The best travel coffee mugs in 2024, tried and tested

Morning coffee doesn’t hit the spot if it’s lukewarm when you get to the office. You can make a steaming cup on the go with a portable coffee machine, but traveling with a hot beverage should be even more simple and convenient. While a well-insulated water bottle might be functional, using a durable travel mug is a guaranteed fix to keep the contents of your cup secure, warm and leak-proof.

While our team has tested these travel mugs on picturesque ski slopes and cross-country travel days, even taking a drink from home to work is an adventure that merits a reliable travel mug. We tested multiple brands to find something you can have confidence in, no matter how you choose to use it. After many trips in the car, holding these thermoses upside down and plenty of sips of coffee later, we’ve narrowed down our testing pool to the three best travel coffee mugs perfect for anyone.

Best travel mug: Zojirushi 16-Ounce Seamless Stainless Steel Mug

When it comes to hot coffee, the Zojirushi Seamless travel mug is almost too good at its job. Once I started using this stainless steel mug with a matte finish, I was shocked at how well it kept my morning beverages piping hot, to the point where I had to add some cold oat milk to cool things down. This result tracks, as previous testing of other Zojirushi products led to similar conclusions. Zojirushi products have some of the best temperature insulation on the market, and the Zojirushi Seamless Stainless Steel Mug beat the competition in our testing.

Here’s how we know it’s the best: I filled up this mug at 6:30 a.m. with my morning coffee, and I felt the same level of heat after nursing it for around four hours. When filling up the Zojirushi Seamless mug with tea at the office, I eventually had to add some cold water to the mug as my beverage would not cool down enough for me to take a comfortable sip.

Where the Zojirushi Seamless mug really impressed me was in 103-plus degree weather in Southern California. As part of a controlled test, I filled the travel mugs with ice water and kept them outside for about 10 hours. While the ice did melt, the Zojirushi Seamless mug’s water was still ice cold — an impressive feat considering how damaging the heat was that day. While other travel mugs in our testing pool are competitive with their insulation capability, the Zojirushi Seamless mug’s capability for both hot and cold liquids cannot be beat.

While testing the durability of the Zojirushi Seamless, the matte finish was susceptible to a scratch or two. However, this was during an extreme case of testing travel mugs in a rocky outdoor environment. That said, the mug did not leak or dent during the durability tests on a hiking trail. Though a few scratches remained, the mug was easy to hand-wash and dry. It’s also important to note that if something had permanently damaged the mug’s heat retention capabilities, this product does have a five-year warranty.

In terms of dimensions, the Seamless mug holds 16 ounces and sits comfortably in my car cup holder. The cap easily twists open and closed, and I had no issues with leaks while throwing it in my work bag (laptop included). Though the height of the mug gives it a slim look,?it was too tall to be compatible with my home and office coffee machines. This didn’t bother me, though, since it kept my drinks warm for so long, minimizing my need to top off the coffee throughout the day.

The impressive temperature retention for hot and cold liquids makes the Zojirushi Seamless Stainless Steel Mug stand out against any competition on the market. Its insulation is so good that two of our other testers also noted that they actually had to cool their drinks down. Adding on the capabilities of keeping water chilled during a heat wave and how rolling the mug down a trail resulted in no leaks, this mug is functional, durable and stylish. While it varies in price between retailers, it’s a solid investment that will keep your liquids secure and ready for sipping.

Best runner-up travel mug: Fellow 16-Ounce Carter Move Mug

It may look smaller than our winner, but the Carter Move Mug packs 16 ounces of liquid into a well-insulated vessel. Its shorter stature also makes it compatible with different-sized coffee machines. It had impressive temperature retention for warm and cold liquids and fit snugly in my work and gym bags. It also includes a unique splash guard, which I liked while drinking my tea and coffee on the go.

