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Nothing kills a morning faster than expecting a hot sip of coffee, only to be met with lukewarm disappointment. Insulated travel mugs can keep your beverage at the ideal temperature, whether you're commuting, hiking, or just desk-bound. There's a wide world of stainless steel mugs, bottles, and tumblers out there, but here are the ones we think are worth carrying around. water bottle brands
Be sure to check out our guides to the Best Coffee Subscriptions, Best Coffee Grinders, Best Espresso Machines, Best Portable Coffee Makers, Best AeroPress Coffee Makers, and How to Make Better Coffee at Home.
Updated November 2024: We flagged picks that confirm lead use and added information on how we test. We also updated links and prices.
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A Note on Lead Soldering
Since we began testing reusable water bottles and travel mugs, we've discovered that some brands use lead soldering to seal their insulated bottles. While exposure is unlikely, we still believe it's an unnecessary risk, especially since many of our top choices use safer sealing methods. We've flagged any brands that confirmed lead use and will keep this list updated as we hear from others.
To put these bottles to the test, we filled each with cold water and hot coffee, then left them both outside in indirect sunlight and inside with the AC running. All of them held up to their promised insulation times, keeping cold drinks cold and hot drinks hot. Then again, it's rare to run across an insulated bottle that's a total failure at its one job these days. But also, it's rare to find a travel mug that stands out. We looked for features that make or break the experience—leak-proofing, exterior coating, and the cap design.
Note: While all of these bottles can handle cold beverages, you may prefer a reusable water bottle or tumbler (especially if you're an ice coffee drinker).
Hydro Flask's powder coating is practically indestructible. It's a great option for those who are looking for a low-maintenance mug that doesn't require careful handling. Former writer Medea Giordano has had her 16-ounce Flex Sip for over four years, and she has yet to see a dent or scratch (hoping this doesn't jinx it). The pebbled texture is grippy, an additional bonus for those of us with sweaty palms. It's built to withstand travel—and maybe a bit of chaos.
Picture this: You're sitting by the fire under a starry sky, sipping hot cocoa, then waking up at sunrise to morning coffee by the lake. A handleless mug just doesn't do that scene justice. Hydro Flask's coffee mug brings that camp aesthetic to life, with its snug handle and the brand's tough powder-coated finish that can handle just about anything. The lid has a practical slider, letting you open it to sip and close it to keep any curious bugs out. It's not leak-proof, but it won't drip on you while you're drinking either. I also appreciate the mug's stainless steel rim that's comfortable to sip from sans lid.
This camp cup is awfully charming, harkening back to the classic blue, enameled camp cups that ooze 20th-century Americana. Like all the tumblers on this list, it’s vacuum-insulated to keep hot drinks hot and cold ones cold. Its screw-on plastic lid, with a sliding lever for sipping, is leak-proof enough…if you shake it too hard, it’ll drip, but I couldn’t get it to spill by knocking it down. The handle is plastic to avoid conducting heat from hot contents, and the inner part of the handle is lined with cork. The Campy isn’t enameled—just painted to look like it—but it pulls off the effect well.
The Carter's screw-on cap swaps the standard sippy hole for a wide opening that lets you actually savor the coffee's aroma. At 69 millimeters wide, it's compatible with most manual coffee brewers, like the AeroPress or Hario Coffee Dripper. The ceramic coating keeps your beverage free from metallic aftertastes, and its matte exterior feels just as durable as the Hydro Flask's. Also, it's spill-proof; toss it into your laptop bag, no worries.
Once the sticker shock on this “smart mug” subsides, anyone who loves coffee and travels an hour or more on a regular basis is in for a treat. A notable improvement on their already-awesome desktop mug, the Ember Travel Mug 2 is a waterproof tumbler with several tech-y features that will curb the need for pit stops for truck stop coffee or the stray Starbucks drive-thru if you’re lucky. In our testing the internal battery kept 16 ounces of coffee at 135º for a little over two hours, and the optional 12v car charger charger ($49.99) kept the temperature consistent and the battery fully-charged for an entire 4-hour trip. We knocked it around in a duffle bag filled with clean clothes and not a drop of liquid fell out. Tap the logo on the front to view the battery level, and another tap enables a temperature dial that’s responsive and intuitive to use. Hold down the power button on the bottom to activate the built-in tracking device that pairs with any iOS phone and its Find My functionality, allowing you to trigger alerts akin to those of an AirTag if you leave the device at the office or on a bus.—Pete Cottell
We've run through many travel mugs, and not all of them are winners. These are a few we like, just not as much as the ones above.
They can't all be winners. As mentioned above, we intentionally excluded brands that use lead. These are two additional cups that just fell short in comparison to our favorites.
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