The 10 Best Travel Mugs

Coffee drinkers who want it hot at lunch and sealed in a bag should look first at the Zojirushi SM-SA48. Press a button and the lid flips open; slide a lock and it stays shut, so it can ride on its side without a drip. Coffee stays hot for hours, sometimes too hot to sip right away. The lid comes apart for cleaning, but the body needs hand washing, and the slim shape can rattle in a wide cupholder.

For a commute with one hand on the wheel, the Contigo West Loop 3.0 seals itself whenever you let go of the button on its lid. A small lock keeps it shut in a bag, and in independent trials it held tight through upside-down shaking and a hard drop. The lid can go on the top rack of the dishwasher, but its tight corners are fiddly to scrub, and the seal can wear with time.

The Thermos Stainless King SK1000 trades a slim shape for staying power. Reviewed found it held heat best of every travel mug it compared, and Thermos calls its lid leakproof when closed. A hook under the lid holds a tea bag, and the whole mug is dishwasher safe. It's heavy, the wide handle can make a tight cupholder awkward, and opening the lid takes two hands.

Built like a coffee-shop mug but with a lid that locks down, the BruMate Muv suits desk days that end in the car. The lid screws on with a short twist, a magnet holds the flip cover open, and it stayed dry through upside-down shaking and a drop in an independent trial. The handle sits low, so the base still fits most cupholders. The lid is stiff to take off, and the painted finish can chip.

For drinkers who taste metal in a steel cup, the Fellow Carter Move has a ceramic coating inside. Its thin rim drinks like a regular mug, and a twist-on cap with a splash guard seals it for a bag. Fellow claims about 12 hours of heat and says it fits most car cupholders and the dishwasher. It's a smaller mug, and the cap has to come off to drink, so sipping takes two hands.

The Contigo Handled Autoseal puts its handle up high, so the slim base still drops into a cupholder. Press the button to drink and the lid closes again when you let go, and a lock keeps it shut on the move. In an independent trial, hot coffee had barely cooled after a full morning. The lid can go on the top rack, but the steel body needs hand washing, and it stands tall in the car.

Lids with deep grooves trap old coffee, and the Owala SmoothSip Slider answers that with a top that comes apart and goes in the dishwasher. A slide covers the small spout, and the cup stayed dry when shaken upside down in an independent trial. It's light in the hand and suits iced drinks as well as hot ones. Taking the lid apart takes practice, the spout is small, and the cup itself needs hand washing.

Shoppers on a budget can still get the basics right with the Simple Modern Voyager: a flip lid that seals, a cup that's safe in the dishwasher and a limited lifetime warranty. It comes with straws for iced drinks, and it holds heat better than it holds ice. The lid can crack with daily use, and the narrow base can wobble in a large cupholder.

The Stanley Cafe-To-Go keeps things simple: a cap twists off, a drink-through lid sits underneath, and a sturdy loop on top hangs from a finger or a bag strap. Stanley promises about six hours of heat and calls it leakproof, and it's not part of the 2024 recall of Stanley's push-button mugs. No independent lab has checked those claims yet, and the twist cap takes two hands.

For a desk or a cupholder, not a bag, the Sunwill Insulated Tumbler holds a big pour for very little money. A clear slide lid stops splashes, a steel double wall keeps coffee warm through a morning, and it all cleans up in the dishwasher. The lid isn't sealed, so it will leak if it tips over, and Sunwill publishes little about it beyond the basics.