Coffee-mate: Thermos Round-up

Oh, and Kevin - Pangea doesn't make insulated bottles. Only the classic stainless steal non-insulated variety, which would be one reason why BP didn't review them.

I actually found this article very helpful. Does it tell you everything there is to possibly know about every thermos out there? No. But it helps to provide a starting point so that I can go look at various thermoses that other people (the BP test crew) thought were good. Frank, Fred, and Dufus - maybe the Nissan and Stanely WERE tested, but they just weren't good enough to make the cut. They tested many more bottles that they gave reviews for - as it says at the beginning of the article, these are the bottles that rose to the top. I think it would be interesting to at least list the other bottles that were tested even if a review of them isn't given, but they're not. Oh well.

Complete crap article.

C'mon, if you want us to put the effort into reading your article, do us the courtesy of writing a serious review.

If you want to go cheapo and don't mind some chipping paint, I've found the IKEA thermos to be awesome for a single person. It's very light and keeps things warm for at least a few hours. I doubt it's very durable (I lost my first one before I really wore it out), but I'm sure it would be fine on a half dozen weekend trips. It don't have any hooks, but I just stuff it into my pack.

This article is of little use in terms of a vacuum bottle comparison. It doesn't actually compare anything and provides inconsistent descriptions of the various bottles.

Two major players were left out (Stanley and Nissan (Thermos)) and the temperature retention stats seem horribly uncontrolled and only listed for some of them. Not every description talks about exterior size (how well will it fit in my pack? ...or does it fit in my cup holder?). What else wasn't compared?
- weight
- how leak-proof is leak proof?
- how hard/easy were the various lids cleaned?
- which bottle had the best temp retention?

You went through the effort of explaining CRES compositions... while interesting, I'd rather know more about how the bottles performed and usability pros and cons.

You show a picture of the Stanley bottle but you don't provide a review. I have a pair of small carabiners that I use to attach mine to the outside of my pack. None of these vacuum bottles is light, but you can't beat the Stanley for durability. They have at least four different sizes as well as wide mouthed food jars. All are stainless steel and all have earned their places in the back country. I suspect there must be something politically incorrect about the company or they would have made the cut.

A friend bought me a Nissan Thermos-brand insulated 20-oz (I think) insulated coffee bottle, and it works superbly. Pour in a boiling hot cup of coffee, and with no preheating it will still be warm hours later. the spring-loaded flip-open top is one-handed glove-friendly, spillproof and knock-around-proof and it fits in a cup holder as well as a parka pocket. I bought a second one from Amazon.com. Highly recommended.

If you like Klean Kanteen, then you will love Pangea Bottles. Not only are they eco-friendly, but they are also people-friendly. You see, for every bottle that they sell, they give one person clean water for 4 years! By donating 20% of the revenue from each bottle they are making a difference in a sustainable way! Check them out at http://www.PangeaBottles.com