On a recent cold bike commute to work I was drinking "damn, it would probably be better if I had something warm to drink on my ride." Concurrently, I saw a tweet from a friend of mine regarding this new concept of "
bulletproof coffee." That sparked my search for a coffee mug that I could use on the bike.
There were several options that I saw. One was a
coffee cup holder that attached to the handlebars by PDW. It's pretty nice, but it's more meant for grabbing coffee from a shop as opposed to holding your own brew.
I was doing a lot of research on water bottles and came across this little guy:
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| The Stanley Nineteen 13 One Hand Vacuum Bike Mug. |
This mug claimed to be leak-proof, was double-wall vacuum constructed and holds 16 oz. of fluid. Sounds pretty promising.
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| The mug fits quite well in my hand and is very ergonomic. And of course, it is ambidextrous. |
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| Underside of lid. |
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| Interior of the mug |
Flow of your drink is permitted by pressing on the little button upon which your index finger naturally gravitates. It was pretty stiff at first, but now that it has broken in after a couple of days it works perfectly.
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| The mug inside the back pocket of my C-bag. It's too tall to allow the pocket to close, but that's ok since it allows easy removal. |
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| The mug fits securely in my friend's standard water bottle holder. He is also ridin' dirty. |
I've been using this mug every day regardless of whether I am commuting by bike or car. Once I'm done with my coffee I refill it at the water cooler. I feel that I am definitely drinking more water than I usually do.
On my current trip to Denver I brought the mug along. It was empty so that I can take it through security, and then I filled it up at the drinking fountain before my flight. Now I didn't have to wait for the flight attendant to bring me a drink when I was thirsty... this was actually really great for when we were waiting to take off or to get off the plane.
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| The mug in an airplane seat pocket. It's a little big, but it definitely fits. |
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| Stowing the mug in the exterior pocket of my Tom Bihn Aeronaut travel bag. |
After a couple of weeks, I can attest that the mug is certainly leak-proof. There is an elastomer o-ring that provides the sealing action, so the mug should remain leak-proof as long as that holds up. The mug is easy to sip from, especially once the button breaks in a little. I can also confirm that drinking is very easy with gloves on.
The vacuum construction seems to hold drinks at their temperature pretty well, but I haven't done any comparison tests or anything. I suspect that it wouldn't be better than the
Hydro Flask at holding temperature based on
this comparison, but I would hope that I had finished my drink before a few hours have elapsed.
In conclusion, I'd give the Stanley Nineteen 13 One Hand Vacuum Bike Mug a big thumbs up as long as it stays leak-proof (which I foresee it being for a while)!
Hi Fernando:
ReplyDeleteI like to brew some Tea and take it with me when I ride on cold rides. For that I still use my old Thermos. I bungee-cord it to my rear carrier. I like the idea of an insulated coffee mug though. Neat!
Peace :)
Hi Fernando, is there some kind of spring-loaded mechanism that makes the button function? I'm also in the market for a new bike thermos, but I've found in the past that any lid that uses anything except your own finger power to open or close will fail after a few months of heavy use.
ReplyDeleteChris, there is a spring-loaded mechanism in the button, and it seems pretty robust. However, the rubber piece that seals the mug was too soft and began to rip over time. I ordered a replacement lid (I think it was $8) and it has a slightly different design, and the rubber seems to be a little harder. Hopefully this will hold up better.
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