The 11 Very Best Travel Mugs

Whatwe’relookingfor

Volume:12 to 20 ounces| Lid type:Flip lid| How to clean:Dishwasher safe

The MiiR Travel Tumbler is my personal favorite travel mug. I own the smallest size (12 ounces) and love the compact build and sleek shape. I find the grip itself to be secure, too, and slim enough to fit in one hand. The whole lid screws on tight; I’ve never experienced any leaking. It’s especially easy and comfortable to sip from, thanks to the small piece on the lid that flips up and reveals a hole that allows a stream steady enough to get a good mouthful but not so wide open that it spills when I tilt the mug back. This is even the case with iced coffee; the cubes never obstruct the opening or cause uneven flow (though if you mainly drink it this way, one of the larger sizes might be a better choice).

The temperature retention is fantastic, too; I’ve had coffee stay hot — not just warm but piping — for six hours. Jerad Morrison, co-founder and co-CEO ofSightglass Coffeein San Francisco, explains that this is thanks to the double-walled interior, which means it’s never too hot or too cold to hold on the outside. “It’s stainless steel, so it washes really easily,” Morrison says, “and doesn’t hold on to any flavors.” Will Pratt, founder and owner ofTandem Coffee Roastersin Portland, Maine, agrees that its material makes it a breeze to clean — and that if you have one, you can even just throw it in the dishwasher. “Coffee has sticky oils that leave residue, and there’s nothing worse than a mug that holds that flavor over time,” he says. The final bonus, as mentioned by Morrison, is that it fits into cup holders in both cars and bikes, which “is not always the case.”

Michael Philips, director of content and copy atBlue Bottle, recommends Miir’sstandard tumbler. Like the travel model above, the body is made from the same material, slightly tapered toward the bottom, so it still feels good in the hand and fits in cup holders, Philips says. The clear lid “gives you a chance to see what you’re drinking,” he says, and “does a great job stopping sloshes from getting out and onto your hands.”

Volume:6 to 16 ounces| Lid type:Flip lid| How to clean:Hand-wash only

KeepCup was also mentioned by many of our experts, and in my own testing, I liked it, too. The lid here functions pretty much the same as the MiiR, which means you can sip from the hole or take the whole thing off. Both make for comfortable sipping. But I will note: While there’s a small silicone tag that fits into the sip hole to seal it, it isn’t perfectly leakproof, meaning this isn’t a mug I would casually throw in my bag. But it’s very nice for taking on walks or bringing coffee-shop brew home.

I was initially nervous the glass would be delicate, but it’s thick and feels sturdy with a wide cork ring around the perimeter so I can grip without my fingers getting too hot. The glass body means that there’s not as much heat retention going on as some of the others. (And forRyan Fisher, director of coffee and roasting atGoodBoyBob Coffeein Santa Monica, California, that’s actually a benefit instead of a problem: The glass gets his coffee to the exact temperature he likes quickly.)

KeepCup was also praised by coffee pros who say its size and shape works well on their side of the counter, too. The small glass vessels were designed by two former baristas in Melbourne, Australia, making it easier for people like Joanna Lareau, coffee manager atStumptown, and Samya Said, former barista training manager atFairgrounds Coffee & Tea, to do their jobs. Both Lareau and Said say that having a wide mouth and inner slope allows baristas to pour amazing coffee art. Lareau also notes that the small size fits cortados and cappuccinos well. “Some reusable cups are so big they don’t fit into the espresso machine,” she says.

Volume:12 and 16 ounces| Lid type:Twist-off lid| How to clean:Hand-wash only

Fellow is a favorite brand among coffee-industry folks (itselectric kettleand two of itsgrindersare on our Best in Class lists) — so I wasn’t surprised to hear Morrison recommend its travel mug. He likes the sleek look — a sort of streamlined pill shape with a hardly noticeable logo on the top of the lid — and says it retains hot and cold temperatures well. In my own testing, I’ve found this to be true: A hot coffee lasted me an hour-plus-long walk in the cold on a recent afternoon, and I let the mug sit overnight with ice water in it, only to find it still chilled in the morning.

