kambukka travel mug reviews

Kambukka   Reviews

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Reviews 4.6.

1,267 total

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The best as always

The best as always. Super fast delivery. Top quality. Design that brings sunshine at work.

Date of experience : April 15, 2024

Best water bottles i have ever got

Best water bottles i have ever got. Before this one i had the previous version of the lagoon for almost 5 years and never had any problems until i lost it on vacation. Easy to wash, nice to drink out of and perfect volume (750ml).

Date of experience : March 26, 2024

It really jeeps the water fresh and cold

When i read that the water stays fress for 12 hours i didn't believe it. I can say it really does, i filled my 1 l bottle yesterday evening and this morning was still as cold. Really content with my purchase.

Date of experience : April 04, 2024

Great products

Great products, fast and reliable shipping :)

Date of experience : April 12, 2024

really fast delivery, even with the customization. great quality and does not leak!

Date of experience : April 08, 2024

Great Brand

Great contact with customer care. Great reaction to my issue. Satisfactory solution found. Great brand.

Fast delivery

Fast delivery of printed bottles

Date of experience : April 16, 2024

Products send on time

Products send on time . Good communication at each step. Thanks

Best drinking bottle

I had bought this drinking bottle before, but lost it during a trip to Antwerp. I couldn't miss this drinking bottle so I ordered it again as soon as possible

Best waterbottles ever!

I've got a thermo bottle from my work as a gift and now i ordered for me and my family waterbottles. Best i've ever had so keep up the good work 🫡🫡

Date of experience : April 03, 2024

Great products and even better aftersales!

Very happy with our Kambukka thermos for coffee (and also the nice tea strainer insert for the cap). Not only does it keep your drink hot (or cold) for quite a while and is it super convenient in handling with the press button on the cap, it also simply looks great! =) (go designer team!). Also my thanks to the excellent aftersales support we got recently. Next thermos will be a Kambukka without a doubt... although given that these things are built to last that might be a while ;)

Date of experience : February 26, 2024

the bottle is as described and of very…

the bottle is as described and of very good quality, we all use a kambukka bottle from young to old

Perfect product en super service!

The GLS parcel delivery did not work

The GLS parcel delivery did not work. According to the GLS tracking app "The parcel has been returned to the shipper." I was not actively informed about the delivery and I was surprised to read that the parcel had been returned. Please, check with GLS and ensure that there is better follow up of the receiver. The order system worked as it should.

Date of experience : February 22, 2024

Super service

One of our two Etna coffee cups performed below par. The coffee got cold way too quickly in this thermos cup. The conclusion was that the insulation layer was damaged. Even though the second jug had already been purchased a year ago, we still received a new one. Super service.

Date of experience : January 19, 2024

Badly designed water bottle

I bought the Kambukka Lagoon for a hiking trip and was very disappointed. The internal straw design means that when the lid is closed there is a gap that water leaks through, making it useless unless you just plan to keep it totally upright and still. Not very helpful if you wish to carry it around!

Date of experience : February 23, 2024

High quality products as always

High quality products as always. I bought almost all kind of products, and I really recommend this brand. Better to improve the delivery process it's a bit slow, since it's the same country, it shouldn't be more than 2 days, in my last order, i had to wait 2 days only for order preparation.

Date of experience : February 08, 2024

Have made several purchases on this…

Have made several purchases on this site and I'm happy to recommend.:)

Kambukka lagoon 700ml bottle

Bottle came in a nice box, nicely packaged, didn’t come super fast bur also didn’t come very late or anything. The bottle is SUPER nice quality, I never understood paying more for a waterbottle because what could be the difference? But now I get it. My favorite bottle, recommend it.

Date of experience : January 08, 2024

Nature-friendly, sustainable and great quality

To be able to reuse the waterbottle is very beneficial to Nature, instead of daily use of plastic throw away bottles. The bottles of Kambukka are very strong and also without harmful substances in the material, wich is safe to use for our overall health. The caps are replaceable and multiple types of caps fit on the same bottle. Awesome!

Date of experience : December 02, 2023

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Kambukka   Reviews

In the Fashion Accessories Store category

Visit this website

Company activity See all

Write a review

Reviews 4.6.

1,267 total

Most relevant

Great quality of products (I own 2 bottles for my kids), sustainable approach (spare components available) and an amazing service!

Date of experience : September 25, 2023

Sell the straws seperately

Fast shipping. However, they say every cap fits every bottle. But the straws are not for sale. So if you want to switch, like my daughter does, you can't. What a shame. please sell the straws as a loose item. I did contact costumerservice, they told me there not selling the straws because it was a finance thing.

Date of experience : August 29, 2023

Reply from Kambukka

Hi, We value your feedback. In case you have additional questions, please get in touch with [email protected]. Thanks, Kambukka

Really happy with the product! Could have been delivered in a smaller box, but the text on the box was great. Loved the e-mails and instructions how to clean and use the bottle!

Date of experience : January 29, 2024

Kambukka thermo cup with print

The product looks great and is solid. The quality of the personal print (picture of my dog Sansa) has a very poor quality and is also smudged on the right side.

Date of experience : May 13, 2023

If your make contact with the company…

If your make contact with the company about to place the name on the bottle, it's not on every bottle but by ordering I can fill in my name. And the customer said no.

Date of experience : May 18, 2023

Hi Jan, If you have issues with personalizing your bottle, please get in touch with our customer service. They will help you. However, some of our bottles are not personalizable due to technical implications. We're sorry about this inconvenience. Kambukka

Happy client

Great costumer service. I had a question about the delivery and they answered the next day. The quality of their products is amazing.

Date of experience : August 28, 2023

Great service

Great service, good products. Arrived 2 days later, not so long of a wait.

Date of experience : March 11, 2024

Loved it! Great service. Top products;

Date of experience : March 25, 2024

Really good experience

Really good experience! I made an order and I have got my parcel very quickly! Everything was smooth and without any problems.

Date of experience : August 14, 2023

Fast delivery

Fast delivery Great quality Already purchased multiple (stainless steel) bottles.

Date of experience : December 12, 2023

The most perfect travel mug in the world ! Really keeps coffee hot :-) Fast delivery and good packaging

Date of experience : August 01, 2023

Defective piece

The detachable part that can go into the dishwasher falls into the flask and leads to leakage of the contents of the flask

HI, I would like to refer you to our FAQ. Why is my KAMBUKKA bottle leaking? 3 in 1 lid: your Snapclean® is not correctly clicked in the lid. To prevent your bottle from leaking, push the Snapclean® mechanism in the lid with two fingers until you hear a click. If this not solve your issue, please get in touch with customer service at [email protected] and they will help you. Thanks, Kambukka

Great service and wonderfull product

Great service and wonderfull product. No spilling and keeps my water cool in the summer.

High quality product

High quality product, that lives up to my expectations.

Date of experience : January 23, 2024

Great watebottles

Great watebottles! Top lid broke after a fall but could easily order new lid! Fast shipping!@

Date of experience : July 04, 2023

Easy to use and very comfortable and convenient: I love the wide opening for washing up.

Date of experience : September 06, 2023

So happy with my new bottle & their marketing is also sublime!

Date of experience : February 05, 2024

It’ sa very good experience

It’ sa very good experience Eastwood Website and fast delivery All is ok

Date of experience : July 03, 2023

These drinkbottles are great!

Ordering and shipping went very easy and quick. The bottles we ordered (Elton) are very durable and easy to clean. We are fan of Kambukka!

Date of experience : September 11, 2023

Good quality

Had a few af these products the quality is great

Date of experience : March 18, 2024

The Best Thermal Travel Mugs Tested

A sip of hot tea or coffee can improve anything. Whether it’s a long day in the office, a lengthy drive in the car or an intense skiing trip, hot drinks will make it better. That’s why we love our travel mugs, especially those with an easy-to-use push button. 

In this review, we will thoroughly test three very popular travel mugs – Stanley Classic Trigger-Action, Kambukka Etna and Contigo West Loop. We tested their thermal performance, resistance against spills, and many other factors, to scientifically conclude which of these travel mugs is the best for you.

We found out that all three travel mugs are great products, offering convenience and high quality. Each of these has some cons as well, so making the right choice requires thorough testing, which we have done in this review. 

We reviewed: 

• Kambukka Etna Grip Black 500ml , a modern and stylish travel mug, made by the innovative Belgian brand Kambukka. It offers great quality and thermal performance, a convenient 3-in-1 lid, and many unique color options.
• Contigo West Loop Tangerine 16oz, a practical and easy-to-use travel mug with a curved design that fits well in the hand. It’s a solid choice for the price. 
• Stanley Classic Trigger-Action Hammertone Green 16oz, a durable thermal mug made by the legendary American brand Stanley. They stand by this product’s quality by offering a lifetime warranty.  

Table of contents

Lid & features

Spill-proof test, cleaning & care, thermal insulation test, the best travel mug.

Three seemingly similar travel mugs – three completely different designs. Each of these mugs is created in a completely different style. Even though all three are made from high-quality stainless steel, the difference in feel, ease of use and functions becomes apparent the more you use them.

Kambukka Etna is a great choice for fashion-conscious coffee or tea enthusiasts, mainly because its cylinder shape is elegant and minimalistic. It is available in many different variants, ranging from the ever-so-stylish Black to vivid hues and even amazing and elaborate graphic prints. Its subtle yet confident design will fit in any office environment. Etna mugs also have a non-slip bottom pad, which makes them more grippy while resting on a table or in a cup holder. 

Contigo West Loop has a modern and ergonomic design. Its curved shape makes it especially comfortable to hold in your hand. It also has several design options, ranging from matte black to stunning colors like our reviewed Tangerine. Unfortunately, the glossy body is a bit more prone to scratches if you’re not careful.

Stanley Classic Trigger-Action looks and feels like a tank. In its signature Hammertone Green it almost resembles military equipment. It has a nice, rugged texture, which compliments the overall simple and no-frills design to leave an impression of a product that will last a lifetime. For the sake of simplicity and durability, it omits some of the features that its competitors have, such as silicone grip or non-slip bottom. 

Each of these mugs has a unique style and design, however, we think that the most practical travel mug in daily use is Kambukka Etna. Its Grip model has a silicone grip that makes it comfortable to hold in hand, especially in chilly weather. West Loop boasts an especially ergonomic shape, which is great for carrying it in hand or car cup holder. However, people looking for a practical and durable travel mug with a lifetime warranty will find that Stanley Classic Trigger-Action is the best choice.

