The whole point of a vacuum bottle (aka thermos but not the Thermos) is to keep drinks hot for a long time. The Tomo from MiiR delivers.
In our 24 hour ‘hot’ test it was almost too hot to drink after 12 hours and still a nice coffee temperature after 24.
Pros
- 2 cups
- Keeps liquid hot for more than 24 hours
- Easy to clean bottle and cups
Cons
- can’t take lid apart to clean
This review is part of the recent Best Camp Mug test. See the other reviews:
- Yeti Rambler 532 with HotShop Cap
- Klean Kanteen TKWide Coffee Tumbler
- Stanley Classic Travel Mug French Press
- BrüMate Pour Over Mug
- Snowpeak Kanpai Mug
- Corkcicle Commuter Cup
What is the Tomo?
The Tomo is a vacuum bottle (or flask or thermos depending on what you call them) with 2 cups and a 360 pour lid. Each of the lids make 8 ounce cups and the main container holds 1 liter or 33 oz. The 2 lids are interchangeable but the bottom one has some branding and a QR code on it so you’ll probably want to keep it on the bottom.
Tomo means ‘friend’ in Japanese and it will certainly be your friend on cold days at the cabin or out camping. It’s BPA free and has a lifetime warranty.
Size and shape
So that’s MiiR. Back to the Tomo.
It’s a 1 litre or 33 oz vacuum bottle with a cup on the top and bottom. Each cup holds 8 oz nicely, 11oz if you fill them right to the brim.
The bottom of the whole Tomo bottle with cup on it is 3.25 inches wide but just 3 inches without.
A slim handle keeps it from rolling and makes it easier to carry with your hands full. The handle is 6 inches long and sticks out 1.125 inches from the bottle.
Pouring and drinking
Pouring and drinking with the Tomo is nice and easy. The 360 pour lid just needs a little push to open and then push again to close. It pours nicely and doesn’t run down the side of the bottle. The large mouth easily fits ice cubes for the hot days too.
The 360 lid easily keeps all the liquid in. I have yet to have a leak out of the lid itself. Even if it did, the cup screwed onto the top would prevent any big spills. I have no issue throwing the Tomo into a bag or into the back of the car.
The. side of the pour lid is soft and smooth and feels good to drink straight from it. The edges of both cups are nice and smooth as well. The threads are smooth and rounded.
Hot test
With all the mugs in our recent camp mug roundup, we ran a 12 hour hot test. Those that were over 120 degrees farenheit by 12 hours kept going for another 12. The Tomo passed with flying colors.
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.
| 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 |
The Tomo did extremely well. It’s larger than the other mugs in the test but all are vacuum insulated. By noon it was still too hot to drink. At 12 hours it was still over 150F or hot coffee temperature. I didn’t measure at all overnight but at 24 hours the wnext morning it was still 127F or decent warm coffee.
Cleaning
Reusable bottles and mugs are great but some are too complicated and break or are hard to clean.
The MiiR bottle itself is easy to clean. It’s got a wide mouth and no hidden edges. The cups are easy to clean too only being a couple inches deep. MiiR recommends hand washing the bottle and cups. As with every cup I’ve tested in the past, the paint starts to wear off in the dishwasher.
The 360 pour lid is harder to clean. It’s top rack dishwasher safe and isn’t too hard to clean with a brush but it’s hard to see into if it’s really clean. I’ve opened up some lids from other cups in the past and they’ve been black with who knows what growing inside. I’d love to see MiiR make a lid that’s easier to take apart. We’d be able to use it longer if we knew the lid was clean and not growing a science experiment.
Durability
So far the Tomo has looked very durable. The lid, cups and bottle itself look and feel bombproof.
Paint on powder-coated drinkware always wears off eventually so it’s just a matter of time. It’s fallen on some rocks already and has a small chip in the paint but other than that is in very good shape. If you’re less clumsy than I am, then the paint will last a long time. Cleaning it by hand will make it last longer.
Who is MiiR?
Since 2009 MiiR, based in Seattle, Washington, has been trying to do good things for the world. After the owner, Bryan Papé, nearly died in a skiing accident, he re-arranged his life to have more of an impact. MiiR was born.
They make re-usable bottles, cups and flasks and donate whenever they can. MiiR is a certified B Corporation, member of 1% for the planet, Certified Evergreen, and a Climate Neutral-certified brand. As of 2022 they’ve donated over $3.8 million across 26 countries.
Conclusion
The MiiR Tomo is the perfect vacuum bottle for keeping drinks hot and cold on adventures. With over 24 hours of hot drinks, it’s very well insulated. Cleaning the bottle and cups is easy but I’d prefer a lid I could take apart. While not ideal, it’s not the complicated science experiments other lids are so minor issue.
I’ve been very happy with the Tomo for coffee, hot chocolate and cold water.
Verdict: Highly Recommended
Usual Price: $59.95 USD ($87.99 CAD)
