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Another small complaint is that this mug is a bit skinnier than your typical travel mug, which means it may not fit snugly in a car cup holder or bike water-bottle cage. Although the Byron passed both of our leak tests and is supposed to be leakproof, we would be concerned about putting the mug in a bag with our valuables, because the tab doesnt lock closed, and a stray bump could nudge the SnapSeal lid open. Nor should its paint or coating wear away after cleaning per the manufacturers instructions. It only comes in a 16-ounce size. Our only major complaint about the Zojirushi SM-SC is that sometimes its too good at insulating. Dr. Hongbin Bill Ma, director,, Center of Thermal Management at the University of Missouri, phone interview, September 22, 2017, Dr. Michael Dickey,, professor of chemical engineering at North Carolina State University, phone interview, September 26, 2017, Rachel Sandstrom Morrison, digital editor of Fresh Cup Magazine, email interview, September 28, 2017, Michael Ryan, Director of Coffee and Licensed Q Grader, Dapper & Wise Roasters, email interview, September 28, 2017, Amy Barnum, Zojirushi, phone interview, September 25, 2017. Handle-free: We decided not to test mugs with handles for several reasons. Although it held up well in our leak and drop tests, it only has one leak-proofing mechanism, unlike our picks. Zojirushis stainless steel mugs have continued to dominate the competition in our heat-retention tests. Contigo does offer a limited lifetime warranty, and sells replacement lids, should something happen to your mug. After reading through this guide, we are still confident in our picks. With the top performers, I repeated this test at room temperature. If your mug comes with silicone seals, like the ones on our Zojirushi pick, youll likely notice that over time theyll take on the smells of what you drink from your mug. I disqualified any mug with a green stain on the paper towel underneath in the morning. We liked the look and feel of the Icon, but every time we flipped the lid open to drink from it, a small amount of liquid splashed out of the opening and off the spouts rubber stopper. But while 115 F isnt piping hot, its still drinkable. The lid shouldnt completely block your vision while driving, or hit your nose when drinking, and it should be easy to disassemble for cleaning. Because of this, we gave preference to mugs without wide, open mouth drinking ports. Some other reviewers mention that the lid has hard-to-reach nooks and crannies, but it has fewer pieces than the Zojirushi, and is overall easier to take apart. Thats 51 degrees colder than the water in the Zojirushi after 8 hours. After an hour, the contents of the Transit dropped to 158 F. A good mug should be easy to both open and close, as well as to lock and unlock, with one hand. *At the time of publishing, the price was $30. We like that its simple to use (one pop-top button lets you sip from the mug) and is easy to clean. If you commute, work or travel outside, or simply want to savor drinks for longer, a travel mug is for you. However, it weighs a little more than our main pick, has a bulkier lid thats not as pleasant to drink from, and comes only in a 12- or 16-ounce size, whereas the SM-SC also comes in a 20-ounce size. It costs about the same as the SM-SC and will keep your drinks just as hot. A mug that keeps your coffee piping hot, even if its cold outside. Thats about the same heat retention as the Contigo Transit, our also great pick. But it was unable to keep beverages as hot as our main pick did, and we saw multiple complaints about the button failing. When kept in a sealed, insulated carafe where evaporation and heat loss are minimal, coffee still tastes terrible after a while. He explained that this happens because coffees acids break down over time and cause bitterness. Occasionally, travel mugs come with a stainless steel exterior and a ceramic or glass interior. Most reported 6-7.5 inches of clearance after removing a bottom platform. Size: Some people prefer wider mugs that wont rattle in cupholders, while others like slimmer mugs that take up less space in backpacks or bags. The Contigo Autoseal West Loop Travel Mug was our previous runner-up, and it has a tab similar to the Contigo Byron that you press to open the sipping port. Here are some items that tourist destinations often find tossed out by travelersand some ways that you can avoid adding to all that rubbish on your journey. You can pop the lever to widen the sipping port, but this is also challenging to figure out. According to a 2012 report, the average American spends $1,092 a year on coffee. So what about tumblers, thermoses, and insulated water bottles, all close cousins to the travel mug? Zojirushi also offers the SM-SA and SM-SD mugs, which are exactly the same as the SM-SC but come in different colors. But if theres a gap in between, like a vacuum, heat doesnt transfer as fast. There are very few atoms at all to conduct heat in a vacuum, which is why it works particularly well as insulation. The Zojirushi SM-SC is the absolute best travel mug for keeping drinks hot for long periods of time. It did develop a few scuffs after our drop tests, but not any more than the other mugs we tried (some of which dented, chipped, and scuffed far worse). But it does mean you cant