All of these thermal mugs are similar in that they have a push-button lid. It is a great choice for people who like to enjoy their coffee or tea while driving their cars or trucks. Just press the button to drink, and depress it to automatically seal the lid. We love this kind of travel mug because it’s convenient for daily use. 

Kambukka Etna’s 3-in-1 lid can boast the most features. It has a switch with three positions – locked, unlocked, and open . When it’s locked, the button cannot be accidentally pressed, thus preventing spills when carrying it in a bag. When it’s unlocked, you can press the button to drink as usual, however, when it’s open, you can enjoy the drink without pushing the button.

West Loop has a simple locking switch that can securely lock the button to avoid accidental spills. We liked the wide drink opening, which made drinking pleasant and convenient. 

Stanley Classic Trigger-Action, however, lacks a locking switch, and that, in our opinion, is the biggest drawback of this travel mug. We weren’t confident that this mug would be spill-proof when carrying it in a laptop bag, however during the review it thankfully didn’t make any spills.

Overall, our favorite lid was Contigo West Loop’s, because it made for easy drinking, and it’s practical in daily use. Kambukka Etna has an impressive list of features, and we found the always open feature useful in some scenarios. Stanley was lacking the crucial feature of a locking switch, however, the shape of the push-button helped to avoid accidental presses while carrying it in the bag. Also, the omission of a locking switch means that the lid has fewer moving parts, which helps with long-term durability and cleaning.

All three travel mugs promise complete safety against spills because they are hermetically sealed. During the review, we tested all three by carrying them in a laptop bag, and none of the mugs spilled even a drop of the drink.

To make it more scientific, we conducted a test in which we put each of the mugs upside down on a sheet of paper towel for 12 hours to spot any possible leaks. All three mugs passed this test with flying colors.

Therefore we can conclude that all three mugs are completely leak-proof. It’s worth noting that Stanley lacks a locking switch, which would protect it against accidental button presses while carrying it in a bag. Even though it didn’t spill even once during our tests, we must mark the lack of a locking switch as a con. 

All three mugs are pretty sizeable, allowing you to take enough tea or coffee to last several hours. If you find them too large, it’s worth noting that all three models are available in other sizes as well – Stanley additionally offers 12oz and 20oz options, Kambukka – 10oz, and Contigo – 10, 14, 20, and 24 oz. 

Thanks to their push-button, which is convenient for one-hand use, these travel mugs are well suited for avid drivers. That’s why we tested them in different car cup holders. We tried them out in Toyota Corolla (2006), Ford Focus (2014), and Chevy Tahoe (2012), and none of the mugs had any issues fitting in the cup holders.

However, these mugs are rather tall, so they will have issues fitting in coffee makers. If you buy your coffee or tea outside often, none of these mugs will be a good choice. Stanley is the tallest, spanning 7.3” (18.6 cm) without the lid, Kambukka is in a close second, but Contigo is the shortest. 

To make your travel mug last a long time, proper cleaning & care is crucial. You should wash your mug on a regular basis to avoid mold or bacteria buildup, bad taste, or smell. 

Stanley Classic Trigger-Action is dishwasher safe – both the mug and the lid. Etna and West Loop mugs, however, are not dishwasher safe – only the lids are. Both Kambukka and Contigo recommend washing the mug with hands.

Stanley and Kambukka lids can be completely disassembled, which makes it easy to thoroughly wash them and clean coffee, milk or tea stains. Contigo, however, is only foldable, and you can’t take the button push mechanism out completely. While it makes it easier to not lose the parts, it complicates the cleaning process.

Overall, Stanley Classic Trigger-Action is the easiest to clean. Not only it is dishwasher safe, but its simple lid is also easy to disassemble and clean. Kambukka’s lid is a bit too complex, with many hard-to-reach corners and parts, but the West Loop is limited by its foldable design.

All three mugs use double-walled vacuum insulation, which is the best thermal insulation method. They are built with two stainless steel walls – inside and outside, which are separated by vacuum to reduce convection, thus keeping the drink’s heat within the mug. 

Most thermal mug brands give predictions on how long their product will keep your drink hot and cold. Unfortunately, few mention their testing methods, and what do they consider ‘hot’ and ‘cold’. Kambukka, for example, promised that Etna will keep your drink ‘warm’ for 9 hours, but Contigo, on the other hand, gave only a modest 5 hours for their West Loop. Stanley says that Trigger-Action will keep the drink ‘hot’ for 7 hours. 

Without exact degrees, these numbers are rather meaningless, which is why we conducted our own tests. We heated up a kettle of water to its boiling point and filled each mug to its maximum capacity. The mugs were completely closed, and they were stored at room temperature (68°F, 20°C). Every two hours, we opened the lid for a short time to measure the water temperature.

All three mugs delivered good thermal performance, keeping the drink hot for several hours. They will let you enjoy your hot or cold drinks all day long. Stanley was a clear thermal performance champion – its thermal insulation was impeccable. Second place goes to Kambukka Etna, and Contigo West Loop came third. 

We believe that a drink can be called ‘hot’ if it is above 140°F (60°C), and “warm” over 100°F (38°C). By these measures, Stanley kept the drink hot for 7 hours, which is exactly what they promised. Kambukka did it for 5 hours, but Contigo – 4h. 

It’s worth noting that all three mugs have above-average thermal insulation, and these results are excellent for a travel mug of this size and feature set. We usually drank their contents way before they got lukewarm, so for daily use – office, driving, or walks – all three provide satisfactory insulation. If you need exceptional thermal performance for all day long outdoor activities, Stanley is the obvious choice. 

It’s extremely hard to say which one of these is the best. Each one of these have their pros and cons that make it more suited for a particular buyer, but overall all three are excellent travel mugs that will satisfy most users. 

That being said, the best thermal mug for people with an active lifestyle is Stanley Classic Trigger-Action. It’s a durable travel mug that will withstand even the most extreme conditions. It excels in thermal performance and will keep your drinks piping hot for 7 hours. It also has a lifetime warranty provided by Stanley. It has only two drawbacks. It lacks a locking switch, making carrying it in a backpack a bit uneasy, and it is the tallest mug of the bunch. 

Contigo West Loop is a great choice for daily use because its ergonomic shape fits very well in hands or car cup holders. It looks modern and stylish. Even though its thermal performance lags a bit behind the other two, its lightness, practicality and price more than make up for it. It’s the price-performance champion of the three.

Kambukka Etna can do seemingly anything. It looks great, it has good thermal insulation, its innovative 3-in-1 lid is convenient, and it has many color, size and grip options for anyone’s taste. It’s the best all-rounder of the three, and it’s as easy and convenient to use in the office or car as it is on a skiing trip or a bicycle ride. 

We hope that this comparison helped you decide which travel mug is the best for you. We enjoyed using every one of these travel mugs, and you can’t go wrong with either of these products.

Hope you enjoyed our article!

We found an interesting tes regarding thermos, check it out – Best thermos test .

May your tea and coffee always be perfectly warm! Cheers!

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The Best Travel Mug

By Trey French and Anna Perling

Hot drinks are a daily staple for many, and just as important as the beverage is the travel mug that keeps it warm while you’re on the go.

After a decade of testing travel mugs, we still recommend the Zojirushi Stainless Steel Mug for most people. It keeps drinks hot for hours, and its locking lid stays securely closed, even when you toss the mug into a bag. We also have another option, which fits better in most cup holders, for use while you’re driving.

Everything we recommend

Zojirushi Stainless Steel Mug

The best travel mug.

This mug offers the best heat retention, plus one-handed usability and a locking, leakproof lid, which makes it especially useful if you carry your mug in a bag or backpack.

Buying Options

Stanley Classic Trigger-Action Travel Mug (16 ounces)

A wider mug for drivers.

This wider mug fit securely in our testers’ cup holders, and its spill-proof lid design is good for rough roads. It doesn’t retain heat as well as the Zojirushi mug—a fact that some people might actually appreciate.

OXO Good Grips Water Bottle Cleaning Set

For cleaning your mug.

This bottle-cleaning set has a skinny straw brush and a looped detail-cleaning brush, which are all you need to keep your travel mug squeaky clean.

The 16-ounce Zojirushi Stainless Steel Mug keeps beverages hot for hours, even in cold environments. It has a well-designed exterior, an easy-to-clean nonstick Teflon interior, and a foolproof lid-locking mechanism that you can operate with one hand.

The mug is lightweight and slim, but it may not fit snugly in some cup holders. However, thanks to its locking lid, we were comfortable carrying it around in a bag, without worrying about leaks.

This Zojirushi model is pricey for a travel mug, but this is the mug we trust most not to spill in a bag, and it’s hard to put a price on that. (Actually, that would be about the price of a new bag, laptop, phone, and whatever else happened to be in there at the time.)

It’s also available in a 20-ounce version .

Like other Zojirushi products, it comes with a five-year warranty.

The 16-ounce Stanley Classic Trigger-Action Travel Mug is wider and fits better in most car cup holders than the Zojirushi mug. The lid has an auto-sealing button that prevents spills, and when you drink, it won’t block your view of the road ahead.

Although this Stanley model may not keep drinks as hot as the Zojirushi mug, some people might prefer such results—we’ve heard many complaints over the years of the Zojirushi mug keeping drinks too hot.

Both the mug and the lid are dishwasher safe, but the lid has fewer parts than that of our top pick, so it is easier to disassemble and hand-wash if you prefer to clean it that way.

And let’s not forget that these things need cleaning regularly. That’s why we also have a bottle-brush recommendation for when you need to clean out the gunk .

The research

Why you should trust us, who this is for, how we picked, how we tested, our pick: zojirushi sm-sf stainless steel mug (16 ounces), also great: stanley classic trigger-action travel mug (16 ounces), also great: oxo good grips water bottle cleaning set, other good travel mugs, the competition.

We’ve been testing travel mugs since 2013. Previous versions of this guide were written and researched by Séamus Bellamy and Anna Perling. In 2023, staff writer Trey French wrote the latest update to this guide. He gained an appreciation of high-performing insulated drinkware while spring camping in Colorado when the temperatures dropped below freezing.

In addition to conducting our own tests, we spoke to engineers and industry professionals about mug design, ideal coffee and tea drinking temperatures, and the best way to find out how long coffee will really stay good in a travel mug.

Travel mugs, as their name implies, are for people who want to take beverages on the go. Compared with paper or Styrofoam cups, a good travel mug offers better insulation and safeguards against leaks or spills. In addition, you can save money in the long run and reduce your environmental impact by using a travel mug.

