Looking for a good travel mug

[Cymberleah]

David's Tea (in Canada) has an awesome travel tea mug. My tea stays hot-warm for six hours, it has a nice well-made feel to it, and the pieces come apart for easy cleaning (and it does have a large o-ring that comes off easily, I just discovered, ahem). I've had my mug for about eight months now and use it every work day. It cleans up easily (even when I've not wiped it down for a bit) and has been, hands down, one of my favorite things I've purchased over the past year.

[malamalama]

The mug lid for the Kleen Kanteen comes apart for easy cleaning. I do like it and the kanteen still keeps the coffee hot even with that lid on it. (I just usually don't use it since I'm usually transporting coffee in it and the mug lid is not spill proof. For work it would be great, though.)

Thanks for the feedback. Mahalo.

[bltkmt]

Another big Hydroflask fan here...I have quite a few. One is on my work desk now, as I type this...it keeps my water cold all day.

[Jenne]

Don't want to hijack this thread, but can anyone comment on actually drinking from the mugs? I've been wanting a kleen kanteen with the cafe lid. Usually I fill my mug at work, so transportation is not a big issue.

I used to use a no name freebie which I would wash daily and soak in denture cleaner once in a while. One day I looked under the lid and decided to remove the silicone gasket with a toothpick. Let's just say that what I saw convinced me it was impossible to keep that lid sanitary on a regular basis. My mug now has a lid with an o-ring that is big and easy to remove.

The mug lid for the Kleen Kanteen comes apart for easy cleaning. I do like it and the kanteen still keeps the coffee hot even with that lid on it. (I just usually don't use it since I'm usually transporting coffee in it and the mug lid is not spill proof. For work it would be great, though.)

[malamalama]

Sorry for the long post. Hope it is helpful.

Very helpful, thanks. Looked at the hydro flask website. About how wide is the "standard mouth" bottle? My non-insulated nalgene and camelbak bottles both have what they call the wide mouth openings.

[autolycus]

I like the hydro flask because: it does not sweat when filled with ice or ice + water; easy to clean; no funky smell build up. It keeps cold liquid cold for a long time. I am not convinced about its ability to keep hot liquid hot for 12 hours as claimed on hydro flask's website. It keeps my coffee hot enough for 2 hours or so. It does keep my tea hot twice as long. I think because I make tea with boiling water; I make coffee in a cheap drip

Starting temp makes a big difference. One way you can actually keep things hot (or cold) longer is to do a quick prep of the bottle by pouring hot (or cold) water in and letting it sit for a few minutes while you make up your drink. That gets the temp of the liner closer to the beverage temp so the the beverage doesn't lose heat immediately in heating the mug.

[Walker]

The impossibility of keeping travel coffee mugs hygienic is precisely why I do not use them.

I wasted lots of hard-earned money on various brands coffee mugs with "drinking" lids. I bought the mugs with lids that can be disassembled for cleaning. After a few disassembly sessions, the gaskets became loose, they got lost. I think they dropped & got thrown out when I emptied the left-over coffee.

To drink from the hydro flask, you take the cap off. The bottle with its lid is made of stainless steel, so caution is called for when drinking hot liquid. I sit the cap on the lid between sips.

The gasket on the hydro flask bottle cap is very tight. Once, I removed the gasket from the bottle I use as a coffee mug. No evidence that cofee seeped through the gasket to sit on the other side to breed g3unnentionables. So it meets my requirement for "hygienic & easy to clean."

Still I use different bottles to carry milk, coffee, tea and water. I have a small (12-oz) lifefactory bottle to carry fruit juice occasionally.

I used nalgene bottles prior to discovering hydro flask. I have no experience with the other brands mentioned on the thread.

I like the hydro flask because: it does not sweat when filled with ice or ice + water; easy to clean; no funky smell build up. It keeps cold liquid cold for a long time. I am not convinced about its ability to keep hot liquid hot for 12 hours as claimed on hydro flask's website. It keeps my coffee hot enough for 2 hours or so. It does keep my tea hot twice as long. I think because I make tea with boiling water; I make coffee in a cheap drip pot.

Hydro flask bottles are made in China. I have not found similar bottles made in the US. I am all ears, if someone has a lead on such.

Sorry for the long post. Hope it is helpful.

[malamalama]

Don't want to hijack this thread, but can anyone comment on actually drinking from the mugs? I've been wanting a kleen kanteen with the cafe lid. Usually I fill my mug at work, so transportation is not a big issue.

I used to use a no name freebie which I would wash daily and soak in denture cleaner once in a while. One day I looked under the lid and decided to remove the silicone gasket with a toothpick. Let's just say that what I saw convinced me it was impossible to keep that lid sanitary on a regular basis. My mug now has a lid with an o-ring that is big and easy to remove.

[Walker]

Thanks, Walker, for that excellently detailed review of the Hydro Flask... I'm checking it out now!

I like them enough that I bought a lot as presents over time. My most recent order direct from the company itself arrived last Friday. among them is one is the 18-oz wide mouth in butte (black), a new product.

I noted that there is a new cap on the standard mouth bottles. It is longer with 3 threads, has a round gasket. The caps on my older standard mouth bottles are shorter, they have 2 threads and the gaskets are flat. I should add that it is the part of the cap that goes inside the bottle that is longer. The part that stays outside of the bottle is same height. Maybe the new cap will keep hot liquid hot longer?????. I cannot test because my new purchases are going to be holiday presents.

I have not used the 18-oz bottle. I may also give it as a present this christmas & buy myself one after the holidays. The cap seems substantial. I think ut will make a good coffee mug on days when I wanted to bring more coffee than I can tote in the 12-oz standard mouth bottle.

I only buy direct from the company now. I bought bottles from other vendors that arrived dented. The hassle & costs of returning bumps the price too high, so I kept the dented bottles. All my shipment from hydro flask arrived in good condition. Once in a while they offers discounts. You may also find duscount codes online.

[Just]

Thanks, Walker, for that excellently detailed review of the Hydro Flask... I'm checking it out now!

[MsMoon]

I like my insulated Eco Vessel. It has similar features to those above. Stainless Steel Water Bottles, Kids Bottles, filtered water bottles & Insulated Stainless Steel Bottle with Straw Tops

[KarlJ]

Another vote here for the Klean Kanteen insulated.

[Flinx]

That would be the only caveat to the Contigo mugs... The lids are difficult to clean if you enjoy your hot drinks with milk and/or sugar. I drink my coffee black, so it hasn't been an issue.

I should've mentioned that.

[backpack]

I bought 3 Contigo stainless steel mugs and used them for about 2 years, when I was in the South. Given the location, I mostly used them to keep juice chilled all day.

It did the job. At the time, I recommended the products to spill prone computer owners

However, when I moved farther north and replaced juice by hot chocolate, the cups became impossible to clean thoroughly despite repeated soaking, hand washing and turns at the dishwasher. The outside oxidized a little, I became concerned by their Chinese manufacture and the added difficulty of thoroughly cleaning the lids when used with milk or soy milk.

I decided to make my hot chocolate into a novelty tall cup, given to my husband and buy little TJ milk towers if I wanted milk on the go.

This summer, when I visited the store, I bought a purple Lifefactory bottle which holds my chilled Italian Soda.
In late summer/early autumn, I finally got my UV Synapse, the Lifefactory bottle goes in the bottle pocket and two little TJ milk towers are placed in each side pocket (there isn't anything else there, all my ready to grab stuff is in a Cafe Bag)

[dwright17]

Wow, these are great suggestions! Thanks for the tips. Looks like I have a lot of research to do. Hmmm, maybe one of each?