Perhaps even more impressive, though, is how well designed the actual drinking functionality is. The stainless-steel rim that’s revealed when you take off the lid is very thin and therefore especially comfortable to sip from. There’s also a stainless-steel splash-guard insert at the top of the interior to both generally help control the flow of liquid and to block ice cubes from falling onto your face when you get toward the bottom of your drink and have to tip the mug back fairly far. The insert is super-easy to pull out and lock back in as needed.

Volume:12 and 16 ounces| Lid type:Flip lid| How to clean:Hand-wash recommended

There are a few brands on this list that also havereusable-water-bottledesigns we love — but this Zojirushi is the only pick that works so seamlessly for both with the exact same model. Its advantages are many: fantastic temperature control and a slim, sleek, and especially lightweight body. But its standout feature, as pointed out by tea consultantSara Shacketand cookbook author and recipe developerCarla Lalli Music, is that it’s so completely airtight. In my own testing, I’ve found this to be true. The Zojirushi (which at this point I’ve used both for cold water and for hot tea and coffee) never spills. I’ve traveled with it across the country in a carry-on, thrown it into a tote bag for subway rides and long walks, and kept it by my feet on long car rides where the cup holders were otherwise occupied with less-secure vessels. The lid has a double-closing mechanism that ensures it stays clamped down when not in use. The first barrier to entry is a sliding lock that prevents the flip lid from ever bursting open accidentally. Once you undo that part, the button on the front opens the lid purposefully (and then it clicks back into place when you’re done taking a drink).

Volume:10 to 24 ounces| Lid type:Slide lid| How to clean:Dishwasher safe

Yeti’s travel mug is well built; I can feel it in the thickness and weight, which is immediately apparent upon picking it up. Its solid construction is no surprise, as the brand is known for that. (For reference, I tested the middle 14-ounce size, which to me feels like the perfect amount for a cup ofdrip coffee.)

This mug is well insulated. Anecdotally, the coffee I put in it stays hot for as long as it takes me to drink it over the course of a morning. More specifically, I did a side-by-side test of this mug and the MiiR, below. Both performed well, but the Yeti was still hot after three hours, whereas the MiiR had cooled down just a bit. (I left the sip holes closed on both for the duration.) The silicone gasket around the lid feels incredibly secure, as does the slide-lock lid, which clicks firmly into place. The mug is comfortable to sip from. Its handle is on the thicker side and nicely rounded, and I found it just a bit more comfortable to grip than the MiiR’s.

Steven Sadoff, founder of New York City’s Ground Support, has many travel mugs (including the other MiiR and the Fellow, above) but finds the handle of this one particularly convenient when he’s driving. Even though it doesn’t fit in a cup holder, he can easily grip it and sip with control. “It makes for a pretty comfortable drinking experience,” he says, “especially as you get close to the end of your coffee.” The same applies when he meets friends for a coffee outside because “you can gesticulate wildly without spilling,” he says. Rhiannon Giddens is another fan, saying that Yeti bottles keep liquid “hot or cold for a millennia.”

[Editor’s note: Both the ten-ounce and 14-ounce sizes have a newer ceramic interior, which the brand says can better “keep out the aroma of highly acidic beverages that can occasionally linger even after the cup has been washed.” The largest 24-ounce size comes in the original stainless steel. I also tested that, and for what it’s worth, I never noticed any lingering aromas.]

Volume:8 to 20 ounces| Lid type:Slide lid| How to clean:Hand-wash recommended

Recommended by multiple experts — namely Em Orendorff, former manager atIntelligentsia Coffee, and Caleb Chauncey, former barista atEast Pole Coffee Co.in Atlanta — MiiR also makes a travel mug with a handle. As mentioned above, I tested this slightly less expensive model against the Yeti. Though it didn’t keep coffee quite as hot for as long, it’s a bit of a silly comparison unless you truly need your cup to last all day. The brew stayed at temperature for a few hours, and even when it started to cool a bit, it was perfectly fine to drink.