The Fellow Carter Move Mug is easy to carry, with shorter and wider dimensions than our top pick. The cylinder has a rounded edge design that’s compatible with standard car cup holders, and its matte finish is sleek. It was a close runner-up to our top pick when it comes to temperature retention. Sipping the Move Mug on my way to work at 6:30 a.m., my coffee was still hot (though slightly cooled) by 10 a.m.

In contrast with the Zojirushi Seamless mug, which keeps things at a biting temperature for longer, the Carter Move Mug is a great alternative for those who don’t mind a travel mug that lets things cool off a little to reach a comfortable temperature. The Carter Move Mug had similar success in the controlled ice water test. The water was still impressively chilled after the 10-hour test, though the black matte finish of the mug was hot to the touch when it was sitting in direct sunlight for a few hours.

A unique feature of this travel mug is its splash guard, a removable piece of equipment that sits at the top of the mug’s?inside and works to prevent liquids from spilling. I tested this over a sink, filling the mug with water and swishing it violently around. While some water did find its way out of the mug, the splash guard worked to contain what would have been a large wave of water flying out the circular opening. The cap twists on and off, and with the splash guard, I had an easy time drinking coffee in the car and was less worried about any liquid finding its way onto my person as a result of bumps in the road.

The Carter Move Mug is a durable option with a movement use case in mind. Beyond the splash guard, the mug did not dent or leak while testing on a hike. It also did not leak in my gym bag, which I’ll admit was packed rather precariously at times. This travel mug holds its own in temperature retention and offers unique features to protect you from spillage on the go.

Best one-handed travel mug: Zojirushi 16-Ounce Stainless Steel Mug

This stainless steel mug was formally our best travel mug pick, but it’s become a bit tricky to track down online. We kept this in mind throughout our evaluation, however, the insulation of Zojirushi products could not be beat in our testing. With this version, the lock-and-pop lid is incredibly easy to use and drink out of, the mug keeps boiling water the hottest and it is super durable to boot.

The mug itself was straightforward to use throughout testing, but what makes this one stand out is its ease of use one-handed. Look, we’ve all tried to drive with one hand while holding our morning coffee in the other, and the stainless steel mug helps you unlock and sip safely. A trigger button opened the vessel for easy drinking and a simple finger-switch on its lid locked the button, should I decide to toss it into my bag. It was one of the easiest mugs in our testing pool to open and drink from, with a lock and button that you can operate with just one hand — critical for those who want to drink from their mug in the car.

Plus, commuters will love the fact that all sizes of the Zojirushi mug — 12, 16 and 20 ounces — fits comfortably in a cup holder and takes twisting and untwisting out of the equation when you are sipping on the go. If you’re willing to navigate various retailers, we think you’ll appreciate the features that made this our previous top pick.

Where this mug truly excelled was in its superior performance in our standardized tests. We filled the 16-ounce Zojirushi with 8 ounces of boiling water, then used a cooking thermometer to test the liquid’s temperature numerous times in a five-hour period. Compared to the other mugs on our list, the Zojirushi outperformed the competition, sporting a steamy ending temperature of 134 degrees Fahrenheit after five hours.

When we performed our leak test and shook the water-filled mug upside-down for 10 seconds, the Zojirushi Stainless was one of only a few mugs we tested that didn’t leak a single drop. This mug also showed the least damage in our durability tests, sporting zero scrapes and nicks after being dropped onto a hard surface three times from a height of 6 feet and being scuffed against a rock wall.

Again, the Zojirushi is almost too good at its job. When tested in real-life settings, sipping morning coffee while answering emails or driving to a local ski hill, all beverages were kept piping hot for so long that it was tricky to drink them comfortably. You might want to consider popping in a couple of ice cubes to get the temperature just right before hitting the road. Because of its ability to keep drinks hotter than alternatives we tested, this would make an excellent mug to toss into your backpack for a warm drink in the middle of a chilly hike or to set on your desk and sip leisurely throughout the morning — especially since it has an ultra-leakproof locking lid.