Tumblers, thermoses, and insulated water bottles are all close cousins to the travel mug but have some important differences:

• Tumblers have sipping ports that don’t seal as tightly or securely as on travel mugs and have wider mouths for you to add ice cubes. Many also have straws for you to sip cold beverages.
• Thermoses usually lack the slim size and lid-design features that make travel mugs portable and convenient. With a thermos, instead of popping open a lid to take a sip, you need to unscrew the cap and pour liquid into an open cup to drink.
• Insulated water bottles are geared toward keeping drinks cold and don’t have sipping ports like travel mugs do. Instead, they often have screw-top lids that require two hands to open and close, or they have sport caps, which aren’t great for hot drinks.

To determine which travel mugs to test, we look for mugs that advertise the following qualities:

Vacuum-insulated: All of the mugs we consider are double-walled and vacuum-insulated .

Capable of retaining heat all day: We look for mugs that claim to keep hot beverages drinkably warm for at least eight hours.

Made of stainless steel: Stainless steel is more durable than glass or ceramic and retains heat better than plastic. It’s also the best material for vacuum insulation and therefore heat retention.

Leakproof and spill-proof: A leakproof seal keeps a closed lid from leaking if the mug jostles. A spill-proof seal guards against spills should you drop the mug or knock it over; such seals typically incorporate a push button, like the one found on the Stanley Classic Trigger-Action.

Easy to use: A good mug should be easy to both open and close, as well as to lock and unlock, with one hand. It should also be easy to disassemble for cleaning. We look for mugs that advertise these features or have reviews indicating that they are easy to use.

Between 12 and 20 ounces in capacity: We’ve concluded that 16 ounces is the optimal capacity for a travel mug, as it delays the need for a refill while remaining portable and easy to hold. Some people prefer wider mugs that don’t rattle in cup holders, while others like slimmer mugs that take up less space in backpacks or bags. We test both styles.

After considering the everyday wear and tear that a travel mug might go through in real-world scenarios, we devised tests to mimic those scenarios. During our tests, we use the mugs daily, evaluating them for simple enjoyability.

• Leak and spill tests: We test mugs for leaky seals by shaking them upside down, dropping them, and carrying them in bags.
• Drop test: We drop each mug three times from a height of 4 feet onto asphalt.
• Insulation test: We fill each mug with boiling water and then measure how quickly the water cools over eight hours, checking every hour.
• Ease of cleaning: We wash each mug, following instructions; we also take apart their lids and wash those. We check for lingering smells and to see if the finish on the mug is harmed.
• Cup holder compatibility: We test the mugs in cup holders of varying sizes (2.75, 3.5, and 3.75 inches in diameter).

The 16-ounce Zojirushi SM-SF Stainless Steel Mug is the best travel mug for keeping drinks hot for long periods of time. This mug also comes in a 20-ounce size. (The SM-SF is the current model; these model designations often change from year to year, but the mugs themselves stay the same.)

It kept our drinks the hottest. According to the Specialty Coffee Association of America, the best temperature range for coffee is 145 to 155 degrees Fahrenheit. After sitting for eight hours in the Zojirushi mug in a 72-degree room, our water measured 158 degrees—hotter than in any other mug we tested. That translates to hot coffee over a full workday. (If you’re opening the mug more frequently than once an hour, however, it might cool a bit faster.)

It won’t leak. It has sturdy, leakproof seals and a simple locking mechanism. Just close the lid, switch the lock into position, and you’re guaranteed that the top won’t pop open when you don’t want it to—when you’re carrying the mug in a bag, for instance.

It’s easy enough to keep clean. The nonstick interior helps to prevent odors and stains, though the mug’s instructions do warn against storing milk or fruit juices in the mug. (If you prefer drinking from a vessel that doesn’t have a nonstick coating, you might consider the Zojirushi SM-KHE , which has an electro-polished stainless steel interior.) The narrow girth makes it hard to get a sponge inside, but using a bottle brush circumvents that problem. You can disassemble the plastic lid to clean out any gunk that might be lodged in hard-to-reach places, although the small plastic and silicone parts can be difficult to get on and off the lid.

It’s durable. Though this mug developed a few scuffs in our drop tests, it acquired no more than the other mugs we tried, some of which fared far worse. Zojirushi backs the vacuum insulation of its stainless steel mugs with a five-year limited warranty, and the company sells individual replacement parts online .

It’s simple. The Zojirushi Stainless Steel Mug has an attractive design that’s minimalist yet eye-catching in its simplicity.  The 20-ounce version comes in only one color (navy), but our pick, the 16-ounce version, comes in three (navy, pale pink, mint blue).

How the Zojirushi mug has held up

The Zojirushi Stainless Steel Mug might be the single most commonly owned and used product among Wirecutter staffers; it has traveled in many crowded bags, backpacks, and purses without any problems. One staff member did report that after eight years of use, hers finally developed a leak. Another colleague says that their mug has survived drops onto cement (once from a third-floor balcony) without suffering more than a dent.

Zojirushi specifies hand-washing only, but we know of several mugs that have survived accidental trips through the dishwasher without any noticeable decrease in performance, though the external paint has flaked as a result.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

• The Zojirushi mug is sometimes too good at insulating. We’ve found that if we pour fresh coffee directly into the mug, the liquid can stay scalding hot for hours. To prevent burning your mouth, let your beverage cool a little before closing the lid.
• It’s not cup holder friendly. This model, which is more narrow than a typical travel mug, did not fit snugly in our testers’ car cup holders. If you prefer a travel mug with a larger circumference, check out our also-great pick.
• It isn’t spill-proof. Though the SM-SF is leakproof, it isn’t spill-proof like our also-great pick; the design lacks an automatic seal to prevent liquid from spilling if you drop the mug while you’re drinking.

The 16-ounce Stanley Classic Trigger-Action Travel Mug is our recommendation for use in a car, as it’s a great spill-proof mug that keeps drinks hot and fits in a cup holder.

It’s designed for drivers. Wider than the Zojirushi mug, this Stanley model fit more securely in our testers’ car cup holders. The top of the mug is narrower than the base, though, to help reduce heat loss through the lid. (Experts told us that the lid is where a double-walled mug loses the most heat.) And the design has no pop-up lid to bump your nose or block your eyes while you’re drinking.

It’s spill-proof, unlike the Zojirushi mug. You do need to hold down a button to keep the sipping port open to drink from the mug, which may be frustrating to some people. However, this design prevents spills—whether from rough roads, say, or if you accidentally knock the mug over while reaching for it—since the mug closes automatically. Other mugs we tested, such as the Contigo Autoseal Transit and West Loop (both former runners-up), had similar buttons, but the button on the Classic Trigger-Action was easier to press and hold. Unlike the Zojirushi model, this mug has no lock to secure its lid, but it never leaked in our tests.

It keeps drinks hot long enough. The Classic Trigger-Action can’t keep your beverages quite as hot for quite as long as our top pick can, but that might be a plus for those who complain that the Zojirushi mug keeps drinks too hot. When we boiled water and let it sit in this Stanley mug, the water took only three hours to cool to 158 degrees (whereas water in the Zojirushi mug took eight hours to reach that temperature). After eight hours, the water in the Classic Trigger-Action measured 132 degrees—26 degrees cooler than the water in the Zojirushi mug. If you drink your beverages quickly or don’t want to wait for them to cool down before sealing your mug, the Classic Trigger-Action may be a better option for you.

It’s tough. This mug endured our drop tests, sporting only light scuffing on the plastic lid and minor dents at the side of the base of its body. Like Zojirushi’s five-year warranty, Stanley’s lifetime warranty covers only manufacturer defects, not damage to mug components due to accidents or wear. Should you damage the lid or simply lose it, you can buy a replacement lid .

It’s dishwasher safe. Both the mug body and the lid can go in the dishwasher. The lid has some hard-to-reach nooks and crannies, so be sure to disassemble it for the best cleaning results. Stanley’s lid has fewer pieces than Zojirushi’s lid and is easier to take apart.

You have more color choices. If you care about colors, the Classic Trigger-Action comes in many—about a dozen at last count. This mug also comes in a 20-ounce size .

The OXO Good Grips Water Bottle Cleaning Set is the best bottle-cleaning set. It comes with a large bottle brush, a skinny straw brush, and a looped detail-cleaning brush, all kept together on a handy ring so you won’t lose any of the parts. The set is dishwasher safe, and we found that it works well for anyone looking to remove gunk from travel mugs and other hard-to-clean items.

If you want a mug with a locking lid for about half the price of our top pick: Consider the GSI Microlite 500 Flip , which keeps liquids almost as hot as the Zojirushi mug and has a similar one-handed flip top with a lock.

However, when we dropped this GSI mug to the ground when the lid was unlocked, the lid popped open and spilled coffee everywhere—and the exact same thing happened when we dropped it a second time. Eventually, we dropped the mug enough, accidentally, to break the lid; GSI does sell replacement lids.

This mug, which has a large sipping port, also has a higher flow rate than our picks, and may require more careful sipping when the beverage is really hot.

If the Zojirushi mug is out of stock: You might look into the MiiR 360 Traveler , which in our tests kept drinks almost as hot and resisted denting just as well as our top pick. When it’s unlocked, its sipping port allows you to drink from anywhere on the lid’s circumference. We decided not to make it a pick because we struggled to decipher whether the sipping port was open or closed—which in turn led to spills. Unlike some twist-to-open 360-degree ports, the MiiR 360 Traveler’s lid has a push button for operation that forms the center of the lid, and at a glance, it looks nearly the same whether closed or open.

The mug is also available in a flip-top version called the Flip Traveler , but we’ve found flip-top lids prone to breaking during our drop tests. The mug bodies for the 360 Traveler and the Flip Traveler are the same, and the lids are interchangeable, in case you buy one and then decide that you’d like to try the other.

We’ve considered and evaluated several other Zojirushi travel mugs throughout our testing. Here’s a breakdown:

• Zojirushi SM-WR : Almost identical to the SM-SF series, this version has an integrated gasket, which reduces the total pieces to clean. We like it almost as much as our top pick. However, it dispenses a little faster than the SM-SF, which is good for cold drinks but can be too much for really hot drinks.
• Zojirushi SM-YAE : This 16-ounce mug costs a little more than our main pick. It comes with an electro-polished interior, like the Zojirushi SM-KHE, but has a shape that’s stouter than other Zojirushi mugs and short enough to fit under the spout of a single-cup brewing machine. In our tests, however, it fell short of our picks in insulating performance: After eight hours, the water temperature had dropped to 100 degrees, 58 degrees cooler than the water in our top pick.
• Zojirushi SM-SHE : We were reluctant to test this mug due to persistent stock issues. Zojirushi sent us one to try out anyway, but it broke during our drop test.
• Zojirushi SM-JHE : We opted not to test this mug because it has a wide-mouth, screw-off lid.
• Zojirushi SM-JTE : We also elected not to test this model, which has a tea-leaf filter, due to its screw-off lid.