accidentally spill anything, since the mug closes automatically. The Transit is a little wider than the SM-SC, good if you want your mug to fit more snugly in a car cup holder or use devices like an Aeropress, pour-over dripper, or tea steeper directly with the mug, but this means its heavier and bulkier, too. A travel mug offers green solutions to both problems. The Byrons SnapSeal lid is easy to use: you simply press down on a tab at the top of the lid to open the sipping port. That means youre getting drinkable, hot, 140-degree-plus coffee eight hours after brewing, even when its stored in a freezing-cold environment. *At the time of publishing, the price was $10. If you cant find the Zojirushi SM-SC, or if you prefer to drink from a mug that has an electro-polished stainless steel interior instead of a nonstick coating, get the Zojirushi SM-KHE. When youre hand-washing your mug, most of the time dish soap and water will do the trick. It can also accommodate Aeropresses, single pour-over drippers, and the medium size of our favorite tea steeper, although its too tall to fit under most single-cup brewing machines. I also hand washed all mugs, reading their manuals to learn how to take apart and reassemble their sometimes-tricky lids. The Zojirushi SM-SC Stainless Steel Mug is an exceptional vacuum insulated travel mug that keeps beverages hot for hours, even in cold environments. While we liked the look of it, the heat retention was just so-so and we found the tea hook to be unnecessary. *At the time of publishing, the price was $25. Give your travel mug a good deep cleanand do the same for your insulated water bottle, too! Again, we should mention that the Zojirushi SM-SC is identical to the SM-SD and the SM-SA; the others just comein different colors. Although the Contigo SnapSeal Byron Mug isnt as hardy or leakproof as our top pick, its a wide, easy-to-hold mug that will work fine if you use it more gently. Plus, the flat lid wont bump your nose or get in your line of sight while youre drinking like the Zojirushis flip-top lid can. We considered testing the Joeveo Temperfect mug, which purportedly uses a special insulating material to capture excess heat energy and then release it over time, keeping your beverage at an optimal drinking temperature. I tried putting a pour-over dripper and an Aeropress on each mug, and measured each opening to see whether our favorite tea steeper would fit. After spending close to 78 hours on research and testing and considering more than 98 travel mugs over four years, we have no doubt that this is the best travel mug you can get. The West Loop didnt hold up as well in our drop tests as the Transit, and we found its vertical push-button harder to use than the one on the Transit. Using those temperatures as a benchmark, I put each mugs insulation to test in a cold, harsh environment: my freezer.1 I filled each mug with water at 200 F, put them in the freezer, and checked the temperature of the water every hour for eight hours. We love the look of the 16-ounce Stanley Classic One-Hand Vacuum Mug, which we tested in 2015. While the SM-SC is leakproof, it isnt spill-proof like our runner-up; theres no automatic seal to prevent water from gushing out if you knock the mug over while the lids open. Dr. Michael Dickey, professor of chemical engineering at North Carolina State University, explained that vacuum insulated mugs provide the best heat retention: Heat is transferred via conduction. I filled each of the travel mugs with water and several drops of green food dye, laid them down on a bed of paper towels and tarp on my kitchen floor (sorry, roommate), and left them overnight. The Zojirushi travel mug might be the single product that the most Wirecutter staffers own and use on a daily basisits been a pick through many iterations of this guide, and has proved itself repeatedly. Then we ventured to Target to see how some of the mugs actually felt in our hands. The Transits twist top is a little more difficult to open one-handed but protects the sipping port from gunk or germs and also offers a first line of defense against any leaks. I also hand washed them, took apart their lids, and tested them in cup holders and with a various brewing devices. Regardless of the mug design, you may need a few sizes of bottle brushes to clean in and around the lid mechanism, the spout, and deep into the vacuum bottle itself. Finally, at around $25 for the 16-ounce size, the SM-SC is on the higher end of the price range for a travel mug. Subscribe now for unlimited access. The Zojirushi SM-SC (or SM-SD or SM-SA in certain colors) offers amazing heat retention, one-handed usability, and a locking, leakproof lid. You should check a mugs manual to see if it is dishwasher-safe. It maintains heat at a drinkable level for only a handful of hours (four or less), and the drinking lid cant lock, so its at risk of flipping open, potentially spilling everywherea fact that the companys own website points out. Think about heat transferring from your hand to surface. Our top picks, on the other hand, have two lines of defense against water coming out and anything else getting in: the Zojirushi has a lid that closes over the sipping port and locks, and the Transit has a cover that slides over the sipping port and an automatic seal to prevent spills. Originally this bottle had a caf-style lid that tended to