Why you should trust us
I’m a staff writer covering travel and outdoor gear, including travel mugs, ice cleats and thermal underwear. I wrote the latest version of this guide in 2023.
- I decided which thermoses to test by looking at the most popular options on Amazon and on REI’s website, as well as at models from well-known companies, including Thermos, Stanley, and Zojirushi.
- The original writer of this guide, Jordan McMahon, reviewed products including fanny packs and productivity apps for Wirecutter.
- Like all Wirecutter journalists, I review and test products with complete editorial independence. I’m never made aware of any business implications of my editorial recommendations. Read more about our editorial standards.
Who this is for
When it comes to portable beverage containers, we’re spoiled for choice. We’ve tested food thermoses, travel mugs, water bottles, and tumblers, and it can be difficult to determine which bottle is best for which task.
Thermoses have a higher capacity than other types of insulated containers. And they often come with a handle or a strap (so they’re easier to carry and pour from) and have removable caps that double as cups (which are easier to drink from than the mouth of a large bottle).
A thermos may be right for you if you’re sharing hot drinks with other people, you don’t have access to a fridge or microwave to store or reheat foods, or you just want to cut back on trips to the office coffee maker. If you’re looking for something that holds just one or two servings, though, the thermoses in this guide will be overkill.
The food thermoses we’ve reviewed are smaller and lack a built-in cup. Travel mugs and water bottles are designed so you can toss them in a bag and drink on the go. Tumblers are geared toward car commuters and have lids that don’t seal but often have a spot for a straw.
How we picked and tested
We’ve focused specifically on vacuum bottles that have the following features:
- capacity of a quart or more
- a cap that serves as a cup
- a handle, on models with a capacity over 1½ quarts (to make holding and pouring easier)
- user reviews reporting the thermos kept hot drinks hot and cold drinks cold for hours at a time
- user reviews saying the thermos is durable and doesn’t leak
- some kind of warranty coverage
After calling in the models that fit those criteria, we tested each thermos, focusing on the following:
Ease of use: We noted how easy it was to pour from each thermos, and we drank from each model’s cap to test it.
How a thermos retained heat: We filled each bottle with water heated to 202 degrees Fahrenheit, and we monitored the temperature over eight hours.
Whether it was tough and leakproof: We dropped each thermos, full of water, three times onto concrete from a height of 4 feet, to see whether it would dent. We also placed each model into a plastic bag and shook it to test for leaks.
How easy it was to clean: We cleaned each thermos, noting how easy it was to disassemble—especially if the stopper contained a gasket or other small parts.
Top pick: Stanley Classic Legendary Bottle 2.5 QT
Top pick
All of the thermoses we tested kept drinks hot over a long day, but the Stanley Classic Legendary Bottle 2.5 QT stood out in almost every way. (It comes in four colors: green, silver, black, and matte black.)
It’s the most comfortable to hold and pour from. We liked the Classic Legendary Bottle’s handle the best, compared with the handles on all the thermoses we tested. It’s wide and sturdy enough to grab without the bottle wobbling. Unlike the body of the Zojirushi thermos we tested, this bottle’s body isn’t totally smooth: The bumpy texture provides some grip, so you can hold the thermos more firmly, even if you aren’t gripping the handle.
It’s big yet still packable enough. The Classic Legendary Bottle is large—just over 15 inches tall and 5 inches wide. But because its handle swivels to the side, the thermos easily fits in an average-size commuter backpack (though you might not have a lot of space for your lunch or a coat). When this bottle was full, it weighed 8 pounds—but we don’t think it would be too heavy for most people to lug around. If you want something smaller, though, this bottle comes in a 2-quart (64-ounce) version and a 1½-quart (48-ounce) version (which has a less comfortable, harder-to-grip handle).
It has a simple, large cup and a secure stopper. The Classic Legendary Bottle has an outer cap that doubles as a cup, and it has a screw-top stopper that seals the thermos shut. In our leak tests, the two parts stayed securely closed, but they easily twisted off when it was time to pour ourselves a drink. The cap holds nearly one cup (about 8 ounces) when filled to the brim, so you don’t have to refill too frequently.
It’s great at insulating. In our heat tests, the Classic Legendary Bottle kept hot water hotter for longer than any other thermos we tested. When the bottle was placed in a 72-degree Fahrenheit room, out of direct sunlight, the hot water it contained dropped from 202 degrees to 180 degrees Fahrenheit over eight hours. That’s still sufficiently hot for coffee, tea, or any other warm beverage, whether you’re spending the day tucked in an office cubicle or out on a construction site.
