There’s nothing quite like a good cup of coffee, fresh air and a good view at your favourite campsite.
While we love our ultralight cups and mugs when we’re backpacking, car and trailer camping is a chance to bring the kitchen sink and live a little.
For this test we ran 7 of our favourite travel mugs through a hot test, travelling in the car, short hiking trips and of course relaxing at the lake.
Travel mugs are great for relaxing at the campsite, taking to the office or keeping your brew hot on a road trip. They’re multi-purpose enough to use almost anywhere you go for hot or cold drinks.
With testing we wanted to see how all the mugs were to drink from, how hot they kept drinks over 12 or 24 hours, how they were to clean and if they fit in a cupholder.
Here’s what we tested:
- Yeti Rambler 532 with HotShop Cap
- Klean Kanteen TKWide Coffee Tumbler
- Miir Tomo Insulated Bottle
- Stanley Classic Travel Mug French Press
- BrüMate Pour Over Mug
- Snowpeak Kanpai Mug
- Corkcicle Commuter Cup
Skip to the the Hot Test for all the mugs at the bottom of the article.
Yeti Rambler 532 with HotShot Cap
Yeti has made a name for it itself making bombproof (or bear-proof) coolers and their cups are similar.
The Rambler 532 is a 16 oz (532 ml) super durable, stainless steel, vacuum-insulated bottle. The leakproof HotShot Cap comes apart easy into only two parts so it’s easy to clean and keeps everything hot at the same time. One half-twist and it’s open for drinking anywhere around the rim. A full twist and the center comes out for cleaning.
We tested the 16 oz but there are 12 and 20 oz versions available. For lids there’s also a fast-flow water lid and a straw lid.
And yes it fits in a cupholder no problem.
$40 USD ($30 CAD) on Yeti.com or Amazon.com
Klean Kanteen TKWide Coffee Tumbler
Klean Kanteen have been making stainless drinking bottles and reusable food and drinkware since 2004 to they know a thing or two about it. My first stainless steel bottle I ever bought back in the day was a Klean Kanteen.
The TKWide Coffee Tumbler is a slender bottle with a nice lid for sipping. It’s made from 90% post-consumer recycled 18/8 stainless steel. It was one of the only mugs in the test that was over 120 degrees Fahrenheit after 12 hours. Still a nice temperature for coffee.
The wide mouth and simple lid make it easier to clean. Unscrew a small nut and the whole lid comes apart into 5 pieces for cleaning.
It’s cupholder compatible, leakproof and available in 12 and 16 oz with Twist, Straw, Water and Screw tops.
$34.95 USD ($46.99 CAD) on KleanKanteen.com or Amazon.com
Miir Tomo Insulated Bottle
The Tomo from Miir is a bit different in this roundup. It’s not technically a mug but a thermos. It holds 33 oz (1 liter) itself and has a nice 360 lid to drink from any angle.
It comes with two 8 ounce cups (11 oz if you fill them to the brim) for sharing. Tomo means ‘friend’ in Japanese after all.
The larger size doesn’t fit in cupholders well but this is more likely to be chucked in the back of the car or backpack for the hike in. The handle keeps it from rolling around too much.
Be careful drinking from the Tomo after only a few hours. It kept liquid burning hot at 150 degrees Fahrenheit after 12 hours and still a drinkable 127 after 24 hours. If you need to keep things hot, the Tomo will be your friend.
It’s leakproof and fairly easy to clean. Miir recommends a small brush to clean inside the lid.
$59.95 USD ($87.99 CAD) on Miir.com or Amazon.com
Stanley Classic Travel Mug French Press
Stanley was founded in 1913 by inventor William Stanley Jr. when he invested the stainless steel vacuum-insulated bottle. Since then the bottles have been found in working condition after falling off skyscrapers, after building have collapsed and bombs have exploded. The durability of the Classic Travel Mug French Press is no different.
The 16 oz cupholder-compatible mug has a quick-open lid that’s nice to drink from and stays attached with a solid hinge. The whole thing is leakproof and dishwasher-safe.