leak, disqualifying it as a travel thermos. The nonstick coating is made fromfluoropolymers of the sort used inTeflonwhich are not harmful to people, even if ingested.2 If you prefer drinking from a vessel that doesnt have a nonstick coating, you might prefer the SM-KHE, which has an electro-polished stainless steel interior. The set is dishwasher safe, and it barely has any one-star reviews on Amazon, so its a pretty good bet for anyone looking to get gunk out of their hard-to-clean items. Over a period of eight hours in our previous tests, this mug allowed our icy-cold 33 F water to warm up by only 4 degrees, while the other mugs in our test group allowed the temperature to rise considerably more over that time. You can also save money and reduce your environmental impact, by taking a drink in a travel mug versus buying one on the go. Compared to paper or styrofoam to-go cups or open ceramic mugs, a good travel mug will offer better insulation and also safeguard against leaks or spills. If you commute, work or travel outside, or simply want to savor drinks for longer, a travel mug is for you. It comes inslate gray, turquoise, and coral. At Wirecutter we love tea and coffee, so its no surprise were passionate about the vessels we drink them out of. Then I filled all mugs to capacity with water, went to my apartments parking lot, and dropped each mug three times from a height of 4 feet. This mug comes in 12-, 16-, and 20-ounce sizes (the SM-SC36, SM-SC48, and SM-SC60 respectively). Although the also-identical SM-SA has been discontinued, you can still find some online; the SM-SA came in black, cinnamon gold, red, and pearl pink. I also asked several Wirecutter staffers to measure the height of their Keurigs to get an idea whether mugs would fit under a single-serve coffee maker. First, I did an overnight leak test. When designing tests for this update, I considered the everyday wear and tear that a travel mug might go through in a variety of real-world scenarios: on bike commutes, cars, trains, fishing boats, and beyond. You can completely disassemble the plastic lid to clean out any smells or gunk that might get lodged in hard-to-reach places, although the small plastic parts can be difficult to get on and off the lid. In our latest round of testing, the Zojirushi kept liquids significantly hotter than any other mug we tried, even after 8 hours in the harsh environment of a freezerand thats important if you want to enjoy your drink for longer. Just be aware that its narrow opening is less than ideal when youre trying to quench your thirst after cresting a tall hill. You can check out our guide to tumblers if these kinds of cups are what youre looking for. The best mugs have two sealing mechanisms: the first covers the sipping port and the second locks the lid into place to prevent it from being jostled open. It will keep drinks warm for hours at room temperature, although not as piping hot as our top pick (it did just as well as the Transit in our heat tests). Anna is a mentor at Girls Write Now and a member of the Online News Association. We also considered several other Zojirushi models for our 2018 testing, after going through every offering on the companys site at the time of writingto compare them (a few new screw-top models are now available, which we will also look at in our next update). Heat retention: A mug should retain a drinks hot or cold temperature for as long as its specs advertise, and we looked for mugs with the longest heat and cold retention times. We found it awkward to use and drink from; it uses a push-button mechanism thats stiff, and has a very small sipping port. With some mugs, you have to hold down a button to open the sipping port for drinking, so it seals automatically when you let go. Dishwashers can also scratch or wear away a mugs finish. In reality, though, the process is not much different from brewing the coffee first and pouring it into the mugin fact, it might be worse, because the Bodum will keep your coffee grounds in contact with the hot water for much longer, making the drink more bitter and acidic. So, know that your coffee might not taste as great after a long period of time even if it is still warm. The nonstick interior also helps to prevent odors and stains, but the mugs instructions warn against using milk or fruit juices in the mug. At 7.2 inches tall, it will likely fit under a single-serve coffee maker, but you should measure to make sure this mug will work with your machine. Its also the best material for vacuum insulation (and therefore heat retention). This model is not as good as the other mugs we saw, let alone our top pick. We opted to test mugs with a 16-ounce capacity, which was the median size for most mugs we considered (one exception that we tested only came in an 18-ounce size). Like the Transit, the Byron is wider than the Zojirushi SM-SC, and has a rubbery middle for easy gripping. And according to a 2014 CNN report, over 50 billion paper cups are thrown away every year (many paper cups are lined with plastic, making them unrecyclable). When you look at various other guides that have been written on the subject, including an extensive heat-retention test performed by Tested, the mugs that rise to the top are always double-walled, vacuum-insulated, and stainless steel. The Transit held up fairly well during our drop tests, but scuffed on its