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Best Travel Coffee Mug
Hydro Flask Coffee with Flex Sip Lid
A Mug That Can Handle Your Mornings
Hydro Flask Mug
Best Value
Owala SmoothSip Slider
Best for Road Trips
Ember Travel Mug 2+
If there’s one thing we at WIRED love almost as much as tech gear, it’s caffeine. Over the years, we’ve naturally tracked down the best travel mugs through a series of unfortunate events: spilled lattes, lukewarm brews, and dented thermoses that saw better days. But those mishaps led us to our top picks, from spill-proof mugs that can survive the chaos of a NYC commute to self-heating tumblers for all-day sippers.
I’ve rounded up the best travel mugs that have earned their place in our cupboards. If you’re as obsessed with your morning brew as we are, be sure to check out our guides to the Best Coffee Subscriptions, Best Coffee Grinders, Best Espresso Machines, Best French Presses, Best Portable Coffee Makers, Best AeroPress Coffee Makers, and How to Make Better Coffee at Home.
Updated February 2025: I’ve added the Owala SmoothSip Slider and the Fellow Carter Move Mug. I’ve flagged picks that confirm lead use and added information on how we test. I also updated links and prices.
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Since we began testing reusable water bottles and travel mugs, we’ve discovered that some brands use lead soldering to seal their insulated bottles. While exposure is unlikely, we still believe it’s an unnecessary risk, especially since many of our top choices use safer sealing methods. We’ve flagged any brands that confirmed lead use and will keep this list updated as we hear from others.
- Stanley Cup
- Contigo Luxe Autoseal
- Yeti Rambler
- OtterBox Elevation
I’ve been running on caffeine since I was 12 (sorry, Mom and Dad) because I took middle school way too seriously. Fourteen years later, caffeine is my personality at this point. So, it’s safe to say I’ve been unofficially testing travel mugs for over a decade.
For this guide, I personally tested every mug on this list. I drank both coffee and tea at piping-hot and ice-cold extremes, rating heat retention and the taste, ensuring none had that metallic aftertaste. Shape and design matter, too: how comfortable it is to hold, whether it fits into a car cupholder, and if it offers additional features worth considering. I psychotically shook the mugs that promised to be leakproof and dropped those that claimed to be durable from about four feet onto both wood and concrete surfaces to evaluate how well they held up. Finally, travel mugs can be a pain to scrub, so I factored in how easy it was to clean.
Simply put, I’m a lazy, highly caffeinated creature of convenience, and I need a travel mug that pulls its weight. If it didn’t keep my coffee warm, my bag dry, and my life a little easier, it didn’t make the list.
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Photograph: Boutayna Chokrane
Best Travel Coffee Mug
Hydro Flask Coffee with Flex Sip Lid
The Hydro Flask Coffee with Flex Sip Lid is the travel mug I reach for when I’m traveling. It’s low-maintenance, built like a tank, and forgiving if you’re clumsy. Former writer Medea Giordano has had her 16-ounce for over four years, and it’s still dent-free (knock on wood this doesn’t jinx it). Hydro Flask’s powder coating grips even clammy hands, and the 16-ounce fits into most car cup holders. Hydro Flask wide-mouth lids are interchangeable, so you can swap in a straw lid for cold beverages or another favorite. If you purchase the travel mug directly from the site, you can get it engraved with text or a graphic.
Specs Materials: 18/8 pro-grade stainless steel. All caps are made out of BPA/BPS free polypropylene. Dishwasher safe: Yes. Sizes: 12-ounce, 16-ounce, and 20-ounce. -
Photograph: Boutayna Chokrane
A Mug That Can Handle Your Mornings
Hydro Flask Mug
Imagine sitting by a campfire under the stars, sipping hot cocoa, then waking up at sunrise to a cup of coffee by the lake. A handleless mug just doesn’t do that scene justice. Hydro Flask’s travel coffee mug brings that camp aesthetic to life and feels great to hold. The slider lid keeps curious bugs out but it’s not leakproof. I appreciate the mug’s stainless steel rim that’s smooth to sip from sans lid. Just note, that it’s not TPU powder-coated like most Hydro Flask bottles, so you’ll have to hand wash it.
Specs Materials: 18/8 pro-grade stainless steel. All caps are made out of BPA/BPS free polypropylene. Dishwasher safe: No. Hand wash only. Sizes: 6-ounce, 12-ounce, and 24-ounce.
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Photograph: Owala
Best Value
Owala SmoothSip Slider
If you’re a fan of the Owala FreeSip’s spout, then the SmoothSip Slider will not disappoint. It keeps drinks hot for six-ish hours or cold for 24 hours, thanks to its triple-layered insulation, and it’s lightweight to carry around. The slider lid works fine for everyday use and passed the upside-down test, but I wouldn’t be careless about tossing it into a bag because of how easy it is to unlock. Alongside its fun palettes, Owala also releases limited-edition designs, like the latest Gilmore Girls collection. All Owala bottles are lead-, BPA-, and phthalate-free.