The JoeVeo Temperfect Javabliss 16 Travel Mug brings a scalding drink down to a drinkable temperature and holds it there by using a third layer in its wall to capture excess heat and then release it over time. It isn’t leakproof or spill-proof, though.

The 17-ounce Kinto Travel Tumbler insulates well—so well that it was the third-best contender at insulating in our tests behind the Zojirushi SM-SF and GSI Microlite 500 Flip. Drinking from it requires fully removing the lid, though, as well as finding a place to put the lid.

After dismissing previous iterations of the Hydro Flask travel mug, we tested the 20-ounce Hydro Flask Coffee Cup with Flex Sip Lid , and it was a clear improvement over older models. It kept drinks hot for about a half day, and it resisted denting better than about half of the other tested mugs. The lid requires two hands to open and close, however, so it can be tough to open while you’re distracted, and it has a tendency to “burp” a small amount of liquid when you rotate the lid from closed to open.

The 16-ounce OXO Good Grips Thermal Mug with SimplyClean Lid resembles—and insulates about as well as—the Hydro Flask mug we tested, keeping drinks hot for a half day. It also shares that model’s flaws, requiring two hands to open and close, and burping some liquid.

The Klean Kanteen Insulated Wide Mouth Water Bottle was a previous runner-up in this guide, as well as a former insulated water bottle pick, but we found that the lid occasionally leaked when we left the bottle on its side overnight.

The 18-ounce Purist Mover with Scope Lid insulates nearly as well as our picks and has a 360-degree sip lid, which lets you drink from any side of the mug. It requires two hands to open and close, though.

We broke the flip-top lid of the 20-ounce Welly Traveler , as well as the glued-on product-label plate on the bottom of the mug, the first time we dropped it.

The 12-ounce Ketiee Travel Mug is cheaper than most mugs we looked at, and we wondered what we’d get for the price. It kept drinks hot for about two hours during our tests, scoring near the bottom. Our main complaint is that the molding process left a pointy knob on our test unit, right above the drinking port, that pressed into our testers’ noses. Also, the product page states that it’s spill-proof—and we found that it wasn’t, whether the flip-top lid was open or closed.

The promise of the battery-powered Ember Travel Mug 2 is that it allows you to keep your beverage at a specific temperature (up to 145 degrees) for three hours—if you remember to charge it. Without the battery, it scored at the bottom on our insulation test; we also managed to break its inner seal during our drop test. Although we like the standard Ember Mug 2 (read more in our mug warmers guide ), we can’t recommend this even more expensive sibling.

The Contigo Autoseal West Loop Travel Mug was one of our previous runners-up, and like the Stanley Classic Trigger-Action , it has a button that you need to push before you can drink. The West Loop didn’t hold up as well in our drop tests as the Stanley model did, and we found its vertical push button harder to use than the one on our current also-great pick.

This article was edited by Ria Misra and Christine Ryan.

Hongbin Bill Ma, director, Center of Thermal Management at the University of Missouri , phone interview , September 22, 2017

Michael Dickey, professor of chemical engineering at North Carolina State University , phone interview , September 26, 2017

Meet your guides

Trey French

Trey French is a staff writer at Wirecutter covering outdoors gear. A trail runner, backcountry skier, and long-distance backpacker, he has reviewed gear for Treeline Review and advised wilderness travelers on lightweight backcountry equipment at Katabatic Gear. He resides in California’s Eastern Sierra, where scenic desktop backgrounds are born.

Anna Perling

Anna Perling is a former staff writer covering kitchen gear at Wirecutter. During her time at Wirecutter, she reported on various topics including sports bras, board games, and light bulbs. Previously she wrote food and lifestyle pieces for Saveur and Kinfolk magazines. Anna is a mentor at Girls Write Now and a member of the Online News Association.

Further reading

This Inexpensive Water Bottle Is Meant for Cyclists, But It’s Great for Travelers, Too

by Christine Ryan

The Camelbak Podium is affordable, lightweight, and perfect for packing.

Our Favorite Mugs

by Jackie Reeve

Our Wirecutter home team is passionate about the vessels they drink them out of. Here are the mugs we can’t get enough of.

How to Clean a Travel Mug or Water Bottle

Don’t want your coffee to taste like yesterday’s brew? Give your travel mug a good deep clean—and do the same for your insulated water bottle, too!

We’ve Recommended This Travel Mug for a Decade. It’s Still Going Strong.

by James Austin

Our longtime favorite travel mug keeps drinks piping hot, and the nifty locking lid makes it virtually spill-proof.

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Kambukka Etna 2 Pack Coffee & Tea Mugs | 500ml / 17oz | 3 in 1 lid with Snapclean Technology (Silver & Black)

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Great products

Great products: durable, nice design.

Date of experience : 02 April 2024

Perfect handling

Perfect handling. Everything went smooth and very happy with the purchase. Top quality!

Date of experience : 04 March 2024

Bottles can be customized.

Bottles can be customized. The cap design is great with multiple configurations. However the opening of the mouth is slightly larger for my 5 year old.

Date of experience : 20 August 2023

Good product!

Fast delivery, good product. The insulated bottles held our ice water on temperature during a kayak trip in 42°C/107,6°F! No leakage and easy to clean.

Date of experience : 07 August 2023

Love the insulated bottle

Love the insulated bottle! Easy to clean. I just wish it kept the water a bit more colder, I have the feeling that its not that cols anymore after just a few hours. Delivery was fast and it is my new to go water bottle for sure

Date of experience : 22 January 2024

easy to use

easy to use, fun to look at

Date of experience : 08 April 2024

Great service

Great service, fast delivery, LOVE these water & coffee bottles!!! Also with our company logo, amasing :)

Date of experience : 16 November 2023

The service is perfect! The product is more perfect! I enjoy my bottle of Thea every day!

Date of experience : 11 March 2024

I'm still waiting to receive my…

I'm still waiting to receive my Kambukka bottle, more than two weeks after my order

Date of experience : 24 January 2024

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Hello, We suspect that something went wrong with the shipment. Could you please contact customer service? They will be happy to help you further. [email protected] Kambukka

Excellent quality bottle

Excellent quality bottle! Keeps my water cold for a long long time. Fun packaging as well. Almost was hoping to find an ugly sweater ;-)

Date of experience : 21 May 2023

good prices, quick shipping/delivery no remarks so far... as it's a christmas gift I cannot rate the goods yet :)

Date of experience : 27 November 2023

I ordered the Olympus thermos mug and…

I ordered the Olympus thermos mug and I'm very happy with it. Keeps my coffee/tea warm and is easy to carry with you. I'd definitely recommend, high quality product.

Date of experience : 13 June 2023

A big thing that is so helpful is that…

A big thing that is so helpful is that you can put the bottles in the dishwasher and there will be no certain smell on it

Date of experience : 03 September 2023

Great (Customer) Service

Ordered an item and something was not included. I sent a mail that same day about it and received an immediate response. Everything was handled very swift and without a problem. 5/5 Stars across the whole line for me.

Date of experience : 10 July 2023

Cold coffee

Shipping fine, product looks good. But cold coffee after 1 hour . Not what they claim. And I dislike cold coffee, So not for me, sorry.

Date of experience : 26 February 2024

Very Great product

Very Great product I didn’t like the Post purchase marketing approach

Date of experience : 12 February 2024

Amazing product, fast delivery. My bottle doesn't leave my side anymore

Date of experience : 12 January 2024

Very nice looking lunch box and mug

Very nice looking lunch box and mug. They hold the temperature for at least 5 or 6 hours, and they look very cool!

Date of experience : 19 January 2024

Hard to clean, rusts

Hard to clean, especially the opening where you drink from. Inside looks rusty , even after thoroughly cleaning. Not worth the money. Going back to a mug that cleans and lasts years. Brand....

Date of experience : 10 September 2023

Hi, We're sorry you had a bad experience with Kambukka. In case you need additional help or you have some questions, please get in touch with [email protected]. Thanks, Kambukka

A bottle that doesn't leak!

Finally a bottle that doesn't leak! Great for use at home or at the office.

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KAMBUKKA Travel Mugs

KAMBUKKA Etna Stainless Steel Insulated Leak-Proof Travel Mug, 500ml

KAMBUKKA Etna Stainless Steel Insulated Leak-Proof Travel Mug, 300ml

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Home » Kitchen » Travel Mugs

The Best Travel Mugs

Daniel Jackson

Updated January 2, 2023

W e’ve been using, cleaning and trying to destroy travel mugs over three years of testing. The  Thermos – Sipp is the best travel mug for maximum heat retention and easy clean-up. It also proved nearly invulnerable to the drop tests we put it through. If you’re looking for easy sipping without the risk of spills, the Contigo – Auto-Seal Transit is also a great pick, though it’s not very easy to clean.

Our Top Choices

Best Heat Retention

For One-Hand Sipping

Our Favorite, Discontinued

Table of Contents

The 13 travel mugs we tested, best heat retention: thermos – sipp.

• Best spill prevention: Contigo – Transit

Other products we tested

How we selected, how we tested, features to look for, the bottom line.

Two of the mugs we tested kept heat inside so well, they actually made it difficult to test what we considered “normal” use because we had to dump extra cold half-and-half or ice cubes in so that we could drink from them without suffering burns. Make no mistake, this almost-magical feat is surely appreciated by those who want to drink a hot cup of home-brewed coffee eight hours after they pour it.

We’ve picked the The Thermos – Sipp (sometimes called Direct Drink) bottle as our favorite for that kind of use since it was slightly easier for us to clean and it didn’t rattle around in our cupholders as much as the skinny Zojirushi – SM-SA48 did. Bloomberg called this “the best mug for heat freaks” and we concur with that assessment: this mug stayed 15°F hotter than lesser mugs even when we were pouring the heat away in our 165-minute “sipping test.”

Also Great: Thermos - Sipp

This mug needs to be opened and closed for every sip if you want to prevent spills, but it will keep your beverage almost too hot.

The Thermos performed flawlessly in our leak test, sealing its lid tight and locking with a back-up mechanism. It doesn’t seal itself every time you set it down, the way our top pick does, so you have to either close the top every time you sip or invite spills — but if you do knock it over with the lid open, it won’t spill as much as most of the other mugs we tested.