plastic lid and rubberized bottom. With the Transit, youll need to hold down a button to keep the sipping port open and drink from the mugs. We eliminated mugs with poor reviews that complained of leaking, paint chipping, or dents. Thats why we also have a bottle-brush recommendation for when you need to clean out the gunk. This mug offers the same heat retention and a locking lid similar to that of the SM-SC but has a smaller lid and drinking hole and a double-nonstick coating. We opted to test the Byron over other budget mugs from Ozark Trail and Mossy Oak because these mugs were explicitly not leak proof, or had more complaints of leaking. Tumblers have sipping ports that dont seal as tightly or securely as travel mugs and have wider mouths so you can add ice cubes; many also have straws for sipping cold beverages. If you wont be throwing your mug in a messenger bag or slowly sipping your drink all day, we like the Byron as a budget option. To learn about ideal coffee and tea drinking temperatures and how these beverages break down over time, I emailed Rachel Sandstrom Morrison, a digital editor at Fresh Cup magazine. To see how versatile mug sizes were, I tried putting the mugs in a bike cup holder and in the cup holders of a 2010 Hyundai Elantra. Zojirushi has discontinued the SM-SA, but you can still find some online. Heres a breakdown: The Tiger MMJ-A048 mug looks and feels similar to the Zojirushi mugs, and we wanted to see how they compared in our tests. I wrapped mugs, still full of water and green food dye, in a paper towel and then put them in a plastic bag. (If youre opening the mug more frequently than once an hour, however, it might cool a bit faster.). The Forge isnt an easy mug to use, especially before coffee. Compared to similar Zojirushi mugs, the SM-SC is a bit slimmer and lighter, and more comfortable to drink out of. In its eighth hour of freezer testing, the water inside the Transit measured a lukewarm 80 F. To see if mugs would leak when jostled in a bag, I did a shake test. Zojirushi also recommends checking the rings once a year to make sure theyre still sealing your mug. Over the past four years, weve spent 60 hours researching travel mugs to keep this guide current. The Zojirushi is also on the pricey end for a mug, but after our years of long-term testing, this is the mug we trust most not to spill in a bag, and its hard to put a price on that. The Transit wont keep your beverages hot for as long as our top pick, but that might be a plus for some people who think the Zojirushi keeps drinks too hot. In both our shake test and overnight leak test, the Transit didnt leak a drop. Contigos Autoseal Transit is a wider mug that may fit better in cup holders than our top pick. So if youre looking for a dual-use container that can preserve both hot and cold well, the SM-SC can hold its ownespecially since its available in a larger, 20-ounce capacity. Although the Transit doesnt keep drinks nearly as hot as the Zojirushi over a long period of time, some people might prefer this (weve heard complaints of the Zojirushi keeping drinks too hot in the past). During her time at Wirecutter, she reported on various topics including sports bras, board games, and light bulbs. But its expensive: $40 at the time of writing, with a newer version that costs $280 (wow). We also reached out to some coffee experts to learn whether its a good idea to actually keep coffee in a mug for 8 hours. After spending close to 78 hours on research and testing and considering more than 98 travel mugs over four years, we have no doubt that this is the best travel mug you can get. The Byron only has one sealing mechanisma tab that you push to open the sipping portwhich is easy to use, but doesnt lock closed like the lids on our other picks. But if you drink your beverages quickly or dont want to wait for them to cool down before sealing your mug, the Transit may be a better option for you. Multiple Wirecutter folks have also reported successfully using the Zojirushi to bring chilled wine or other alcoholic beverages to events in parks and other public placesthough we couldnt possibly condone such behavior. We independently review everything we recommend. Its easy enough to clean the SM-SC using some soap and occasionally a bottle brush when necessary. You can soak the lid in soapy water as well to thoroughly clean it. With a thermos, instead of popping open a lid to take a sip, youll need to unscrew the cap and pour liquid into an open cup to drink. I also took a trip to Target to see how the mugs felt in real life. Plus, a growing number of mugs lined with stainless steel now come with electro-polished interiors, which makes the steel less likely to retain strange odors and flavors. Dont want your coffee to taste like yesterdays brew? Zojirushi backs the vacuum insulation of its stainless steel mugs with a five-year limited warranty, and on the off-chance that the lid breaks or wears out, Zojirushi sells all the individual replacement parts online. At half the price of most mugs we tested, the Contigo SnapSeal Byron Mug is a great budget option if you dont plan to throw around your mug. And insulated water bottles are geared towards keeping drinks cold, and dont have sipping ports like travel mugs (instead, they often have screw-top lids that require two hands, or sport caps that arent great for hot drinks). Previously