The main downside to this mug is that it’s hand-wash only (though it held up well when I tossed it into my dishwasher for a single sterilizing cleanse). Unlike many of the mugs we tested, which feature dishwasher-safe lids, all components of the Zojirushi should be hand cleaned with detergent and a sponge or cloth, which can be a bit annoying because its lid has a few moving parts to disassemble.

If you want a travel mug that you can use with one hand while on your commute, we heartily recommend Zojirushi’s Stainless Steel Mug. Its stock and prices are a little unpredictable, but if you can find it for a reasonable price (we often see it around $25 to $30) it’s definitely worth adding to your cart.

How we tested

Our editorial team developed an extensive, multi-question rubric, complete with controlled at-home tests and in-the-field daily use cases to suss out the most durable, well-designed and intuitive travel coffee mugs for sale in 2024.

For testing in the field, I brought these mugs, filled with tea and lemon water, on a hike during a record heat wave in Los Angeles (I don’t recommend hiking in 103-degree weather) and rolled them down a rocky trail to test their durability. I then filled them with ice water and left them outside for 10 hours to see which travel mugs kept things chilly the longest in the unprecedented heat. I also tested these travel mugs with my daily morning coffee and office tea habit to determine which mugs were the easiest to take on the go. During this multiweek process and previous testing for this piece, we put a special focus on the mugs’ design, insulation, durability, ability to prevent leaks, price and product warranty, then ranked them all based on their respective scores in each category.

Here are the specific experiments and testing categories we used to assess the 16 travel coffee mugs we tested for this article.

Design

Temperature

Durability

Performance

Cleaning

Warranty and price

Everything you need to know about travel coffee mugs

Of course, the top feature for travel coffee mugs is insulation, aka how long it can keep your beverage hot. These days, most top-of-the-line mugs are made with BPA-free plastic and stainless steel to give users a safe and sterile drinking experience. Some are also equipped with vacuum insulation, which refers to the evacuated layer of air between the cup’s two insulating layers. Vacuum insulation helps keep the inner liquids hot while ensuring the outer layer does not burn you.

Depending on how you plan to use your travel coffee mug, looking for qualities like if it’s leakproof or sized to fit in a car cup holder is a good idea. For those planning to bring their mug on outdoor adventures, a carabiner clip makes attaching a drinking vessel to the outside of your bag or backpack a cinch.

Features like being dishwasher-safe versus hand-wash only are also key before you plop down a pile of cash on a mug that’s annoying to clean. Because of their lid designs, some of the travel mugs on our list were more difficult to clean than others that were listed as fully dishwasher-safe. Many of the mugs we tested offered dishwasher-safe lids and hand-wash cups, which helps alleviate some of the cleaning stress but not all.

Lastly, price and warranty are notable when selecting a travel coffee mug. Unsurprisingly, most of the top-performing brands on the market also offer more comprehensive warranty coverage against manufacturer defects. Hydro Flask, Owala, Klean Kanteen, Miir and Camelbak all sported lifetime guarantees.

Other travel coffee mugs we tested

Though not selected as a winner, the Carter Slide Mug became a personal favorite of mine throughout testing. Its slanted cap pushes open to reveal a sipping feature that other mugs I tested did not have. I loved the intentionality behind this design. It is sleek and easy to use, especially while driving. While this mug does have impressive temperature retention, the other winners beat the Slide Mug in this area.

This Zojirushi mug is a mixture of the two winners. It has a matte finish and a latch to lock the cap. Testing this smaller version was interesting. Though it worked extremely well, the smaller dimensions?seemed almost too small to use comfortably at work. We’d recommend this version of the Stainless Mug packed into a children’s backpack for back-to-school beverages.

The Corkcicle Sierra Commuter Cup was one of the most durable mugs I tested. It survived rolling down a rocky trail?without any lasting scratches and no leaks. Where this mug lost points was in its temperature retention. Out of?all the mugs I tested, the Sierra Commuter Cup did not keep its contents as hot or cold for the same amount of time as others tested. However, this mug is easy to grip and can fit in a cup holder for your morning commute.

