Wait 'til your kid(s) are older. You'll get mugs as presents or fundraiser crap that you, you know, "have to" use. Right now I've got one from our school where all 3 of my kids go...and my wife works. Thankfully, it's actually halfway decent. Lid fits tight, and once I nuke it at work it'll stay hot for a good hour. That's all I need, as I'll drink it by then.
Thanks for all the great suggestions. I don't know how to choose!
The two mugs I use now were both free. One was SWAG from Fastenal, the other was SWAG from some engineering company. So, yeah, free...get what you pay for.
My commuter is a 1980 Mercedes 300TD, which had no cupholders. I found this cool METAL (not plastic) trans hump thing that fits on the trans hump between the front and back seats, and has two small cupholders. My current mugs fit them, but just barely. They both have tapered sides and about 2-1/2" diameter at the bottom. So if I get a mug larger in diameter I'll need to upgrade the cupholder. Co-worker of mine rocks a W126 and found some cupholders online that he really likes that screw in. He used them on his E39 as well.
Yeah, Germans. They must hate cups.
Sounds like lots of them posted here are available at local retailers. I'll have to make a trip after work today and check some out. I'll let you know how it goes.
Oh yeah, Zekes. Love that stuff. We go to the Farmer's market under the 83 a couple of times a year and the first stop is always to get a cup of fresh-brewed Zekes and a little paper sack of tiny hot doughnuts.
My wife swears by her Thermos 360. Spill proof design and you can drink from any angle.
Slightly over your budget ($1.99) HERE.
In reply to volvoclearinghouse:
I hit up the same farmer's market weekly in season. Zekes now has a cold brew concentrate in refillable growlers if you do the iced coffee thing. It's pretty fantastic stuff.
I've used a couple Contigo cups as well as the green Stanley one mentioned here. They work GREAT!
Until the mug falls out of your tool bag when you open the van door and the lid shatters on the pavement. But this doesn't sound like it would be a problem for you
I use the Bubba products and I've always liked them. This is my coffee cup.
http://www.amazon.com/bubba-HERO-bottle-classic-blue/dp/B00FT2OS34/ref=sr_1_27?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1452111355&sr=1-27&keywords=bubba+mug
It works great and my coffee is hot through lunch and warm through the afternoon.
Contigo! Also Google "gizmodo travel mug comparison". They had a really good test and write up this past year.
asoduk
Reader
1/6/16 7:53 p.m.
Another vote for Contigo. We have had several over the years. The newer models have a significantly better valve for cleaning. The only issue I have with them is that we've had a few "walk away" and they might actually keep your drink too hot. The model I always get also fits into a bike bottle cage.
I also like Bubba Kegs, but they aren't nearly as good at keeping it HOT for many hours.
I bought Mrs. Deuce a Zojurishi travel mug. They're about $30 on Amazon, so over the cap, but hear me out. You can tip them upside down when closed. No leaking. At all. They keep coffee so hot for so long that her biggest complaint is she has to move it to a different cup to drink before noon.
I use a clean kanteen travel mug and it's crap compared to the Zojirishi.
I also came here to also suggest a Zojirushi vacuum thermos. Its one of my favorite possessions.
They are unbelievable at keeping liquids hot forever. After a 12 hour shift my coffee measured 134 degrees.
They lock and don't open accidentally, and never leak. They're indestructible. And they disassemble to clean extremely well.
They're literally perfect.
edit: I measured it since it's much smaller than the other vacuum thermos I had. It's about 2 5/8 inches diameter by 9 inches tall. Holds 16 ounces. The diameter is about the same as a soda can.
One more vote for the stanley
https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/off-topic-discussion/product-reviews-of-things-found-in-the-road/91858/page1/
I have used it daily since I found it. Still love it. Still worth 4 times what I paid
Last night I went to the Wally World near my house to inspect their beverage retention options. They seemed to carry a lot of the Bubba mugs, which seemed somewhat cheaper (both in price and in construction) and a few Contigos, but only in the 20 oz size. Plus a bunch of crappier ones. No Stanleys. I checked the camping section and by the coffee makers, too.
Next I went to the Target. Much better selection. They had the Stanley's in green and blue in the camping section, and they were marked down to $11, which seemed like a good deal. But they were 21 oz, which was just too big for what I wanted. I almost bought one (especially since the green reminds me of the hammered finish on old machine tools) but instead went back to the travel mug area by the coffee makers to look at the Contigos.
