DrinkTanks 10-Ounce Vacuum Insulated Cup ($24) (Sarah Jackson) It’s our hunch that the lid is also responsible for a significant temperature drop over 12 hours, earning the Purist second-to-last place in the heat-retention category.īuy Now 5. And the lid completely broke on the second drop of the durability test. The opening was too wide, letting scalding coffee pour too quickly into our mouth. But its Union Top was plagued with issues. Purist 10-Ounce Maker ($40 or $60 with Union Top)īy far the best-looking mug of the bunch, the Purist also didn’t impart any coffee taste into our booze. Testers appreciated the handle while drinking around the campfire, and the tapered bottom meant that the Chaser could still fit in a car cupholder.īuy Now 4. In fact, the lid did scratch but was otherwise barely scathed after all 30 drops. (And sorry ORCA, but the whale-tail-shaped opening was tacky.) Our fears were unfounded, however. So why was it a sleeper? The lid has a lot of clear plastic that looked like it would dump heat and break easily. The Chaser Cafe was the sleeper of the test, putting up solid numbers in both the heat-retention and leak tests and winning the durability portion outright. ORCA 20-Ounce Chaser Cafe ($35) (Sarah Jackson) And the Hot Cap would have been a strong contender for first had the lid not fared so poorly in the drop test: while it was still usable, it looked like a German shepherd had claimed it as a chew toy and was uncomfortable to drink from thereafter.īuy Now 3.

It was very close to the Yeti in the heat-retention test, dropping only four more degrees in the 12-hour period. The closure on the lid is reminiscent of the spigot on a hose, and we found it one of the easiest to open and close with one hand. The Hot Cap tied with the Rambler for usability, the result of a deep curve in the lid that conformed nicely to testers’ lower lips. CamelBak 12-Ounce Hot Cap ($25) (Sarah Jackson) And its opening was just the right size to allow only the perfect amount of liquid through.īuy Now 2. That cap not only helped this heavily insulated hoss hold heat the best, but it sustained very little damage during the drop test. The HotShot cap opened and closed with a satisfying twist of the thick rectangular handle (which could easily have been used with thick gloves if this test had taken place in the winter). Other than losing out to the cheaper ORCA in the durability test, the Rambler took the cake for best-or tied for best-in all categories.

The Results Winner: Yeti Rambler 12 with HotShot Cap ($30) (Sarah Jackson) Finally, I dropped each mug from shoulder height on its lid, base, and side ten times each to test durability. I then weighed them again to see how much water they’d lost. And to determine how leakproof each was, I filled the cups to the brim, weighed them, closed the lids, placed them on their side (mouth opening down when applicable), and let them sit for 30 minutes. (We also used them for cocktails and wine to see if they’d held on to the coffee taste from the morning.) To gauge heat retention, I placed boiling water in each, took the temperature, let them sit in my 73-degree kitchen for 12 hours, then took their temperature again. Then, to get other peoples’ impressions, I took the mugs on a two-day family camping trip and made four other adults drink at least two cups of coffee from each. I drank at least one cup of coffee out of each of these vessels and took notes. After several weeks of testing, here’s my ranking of the best. And it’s just as important to have the right mug to hold your life-giving java. That advice still rings true 20 years later. One of my old raft-guiding mentors once told me that there are two things you cannot pack too much of on a trip: bacon and coffee.

Yeti coffee cups