It’s tough and leakproof. In our drop tests, the Classic Legendary Bottle barely dented, suffering no punctures, chips, or other serious damage to the body or cap. Most of the thermoses we tested held up similarly well, but this bottle’s rugged aesthetic still looked good with minor denting. And even after being dropped, this thermos didn’t leak any water.
It’s easy to clean. Unlike our other picks, the Classic Legendary Bottle is dishwasher-safe, though it may be tough to fit in smaller units. Because the bottle is tall, it can be hard to reach the bottom to scrub it, so we recommend using a bottle brush.
Its warranty is more generous than most. The Classic Legendary Bottle has a lifetime warranty covering manufacturing defects; this warranty goes far beyond the five-year warranty on our pick for commuters.
Flaws but not dealbreakers
The metal drinking cup can get cold. Because the Classic Legendary Bottle’s drinking cup is made of metal, it may be cold to the touch in chilly environments. But the cup has a plastic rim, so your mouth won’t come in a lot of contact with the cold metal. And the body of the cup is insulated, so the contents stay warm yet won’t scorch your hands.
Budget pick: Stanley Adventure To-Go Bottle 1.1 QT
Budget pick
If you like the look and feel of the Classic Legendary Bottle, but you want something smaller (or less expensive), we recommend the Stanley Adventure To-Go Bottle 1.1 QT. (It comes in six colors, including silver and black.)
It insulates almost as well as our top pick. Although the Adventure To-Go Bottle doesn’t keep liquid hot for as long as either the Classic Legendary Bottle or the Zojirushi SJ-JS10, its water measured a still-respectable 172 degrees Fahrenheit after eight hours. And the Adventure To-Go is usually about half the price of the Classic Legendary and the Zojirushi.
It’s more portable than our top pick. The Adventure To-Go Bottle holds 1.1 quarts of liquid (35 fluid ounces), less than half the amount the Classic Legendary Bottle holds. Compared with the Classic Legendary, the Adventure To-Go is also shorter and narrower: 12 inches by 3.375 inches. (The Adventure To-Go is similar in size to the Zojirushi SJ-JS10, and it’s less expensive, but it’s also heavier.)
It’s easy enough to use, even without a handle. Unlike the Classic Legendary Bottle, the Adventure To-Go Bottle doesn’t have a sturdy handle (which is what helps our top pick pour so well). But we found that thermoses holding less than 1½ quarts don’t need a handle. The Adventure To-Go has the same textured outer coating (which helps you grip the thermos when pouring) as the Classic Legendary.
The cap and stopper rival those of our top pick. Like the Classic Legendary Bottle, the Adventure To-Go model has a metal cap with a (smaller) plastic rim; it’s also insulated. You do need to loosen or remove the stopper to pour, which you don’t have to do with the spout on the Zojirushi SJ-JS10. But the Adventure To-Go cap holds a cup of liquid, versus the Zojirushi’s ⅔ cup, so you won’t have to refill as often.
It has a lifetime warranty. Like the Classic Legendary Bottle, the Adventure To-Go has a better warranty than the other thermoses we tested.
Flaws but not dealbreakers
You’ll need to hand-wash it. Unlike the Classic Legendary Bottle, the Adventure To-Go is not dishwasher-safe. But if you use a bottle brush, it’s easy to reach the base of the thermos. Also, the Adventure To-Go is made of only three simple pieces, plus a removable silicone seal, so there aren’t any challenging places to reach.
It’s not quite as tough as our other picks. When dropped, the Adventure To-Go and the Zojirushi SJ-JS10 both sustained about an equal amount of denting and scratching along the base and the rim. The Adventure To-Go’s lid was dented, however, while the Zojirushi sustained a light scratch.
Best thermos for commuters: Zojirushi Stainless Bottle SJ-JS10
Best for…
We recommend the Zojirushi Stainless Bottle SJ-JS10 for commuters who want to carry more hot liquid than a traditional travel mug holds and who don’t need to drink on the go. It comes in a simple stainless steel finish and seasonal colors.
It keeps liquids almost as warm as our top pick. After eight hours, the water inside the Zojirushi bottle had cooled to 177 degrees Fahrenheit—just 3 degrees cooler than the water in the Stanley Classic Legendary Bottle. (The only other bottle that performed better than the Zojirushi on temperature was the Stanley Legacy QuadVac, which we dismissed for other reasons.)