The Thermos – Sipp started developing a crack in the eight-foot fall. While that’s not nearly as durable as the CamelBak – Forge, the Thermos is much tougher than the other best-insulating mug, the Zojirushi – SM-SA48 (which probably won’t close anymore if you drop it onto concrete). The Thermos is also entirely dishwasher-safe and easy to hand-wash and has a handy loop on the back of the lid that makes it easy to carry around.

Note: This is one of the more confusingly named products we researched — it’s sometimes called things like “Sipp Stainless Insulated Drink Bottle” and is nearly identical to the “Commuter Bottle.” Whatever the name, we liked it.

Key takeaways:

• If you need your drink to stay hot for an entire day and you don’t want to fill a giant thermos, the Thermos – Sipp is a fantastic mini-thermos you can drink from with one hand.
• Not as durable as our top pick, but seals up like a vault and will take a drop from desk height without any problems.
• Dishwasher safe, but also easy to hand wash

Best spill prevention: Contigo – Transit

Auto-sealing mugs like the transit are perfect for use at your desk, around fussy librarians or while driving. It’s basically impossible to spill anything from this mug while you’re drinking from it, and the spout prevents drips from gathering the way they will in flip-top designs.

Contigo mugs represent what really has become the baseline for travel mug functionality: To beat Contigo at their own game, a mug must be easy to drink from with one hand while still preventing spills, must be easier to clean, stay hot for longer, and take more abuse. The now-discontinued Camelbak – Forge was the only model that was better overall (still losing in heat retention), while the Thermos – Sipp has much better heat retention but doesn’t stop spills.

The Transit survived our ten-foot drop test with only a superficial crack in the easily removed spout cover. That cover is an interesting perk; a quick turn covers up the drinking spout to keep dirt out. It’s a nice perk that doesn’t get in the way when you don’t need it.

Safe Sipping: Contigo - Transit

A great mug from a trusted brand that's highly durable and spill resistant. A great choice if you don't mind sacrificing heat performance and if you're OK with hand-washing.

The Auto-Seal mechanism is unmatched at stopping knock-down spills, but the Transit gave up a teaspoon worth of liquid in our 30-minute tumble test. That’s a good result, but not as good as the bank-vault seal on the Thermos – Sipp. If you want to stash a mug in your bag this is not a bad pick, but we wouldn’t take it on an all-day trip with a full load of coffee inside a backpack.

In our temperature test, the Transit only lost 34°F of heat in the first hour, while the base-model Contigo – West Loop lost 40, so the minimal price difference is far less significant than the performance gap. That’s still a major difference from the Thermos and Zojirushi mugs, which lost less than half as much heat in the same time. The Transit’s result is in line with other good wide-mouth mugs that you can fit a sponge into, but it’s not amazing.

One failing of Contigo’s design is the seal mechanism: it’s a pain to clean. If you have a dishwasher or only drink clear tea, you’ll probably never have a problem with this, but you’ll still want to double-check that nothing gets stuck in the springs and levers inside this lid. The Transit’s lid is the only part you should put in the dishwasher, but the body isn’t difficult to hand wash.

On the whole, this is a great mug with a long heritage of good design. The price is right at about $15, and if you ever need to drink your coffee in a place where spills would be a disaster this is an excellent choice.

• The Contigo – Auto-Seal Transit is easy to use for one-hand-sipping without leaving you vulnerable to spills.
• If you’re looking for an affordable mug that won’t break quickly, the Transit is very good on both counts.
• Clean-up is the only weakness in this design: The springs that seal the spout are immersed in your drink, and can’t be removed for washing.
• For secure carry in a bag, the Transit was better than most, but it did leak a teaspoon worth after half an hour in a spin-cycle.

From a startup company founded by rocket scientists, the Burnout temperature regulating travel mug is one of the few new products that’s trying something different. We bought this mug for our 2019 update.

Burnout pulls the heat out of your drink in the first minute after you pour. This neat trick is accomplished with a layer of wax that’s inside the mug’s stainless steel walls. Once the wax melts, it’ll help keep all of that heat inside the vacuum-insulated chamber, even as you drink your favorite hot beverage away.

The problem with the heat-sucking material inside the Burnout is that it’s too good at its job.  If the mug starts at around room temperature, hot coffee (at just below an ideal brewing temperature of 190-200°F) will cool to 140 in fifteen minutes. If you like warm coffee instead of hot coffee, that’s probably ideal.

You can get a bump in heat if you take the time to boil some extra water and dump that in the Burnout for a few minutes before you add your beverage. (Pre-heating with 110°F tap water does basically nothing.)  Boiling extra water isn’t such an inconvenience for pour-over, french press, and tea drinkers, but it’s a big hassle if you’re relying on a coffeemaker like our favorite Keurig .

Sadly, pre-heating with boiling water also cancels out the safety goal of this mug, since the temperature is still at a scalding 172 after thirty minutes and takes two hours to hit our preferred 155. Yes, you can pre-heat for a shorter time and add milk to fine-tune the temperature, but you can do the same with our top heat-retention pick, the Thermos – Sipp, by adding an ice cube when you pour your coffee.

Even if a hot-ish 135°F sounds perfect to you, the biggest problem with the Burnout is the lid. This design uses an internal stopper that seals a sippy-cup spout (very much like the Contigo Autoseal designs) but with a sliding, locking toggle switch instead of a push-to-drink system. This means you don’t get automatic sealing when you stop drinking, but it’s still difficult to clean out all of the springs and levers on the inside. It can also spit out drips when you close it.

Worse still, even when the stopper is in the closed position, it leaks. It’ll keep dribbles from coming out if you turn it upside down, but as soon as you drop it on the floor or shake it around it’ll let drips out. The slider switch is fairly easy to use, but it’s also vulnerable to getting bumped open inside a bag; this mug did poorly in our tumble test.

Finally, there’s the price. If you’ve been waiting and waiting for a travel mug that would give four-hour warmth without burning your tongue, maybe $100 doesn’t sound like a lot. Compared to our other mugs, though, that’s a pretty crazy price.

We love the idea of this mug, but the concept just hasn’t been executed well enough to justify this price tag. If it were dishwasher safe and had a bomb-proof seal like the Thermos, maybe the price tag and fiddly work required to plan a perfect pre-heat routine would be worth it.

Zojirushi – SM-SA48 and YAE48

The Zojirushi – SM-SA48 has received so many accolades from reviewers, it’s hard to imagine a review that excludes it. This mug is the state of the art in vacuum insulation performance from a company with a long history of designing great food and drink containers. That said, the diminutive SA48 was so narrow and tall that it rattled around in our cupholders (and was hardest to clean inside, even with a bottle brush).

We also included the SA48’s sibling, the YAE48 , which is specifically marketed as a “Travel Mug” and seems designed to address concerns about cup holder size and the height restriction imposed by single-cup coffee machines. The wide mouth means that the YAE48 is easier to get a kitchen sponge into when cleaning, but it sacrifices insulation and leak-proof performance with that giant lid (which actually unscrewed from the body during our spin-cycle bag-leak test).

Neither mug is especially durable; the SA48’s lid shattered on a desk-height drop and the YAE48 wouldn’t stay closed after an eight-foot drop split it across the lock. The warranty on these mugs is also limited to insulation performance for five years, which is disappointing when the lids and locks have this many intricate parts.

Contigo – Auto-Seal West Loop

This is the third version of the Auto-Seal West Loop design, now easier to clean than old models, and with a lock button. Sadly, the lock doesn’t prevent leaks and it’s still immersing springs in your drink.

The West Loop is a good mug, but the Transit is more durable and holds heat better. The only trade-off is that the Transit sacrifices dishwasher compatibility because of the silicone grip. The West Loop’s insulation is guaranteed to be safe in the dishwasher, but if you buy a painted model you can count on flaking and peeling of the finish after a few months of cleaning it that way.

Klean Kanteen – 16 oz. Wide-Mouth

We included the winner from our insulated water bottle review , the Klean Kanteen,  but in a 16 oz. size to match the other mugs and with the manufacturer’s leak-proof “café cap.” (We did not include the Hydro Flask in our line-up; in our water-bottle test the 32 oz Hydro Flask didn’t insulate as well as a 20 oz Klean Kanteen, and while the flip-cap lid on the Hydro Flask is easier to use with one hand, it has all of the problems of the other drip-flip lids we tested).

The Klean Kanteen is still a drink container we like, but it’s not easy to open and close with one hand (and in fact took a fair bit of effort to open with two hands), and it has more parts to disassemble for cleaning than any of the other mugs.

Thermos – Stainless King Travel Mug

Thermos is the oldest and best-known name in insulated drink containers in the western world (“thermos” became such a prevalent word that US courts ruled it was legal to use as a generic term for insulated bottles in 1963). We tested the Thermos – Stainless King Travel Mug along with our runner-up, the Thermos – Sipp .

The King is available with a handle, which may appeal to those who keep a mug in the cold and pick it up with bare hands, but we found that a trigger-action mug like our top pick was even better since we could carry it and take drinks from it even with gloves on. The twist-action closure on the Stainless King wasn’t really designed to open and close with one hand, and requires disassembly if you want to put it in the dishwasher.

Stanley – Classic

We’ve included this self-sealing mug, the Stanley – Classic , which only comes in their retro-lunchbox-style “hammertone” finish, as the only painted mug guaranteed dishwasher safe; the paint does seem thick and durable, and we haven’t seen reports of it chipping or peeling the way the Contigo paint does. The functionality is generally good, but it wasn’t even as leak-proof as the Contigo mugs were. The spring on the trigger button of this mug was also much, much stronger than the other self-sealing designs, which was a big turn-off for some testers (and didn’t keep it from leaking at all). The design also had more parts to keep track of than the other self-sealing mechanisms.

Bubba – Hero Elite

The Bubba was included because it has the highest price to consumer rating ratio of any of the mugs we found, and the ceramic liner is a unique feature. While on the whole, this mug seems a decent value, that liner didn’t prove to be an asset in any way we could find, and the way the lid collects drips, and spreads them around is just annoying. The fact that the plastic ring which attaches the lid to the body just popped off in our eight-foot drop test makes us wonder how long it would take for grime and water to start collecting at that joint (even in normal use).

Timolino – Icon

The Timolino – Icon won top marks from Cook’s Illustrated , and it performed well in our cleaning and drop tests, but the drip-flip lid is a serious annoyance that was also noted by Amazon reviewers. While it didn’t break, this mug did leak around the seal every time we looked at it funny, so we wouldn’t put it anywhere near a computer bag.