The other top performer in our tests was Hydro Flask’s stellar 16-ounce Stainless Steel Wide-Mouth Bottle with Flex Sip Lid. Though it couldn’t keep its 8 ounces of boiling water hot quite as long as the Zojirushi and showed a small dent after our drop test, this mug is extra easy to clean because it’s fully dishwasher-safe, unlike most on our list. It also boasts a lifetime warranty, and Hydro Flask is known for its excellent customer service.

If all you want is a wallet-friendly travel mug that doesn’t leak and insulates your drinks well for a couple of hours, the Momsiv 12-Ounce Travel Mug is a great choice. No, it didn’t perform anywhere near the Zojirushi after housing a cup of boiling water for five hours, but it was awesomely leakproof and decently durable.

Unlike the other mugs we tested, Momsiv’s design also sported an extra-grippy, textured section around the cup, perfect for those delicate moments in the car or at the computer when a hot spill could mean disaster. Sadly, this little beauty is hand-wash only, but at such an affordable price, we hardly minded the added effort.

Though it’s listed as a top performer on many other review sites, we weren’t impressed with Stanley’s Classic Trigger-Action Travel Mug. Not only is its design a bit clunky and utilitarian but it has a wide trigger button that must be pressed down to allow liquid to flow out of the top spout. In our trials, this button wasn’t great for people with smaller hands and could get stuck partially pressed, causing surprise leaks. All this aside, the Stanley did keep beverages warm better than most on our list.

Sure, it’s not a fully locking travel coffee mug, but we’re huge fans of Owala’s water bottles so we decided to throw this newer tumbler into the mix. It comes in adorable colors and boasts a sleek, grip-friendly design, but because its mouth opening doesn’t fully close, it didn’t keep drinks hot as long as its competitors, nor was it fully leakproof.

Miir’s line of coffee mugs boasted sleek, modern designs, and while the Flip Traveler was awesome at insulating hot liquids for many hours, it leaked a few drops in our shake test, putting it farther down on the list. We also found the flip top tough to open without wrenching it free with two hands.

I’m a huge fan of Miir’s unique 360 Traveler design, which allows users to sip a warm beverage from any angle. This made it awesome for in-car use and casual sipping at my desk. However, it didn’t keep boiling water hot as long as our top pick, and it showed small scuffs and a dent after our durability test.

We found this travel mug to be a cool idea that was executed poorly. Like the Stanley Trigger-Action, users must first press a button to get the lid’s spout to open, but this button was narrow and disappeared into a plastic housing that made it tricky to keep the button depressed while sipping. Its carabiner loop felt clunky and protruded at an odd angle, making clipping it to a belt a no-go. While it was awesomely durable, for its $30 price tag, we’d definitely recommend either of our Zojirushi picks over Camelbak’s foray into the mug world.

Even though it had the highest price tag of all the travel mugs we tested, I loved the Purist Maker Mug for its chic design, great insulation and ability to prevent leaks. Like the 360 Traveler by Miir, this lid allows users to drink from any angle, which is ideal for in-car use. Though we tested the 10-ounce model for this guide, I recommend sizing up, especially if your caffeine addiction, like mine, tends to want more than a small cup of joe in the mornings. Ultimately, the Purist’s high price tag and shorter warranty kept it from winning in our tests.

While I loved that this mug was fully dishwasher-safe and boasted a lifetime warranty, it scored in the bottom half of the pack in our five-hour temperature test and leaked more than a few drops of water during our leak test. Combined, these two metrics disqualified the Klean Kanteen from our winner’s circle.

It was easy to see why Contigo’s West Loop Travel Mug is such a hit among the thousands of Amazon users who’ve given it a great review: It’s affordable, durable and insulates decently well. However, I found its press-down button to unlock the lid’s spout to be pretty nonintuitive in daily use, and it didn’t score well enough on our insulation test to warrant its price tag, especially when the Stanley Trigger-Action and Miir 360 Traveler are also under $30.

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