The Autoseal looks very clever, but after examining it a bit it's also somewhat complicated and looks tricky to keep clean. Complicated also feels like "likely to break" to me. They were about $20-$24. I also looked at the Snap Seals- much simpler, not as "trick", but looked a bit more robust. And they were $12. A copper-colored mug spoke to me, so I picked it up. it looks like this, except the color is more brown and darker. (Weird I can't find an image online for that exact color)
I took the mug over to the drinking fountain near the restrooms and filled it up with water, snapped it shut, and then tipped it over. Nothing came out. Sold! Took it home, washed it, and this morning as I left for work I filled it up with some freshly brewed Trader Joe's Bolivian Blend. The mug doesn't fit in my Merc's tiny cupholders (but nothing I saw at the store would have, at least nothing decent and insulated) but it rode in the seat beside me without spilling a drop. And when i got to work- hot coffee! No need to dump it into a styrofoam cup and nuke it! Joy! Rapture!
Thanks, guys, for the advice.
RedGT
Reader
1/7/16 8:48 a.m.
Funny enough, that's the newer generation of the one my wife bought me a few years ago when faced with the same question, and what I'd have suggested if I found the thread sooner. It has held up pretty well, still doesn't leak, but some of the finish has gotten pretty beat up after hundreds of dishwasher cycles.
hobiercr wrote:
My wife swears by her Thermos 360. Spill proof design and you can drink from any angle.
Slightly over your budget ($1.99) HERE.
I have an older version of this one, and it has a handle. It's awesome.
Coffee remained hot up until the last drop was drank at 11AM. Very nice. I'm working from home today, and decided to use the Contigo in lieu of my usual ceramic mug, since it does such a nice job of keeping my black beverage toasty.
I consider this mug "well bought".
If you come up against this question again, go with a tervis with a travel lid. Mine (16oz) doesn't leak, gets to work with my coffee hot, and fits in my tiny BMW cupholders. And you can get cool designs. Can you say batman?
In reply to KatieSuddard:
fun fact, you can send patches to tervis and they'll produce a run of mugs to your choosing (with the patches provided) GRM tervis tumblers could definitely become a thing.
I just got one of these for Christmas, and it is the best coffee travel mug I have had yet. It keeps coffee hot all day.
http://www.amazon.com/Hydro-Vacuum-Insulated-Stainless-Bottle/dp/B00VKLPIXC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1452282624&sr=8-1&keywords=hydro+flask+20+oz+coffee
Used one of these when I commuted by motorcycle. Never spilled a drop. Forgot it at work earlier last year and could not find it :(
Thermos 16 Ounce Stainless Steel Commuter Bottle, Stainless Steel https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K7CZHK4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_naiKwb7NJE82M
volvoclearinghouse wrote:
The office where I go to work most days is a bit of a coffee wasteland. The only communal solution currently there is a Kuerig machine, which is expensive. Its cleaning schedule is also suspect. So I avoid that except in a brewed beverage emergency.
My preferred solution is to make a pot of the old Dark n' Black at home, and bring a travel mug to work. This has the added benefit of leaving half a pot of warm goodness for Mrs. VCH, who also enjoys a wake-me-up in the mornings (and thus does not have to make it herself while dealing with the machinations of an 18 month old seemingly intent on scattering her playthings homogeneously throughout the first floor of our home).
I have two travel mugs that I alternate bringing this coffee to work in, and both are slightly worse than mediocre. Neither has a particularly good-fitting lid, which results in coffee spillage in my car's cup holder. One likes to dribble coffee down my chin when I drink out of it. And both are poorly insulated, so by the time I get to drinking my tasty beverage it's lukewarm, requiring microwaving to achieve optimal steaming hot drinking temperature.
So, my qualifications for a new mug are:
- Must contain liquid to prevent spillage in cupholder
- Must retain liquid at near-scalding temperatures for at least 6 hours
- Must fit in a normal-sized cupholder
- Must hold between 12 and 16 ounces of fluid (my typical daily dose)
- Must have a provision to be drank out of, not requiring a separate cup.
I'm feeling splurg-y today, so let's set the budget cap at $20. I like my coffee. Let's see your ideas!
TL;DR LOL
I will go back and read all the posts ... maybe someone else has sent you this direction ... don't know about the 6 hr scald you requirement ... but 2 1/2 hrs later this one burned the E36 M3 out of me ... and you can drink directly from it ... one handed operation ... they claim 6 hrs ....
http://www.cabelas.com/product/Stanley-reg-Adventure-oz-Packable-Locking-Mug/1585419.uts?productVariantId=3474439&srccode=cii_17588969&cpncode=45-123924750-2&WT.tsrc=CSE&WT.mc_id=GoogleProductAds&WT.z_mc_id1=03662092&rid=20