Specs Materials: Stainless steel. Dishwasher safe: Dishwasher-safe lid and hand-washable cup. Sizes: 12-ounce and 20-ounce. -
Photograph: Kat Merck
Best for Road Trips
Ember Travel Mug 2+
Once the sticker shock on this “smart mug” subsides, any coffee drinker who travels an hour or more regularly is in for a treat. A notable improvement on their already awesome desktop mug, the Ember Travel Mug 2 is a waterproof travel tumbler with several tech features that will curb the need for pit stops for truck-stop coffee. In our testing, the internal battery kept 16 ounces of coffee at 135 degrees for a little over two hours, and the optional 12v car charger ($50) kept the temperature consistent and the battery fully charged for an entire 4-hour trip. We knocked it around in a duffle bag filled with clean clothes and not a drop of liquid fell out. Tap the logo on the front to view the battery level, and another tap enables a temperature dial that’s responsive and intuitive to use. Hold down the power button on the bottom to activate the built-in tracking device that pairs with any iOS phone and its Find My functionality, allowing you to trigger alerts akin to those of an AirTag if you leave the device at the office or on a bus. —Pete Cottell
Specs Materials: Stainless-steel with FDA food-grade ceramic-reinforced coating. Dishwasher safe: The leak-proof lid is dishwasher safe. Safe to hand wash and submersible up to 1 meter in water. Sizes: 12-ounce.
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Photograph: Boutayna Chokrane
Best for Iced Coffee and Matcha Lattes
Fellow Carter Move Mug
Fellow nailed it with the Carter Move. This sleek mug has a ceramic-coated interior, so your matcha won’t taste like yesterday’s coffee. A 270-degree twist locks the lid, guaranteeing no leaks—I’ve tossed it in my bag without a second thought. The included splash guard keeps ice cubes from smacking your teeth, and it’s also great if you’re sipping while driving or walking. Fellow will also drop limited-edition colors and collaborations, including artist series so that you can snag a beautiful design. It fits into most car cup holders, and it’s compatible with the cold lid + straw, and the carry lid.
Note, that the Carter Move fits most standard drippers but isn’t compatible with the AeroPress Coffee Maker or Prismo AeroPress Attachment. The Carter Wide, a great alternative to the Move but doesn’t come with a splash guard, is compatible with most manual coffee brewers, like the AeroPress or Hario Coffee Dripper.
Specs Materials: 18/8 stainless steel, BPA-free plastic and steel lid, inner ceramic coating. Dishwasher safe: Yes. Sizes: 8-ounce, 12-ounce, and 16-ounce. -
Photograph: Boutayna Chokrane
Best Under $20
Ello Campy Travel Mug
For under $20, the Ello Campy delivers a nostalgic charm, harkening back to the enameled camp cups that ooze 20th-century Americana. The Campy isn’t enameled—just painted to look like it—but it pulls off the effect well. The cork-lined handle stays cool to touch, while the vacuum insulation retains your drink’s heat. The screw-on plastic lid is designed to avoid conducting heat, with a sliding level for sipping. It’s not spill-proof but will generally hold up well if you keep it upright. It doesn’t fit into cup holders, which can be a dealbreaker for drivers, and the paint is likely to chip off with wear.
Specs Materials: Stainless steel, BPA-free plastic. Dishwasher safe: The lid is top-rack dishwasher safe. Hand wash vessel recommended. Sizes: 18-ounce.
Honorable Mentions
Photograph: KeepCup
We’ve run through many travel mugs, and not all of them are winners. These are a few we like, just not as much as the ones above.
KeepCup 12oz Coffee Cup for $28: This double-walled, insulated mug is meant to replicate (and replace) paper coffee shop cups. This is a solid option if you’re looking for a glass cup (the rubber grip is plastic, though). That said, it’s not the best for preserving your coffee’s temperature, and the lid is a tad wobbly.
Oxo Good Grips Thermal Mug for $33: We reviewed this bottle in 2022 and appreciated its sturdy build and dishwasher-friendliness, but since it’s older it now fluctuates in and out of stock.
REI Co-op Camp Mug for $16: REI’s stainless steel cup is a decent mug that doesn’t particularly stand out. Giordano says the exterior coating was tough enough to show no scratches, even after knocking it over a few times outside.
Zojirushi Stainless Steel Mug for $22: The lid locks to avoid accidental spillage, and editor Adrienne So once left tea in it for 18 hours (unintentionally) and discovered it was still hot when she opened it. The downside is that the cover has three separate parts—a mouthpiece, a gasket, and a lid—that are deeply ridged and annoying to clean.
Avoid These Travel Mugs
They can’t all be winners. As mentioned above, we excluded brands that use lead. These are two additional cups that just fell short in comparison to our favorites.
Greens Steel Beast 20-Ounce Insulated Tumbler for $21: The Beast Tumbler has over 78,000 positive reviews on Amazon, but we found the rubber seal around the lid easily comes out of place. That meant it leaked like a sieve.
Toaks Titanium Double Wall 450ML Cup for $40: More often than not, we champion Toaks gear as an affordable source of titanium camp cookware. But this mug is $12 more than the Hydro Flask mug we recommend above, and its finishing is rougher.
