So I got the Contigo Autoseal Travel Mug instead (on the left here). So far, way better, It's completely tight, and when you drink from it, you press a spring button on the back, which opens the smallish opening (right-sized) to drink from.
And it holds the heat much better. The Thermos mug uses "foam" insulation (don't know what the foam is made of, but I'm not impressed), the Contigo uses vacuum. And the outside of the Contigo mug hardly gets warm at all. And of course, at the end of a (really) leisurely drunk mug full of tea, it is still hot at the end, which I couldn't say about the Thermos mug.
I wonder how they seal the vacuum so tight that it will last for years, not air seeping in at all?
Update:
Ray said...
Strange that Thermos would let itself be outdone by a competitor when it was Thermos that originally
made it big with glass vacuum bottles held in place inside a metal casing decades ago. They were fragile in the sense that dropping it could break the glass, which was relatively thin, but if cared for, they worked like a charm for years.
Eolake Stobblehouse said...
Yes, exactly! I thought Thermos was king.
But the Thermos one eats *so* much heat. Even after pre-heating it with boiled water for three minutes, no less, I still had to heat the milk when making tea. If I did that with the Contigo, the tea would scald me for at least an hour. Very remarkable.
Here you go:
ReplyDeletewww.howstuffworks.com/thermos1.htm
Thanks, dude.
ReplyDeleteCool! Been looking for something leak-proof like that! Thanks! Glad you've found something that works better than Thermos!
ReplyDeleteStrange that Thermos would let itself be outdone by a competitor when it was Thermos that originally
ReplyDeletemade it big with glass vacuum bottles held in place inside a metal casing decades ago. They were fragile in the sense that dropping it could break the glass, which was relatively thin, but if cared for, they worked like a charm for years.
The reason workers' lunch-buckets had a curved 'roof' like a little barn was because the Thermos fitted into that upper half of the lunch-bucket, held there by a folding 'U'-shaped wire.
Yes, exactly! I thought Thermos was king.
ReplyDeleteBut the Thermos eats *so* much heat. Even after pre-heating it with boiled water for three minutes, no less, I still had to heat the milk when making tea. If I did that with the Contigo, the tea would scald me for at least an hour.
Somewhat late to the party - I recalled this thread when needing to replace the other brand mugs that weren't working properly. My wife and I now have a Contigo each and they keep the drinks hot, without spilling. Thanks for the recommendation, Eo.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mark, glad to hear it.
ReplyDeleteI'm still amazed at the difference.
I'd have liked a handle, but probably they have a model with one.
A small downside is that the top is hard to clean inside due to the opening mechanism which goes across. But I guess it's well worth it, for the mechanism works great and makes it a lot safer than most mugs.
I asked Contigo about the cleaning issue. They wrote:
ReplyDelete"Thank you for contacting Contigo® and we apologize for the difficulty you experienced with your product. We are working on a lid that comes apart for better cleaning.
I have included a tip that may be helpful. Sprinkle some baking soda in the upside down lid and then add an ounce of lemon juice. The chemical reaction sweetens the whole inside of the lid. Rinse the lid with hot water and let dry, the hot water will clear out anything the baking soda and lemon didn't reach."