OXO Good Grips- SSDWTM

Bloomberg found this OXO mug quite difficult to destroy. Dropping it three times from ceiling height before giving up. We like its durability, but the push-button lid is the only one we tested that isn’t dishwasher safe, and it traps a good quantity of fluid in the spout even after it’s closed, which makes it messy to drink from.

The discontinued champion: CamelBak – Forge

(Editor’s note: The Camelbak – Forge was discontinued in 2018, and we’re sad to say that it hasn’t been replaced with an equivalent design. Our original review is preserved here for posterity.)

The CamelBak – Forge is as smart as it is tough. The mechanism for opening and sealing the spout whenever you pull the “trigger” is simple and effective, and the Forge practically turns itself inside out for you when you need to clean it. (Even replacing the o-ring for the seal would be trivial.)

The Forge keeps your drink hot for a very long time; not as long as some of the mugs we tested, but well within the expected performance of a vacuum-insulated travel mug with a wide-mouth opening. Mugs with narrower openings (like our runner-up pick below) will keep the heat for longer, but that makes them harder to clean and fill.

In our leak test, the Forge did leave evidence that it had let out a single drop when we checked at 10 minutes into the half-hour spin-cycle test; no further leaks were found at the end of the test, and the amount lost didn’t register on our electronic kitchen scale.

The Forge doesn’t have a way to lock out its trigger the way Contigo’s latest designs do, but CamelBak has shaped a loop at the back of the lid that totally protects the trigger from basically anything other than your finger. It’s possible that some object of the right shape could press on it in just the right circumstances, but on the spin-cycle leak test the Forge was far more effective than the other self-sealing mugs (even the ones with locks).

What’s more, the loop is a convenient way to clip the Forge onto a backpack, bike bag, or just to hook a finger through, and it also prevents it from rolling if it’s knocked over. (That means it won’t just stop you from spilling coffee: it’ll also save you from that embarrassing conversation where you have to ask your coworkers if they’ve seen a mug rolling around on the floor.)

CamelBak has catered to the outdoor enthusiast crowd for decades and has a great reputation for warranty work and customer service. They guarantee this mug for life against defects in the workmanship or materials, which doesn’t strictly cover things like worn rubber o-rings or driving over it with a cement truck, but when we looked for comments on repair services we found that CamelBak is often very generous.

Our testers have used travel mugs daily for many years and while engaged in activities ranging from truck driving to theatrical stage management, so they had some long-standing demands and expectations. We sorted through countless published professional and consumer reviews and dove into enthusiast discussion boards to find our finalists. We’ve especially kept an eye out for online buzz about flaws and weaknesses, which we’ve tested for and noted. Value is an important consideration for items like this, and we’ve included mugs that ranged in price from $16 to $30 at the time we ordered them. If you’re interested in the best glass water bottle for traveling, read out in-depth review here .

After our old top pick from Camelbak was discontinued, we started looking for replacements. The Burnout promised to solve all our problems with heat-retention tradeoffs, so we added it to the list. We’re watching for a new auto-seal design that’s as easy to clean as the Camelbak, but we haven’t found it yet.

Well on our way to developing permanent caffeine dependence after our French Press and Single-Cup Coffee Maker reviews, we indulged another caffeine binge as we filled, drained, cleaned, and tried to break 13 travel mugs for multiple weeks.

The ability to put a travel mug in your bag without fear of making book-and-computer soup separates the best of the travel mugs from the rest. It’s easy to say “this lid locks in the closed position so it won’t leak!” but some locks are easy to defeat accidentally (Contigo West Loop, we’re looking at you). To say without equivocation that the best mugs won’t leak, we put all the mugs in a duffle bag that spent half an hour inside an industrial dryer.

The mugs were filled, dried carefully, weighed, wrapped in a towel, and sealed in an individual bag. Then the seals on each mug were double-checked by shaking (all passed) and dropping them before we put them in the dryer. We started the spin-cycle, checked once at ten minutes, then again at the 30-minute mark. All leaks were clearly visible, and we weighed the mugs again after taking them out of their bags to see how much water had leaked out.

The Zojirushi – SM-SA48 , the Thermos – Sipp , and the Klean Kanteen leaked nothing in the half-hour they were tossed around inside the dryer. The Forge, without any lock or back-up mechanism to keep the seal from opening, only let out a single drop that we could see on its towel-wrap at the ten-minute mark, and we didn’t see any more evidence of leaks at the end (nor could we measure the amount of water that had escaped.)

Another important duty of a travel mug is stopping spills. Some of our testers have worked in locations where only spill-proof mugs are allowed, and far too many of us have experienced the tragic consequences of using unworthy mugs in moving vehicles or at desks covered with important documents.

We simulated a desk-spill by filling each mug halfway with a measured amount of water, then tipping it on its side (spout down). After 15 seconds, we picked up the mug and re-checked the amount of water to determine how much water spilled. We wanted to be sure we were simulating a real-world spill: a lid or seal you can manually close might be great for throwing in a bag, but the spills that matter are the ones that happen while the lid/lock isn’t closed. (Note: we tested the Ello – Mesa both opened and closed. It spilled so much while it was supposed to be “sealed” we included that number on the chart.)

The self-sealing mugs practically cheat on the spill test, and that’s why we like them. Of the mugs that spilled nothing when knocked over, also note that the Forge has a lid design that prevents it from rolling off your desk.

Clean-up test

Keeping a mug clean is one of those tasks that makes the difference between “buy it for life” and trashing an expensive mug in disgust. Our rating here is based on hand-washing with a sponge, scrubber, or bottle-brush, but we’ve also noted if the manufacturer says you can put the whole mug in the dishwasher.

We tested how easy it is to effectively field-clean the mugs with a method similar to systems used by metallurgists looking for cracks in airframes: a (non-toxic, water-based) fluorescent paint was poured into the mugs and then out through the drinking spout. Next, the mugs were filled with soapy water, agitated, drained through the spout, and rinsed in the same way.

While the paint came out in our simple rinse procedure without any obvious dribbles or droplets remaining in most cases (there was a tiny drop left inside the Klean Kanteen’s three-piece seal), we did spot some residue left behind on all the mugs under a UV inspection light.

The Contigo Autoseal system is great for convenient spill-free sipping, but its springs and levers are immersed in your pumpkin-spice foam and nutmeg sprinkles.

The hinged-lid Thermos and Zojirushi mugs are pretty easy to clean, with the Thermos Direct Drink taking an edge here because of a vent design that’s a hole rather than a tube.

Some notes on dishwasher compatibility

All of the lids for these mugs (with the exception, inexplicably, of the OXO Good Grips) are guaranteed safe for top-rack dishwasher cleaning. Some also guarantee that the body of the mug will be okay on the top rack, but only if it’s an unpainted stainless steel body — a mark against the Auto-Seal Transit’s silicone grip design. Stanley and Bubba are both willing to back up their mugs in dishwasher use despite paint and plastic accessories; the hammertone paint looks OK, but the plastic rings on the Bubba seem destined to trap dishwater over time.

While we wouldn’t recommend daily dishwashing of these mugs (the extreme heat expands and contracts the steel along the seams that keep the vacuum in, which is why many manufacturers say it voids their warranty). If you want to be able to throw it in the top rack every once in a while for a deep-cleaning, though, it’s encouraging to know that a company has your back even if the vacuum fails after ten or twenty years.

Heat retention test

We ran two tests to measure how well these mugs retain heat. The first test gives a broad overview of mug performance when starting with water at typical restaurant serving temperature; the second test shows how our favorite mugs performed when starting with a lower temperature.

High-temperature heat retention

In the first test, we poured very hot water (it was a lot of pouring, so starting temperature varied, but we’ve normalized the differences to show loss from a 185°F starting temperature) into all the mugs and checked the temperature after an hour. Results are in the main table above.

We found that all of the mugs, even the air-insulated Ello – Mesa, will keep your Starbucks coffee hot enough to be ‘drinkable’ after sitting around for an hour. Not only that, two of the mugs we tested kept beverages hot enough to burn you. We want to point out that this kind of test obscures some basic usability complaints that are frequently made in comments about award-winning mugs: they keep boiling-hot coffee so hot that you may need to take extra steps in order to drink it. Some mug-owners on Reddit suggest ice cubes — no, that’s not a joke, ice cubes — to get your fresh cup of hot coffee or tea down to a drinkable temperature.

Excellent Insulation: Zojirushi - SM-SA48

The performance of this mug is practically legendary. Its narrower opening and top performing insulation keeps drinks super hot for just a little bit longer than our top pick.

The Redditors were absolutely right: when we made tea with freshly boiled water in either of the top two insulation performers (the Zojirushi – SM-SA48 or the Thermos Direct Drink Insulated Bottle) we found that it won’t be cool enough for most people to drink (below 155°F) until an hour later, even if you leave the lid off completely.

Mugs like these are great if you want to keep drinks hotter for longer. Just be sure you cool your coffee or tea before adding to the mug, or pour out your beverage to drink until temperatures inside the mug have reached a safe level.

Studies show that the severity of burns starts getting significantly worse at temperatures above 175°F, so temperature curves between 200°F and 175°F aren’t showing anything but a danger zone. A study published in the Journal of Food Science shows that most people will mix cream/milk (or colder coffee) into their hot coffee to bring it down to around 140°F if they’re going to drink it immediately. Further, the Specialty Coffee Association of America cupping and tasting protocols recommend that evaluation of flavor should not begin until coffee has cooled to between 160 – 140°F.

Commuter ‘sip’ test

With that in mind, our second test used water heated to only 167°F. We filled five mugs: three top-ranked in our first heat test, the CamelBak – Forge , and a heavy, 18 oz-capacity open-top ceramic mug as a control.

After 30 minutes, 50ml of water was decanted from each mug into a 100 ml pyrex beaker every 15 minutes. With a bench thermometer and K-type probe, we took eight samples from each mug, leaving a slightly larger sample at the end. This controls for the way most of us drink away the specific heat capacity of the water in our travel mugs if we sip periodically over the course of a commute or while working at a desk.

The best and worst performance in this test still correspond roughly to what we saw the first test we ran, but it does show that even in this less-generous scenario the Forge can keep coffee in the “comfortably hot” zone all the way up to two hours, though it’s 15°F cooler than the Thermos. That’s longer than any of us likes to keep the same mug of coffee around, so we’re more than satisfied. (Any insulated mug is also far, far better than a ceramic open-top mug, which lost the same amount of heat in less than 20 minutes.)

Other than falling off a desk, the most likely accident a mug will endure is falling off the roof of a car or truck. We subjected the mugs to a battery of drop tests to give a real-world worst-case assessment of what will happen when you forget which pocket your keys are in and set your mug on the car’s roof “just for a second.”

