Thermoses

Featured review by KiwiKlimber

A super durable, insulated water bottle that carries 40 fluid ounces (1.18L). When weight is a concern (i.e. long backpacking trips), I don’t take this along, but otherwise, it is with me wherever I go.

Conditions:I’ve owned the Hydro Flask 40oz. Wide Mouth bottle for a year, using it to carry water for hiking trips, paddling trips, to the climbing gym, camping, and on road trips. Construction and Durability:The Hydro Flask 40oz Wide Mouth is a beast of a bottle. It’s made to last a lifetime (hence the lifetime warranty). It would take the force of an entire army to break the bottle. Okay, maybe that’s slight hyperbole, but I’ve used and abused the bottle and it shows very little sign of wear other than a few scuffs.  Size:Carrying 40oz (1.18L) of liquid, the bottle is pretty big.

Read more: Hydro Flask 40 oz Wide Mouth reviews (6)

Reviewed by KiwiKlimber

The Insulated TKPro (25oz.) bottle from Klean Kanteen is everything an insulated bottle should be—durable to the max, well insulated, easy to pour, and comes with a comfortable cup. This bottle is a solid choice for those needing a solid insulated bottle.

Conditions: I’ve used the 25 oz. Klean Kanteen Insulated TKPro (also comes in 16 oz. and 32 oz. options) for three months in the spring and summer, including during car camping adventures, a few fishing and deer scouting trips, and on a roadtrip. I’ve used it for hot beverages, namely coffee and tea, as well as keeping soup hot. I’ve also used it for iced coffee in the dog days of summer. This fall and winter it will be my go-to coffee or soup kanteen for hunting, and it would have been a go-to vessel for tailgating, but that’s cancelled this year.  A slick-looking, tough-as-nails, insulated drinking vessel.   The TKPro may be big, but still packs easily in my Osprey Talon 22 pack's side pockets.

Read more: Klean Kanteen Insulated TKPro review (1)

Featured review by KiwiKlimber

More than just an oversized water bottle, this vessel goes everywhere with me. Keeps soups and hot drinks hot, and keeps cold adult and non-adult beverages cold.

While this bottle/growler is too heavy to take hiking and way too big to fit in my bike's bottle holder, it is still very handy and gets used way more than I initially thought it would.  I purchased it two years ago thinking it would be nothing more than a durable beer growler and an upgrade from my glass growlers that I was always afraid of breaking in transit. However, I've found this to be much more useful than just a beer growler (although it is still good for that purpose). Other than as a beer growler, the two most common scenarios I use it in are:1) Cold Weather, Hot Drink: Because it keeps things hot for a whole day no matter what the outside temperature is, I can fill it in the morning with hot chocolate, coffee, or soup, leave it...

Read more: Hydro Flask 64 oz Growler reviews (2)

Reviewed by Charles Polidano

Sturdy but heavy vacuum flask.

The Stanley Classic Legendary Bottle 0.47 litre vacuum flask. This vacuum flask (0.47 L / 16 oz) is rated to keep liquids hot or cold for 15 hours. I have not tested this: what I can say is that I have taken the flask on walks lasting six hours and it has kept my coffee hot throughout.   Stanley advertises its vacuum flasks as rugged and resistant to knocks. I have not tested this either (I like to take care of my gear). But I can believe it because the flask looks and feels hefty for its advertised volume.

Read more: Stanley Classic Legendary Bottle review (1)

Featured review by DrPhun

HYDRO FLASK Narrow Mouth Water Bottle, 21 oz.

This is a doubled walled stainless steel with a vacuum between the two walls so it insulates really well. It has the standard narrow mouth and cap. Even though I had the other two Hydro Flask bottles, my wife talked me into getting this one too, as it was on sale. It turns out I like it a lot more than I would have thought. My main concern was that the narrow mouth would make it too difficult to put ice in it, but I find that I can squeeze a few cubes in, and then because it is so well insulated, it stays cold a long time.

Read more: Hydro Flask 21 oz Standard Mouth reviews (4)

Reviewed by BigRed

A wide mouth, 0.5-liter thermos that can keep food palatably hot for up to 8 hours, but doesn't quite make it as a long-term ICDS (ice cream delivery system). A side mounted spork and secret compartment are some nice finishing touches.

  Meet Fat Stanley I started making ice cream when I was 15, during the summers at my dad’s place in southern NH. I took an ice cream making hiatus during my college and world travel years, but after all that I put in a couple years as part-time caretaker and all-round handyman at to help my dad start up a B and B in the White Mountains (while otherwise odd-jobbing, ski bumming, and running a nature center in the summers). I found the old ice cream maker packed away in the garage and she started right up.

Read more: Stanley Adventure Vacuum Food Jar review (1)

Reviewed by BigRed

A leakproof, sip-top, insulated stainless steel thermos that will keep drinks hot until lunchtime and beyond. Lid does not fully disassemble for washing, and you need to double check that it’s closed before going into pack.

  The Miir 360 Traveler On day trips in chilly-to-cold weather, I like to have a thermos of tea or coffee along, for both warmth and caffeine titration. A full liter is often too much, and besides my liter thermos has a traditional separate cup on top, so that I have to pour a cup and then find a place to put it and/or the thermos down to free up my hands for lunch or a snack, and an open cup also cools off to quickly.  So I’ve always preferred a thermos with some kind of a sip-top, preferably with a trustworthy seal so that it doesn’t leak in my pack.

Read more: REI Miir 360 Traveler review (1)

Reviewed by Aris Kondylides

Good to keep food warm for a few hours, do not expect insulation to equal a good water thermos. Recommended if you prep a hot meal in the morning to take for lunch.

I bought it recently for a solo winter trip in the mountains I am planning, the idea being that I will cook in a large pot in the evenings, eat dinner, and save half for next day's lunch. This way I have a hot meal ready to stave off hypothermia if the temps drop abruptly in the night, and I save some fuel by cooking larger quantities. The jug is well made, robust, the powder coating is nice. It securely closes; I expect no leaks as a silicon like joint presses on an inclined shape inside the opening.

Read more: Primus TrailBreak Lunch Jug Large review (1)

Reviewed by Bill Ashman

This water bottle does not seem to be as prone to the dent commonly seen on metal water bottles. Most importantly however is the fact that I've had the same ice in it for the last 36 hours and it is still going strong.

So, every year when my REI dividend comes in I tend to get an item that I cannot justify otherwise. This years item is the Klean Kanteen 20 oz Insulated Water Bottle. I admit that the price really had me think twice, but I was tired of using my Nalgene water bottle as my everyday beverage-holder-of-choice. I wanted something that looked more professional and kept my water extra cold. Long story short: I am very satisfied with my purchase. Ease of Use: Well, It is a water bottle after all.

Read more: Klean Kanteen 20oz Wide Insulated review (1)

Featured review by BigRed

Takes the prize for a pack-ready, sip-top insulted mug/bottle. The totally reliable seal opens with a twist, and the top disassembles easily for cleaning. Looks like it should take a lot of abuse.

I am on a quest for the Holy Coffee Cup, and this one is getting pretty close. What I want is an insulated mug with a totally reliable seal that won't leak in my pack even if I take a 1,000-foot fall down a couloir, that can be opened for sipping with one mittened hand without having to find a place to put down a cup or lid or any other loose parts in the snow, and that will keep my coffee at a perfect drinking temperature for at least 6 days and weighs less than 2 ounces and won't break or deform after falling off a cliff due to unintended droppage and can be cleaned without calling in Mary Poppins.

Read more: Klean Kanteen 12oz Wide Insulated reviews (2)