But its size is more manageable. The Zojirushi thermos holds 1.1 quarts of liquid (35 fluid ounces), substantially less than the Classic Legendary Bottle. And compared with the Classic Legendary, the Zojirushi is also shorter and narrower: 11¼ inches by 3¼ inches. Our testers found it was easy to fit this bottle in a small backpack or messenger bag. Because the Zojirushi bottle is fairly slim, it’s easy to grip, and even though it lacks a handle, pouring from it wasn’t a problem.
The spout is the most user-friendly. The Zojirushi bottle’s stopper has a push-button spout, which, unlike the stoppers on the Stanley bottles, remains attached to the mouth of the thermos when you pour—so you don’t have to deal with an extra loose piece. But the Zojirushi vessel’s shallow cap holds about ⅔ cup of liquid when full—less than the caps on the Stanley bottles hold.
It’s durable enough and doesn’t leak. The Zojirushi thermos sustained a few dents when we dropped it, but there was no structural damage to the bottle. Its lid, despite being plastic, didn’t crack. By contrast, the plastic cap of the GSI Outdoors Glacier Vacuum Bottle’s lid lost a large chunk after one drop (though the stopper and the bottle itself remained intact). Also, the Zojirushi bottle didn’t leak in our tests, and we would feel confident carrying this thermos in a bag along with workout clothes or even a small laptop.
It has a decent warranty. The Zojirushi thermos has a five-year warranty against manufacturer defects—so it falls far short of the lifetime guarantee for our other picks.
Flaws but not dealbreakers
You’ll need to hand-wash it. Unlike the Classic Legendary Bottle, this thermos isn’t dishwasher-safe. And it’s more tricky to clean than the Adventure To-Go because of all the moving parts in the stopper. Here, too, a bottle brush may help with getting it completely clean.
It pours a bit slowly. Some Amazon reviewers have noted that the Zojirushi bottle’s spout tends to dribble, but we didn’t experience this ourselves. Its small spout dispenses a controlled pour more slowly than our other picks.
Care and maintenance
For any thermos, check the manual or the manufacturer’s site to see whether it’s dishwasher-safe. (The dishwashing process can damage some bottles’ vacuum insulation or the seal between the lid and the bottle.)
If you’re hand-washing a thermos, a good bottle-cleaning set will let you reach into the narrow opening. The best bottle-cleaning set we’ve found is the OXO Good Grips Water Bottle Cleaning Set, which has brushes of multiple sizes held together by a ring, so you won’t lose them.
You should also clean the cap and the stopper, as well as the bottle itself. You can soak the parts in hot, soapy water and scrub the nooks and crannies with brushes.
Some thermoses—including our pick for commuters, the Zojirushi SJ-JS10—have a silicone seal that can retain smells. To remove the stink from silicone, many experts recommend burying the thermos in fresh baking soda for two days. Marguerite Preston, senior editor on the kitchen team, has a better (and quicker) solution: Bake the silicone pieces in the oven. For a step-by-step description of her method, adapted from a thread she saw on Reddit, see our advice on cleaning travel mugs.
The competition
The Stanley Legacy QuadVac Thermal Bottle 1.5 QT was better at insulating liquid than every thermos except for our top pick. This model suffered deep dents during our drop test, though. And when the cup’s metal lining meets the metal rim of the thermos, it produces a loud, abrasive sound.
The all-metal Klean Kanteen 32 oz TK Pro Insulated Thermos was especially loud when dropped. The cap was often too difficult to take off because it’s too easy to over-tighten. The Klean Kanteen also didn’t insulate as well as our picks.
The Thermos 40oz Icon Beverage Bottle offered average durability and insulation, but the stopper was easy to mis-thread, and throughout testing we struggled to seat the cup securely after drinking.
The Miir Tomo 33oz has a rigid handle, which makes it hard to put this bottle in a backpack. It scored at the low end of our insulation tests, and the squared-off handle was uncomfortable to hold. It’s also difficult to tell whether the push-button, 360-degree lid is opened or closed.
The Stanley Master Unbreakable Thermal Bottle 1.4 QT was the bulkiest and most expensive thermos we tested. Its handle doesn’t collapse, so it’s not easy to stuff this vessel into a backpack or bag. It sustained more drops without serious harm to the body than the other models we tested, but we don’t think it’s worth the cost, unless you need something extraordinarily rugged.
The GSI Outdoors Glacier Vacuum Bottle has a plastic cap, and it cracked the first time we dropped it.
The Thermos Stainless King kept liquid as warm as our picks did, but the Stanley Classic Legendary Bottle’s handle was more comfortable to hold and easier to snap into place.
This article was edited by Ria Misra and Christine Ryan.