We included a drop onto a padded surface in our leak test earlier, and all of the mugs escaped that without damage (most didn’t even leak).

In the first part of our (more destructive) drop test, nearly all the mugs also survived falling from desk height onto concrete with only some road rash. The exception is the Zojirushi – SM-SA48, which cracked badly enough that the lock is only barely holding together.

We carried on dropping the mugs from higher and still higher heights, eliminating mugs that were too broken to be usable. The eight-foot drop cracked five of the remaining eleven mugs. After the ten-foot drop, one more (the Thermos Direct Drink) was eliminated. We’ve separated those mugs still working into “indestructibles” which look the same as they did after the first drop, and “juggernauts” which still do their jobs perfectly, but bear cracks or other deformation beyond scuffs or scrapes. The Forge, for example, shows obvious signs of fracture on one arm of the carabiner loop — it doesn’t flex or bend, though, and the seal mechanism functions as before.

There are a handful of usability factors that make the difference between your go-to travel mug companion and a dud you’d rather just leave at home. We’ve found the most important factors to be the following:

Leak and spill protection:  You should be able to use a travel mug without fear of spills on your lap or in your backpack.

Ease of opening:  If you want to enjoy a hot beverage while driving, one-handed operation is as much a safety feature as a convenience.

Mess avoidance:  All spouts and lids will collect some liquid while you’re drinking (flip-open lids tend to be the worst in this regard), so in our usability table we’ve rated how safe they are around white silk shirts.

Ease of cleaning:  Nobody wants to use a mug they can’t get clean.

Heat retention:  Hot drinks like your coffee or tea should stay pleasantly hot.

Cup holder/single-brewer compatible:  For those looking for compatibility with a single-cup coffee brewer, we’ve noted which mugs are seven inches or shorter (typical height for a single-cup brewer when the drip tray is removed; your machine may vary), and whether a “shorty” model (usually in 12 oz capacity) is available.

Durability:  Drops happen. A winning travel mug can survive the accidental fall from the top of your car as you absentmindedly back down the driveway on a hectic Monday morning.

Notes for tea and pour-over brewing

If you want a built-in loose-leaf-infuser option: Contigo , Thermos , Stanley , and Zojirushi all sell tea-steeping versions of the mugs we tested here (or snap-in accessories) that might help you out, but we’ve been happy with the convenience of drop-in or basket infusers.

Both loose-leaf tea drinkers and pour-over coffee geeks should note mouth-width before they buy: we found the necks of the Klean Kanteen, Thermos Direct Drink, and Zojirushi – SM-SA48 were too small to take any but the narrowest tea infusers; the Hario V60 pour-over coffee brewer just fits the mouth of the Thermos.

Why are they all stainless steel?

Most heat from your mug (once you put a lid on it) is lost through conduction, and the material that conducts the least is nothing at all — hard vacuum. Keeping a vacuum inside the wall of a mug requires a material that’s stiff and strong: steel is stiff, strong, easy to work, and economical. Most of the steel mugs tested specify “18/8 grade” steel or SAE/AISI “304 Stainless”, which contains approximately 18% chromium and 8% nickel. 304 is one of the most widely used alloys in the world (for everything from cookware to the DeLorean to the Gateway Arch) because of its versatility and stain resistance, so there’s a good chance the mugs that don’t specify an alloy are using it or something very similar.

In a strong bath of citric acid, 304 will release slightly more chromium than other alloys do, but for beverage use 304 stainless is as inert as any other stainless alloy, and none of us tasted any unusual metallic flavors in these mugs (even after we left hot orange juice in our top picks for a few hours). If you’re sensitive to trace amounts of nickel or chrome and you drink extra-acidic tea or coffee, consider the Zojirushi – SM-SA48 (which was nearly our favorite and is “non-stick” lined).

It’s probably worth noting here: all these manufacturers specify that they use BPA-free plastics.

Non-steel mugs

We included one non-steel mug in our lineup, the Ello – Mesa double-wall ceramic mug. We looked at other popular ‘reusable to-go cup’ designs, but none of them had spill-proof lids or insulating properties that would make them competitive in this line-up. (Some issues, like reports of a smelly latex rubber lid on one popular brand, or lids that were difficult to snap on, made our choice not to test even easier.)

The Mesa does keep your drink hot three times longer than a conventional open-top single-wall ceramic mug (an hour above 140°F instead of 15 minutes), but the sliding closure on the lid did not prevent spills.

While some manufacturers of the stainless steel mugs say you can put them in the dishwasher, the microwave is territory held securely by mugs like the Mesa: we microwaved water to a piping-hot 186°F and were happy to find that the outside of the mug was only a pleasantly-warm 93°F, unlike some ceramic mugs that get insanely hot on the outside when nuked.

So, if you are simply looking for slightly better insulation in a ceramic tumbler that can go in the microwave and the dishwasher, the Mesa is worth considering; if you want to stop spills and keep your drink hot for a long commute, read on.

Caffeine keeps us alert, awake, and energized. The Contigo – Transit ensures that it will also go into your mouth, not onto your lap or computer. The easy-to-sip-from self-sealing design makes it a clear winner for most uses, though it doesn’t have the best heat retention.

If you like your drinks at tongue-scalding temperatures, consider the Thermos – Sipp , which keeps boiling water too hot to drink for an hour, even with the lid off. The Thermos is also easier to clean than most mugs. It will spill if you knock it over with the lid flipped up, but when it’s locked you can rest assured it won’t come open in your bag.

Top Pick: Thermos -Sipp

It won't prevent spills if you leave the lid open, but this mug is practically perfect in every other way. It will keep your beverage almost too hot.

Share this Review

Daniel Jackson , Writer

Daniel is a Canadian farm boy who grew up to be a nerd with a literature degree and too many hobbies to count. He emigrated from Canada to California in 2013, and now writes for Your Best Digs full-time. Daniel remains unapologetic about Canadian spelling, serial commas, and the destruction of expensive travel mugs.

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A Zürich, Switzerland Land Trip With Viking River Cruise

By: Author Melody Pittman

Posted on September 10, 2023

During our unforgettable Paris to the Swiss Alps cruise with Viking River Cruises, my husband (Eddie) and I found ourselves in the captivating city of Zürich, Switzerland. Although I had been to Switzerland before, Zürich was an unexplored gem. Viking River Cruises seamlessly transported us from the cruise ship to the hotel, and later to the airport, as part of their all-inclusive package.

Zürich bewitched us with its mesmerizing beauty and undeniable charm, despite being notoriously expensive. Over the course of our two-day stay, we eagerly immersed ourselves in the city’s delights, making the most of the complimentary walking tour and invigorating boat ride organized by Viking River Cruises. Allow me to share a glimpse of what awaits you on your visit to Zürich.

Read more about the 12 day river cruise here.

Zürich Scenery

Breathtaking scenery unfurls in every direction in Zürich. Whether it be the grandeur of the architectural masterpieces or the vibrant façades of historical buildings, the snow-capped Swiss Alps serving as a backdrop or the enchanting cobblestone streets that wound their way through the city, there is no shortage of picturesque moments that will prompt your camera to work overtime.

Zürich is an incredible city to explore on foot. Without even realizing it, we covered an impressive seven miles in a single day, diligently recorded by our trusty Fitbit. Such was the pleasure derived from our stroll that the concept of distance faded away, leaving us fully engrossed in the awe-inspiring ambiance that unfolded at every turn.

The Food in Zürich

Switzerland is renowned for its exquisite culinary offerings, with one of my personal favorites being cheese. Everywhere you go, you’ll encounter a plethora of exotic cheese choices. During my visit, indulging in authentic Swiss cheese fondue at the Swiss Chuchi Restaurant , nestled in the heart of the old town, was a must for me and my companion Eddie.

We opted for the traditional recipe, combining Vaudois cheese, white wine, cherry liquor, and garlic, resulting in a gastronomic delight that exceeded all expectations.

Another popular cheese delicacy in Zürich is raclette, which has recently gained popularity even in American eateries. While exploring the town, we noticed numerous raclette shops scattered around, its tantalizing aroma captivating our senses well before catching sight of it.

It’s worth noting that dining in Zürich can be quite costly. Simple meals often came with a hefty price tag of $24, and even a small bottled soda would cost between $4 and $7 at our hotel. Surprisingly, beer turned out to be more economical than both water and soda.

However, in the old town, we stumbled upon a gem called Blue Monkey —a delightful Thai restaurant boasting chic decor and offering a lunch buffet priced at $26 per person. I wholeheartedly recommend this establishment for an exquisite culinary experience.

Overall, Switzerland’s gastronomic offerings, particularly its cheese creations, exceeded all expectations, and I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of my culinary adventure in this beautiful country.

Parade Square

Eddie and I thoroughly enjoyed strolling through Paradeplatz (Parade Square) located in downtown Zürich. This upscale district is renowned for its exceptional shopping opportunities and the chance to observe people in action.

Parade Square places fashion and accessories at center stage, while home accents come in a close second.

If you happen to be staying outside the downtown area, fret not as getting there is incredibly convenient via the tram system. Coming from someone who seldom relies on public transportation, I can attest to its ease of use.

Tram stations provide instructions in English and accept credit cards. They are maintained well, operate efficiently, and offer a superb means of traversing Zürich. As you journey through the city, do observe the dignified architecture and stunning floral displays that grace its streets.

Lake Zürich

During our Viking River post-cruise excursion, we had the pleasure of embarking on a delightful boat ride around the picturesque Lake Zurich. The boat tour commences from Bürkliplatz and extends for approximately 90 minutes.

With both indoor and outdoor seating options, passengers are treated to breathtaking views of the serene lake and majestic, snow-capped mountains.

Our route led us to the charming medieval town of Rapperswil, featuring a captivating 12th-century castle gracefully perched on a hillside across the lake. If desired, passengers had the flexibility to disembark in Rapperswil and catch a later boat back into town.

Undoubtedly, the boat ride boasts exceptional scenery, allowing guests to relish the rejuvenating fresh air. Moreover, this memorable experience came at no cost for Viking River Cruise guests, ensuring that you seize the opportunity to partake in it.

Our Zürich Hotel

During our Viking River Cruise, we had the pleasure of being accommodated at the Sheraton Zürich Hotel , an elegant and sophisticated establishment situated in a cosmopolitan district. The rooms provide a comfortable sitting area, heavenly beds, an ergonomic desk and work area, a mini-fridge, and a refreshing shower, ensuring a pleasant stay.

