Our favorite insulated mugs for commutes, camping, and car rides. I go to sleep thinking about my morning coffee. Needless to say, I’m a coffee devotee. Each morning I brew my hot coffee, sweeten it to perfection, and pour it into my beloved Owala travel mug (more on that later). It’s a ritual I look forward to each day. If like me, you need a reusable travel mug you can trust to stay hot for hours and not spill all over you on your way to work, then you’ve come to the right place.
Our travel editors are always on the go, whether we’re catching a train, boarding an early morning flight, or checking out a new hotel. All of which requires us to be on time and completely caffeinated. This means we’ve tested our fair share of travel mugs over the years. Our favorites have a few things in common: The very best coffee mugs for travel are leakproof, well-insulated, and lightweight enough to keep in a small tote bag or backpack.
I give bonus points to the mugs that are easy to refill and even easier to clean. Read on for the seven travel mugs we recommend most to keep your hot latte, matcha, or tea ready to drink on the road. There’s a perfect mug for every commuter, camper, and coffee lover near and far. *** Capacity: 12 oz. Even after my hour-plus commute to the office, my coffee is always hot. And it stays that way—if I haven’t finished my coffee by the afternoon, it’s still pretty warm.
The impressive insulation is definitely my favorite thing
The impressive insulation is definitely my favorite thing about the Owala SmoothSip tumbler, but it’s not the only standout feature: The reusable cup is completely leakproof. Unlike other mugs I’ve tried in the past, I can comfortably toss this one in my tote bag without any worry of it spilling all over my laptop. I even give it a good shake to mix my coffee and milk together, and there are never any leaks.
My only con is that the brand recommends handwashing the tumbler to keep its exterior in good condition (but truthfully, I’ve put it in the dishwasher several times and it has held up just fine). I regularly use the larger 20-ounce version for work, but the smaller 12-ounce size is much more travel-friendly and is my go-to for day trips and weekends away. Like Owala’s popular water bottles, its travel tumbler is available in a slew of fun colors, including this pretty pink shade called Pucker Up.
Capacity: 16 oz. This Stanley 1913 coffee mug is great for commutes. It has a top handle in case you’re carrying it by hand, but also is completely leakproof, so you can throw it in your tote bag or backpack without worrying about a spill. That durability means you have to fully unscrew the top lid to get to the cap that you sip through, but as someone often on busy trains in the morning, it’s worth the extra effort to not stress about any drips.
Another perk: The cream color is so cute
Another perk: The cream color is so cute! —Madison Flager, commerce director
Capacity: 16 oz. I’ve gone through plenty of travel mugs over the years, but the Carter 3-in-1 Sip System is the one I keep coming back to. I’ve had mine for years now and honestly haven’t found another that keeps my hot drinks warm for as long. The brand says up to 12 hours, but on a multi-day road trip I once found a drink I’d forgotten about from the day before and couldn’t believe it was still warm.
And not just room-temperature warm, but actually nice to drink. I now own it in a few colors and have added different lids along the way. I love the slim, minimalist design, but the ceramic interior might be my favorite part: There’s none of that metallic or plastic taste I’ve gotten from other travel mugs, which is a huge turnoff for me. The 3-in-1 Lid System lets me change up the top I want to use depending on what I’m doing.
The Carry Lid is my favorite for walks, while the Splash Guard keeps things from sloshing around in the car or on the go. There’s also a lid designed specifically for cold drinks, which is great for iced coffee or iced tea. At this point, I seem to add a new color to my wish list every year. —Emily Bukowski, visuals editor
Capacity: 20 oz. This is my favorite travel mug, whether I’m drinking a hot latte or an iced coffee on the go.
It’s fully insulated so the coffee inside stays
It’s fully insulated so the coffee inside stays piping hot—or ice rattling cold—and its shape is nice and easy to hold. Despite how hot it keeps my coffee, gripping the mug never burns my hands. It’s big, which means it’ll take up more space in your bag afterwards, but that also means that my one-cup-of-coffee-limit goes a whole lot further. I’ve had it for years and it’s easy to clean and so resilient—I know I’ll be using it for many more.
—Megan Spurrell, senior features editor
Capacity: 12 oz. I fell in love with Frank Green’s reusable water bottle for its looks, but it’s so much more than that. The insulated bottle genuinely keeps liquids cold—which has been a godsend in the UK heatwaves this summer. So when it came to find a travel coffee mug, choosing the brand was a no-brainer. I bring mine with me on my daily commute to work in London, on long drives through the countryside, and for crack-of-dawn airport runs.
This ceramic tumbler is the perfect size, and I’d buy it time and time again. —Sarah Bannerman, commerce editor, Condé Nast Traveller UK
Capacity: 12 oz. Another favorite travel mug of mine is this insulated cup from Miir. While the lid doesn’t seal completely, meaning you can’t just throw it in your bag in between sips, I like that it feels more like an actual mug when I’m at my desk or around the campfire.
Best of all, my drink stays super hot,
Best of all, my drink stays super hot, and it is surprisingly easy to sip while on the go. For being made entirely of plastic and metal, this is a pretty great coffee mug. —M.S. Capacity: 10 oz. This travel mug has been a regular on my commute to work this summer—it keeps my coffee piping hot (or chilled), even on days I’m sipping it slowly. The flip-back lid closes tightly, so I never have to worry about it splashing out if I’m on a busy train.
I will say, it is fairly wide, so if you have small hands, you might find it a bit bulky to grip
Source: www.cntraveler.com