A French press sits nicely inside the mug with a detachable fine mesh screen. One less thing to wash while enjoying your time outside.
Good coffee is required. Washing more dishes shouldn’t be.
$36 USD ($40 CAD) on Stanley.com or Amazon
BrüMate Pour Over Mug
The BrüMate Pour Over Mug has a secret tucked right inside. A pour over tucks right inside the mug. Special filters from BrüMate are just the right size of the pour over. Both the mug and pour over are made of stainless steel. The pour over has some amazing siliconized or rubberized coating that has a really nice feel.
The mug itself is 20 oz total. 16 oz for coffee and 4 for cream says BrüMate. The lid is made of a recycled plastic called Tritan Renew. The flap on the lid can be locked shut or held open with a magnet so it’s not flapping in your face.
$44.99 USD ($59.29 CAD) on Brumate.com or Amazon
Snowpeak Kanpai Mug
Snowpeak make know a thing or two about high quality metal gear. They’ve been making camping gear since 1958 and take great care with their metalwork.
The Kanpai mug is thin and lightweight travel mug that holds 18 oz and comes with 3 different lids.
The Sip lid has a small cover that slides in and out of place for easy drinking. The other two lids fully screw onto the top. The black Hot lid contains extra insulation to keep your hot beverages toasty for longer.
The white Cold lid has a tiny ice pack inside. It can be frozen and keep a drink colder for longer. A full pop or beer can can fit inside the Kanpai for storage or just as a tiny 1-can cooler.
The Kanpai is leakprof, cupholder compatible and hand-wash only.
$97.95 USD ($115 CAD) on Snowpeak.com or Campsaver.com
Corkcicle Commuter Cup
The Commuter Cup from Corkcicle is a beautiful 17 oz cup with a 360 sip lid. A quick push on the top and it’s open for drinking from any angle. Another quick press and it’s closed.
The Commuter has a ceramic coating inside so there’s no stainless taste and keeps hots hot for 5 hours and colds cold for 18 hours. The Stay-Put bottom keeps it from sliding around.
The Commuter is cupholder compatible and hand-wash only.
$47.95 USD ($73.00 CAD) on Corkcicle.com or Amazon
Hot Test
With all the mugs we ran a 12 hour hot test. Those that were over 120 degrees Fahrenheit by 12 hours kept going for another 12.
Each mug was filled with boiling water around 200F and closed. I checked the temperature every 1-2 hours with an Accuchef thermometer. Each cup/bottle was open for about 20 seconds when I was measuring the temperature. Temperature outside the bottles was warm room temperature.
Mugs on the left stayed hot longer.
| Miir Tomo | Snowpeak Kanpai (Hot lid) | Klean Kanteen TKWide Coffee | Yeti Rambler with Hotshot Cap | Snowpeak Kanpai (Sip lid) | Stanley Classic Travel Mug French Press | Brumate Pour Over Mug | Corkcicle Commuter Cup | |
| 7:45am | 200 | 200 | 200 | 200 | 200 | 200 | 200 | 200 |
| 10am | 189.1 | 185.4 | 177.6 | 179.1 | 167.2 | 161.8 | 160.0 | 149.2 |
| 12pm | 179.2 | 173.8 | 162.1 | 164.8 | 148.3 | 144.0 | 138.9 | 127.6 |
| 1pm | 175.5 | 168.8 | 157.6 | 158.4 | 142.3 | 136.2 | 132.6 | 122.2 |
| 3pm | 167.2 | 158.4 | 146.5 | 148.1 | 130.6 | 125.2 | 120.0 | 111.0 |
| 5:30pm | 159.1 | 148.1 | 136.6 | 136.9 | 120.9 | 114.6 | 110.1 | 102.9 |
| 7:45pm (12 hours) | 152.1 | 139.6 | 129 | 128.8 | 113.7 | 107.4 | 103.8 | 97.5 |
| 7:45am (24 hours) | 127.4 | 111.2 | 104.5 | 102.0 |
There’s quite a variation with all the temperatures. Most of the mugs stayed hot longer than their advertised time. If you like hot coffee at the end of the day, stick with the mugs on the left of the table.