's been over a year, and I am still extremely satisfied with this product. I still "harvest" 4 ice balls almost everyday, and use 2 in my 40 oz Vacuum Insulated Stainless Steel Tumbler for cold water daily. When entertaining, everyone is amazed at the clear round ice balls.I have harvested 100's of clear ice balls, and it still works like a charm. I'ld say thats a pretty darn good investment!!!

I've made one batch of cubes so far and they turned out well! They have some bubbles but are otherwise pretty clear. I used regular tap water and had them in the freezer part of my refrigerator for about 13 hours (they probably should have stayed in another hour as 2 of the spheres weren't completely formed yet). The whole set up was easy to assemble and use. My only wish is that it came with a little funnel for filling the tube.Updated review:I have owned the sphere version of this clear ice system for probably 8 months. When I came back to purchase another, I was surprised by the negative reviews so I decided to address some of the criticisms noted in those comments...First, people have complained about the black insulating foam breaking or having chunks fall out. I have been using mine for months, as noted above, and mine is still in perfect condition. All I can assume is that people are trying to pull the two halves apart when they may be partially frozen together from spilled water. I would recommend leaving the whole unit sit on the counter for 10 minutes after removing from the freezer to eliminate this possibility.I have also seen comments about the two halves of the black foam not fitting snugly together. This is completely user error. As you are assembling the pieces, you need to push down on the lips of the green silicone spheres so that they slide into the insulating foam correctly. If you do this to every sphere on both sides, the foam will come together perfectly.As to the unit being difficult to fill, yes this can be a challenge. Here is my method: I fill the gray tray with water through one of the large holes that the sphere will fit on until it is almost full. You then want to jiggle the whole thing a bit to remove any air locks. Next, wet each half of the spheres with water as it will make putting them together much easier. Make sure that they are completely sealed all the way around. It will also make them easier to push onto the gray tray. Once you have all green silicone pieces in place, fill more water until the spheres are about 2/3 full. At this point, attach the black foam insulating piece, being sure to push on the lips of the green silicone so that they slide all the way into the fitted area. After everything is assembled, finish filling through the fill tube. It would be easier if a funnel was included, but I just use a measuring cup with a spout. Then you can carefully transfer it to the freezer. If you have a bit of spillage, just add more water from the measuring cup after its in the freezer. Yes, all of this takes a bit of work but to me the beautiful clear ice is worth the effort. I get lots of positive comments from friends and my ice is always a hit.Does the ice last longer than regular cubes? I definitely believe so. There are many factors that determine the overall longevity such as the beverages starting temperature, the outside temp, and the glass you use. I have noticed that in my insulated glass (not one of the famous name brands), I will still have ice in the morning, which isn't the case with regular cubes. These aren't magic and of course the ice will still melt, but they do have more lasting power than your normal ice.Since this only makes 4 cubes at a time, I make a batch every day, then store them in a freezer bag so that I have enough when we are entertaining.Lastly, I have read complaints that the ice doesn't come out clear. I would strongly contest this as my ice is nearly perfectly clear. I do end up with some bubbles in the ice but these virtually disappear when the sphere is placed in a beverage. My tip for best results is to remove the unit from the freezer before the ice is solid in the gray tray. This takes a bit of trial and error to figure out the right time frame but makes the best end product. As a further note, I use water straight from the tap and we have well water with lots of minerals in it.I hope this review helps others make an informed decision about purchasing these clear ice trays. I love mine and will order another one!Update: I have now made several batches of ice with this system so I thought I would share some additional tips. I started to suspect that I was having some air lock issues when filling the tray through the tube as I noticed that by the time I made it to the freezer, I often could see room at the top of the green silicone and then I actually had a batch that came out as only half spheres. So I now fill the bottom tray full of water, assemble and attach the silicone molds, and then fill it the rest of the way through the tube. This method seems to work better and I am now getting near perfect ice balls. I would also recommend that you remove the cubes before the ice in the gray bottom tray freezes all the way. It will take some trial and error to determine what time frame is required for your freezer, but it is an absolutely necessary step to make sure that your ice is perfectly clear.

I really wanted this to work. And it did, but not long enough. The plastic cradle that the lime green ice ball forms set into cracked... it needs to be made of a different plastic that doesn't become brittle when frozen... a really stupid design flaw. My goal has been crystal clear round ice balls. I've tried distilled water, boiling water first, ultra filtered water but then I learned it's not just the water, it's physics and the way water freezes. Long story short, this ice system has it down but it's delicate and only worked until it broke a month into owning it. $20 bucks a month is too expensive for home use. There are a few things wrong with the design. First, the foam wrap (the black thing you see on the left side of the photo) isn't large enough to actually squeeze tight around the lime green ice ball makers. Second, filling the ice balls is difficult. There is a 'stem' in the middle of the lime green ice balls to pour water into but the stem is too small for a funnel and you just can't pour water in without getting it all over the place. If anyone from Tovolo is reading, change the design of the stem to have a funnel top. Make the base out of a plastic that doesn't crack easily when frozen and make the foam wrap a little looser so it can be closed around the lime green ice all makers. So, my review says, until they redesign it, don't buy it.