Overall, this mug is a bit lighter than the Yeti. The lid fits on securely and the sip hole is comfortable with this one, too. Though I had no issues with spilling, the slide lock moves back and forth a bit more easily than the Yeti’s. And I don’t find the handle, which is thinner and angled slightly inward at the bottom, as comfortable to hold. (You likely wouldn’t notice this, though, unless you were doing so for an extended period of time.)

Volume:12 and 17 ounces| Lid type:Screw top double lid| How to clean:Handwash recommended

This tumbler has an extra-secure double-lid system to prevent leaks. You take both lids off to fill the bottle, then twist in the first one that has a few holes around the perimeter to sip from, then add the fully closed screw top over that. Strategist writerJeremy Rellosaloves this feature, he says, because there are no small flip-up or sliding parts that can open by accident. Once, he had to stuff it into hisbackpackwhile traveling and thought he was going to open it to find coffee stains on hisclothes, but everything inside stayed clean and dry. Plus “the actual lid where you drink from and makes contact with your lips never touches the exterior of your bag, or wherever you’re stashing it,” Rellosa says. Julia Shaw, director of marketing at NYC’sDevoción Coffee, is another fan. She says the bottle keeps liquid hot or cold for a long time and has an “elegant” aesthetic appeal.

Volume:8 and 12 ounces| Lid type:Sip lid| How to clean:Dishwasher safe

Kinto’s To-Go Tumbler has a very small but always-open sip hole, which means it’s best suited for when you’re sitting at a desk or on a walk holding the tumbler in your hand. This means your drink will stay hot for about an hour and cold for several hours, but it’s not going to retain its temperature all day long. That said, it’s still a favorite of a couple of our experts. For ​​Haley Boyd, a designer and sustainability enthusiast, this is mostly because of the aesthetic. “It’s an attractive, simple shape in a solid color without a huge logo, which is surprisingly hard to find,” she says. But for Noah McKeown, general manager atGo Get Em Tigerin Los Angeles, who uses his nearly every day, it’s more than just looks. “I like the small-hole sip lid,” he says. “I think the flow-out of it is really nice. It never spills, but you still get a lot of the coffee aromatics out of it.”

Volume:12 and 16 ounces| Lid type:Button lid or straw lid| How to clean:Dishwasher safe

Not only does this ceramic-lined mug hit the mark on functionality, but it allows you to customize way beyond size. You choose between a lid with a button-release or a built-in straw and then pick from a bunch of pretty, muted tones, either making it monochrome or designing it so that the body, lid, and button are all different colors.

It’s super-effective, too. I tested a button-release version: While you unscrew the lid fully to fill the vessel, you press down on a circle flush with the top that opens another much smaller hole to sip from. This releases a slow and steady stream of liquid when you tip the mug back. Even when I was walking around with it, I never had to readjust how I was holding or maneuvering it, and no amount of turning it upside down or jostling led to any leaking. And the temperature retention (for both hotandcold drinks) is great — my coffee stays hot for about four hours, and last summer, I could hear ice clinking around after that same amount of time when I was out and about on a hot day.

Volume:16 ounces| Lid type:Sip lid| How to clean:Hand-wash recommended

Like the model above, this travel mug brewsteawithout an infuser sitting in your water — but instead of the flip method, it has a more traditional tea press that you push down once the steep time is over (similar to aFrench press). The grip is comfortable, so I oftentake it with me on late-afternoon walks, and the twist-off lid is extremely tight. It hasn’t ever spilled, even when jostled in mytote bag. There are small sip holes around the perimeter of the top of the infuser so you can drink from any angle, all while the flow of liquid is slow and controlled. Finally, because of the stainless-steel insulation, it stays at temperature for hours; when I brew it before I go upstairs for the evening, it’s still hot when I drink from it before bed.