Best Stainless Steel Travel Mugs for Coffee: Yeti, Contigo, Thermos, and Klean Kanteen

If you prefer to keep your coffee and tea super hot (or cold) throughout the day, you have probably spent some time trying to find a thermos style travel mug or tumbler that best suits your needs. I have tested several of the top brands in my day to day routine, and I am here to recommend the best stainless steel travel mugs I’ve found.

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Purchasing items using the links in this post may compensate me at no additional cost to you. I only include links to awesome stuff that I actually use and am familiar with. 

The Best Travel Mug for Coffee: Yeti Rambler with Hot Shot Cap

Update – January 2020

I just got my hands on the new Yeti 12 Ounce Rambler with the Hot Shot cap and I can definitely say this travel mug destroys everything else on this list.

In my opinion, the Yeti rambler with the hot shot cap is the best looking, most durable, easiest to clean, and best performing travel mug out there. You don’t have to read any further if you are willing to take my word for it.

If you do read this article, you will discover that I am a huge fan of authentic Yeti products (watch out for those counterfeits!) but I always felt like I was making a trade off between convenience and a leak proof design.

This all changed after discovering the Yeti Hot Shot Lid. This lid is a simple 2-piece durable lid, where one component twists into the other. This lid is leak proof but is incredibly easy to clean. I absolutely love it. Please note that this lid only works for the Yeti Bottle design.

When I get the chance, I will update the rest of this article with my findings and some new pictures. If you are curious to see what else is out there or what I thought before the new Yeti cafe lid came out, read on.

In Search of the Best Travel Mug for Coffee

If you are hoping to find the best “Thermos”, here’s something to think about. Thermos is to travel mug as Kleenex is to tissue. In other words, you may not actually be looking for a “Thermos” specifically, but a vacuum insulated travel mug or tumbler. Thermos sounds much better and shows the power of good branding but there are other quality alternatives as well.

I have too many travel mugs.

A few years back, I started noticing many people carrying Yeti drinkware around, like it in fashion or something. I love drinking hot coffee throughout the day, so I decided to look around at the different tumblers and travel mugs out there. The Yeti tumblers are somewhat more expensive than the others, and so I considered other options first.

Long story short, I ended up with a few Yeti tumblers even after trying many other brands and I am happy to recommend them. If you want my quick recommendation without having to read further, I suggest the Yeti Rambler series. Although this design is not leak-proof, it avoids some of the frustration of complicated lid designs by being durable and super easy to clean. You can find the Yeti Rambler on Amazon by clicking here.

Despite my personal recommendation, there may be a reason that one of the other tumbler brands might work better for you. I will list a few points about each one along with some pros and cons, so that you at least can have an idea of what to expect. All these travel mugs and tumblers are available on Amazon and all have great ratings.

Travel Mug Considerations

At first, I didn’t know what I wanted or needed out of a tumbler. I figured if it kept my drink hot, I was happy. However, you will likely care at some point because some travel mugs and tumblers can be downright annoying to use day to day.

A Travel Mug Showdown!

Here are a few things to think about when considering which type of travel mug to get:

Heat retention/thermal insulation – The main purpose of a tumbler is to keep your beverage hot or cold for many hours by using vacuum insulation. Some brands do this better than others, but for the most part, the performance of vacuum sealed tumblers is relatively similar.

Cleanup – Many tumblers have complicated lids that trap liquid and residue and are very difficult to clean. This is incredibly important to get right. Tumblers that are simple to clean are the ones you’ll use day in and day out.

Durability – Can the tumbler survive a fall on concrete? Will the vacuum seal be maintained? Will the tumbler be dented and stop standing upright?

Size and weight – Does it fit in your cup holder or other compartments for travel? Is it heavy and substantial or small and lightweight?

Accessories and replacement lids – Many brands include several types of lids and handles that you can customize with. Some brands offer no replacement lids at all.

Cost – Do you always get what you pay for? How much of the price reflects marketing as opposed to quality?

Contigo

Pros

• Sleek design
• convenient lid leak-proof lid
• small form factor
• lightweight
• price competitive
• lids are replaceable

Cons

• Lid is somewhat complicated and not easy to clean
• Steel construction is somewhat thin

Contigo Autoseal

The first brand of tumbler I tried was the Contigo Auto Seal West Loop Travel Mug. These travel mugs are beautifully designed and feature a convenient button press for drinking. They are also the most price competitive from this list.

One thing to be aware of is that the lid design is a bit difficult to clean. The lid does have a part that folds out of the way so that you could run it through the dishwasher, which is probably the best way to clean it.

Also, the metal construction is a bit on the thin side compared to the other options. This is good in that it keeps the price and the weight down, but it doesn’t feel very substantial in your hand.

The Contigo Auto Seal West Loop is best for someone who wants a cost effective travel mug and doesn’t mind being a bit more diligent about cleaning the lid out. You can find the Contigo on Amazon by clicking here.

Thermos

Pros

• Durable construction
• Omni-directional lid
• Leakproof
• Best thermal insulation

Cons

• Lids are not replaceable (at the time of this article)
• Part of the lid closing mechanism is completely inaccessible to cleaning
• Because of the thick insulation, the form factor of this travel mug is quite large considering how much it holds.

Thermos without handle

I tried the 16 ounce Thermos Travel Mug after the Contigo. This thing is substantially larger and the stainless steel is thicker than the Contigo, despite only being able to hold the same amount of liquid. In my experience, this heavy duty design holds heat better than any other brand here. In fact, drinks stay scalding for many hours. I actually had to let drinks cool down before I put the lid on so that I could even take a sip without getting burned.

