Lifeventure Thermal Mug, Leakproof & Vacuum Insulated Reusable Coffee Travel Cup

The flask looks good and keeps your hot drinks hot for hours. Most of the time I use it, I need to take the lid off for several minutes to allow the liquid to cool off a little bit before being able to drink it. It’s size is also very handy as it will fit into almost any cup/bottle holder or pouch. It even fits into cargo trousers pockets!The opening is big enough to make cleaning it very easy. I’ve had mine for a few months now and I know it’s going to last quite some time. I know several people with these and they’ve had them for years and really put them to the test.The only issue I’ve encountered is with the small storage compartment in the lid. A few times liquid from the flask has leaked into this compartment in the lid. The actually flask has never leaked other then into said compartment. So, it is leak proof and won’t ruin your bag or any contents, but the compartment in the lid is basically useless.I would definitely recommend this to anyone wanting an extremely durable flask that is a very convenient size and will actually keep your hot drinks hot for hours. Just don’t use the compartment in the lid for storage if yours does the same as mine.

I have been buying different travel mugs for several years, in the search for a cup that is genuinely leakproof and keeps your drink hot.At last!These mugs are genuinely leakproof (just make sure the little plug is securely in place in the lid, and you don't fill the cup beyond the start of the screw threads at the top). I have never found another brand or style that was really leakproof like these. In fact, they are so tight that you may need to unscrew the top section of the lid to release pressure before you can get the lid off - that's what the extra lid part is for.These cups really keep your drink hot. They are double walled like a flask, and keep your drink hot for hours. You can make a drink at breakfast time, confident in the knowledge that it will still be hot at lunch time. I have occasionally made a cup of tea before bed to drink the next morning, and it was still drinkable, although not blistering hot after seven hours.In terms of temperature, the only problem with these mugs is that they keep your drink too hot! Do be careful if you start drinking soon after making your drink, because it will be absolutely boiling. It won't cool down with the lid on, so leave the lid off a while if you want to enjoy your cuppa.My partner and I now have several of these mugs. If I had to criticise one thing, it is that the inside of the mugs get really badly stained with caffeinated drinks. Within a few weeks, the shiny silver lining will be dark brown, and the screw threads will be stained.I have tried various methods of cleaning the mugs, including denture tablets (they work on plastic mugs but have no effect on these mugs), tough washing up brushes (nope, useless), and steel wool pads (takes a lot of physical labour for little reward). After a few months, the inside of the mugs will be lumpy with dark brown wrongness.In the end, I scraped the insides with a knife to get the worst of the lumps off, then followed up with a steel wool pad, which was effective once the brown coating was no longer intact. It takes probably half an hour of hard graft to get the mugs clean again, which is a pain in the, er, neck.It is easier to accept that the insides of the mugs will be stained and nasty looking, so just don't share your mug with others, or let anyone see inside it, and all will be well. They come in various different colours, so you can tell which mug belongs to each person.Do remember to clean the rubber seals regularly, as they quickly get clogged with caffeine wrongness. Not only does that look grim, but it's probably a perfect spot for nurturing bacteria. Pull the rubber lid seal off and wash it with washing up liquid and, ideally, a washing up brush (to get into the groove), though a sponge will work well enough if you are thorough. Be careful popping out the little central seal - if you drop it and lose it that's the end of the leak proofing. Give the little seal a wipe with a washing up sponge, then leave both seals somewhere safe to dry off.Note that these mugs are cheaper on Amazon than at Go Outdoors, where we first spotted them. Shop around on Amazon, because different colours are, for some reason, different prices. The purple one seems to be the most expensive, but is no better quality than the boring black matt ones (my preferred style).Now that we have found these brilliant mugs, we'll never buy any other kind. They're perfect for commuting to work, taking on holidays (if they are empty you can take them through airport security), and generally around the house - why make one cup of tea when you can make two? Make the second one in your travel mug, and you can enjoy it later without the faff of going back to the kettle. Perfect!

I have had one of these mugs for 8 years already, and even with all the adventures it's had, it is still going strong. It is bumped, bruised, dented and the paint is scratched off in many places but it works as well as the first day I used it.I use it LITERALLY daily - it is the only mug I use at home, I take it out on my daily dog walks and use it for takeaway drinks. It has survived 4 years of cycle touring, been carted up mountains on hikes, on aeroplanes ... It's not only held hot and cold drinks, but also soup, sticky toffee sauce and sprouting lentils. It is safe to say this mug has earned its keep! I have recommended it to various friends and family, and this latest is the second one I have gifted to my partner.Some reviews mention issues with regards to leakage, cleaning and losing heat, so I'd like to address the issues from someone who is a seasoned Lifeventure Thermal Mug advocate!Leakage - the last mug I bought for my partner does indeed have an issue with leakage. (We didn't notice until we were already travelling so returning it wasn't an option.) However, we found that the lid and the threads can line up two ways. When lined up correctly, the lid fits perfectly and the mug doesn't leak. If you screw the lid on to the "wrong" thread, the lid doesn't quite fit right (you can see it's slightly askew) and it leaks. For us, it's not a problem to unscrew the lid, twist it 180 degrees so it lines up on the opposite thread and tighten the lid again. (Of course, I understand this is a manufacturing error that should not happen in the first place, but if it saves people throwing an otherwise perfect mug in the bin, I hope it can help!) As other users have also mentioned, make sure the small silicone plug in the lid is pushed in fully, too, as it will leak if this is not properly in place.Cleaning - My mug does stain over time from black tea and coffee (interestingly enough, less now that I've been using it for so long, and I don't know why that is). I wash it out with a sponge daily, although I generally just rinse it out with water between uses. This keeps most of the staining at bay, but particularly in the early days I would occasionally give it a deep clean with a vinegar/baking soda mix: place a teaspoon of baking soda into the mug, pour in a large dash of vinegar and slosh it around. (Leave the lid OFF, otherwise the gases can pop the lid off - voice of experience!) If needed, scrub the sides and the threads with a sponge too. This should get the rest of the residue off.Over time the silicone seals have stained from use and I haven't yet figured out how to clean them, if indeed they can be. As a result, I find that if I carry water in the mug which touches the lid (for example, it's sloshing around in my rucksack) it will take on the slight taste of coffee. Otherwise, I haven't noticed any flavour issues in my hot or cold drinks.As for longevity and durability, the metal plate on the bottom of my mug fell off within a couple of months, but it hasn't affected the performance of my mug at all, so I really don't care. Even with so many dents and bumps, the integrity of the vacuum seems to still be intact and it still keeps my drinks warm for 6 ish hours. This does depend on how I'm using it - the heat is lost through the plastic lid, so if it's lying on its side in my rucksack with the hot liquid touching the plastic lid, the heat is lost far quicker than if it's sitting still on the table without the lid touching the liquid. For anyone who says their mug heats up on the outside, that will definitely be a manufacturing fault affecting the integrity of the vacuum - hopefully Lifeventure can replace it for you.As you can probably tell, I am a huge fan of this mug, and I would buy again without hesitation (although I hope I will get another 8+ years out of mine before I need to do that!)