To the delight of cruise ship guests, Viking offers a complimentary breakfast in a private space at the hotel, which proved to be a significant money-saving opportunity. Moreover, the Sheraton Hotel’s convenient location near the Toni-Areal tram station opens up a plethora of possibilities for exploring the city.

Zürich, Switzerland: One for the Books!

Zürich itself is known for its stunning scenery, making it a lovely city to visit. As part of Switzerland, a truly breathtaking country with an abundance of attractions, Zürich stands out as my favorite city thus far.

Read more from our Viking River Cruises:

Things to Know for your Viking Cruise

Remembering My Rhine River Cruise

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Friday 18th of October 2019

I love Viking cruises, I had the pleasure of doing one in Portugal. I worked in Switzerland for 3 years and I can tell you that it is a BEAUTIFUL country!

Melody Pittman

Saturday 19th of October 2019

Nice. I'd like to do the Portugal one, too. I visited there on a cruise many years ago and really loved the country. You've had such a fun life. ; )

We've spent quite a bit of time in Switzerland but only about a day in Zurich. You really bring it to life. There are so many things to see when we return. I miss raclette so would definitely seek it out!

It is popping up all over the states this year. In Zurich, we could smell it before we saw it. LOL Thanks for reading!

Michael Hodgson

Wednesday 16th of October 2019

Been to Zurich numerous times and love the city ... though as you noted it is VERY expensive!!! And the food scene is off the charts, just be sure it is budgeted for. Cheese and chocolate in fondues, spreads, and all sorts of creative variations are enough to drive a foodie nuts. Did you get a chance to make it over to Konstanz by chance and the Bodensee?

Thursday 17th of October 2019

I didn't. This was at the end of our 12 day trip and we were spent. ;) Thanks for the suggestions for next time.

I've only been to Geneva as it is close to my house in the French Alps. I'm a fan of cheese fondue. It's not the healthiest meal but it's very satisfying on a cold winter's day! And the charm of Swiss town is always an attraction!

Eric Gamble

Tuesday 15th of October 2019

Your Killing me with all that food Melody! Darcee & I are so excited to take our 1st ever Viking cruise for our honeymoon over New Years Eve up the Danube. Though we wont hit Zurich, we are so excited to see the rest. But with regards to you Zurich land day, what a food extravaganza! I personally would have swapped out that cheese fondue for a chocolate one but that is cause I have a problem...well I don't think it is a problem but essentially I am the cookie monster of chocolate. Love all the buildings around Zurich too. I have only been to Lucerne and that was a long time ago. But I definitely want to return and explore Zurich also.

Nice! What a way to ring in the new year! I know you will love it! The Danube is super fun. When you sail into Budapest at night, just lay your camera, phone, etc. aside and be fully present in the amazing views. It is so freaking incredible and I was nearly moved to tears. Can't wait to follow along! ;)

Thai Airways Business Class Review – Zurich to Bangkok

Continuing with my journey to Thailand, this is the second part of my trip and my Thai Airways Business Class review. The first part of my trip was with Swiss Air in Business so let’s see how this flight compares with my earlier flight. After only about a two hour layover at Zürich airport, it was time to board my next flight. Flight 971 departed from Terminal E, Gate 39 where Business class passengers boarded on one side of the podium and a large crowd for Economy formed while waiting to board on the other side.

Thai Airways Business Class, or Royal Silk as it’s called, occupies the first two cabins of this 777-300ER aircraft. There are only two classes of service, either Business or Economy. For a nearly 10 1/2 hour flight and 5,623 miles in the air, I was more than happy to be seated in Business.

My Arrival Into Thai Airways Business Class

My flight from Boston to Zürich was a little more than 7 hours, which meant my hair was looking a little crazy, my makeup was pretty much non-existent, and I was dragging. Despite all of that, we boarded the plane and quickly found our seats in the first section of Business. Thai Airways Business Class is arranged in a 1-2-1 layout with the single seats alternating direction and the duo seats alternating whether you sit right next to someone or not. Since Mr. TSG and I were traveling together, I chose the duo seats without the partition in the middle, as you can see in the image above of the seats behind us. All seats have direct aisle access.

My Seat in Thai Airways Business Class

The Business Class cabin is designed in shades of purple and lilac and seats 42. Don’t worry about overhead bin space as there’s one for each seat located down the middle and sides of the aircraft.

Beneath the entertainment screen at your seat is both room for your feet and storage during the flight. There’s also two USB ports, but I wished they had been placed next to your seat instead of in front of you.

I put my backpack down so you can’t see the seat itself, but trust me when I tell you that each Thai Airways Business Class seat is 20″ wide with 87″ pitch or legroom, and is a 180 degree fully lie-flat bed. What’s in my backpack? I brought my airplane pajamas (thanks Virgin Atlantic!), my Beats headphones, and some snacks in case of a food emergency.

At your seat you’ll find the entertainment and seat controls as well as an AC outlet and more storage.

After getting organized and finally taking my seat, the flight attendant came over with a glass of champagne before the flight took off for Bangkok. The crew’s uniforms matched the aircraft in hues of purple and I loved the addition of a fresh orchid at my seat.

Thai Airways Business Class Beverage Menu

Additionally, we were provided with an expansive beverage menu (loved the tea options) and…

Thai Airways Business Class Cuisine Menu

A separate cuisine menu. As I had preordered a vegetarian vegan meal through the airline, I decided to browse the menu anyway. Stubborn Mr. TSG had decided not to preorder any meals and wing it and it would be on this flight where it would absolutely come back to haunt him.

Thai Airways Business Class Amenity Kit

Located at my seat was a  Thai Airways Business Class Amenity Kit in a Furla bag.  Inside the Thai Airways branded bag were the following items: Brush and comb, slumber shade, earplugs, toothbrush, toothpaste, mouthwash, Acca Kappa lip balm, Acca Kappa body lotion, and slippers. Certainly not the worst amenity kit I’ve ever seen, but not the best either, but pretty much on the “meh” side of things.

After takeoff, the flight attendants made the rounds with hot towels, drinks, and warm nuts. My biggest problem with the service on this flight was that the flight attendants were completely out of sync. The only reason I mention this is that I would be served and Mr. TSG often sat without anything for extended periods of time. When passengers are traveling together, you’d expect that not to happen. It was both awkward and uncomfortable.

Entertainment Options

The entertainment options onboard included some of the latest movies and television programs although not many, along with a detailed flight map.

Since I had preordered a vegan meal (the airlines say vegetarian vegan), my food was delivered earlier than others in the cabin, including Mr. TSG. Gone are the trolleys you might still see on other airlines as the flight attendant carries everything individually to your seat along with linen and flatware. This is ideal especially if you want to sleep undisturbed. My starter was some kind of pepper salad, couscous, and I still don’t know what that red stuff was in the front.

Remember how Mr. TSG didn’t pre-order his meal? His flight attendant made an effort to find food that would be suitable for him and so he started with a salad. Bread was also served and yes, that was donated to Mr. TSG who was ravenous at this point.

For my entrée I received some kind of curried cauliflower with rice and some other vegetables on the plate. Since I’m not eating rice at this time, I had to pass on that along with the much despised baby corn.

My dessert was fresh fruit, which was perfect for me although I swear those little berries were the ones I was told to avoid eating as a child.

After his salad, Mr. TSG received a fruit plate and a cheese course. He was happy about receiving anything at this point, which was 20 minutes after I received my fruit course.

Ten minutes later, this small plate with two tiny samosas, a dollop of potatoes, and some veggies on the side arrived. While you can certainly appreciate the effort they made to find him something to eat, for a 6′ tall marathon runner, this was nothing more than a snack.

After our meals were taken away, I completed the arrival and departure forms that were handed out. Then I immediately went into sleep mode and converted my seat into a bed. I donned the Thai Airways headphones that are provided, chose a movie (Arrival), and made an effort to sleep. Not sure if the seats weren’t as comfortable as my last flight, but I had a harder time sleeping on this flight.

About six hours later, the lilac mood lighting indicated it was time to start waking up and prepare for meal service and eventually landing in Bangkok. I welcomed the fresh fruit and promptly turned over the muffin to Mr. TSG and ignored the soy yogurt.

Ten minutes later his breakfast service arrived and was similar to mine, but for croissants, regular yogurt, and less fruit.

My breakfast entrée was two small hash browns, tomatoes, mushrooms, and spinach. Overall, not bad and a much heartier breakfast than I usually receive on long flights.

For his breakfast entrée, which miraculously arrived at the same time as mine, Mr. TSG received an omelet with assorted veggies. The man is always hungry and ate it although I thought it looked somewhat spongy in texture. Then our trays were whisked away and it was time for us to land in Bangkok at Suvarnabhumi Airport .

Final Thoughts

Overall, I would say that despite some crazy turbulence where I was doing some heavy duty praying, the flight was uneventful despite the erratic service. Had the flight attendants been more in sync and delivered meals at the same time, it probably would’ve made a world of difference. I’ll be honest when I say that I was expecting great service. Especially after all that I had read online, which is why I ended up being somewhat disappointed.

After nearly one day of flying, I was in Bangkok and ready to discover everything Thailand. Stay tuned for my upcoming posts about arriving into Suvarnabhumi Airport and then exploring Bangkok , Chiang Mai, Hong Kong, and Macau.

Have you had a chance to fly Thai Airways Business Class? Share your thoughts in the comments below. Then don’t forget to check out the rest of the Travel Shop Girl website .

5 thoughts on “ Thai Airways Business Class Review – Zurich to Bangkok ”

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I am flying from Zurich to Bangkok on Thai Airways (which I have flown before, and really enjoyed) on the same flight number (TG971) next month (April 2019). I am hoping the seating will be the same when I depart from Zurich – 1-2-1 configuration and not the 2-3-2 configuration. I’ll see in one month – Love Royal Thai Air

I am flying Zurich to Bangkok on the 9th of April (2019). I have some anxiety about this flight as I was told this will be on a 777-300 (not the ER, even though the flight is close to 11 hours) where the seats are 2-3-2 in Business Class (that is more like Economy Plus) – I’m certainly hoping it will be the 1-2-1 version, and I will let you know. I have flown Thai Air before to Bangkok (different route) and was very pleased with everything – great flight and exceptional service.

Sorry I couldn’t reply until now which means you’ve already taken your flight. Please report back and let me know how it was. Thanks!

Comments are closed.

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Zurich City Evening Sunset - 11oz Ceramic Coffee Mug Tea Cup

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• Dimension: 11-Ounce Mug Measures 3.7" High x 3.1" Diameter.
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• For Coffee, Tea, Milk, Hot Chocolate, Boiled Water and all kinds of Drinks.
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• Weight is 320 grams.

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