The lid is very comfortable to use because of the 360 degree opening. I was able to be take it apart for cleaning with the exception of the space underneath the push button. Unfortunately, I ended up dropping my Thermos down a concrete staircase and the lid split apart. I was unable to purchase a new lid on its own, so be careful if you end up going this route.

The Thermos Travel Mug is best for someone who needs a spill proof design and prefers their drinks ridiculously hot for as long as possible. You can find the Thermos on Amazon by clicking here.

Klean Kanteen

Pros

• Lightweight
• Sleek, minimalist design
• Leak resistant lid that completely comes apart for cleaning
• Lids are replaceable

Cons

• Metal on base of the tumbler is too thin to survive a drop
• Lid occasionally leaks a bit of residual liquid

Klean Kanteen bottles and 12 ounce travel mug

I really loved the Klean Kanteen products when I first saw them. They make a very conveniently sized 12 oz Café 2.0 version with a spill resistant lid. This size was perfect for my needs, although they do have other sizes as well.

The Café 2.0 lid is awesome because it is super comfortable and you can take it completely apart. Although Klean Kanteen describes the lid as leak proof, mine has leaked on a few occasions. If you like this style but are worried about a potential leak, get the version with the 2 different caps (one of them being completely leak proof).

Everything about this product is fantastic except its durability. The metal used on the base is thin enough that it cannot survive a drop on a solid surface without denting. I dropped my tumbler as I was getting out of my car and the resulting dent prevents it from staying up right now. That being said, the insulation is almost as good as the Thermos and drinks stay hot for quite a long time.

The Klean Kanteen works best for someone who prefers the minimalist design of the tumbler and the light weight form factor. The Klean Kanteen tumblers fit nicely in water-bottle mounts (they actually make a great bottle too). You can find the Klean Kanteen Café 2.0 on Amazon by clicking here.

The Yeti Rambler Series

Pros

• Very durable construction and paint
• Great insulation
• Cheap, replaceable lids in multiple styles
• Available as a tumbler or bottle

Cons

• Heavy
• Tumbler is not spill proof
• Open lid design allows some heat to escape (although their new magnet lid cuts down on this)

Yeti Rambler Series

The Yeti Rambler Tumbler is made of a thick and durable stainless steel, top to bottom. It feels more substantial in your hand than any of the other options, which can be a good or a bad thing depending on your needs. I was skeptical of the Yeti at first and attributed the price to marketing and branding alone. Now that my daily routine includes the Yeti, I completely see why these tumblers are so popular.

The newest edition of the Yeti Rambler Tumbler includes a magnet slider lid which adds some spill resistance and will allow your beverages to better retain their temperature. The magnet is embedded in the lid and the little cover pops right off for easy cleaning. This lid is clever! You can also purchase the magnet slider lid separately if you have the older version. Although I am bummed about the lid not being leak proof, I’ll take a simply designed, easy to clean, replaceable lid over the other options any day. The open lid design is intentional and has its own advantages.

I love the Yeti Rambler for its simplicity, durability, and reliability. Of all the brands mentioned in this post, the Yeti is built the best and will outlast most of your other drinkware. At the end of the day, reliability and convenience is what matters most for me. You can find the Yeti Rambler Tumbler on Amazon by clicking here.

Other Yeti Offerings

Since I enjoy the Yeti design so much, I wanted to link to some of their other cool products as well. The Rambler Series now includes bottles and mugs in addition to the standard tumblers. If you enjoy the feel of the Yeti tumblers, you will likely enjoy these other options.

Yeti Insulated Bottle

The Yeti insulated bottles come with heavy duty leak-proof lids for the best thermal insulation. I use these for water as well as coffee when I need to throw something in a bag without worry of spilling. You can upgrade these bottles with different types of lids similar to the standard tumblers.

Yeti Insulated Bottles

Yeti Lowball

If you are looking for a smaller alternative to the regular tumbler, check out the Rambler 10 oz Lowball. Despite being shorter and holding only 10 ounces, the Lowball has a wider footprint and requires a larger (than standard) cupholder if you take it on the road.

Yeti Coffee Mug

The Yeti mug is a newer addition to the Yeti Rambler series and is probably my favorite mug on the market. It holds 14 ounces and uses the same lid as the 30 ounce tumbler. This mug is perfect for those who want to drink out of an actual mug but need things to stay hot around the house or the office. However, it probably won’t fit in any vehicle cup holders due to its size and handle.

You can find each of these items in multiple color options on Amazon by clicking the links below. 

• Yeti Rambler Bottle
• Yeti Rambler Lowball
• Yeti Rambler Mug

Final Thoughts

If you are a daily coffee or tea drinker, your travel mug serves the important function of keeping your drink at the right temperature. A good travel mug or tumbler should be reliable without adding small annoyances to your day. For me, the Yeti products fit this description perfectly. I rarely ever use a normal mug and I would happily replace any of my Yeti products as needed (although I am unlikely to ever need to do this because they are built like tanks).

Even though I am already sold on the Yeti as opposed to the other tumbler brands, some of the others may be more suitable depending on your needs. They all do a much better job with heat retention than most of the cheaper off-brand versions and you can’t really go wrong with any of them. I do think they are worth the price and will likely be the only ones still being used many years down the road.

I hope this article is helpful in narrowing down your choices in finding the best travel mug. I would love to hear your thoughts below, especially if there is one I should consider trying.

Happy Brewing!