Buying Guide – Best Coffee Travel Tumblers
After all, all you’re really doing is getting your hands on a coffee cup on steroids – right?
Buying a brand-new coffee travel tumbler – for yourself or as a gift for someone else – doesn’t look all that hard on the surface.
Wrong.
At every price point (but especially between $15 and say $40) there are make or break factors that will determine whether or not you love your new coffee travel tumbler or hate filling it up every morning, to the point where you end up tossing it in the garbage and grabbing drive-through coffee every day (blowing your budget up along the way).
In this quick guide we break down exactly what you should be looking for in coffee travel tumblers but also share with you the best options at a couple of different price points. Some of the budget options we provide can go toe to toe with the most expensive options we review, so don’t feel like you are getting shortchanged should you spend a little less on this daily essential.
Ready to dive right in?
Let’s get to it!
Best Coffee Travel Tumblers Under $15
The overwhelming majority of coffee travel tumblers under $15 are not going to feature special insulating properties, all kinds of crazy construction materials, or “out there” design options.
Instead, they are going to be simple, they are going to be straightforward, and they are going to keep your coffee hot for a decent amount of time – though they usually won’t keep your coffee quite as hot for quite as long as some of the more expensive options on this list.
Contigo AUTOSEAL West Loop Stainless Steel Travel Mug
About as simple and as straightforward a coffee travel mug as it gets, this particular option is available in a variety of different colors and in three different sizes – 16 ounces, 20 ounces, and 24 ounces – while featuring stainless steel construction materials throughout.
The automatic self-sealing lid is what really helps to separate this particular budget focused option from the rest of the pack. As soon as hot liquid is introduced into the travel mug it goes to work expanding the rubberized seal at the top, essentially “locking in” high temperatures and keeping your coffee warmer for a longer duration of time.
It also helps to make this stainless steel travel mug about as close to spillproof and accident-proof as you’re going to find absent a “screwtop” like you would find on a more traditional thermos.
Check out our detailed review here!
MIRA 16 oz Stainless Steel Insulated Travel Mug
Another great budget focused travel mug that features stainless steel construction materials (providing better induction properties than plastic), this particular model also features proprietary and innovative vacuum sealing/insulating technology that can keep your coffee warm for up to four hours – or cold drinks cold for upwards of eight hours.
The stainless steel on this model also helps you to stay safe and protected when you are using your travel mug on the go. The 18/8 food grade stainless steel is nearly indestructible, and while it might dent and ding if you really start to get abusive with your travel mug you won’t have to worry about it bursting open or leaking any time soon.
Ello Cole Vacuum-Insulated Stainless Steel Travel Mug
Perhaps the coolest looking of all the budget focused travel mugs that we highlight under $15, this model is made of 100% food grade stainless steel but features a powder coated outer layer and a cork bottom to guarantee that you get a little bit extra stability when traveling with this mug in your car – and no “sweat rings” when you set the mug down on a table, desk, or similar surface.
The vacuum insulation featured in this travel mug will keep your hot beverage nice and steamy for upwards of five hours, and the company behind this product promises that every single part and component is 100% BPA and 100% BPS free.
Best Coffee Travel Tumblers Between $15 and $25
While the budget focused options that we just highlighted our fantastic purchases for those that do not want to drop a ton of money on a travel mug, the truth of the matter is that if you’re willing to spend even just a little bit extra money – between $15 and $25 – you can get a lot of improved performance and some other “creature comfort” features you won’t get at the bargaining level.
These coffee travel tumblers are amongst the highest performing options we have reviewed. A couple of extreme performers are going to top $25 (and we highlight them in the next section), but if you’re looking to keep your coffee warm all day long – and not all week long – this is where you’re going to want to focus your attention.
BEAST 20oz Stainless Steel Tumbler Vacuum Insulated Rambler Coffee Cup
This 20 ounce tumbler is promoted as being able to go toe to toe with travel coffee mugs that cost twice as much (or more) as far as performance is concerned, offering the same kind of insulative properties that the premium options promise with a price tag that is 50% or less than the high-end of the market.
Made entirely out of 304 18/8 food grade stainless steel (a lot of other competitors use 201 stainless steel instead of the thicker and more durable 304), you’re going to see a noticeable uptick in the overall durability of this travel mug as well as its insulating properties.
The interior of this travel mug has been electropolished to guarantee that it is ultra smooth and free of blemishes, but also that it isn’t ever going to impart any unwanted flavors whatsoever – and will not ever rust.
YETI Rambler 14 oz Stainless Steel Vacuum Insulated Mug
The folks at YETI completely and totally transformed the cooler industry when they introduced their new products a couple of years ago, offering sky-high insulating properties that would keep things cold – or warm – for three or four times longer than anything else on the market.