she wrote food and lifestyle pieces for Saveur and Kinfolk magazines. It resembles an old-school vacuum bottle but has a modern button-activated lid that makes it easy to drink from one-handed. This Thermos mug also has a push-button interface: You press the button on top when you want to drink and press again to seal it when youre done. The Tiger mug also didnt do as well in our temperature tests, and its contents were 10 degrees cooler than those of our top pick after 8 hours. It doesnt retain heat as well as the Zojirushi, but some may find the flat lid easier to drink from and clean. Actually, please dont.) This auto-sealing mechanism prevents spills if you knock over your mug. The Transit may fit more securely in car cup holders since its wider than the SM-SA. To prevent spills, the Transit has a push-button (the Autoseal) which you have to hold down to drink, plus a cap that rotates to cover the sipping port. After reading Your Best Digss review on travel mugs, which named the now-discontinued Camelbak Forge as their winner, we retested this mug. Anna Perling is a former staff writer covering kitchen gear at Wirecutter. We prefer stainless steel because its more durable than glass or ceramic, and retains heat better than plastic. The other Zojirushi mugs we tested, the SM-KHE (the older version of this mug) and the SM-LA (a wide-mouthed option with a screw-off lid) kept liquids just as warm as the SM-SC over the course of 8 hours in the freezer. Thats likely because some people think that stainless steel affects the taste of beverages, but theres no scientific evidence to prove this phenomenon. I found that the lid itself, however, is more difficult to screw on and off than the lid on the Transit, but this is a minor issue. Our pick has a non-stick, Teflon inner coating, so its a breeze to rinse out. Both engineers we spoke to noted that the majority of heat loss occurs through the lid, and that mugs with wider lids are likelier to lose heat faster. We also looked at reviews from Your Best Digs and Good Housekeeping, and read through hundreds of comments on our existing mug, water bottle, and tumbler reviews. If you want a mug that will fit more snugly in a cup holder and is easier to clean, get the Contigo Autoseal Transit Mug. Although we didnt place much emphasis on keeping cold liquids cold for this guidecheck out ourwater bottle guide for whats best in that regardwe have historically found that the Zojirushi SM-SC retains cold better than all of the other mugs in our testing lineup. The Transit also has a twisting lid that covers the sipping port, while the similar West Loop only uses a pop tab to open the sipping port. Bodum makes a combination French press and travel mug that sounds appealing: You can literally brew your coffee inside the mug as you take it with you. Well consider the SM-TA for a future update, but it seems to differ from the SM-SC only in exterior design. The lid has fewer parts, is easier to clean, and prevents spills with its Autoseal button, which you have to hold down to keep the sipping port open. If you care about colors, the Transit comes in a few fun combinations: white with either mint green or periwinkle accents, matte black, or a brushed stainless steel. Other mugs like the Contigo West Loop (our former runner-up), Avex ReCharge, OXO Good Grips, and Camelbak Forge had a similar button, but I found the Transits horizontal push-button easier to press and hold than other buttons, which required more pressure. Weve found that if we make a fresh pot of coffee and pour it directly into the travel mug, the liquid ends up staying scalding hot for hours, and weve heard feedback about this from readers as well. Although cleaning in the dishwasher is not advisable, and Zojirushi specifies hand-washing (see the Care and maintenance section below), this mug has survived several accidental trips through the dishwasher without any noticeable decrease in performance (though the external paint has occasionally flaked as a result). If youre going to be using your mug while driving or biking (not that we recommend doing so), youll definitely need at least one hand free, and probably both eyes. Coffee roaster and licensed coffee grader Michael Ryan told us: Coffee that is kept hot is still subject to a breakdown in flavor. Its a 16-ounce tumbler-style travel mug with a flip-up lid and an electro-polished interior. The push-button interface is slightly harder to operate than just flicking the switch on the Zojirushi, and may be frustrating to some who dont want to have to push before taking every sip. We think the Autoseal is easier to use than our previous runner-up, the Contigo West Loop, and like that it has an added barrier over the sipping port to keep out dirt and help prevent leaking. The SM-SCs narrow width also means you cant use an Aeropress, pour-over dripper, or tea steeper with it, and its too tall to fit under a single-cup brewer like a Keurig. Contigos SnapSeal Byron Travel Mug is a basic mug that passed our leak tests, is easy to drink from and clean, and is wide enough to fit snugly in car cup holders. We got some requests to look at the Hydro Flask, so we did. Compared with our Zojirushi pick, the SM-TA has similar temperature retention and the same great locking lid but costs more and has a few different design features, such as a smaller lid with a rounder opening.