This travel mug (available in a variety of different sizes, with 14 ounces being the most compact) showcases all of the proprietary innovations that YETI has brought to the table in a premium set up that isn’t going to blow holes in your bank account the way that some of the more expensive YETI products can.
One of the really cool things about this YETI is that it remains compact enough to be used as a water bottle or as a thermos filled with soup, stew, or chili. The widemouth “cup” that is included and does double duty as a top is a nice little feature at this price point, something that you aren’t going to find with a lot of other competing options on the market today.
Hydro Flask 12 oz Double Wall Vacuum Insulated Stainless Steel Travel Tumbler
Maybe the only company on the market today that can really stand up against YETI when it comes to performance, Hydro Flask has knocked it out of the park with this affordable tumbler that sits just under $25.
The entire tumbler is made out of the highest quality food grade stainless steel materials available, with every component guaranteed to be 100% BPA free. The narrow footprint of this travel mug guarantees that is going to fit almost every single cupholder out there, regardless of how brand-new or old your vehicle might be.
Proprietary TempShield double wall construction guarantees that your coffee is going to stay piping hot for hours and hours on end, and the overall profile of this count guarantees that you can slide it underneath most single-serve coffee machines – and soda dispensing machines are like – without any difficulty.
This is one of the most versatile travel mugs you’re going to find under $25.
Best Coffee Travel Tumblers For More Than $25
As soon as you start to talk about spending more than $25 on a travel mug you’re going to be looking at some premium options that can command premium price tags – but they always include special features, engineering, and construction materials that make them well worth this purchase.
Companies usually offer “Buy It For Life” kinds of travel mugs at this price point, the kinds of travel mugs that you will be able to use and depend on daily for years and years to come. It isn’t at all unreasonable to imagine that the three travel mugs we highlight below (each of which costs more than $25) could be handed down to someone a couple of decades from now and not have lost any of its insulating properties.
That’s not a bad deal even if biting the bullet on a premium price tag upfront is a little tough in the short term.
YETI Rambler 20 oz Stainless Steel Vacuum Insulated Tumbler
There are definitely going to be people that blink a couple of times at a travel coffee mug that sits at right around $30 (sometimes even more, depending on the color that you want to go with) – but the folks at YETI have so overengineered this travel mug so much that it just might be the best option available on the market today.
Everything – and we mean EVERYTHING – about this particular travel mug is over the top. This model sits at 20 ounces (though you can step things up to an even larger 30 ounce Rambler mug if you need a bit more coffee in the morning to get your day going) and features a Mag Slider lid that is really special.
The Mag Slider is the only drink lid on the market today that uses magnets to secure the sliding toggle that allows you to drink or close your new travel mug. This means that you don’t have to worry about it bumping open, flipping open on accident, or spilling when it is tipped upside down. It isn’t going to open until you slide it open!
When we say that you are going to be able to keep your coffee piping hot for at least eight hours (and probably even longer than that) with the help of this YETI tumbler we mean it.
Check out our more detailed review specifically for the Yeti Rambler here.
Hydro Flask 22 oz Double Wall Vacuum Insulated Stainless Steel Travel Tumbler
This Hydro Flask stainless steel travel tumbler is the “big brother” of the 12 ounce option we highlighted in our previous section, featuring all of the same innovative new design elements, insulating properties, and high build quality with an extra 10 ounces of carrying capacity to boot.
Priced to compete directly with the YETI travel tumbler that we highlighted just a moment ago, this option is slightly thinner, slightly sleeker, and just a bit more narrow at the base. This guarantees that it is going to sit in any cupholder in any vehicle (except for maybe a few real oddballs), something that the YETI cannot guarantee because it has a slightly wider base spirit
This tumbler also features the proprietary Hydro Flask powder coat across the board. This provides anti-slip protection, not only on the bottom of the Hydro Flask but also where you grasp it. You don’t have to worry about losing control of this tumbler the way you might with some of the slicker options on the market.
S’well Tumbler
Slightly less expensive than both of the options in this over $25 bracket, you aren’t going to have to spend quite as much money on this travel mug but aren’t going to lose any insulating properties, either.
On top of that, there are plenty of people that like the look and design of this particular tumbler over those other options on the market – thanks to the sleek, luxurious, and more natural appearance of this tumbler.
This is the kind of travel mug you can picture Hollywood celebrities driving around with, as each design for this mode features marble, natural stone, and other luxurious materials – even if it’s made entirely out of food grade stainless steel with sky-high insulating properties.
The thin rim of this mug also makes it more pleasurable to drink from compared to some of the other options without sacrificing any of the insulating properties you expect it to deliver on.