I’ve Tested Almost 40 Travel Mugs This Year Alone—These Are My Favorites

• BrüMate Müv: Testers loved this leakproof travel mug's comfortable handle, and it earned high scores in our drop and leak tests. The downside? The lid can be a little tricky to line up and remove at first, and the drinking spout is on the smaller side.
• Created Nomad Flip: This sleek travel mug comes in three sizes, with a ceramic-coated interior, but it’s not dishwasher-safe and requires extra care when cleaning.
  
• Hydroflask Stainless Steel Mug: With its comfortable soft-grip handle, easy-to-clean design, and range of sizes and colors, this travel mug stood out in our tests. The spout isn’t fully leakproof, though, so it’s best suited for camping or car rides.
  
• Owala Travel Tumbler: This versatile tumbler impressed us with its strong cold retention and dual sipping options for both hot and iced drinks. However, it will leak if turned upside down and showed slight denting after drop testing.
  
• RTIC Roadtrip Travel Mug: This affordable travel mug has a leakproof design, a comfortable handle, and a quiet silicone base, but we found it slightly bulky and does not always fit in cup holders.
• S'well Stainless Steel Traveler: Redesigned to fit more comfortably in your hand, the sleek 16-ounce bottle also has a wide mouth that makes it easy to add ice cubes. Just note that the spout is fairly large, which may not be ideal for sipping hot coffee.
• W&P Ceramic Mug with Protective Silicone Sleeve: The inside of this travel mug is easy-to-clean ceramic, which generally helps to prevent buildup over time, but coffee doesn't stay hot as long as other models.

In the Good Housekeeping Institute Kitchen & Cooking Lab, we evaluated each travel mug for leakage, temperature retention, durability, ease of use, and much more. We also asked consumer testers to use the travel mugs in real-life scenarios and share feedback on comfort, portability, and everyday performance.

✔️ Usage: Choose a travel mug based on how you’ll actually use it. Do you like commuting with a large cup of iced coffee that can be thrown into your backpack? Or do you prefer sipping on a hot latte on your drive to drop the kids off at school? When you determine what you'll use your travel mug for, you can make an educated decision about the size, material, and lid type that's best for you.

✔️ Capacity: Travel mugs come in a variety of sizes, but the majority are around 12 to 24 ounces. A 16-ounce capacity is a good sweet spot if you like a variety of different coffee and tea drinks. However, there are 8-ounce models for petite espresso drinks and large 30-ounce options for those who prefer bigger beverages or lots of ice.

✔️ Material: All of our top travel mug picks are stainless steel (with a few that are ceramic-lined), but some models on the market are fully constructed out of ceramic, glass, or silicone.

• Stainless steel mugs help keep your beverage hot or cold longer. It's relatively durable: It might dent, but won't shatter. Stainless steel doesn't absorb flavors, but it can sometimes alter the flavor of beverages unless it's ceramic-lined.
• If you opt for a glass travel mug, consider borosilicate glass, which is tempered to resist shattering with hot liquids and can be more durable if dropped. However, it's still a more delicate material than stainless steel options.
• Ceramic mugs are generally easy to clean, and because the material is nonporous, they are unlikely to develop odd flavors. You do have to be careful, as this material is prone to breaking if dropped.
• Silicone is a great, lightweight, and durable option, but it can get warm without a heat sleeve. Silicone can sometimes hold onto flavors from coffee, tea, or even dishwasher soap.

✔️ Lid: Some lids are more spill-proof than others. Our Lab experts particularly love the locking feature on some mugs, which adds an extra level of safety if you plan to toss your mug into your bag. Lids that screw on are also often leak-resistant. Those who prefer a more traditional-style mug with a handle may find that slider lids are common; evaluate those for leaking, as some are prone to dribbles (or worse).

✔️ Drinking spout: Travel mugs usually offer a small spout for sipping hot beverages slowly. However, those designed for cold drinks often have straws. Some tumbler-style travel mugs on the market also include two lid types, so you can switch it up based on your beverage.

✔️ Handle: Travel mugs can either come without a handle so the mug can slip easily into a backpack pocket, a carrying strap for carrying on a long walk, or a handle like you would find on a traditional mug to grip comfortably. Most travel mugs are insulated, so you don't need a handle to prevent burning your hand like you would with a traditional ceramic mug. At the end of the day, it's more about personal preference and how you like to carry and hold your mug.

✔️ Ease of cleaning: Check to see if the mug is dishwasher safe for ease of cleaning. Otherwise, it needs to be washed by hand after each use, and make sure you can thoroughly clean it with a sponge or bottle brush.

Eva Bleyer has tested a wide range of kitchen gear for Good Housekeeping over the past 4+ years. She holds a B.S. in Food Studies, Nutrition, and Public Health from New York University, where she studied sustainability practices. She's also a trained cook. Eva has tested over 40 travel mugs and tumblers over the last year (almost all of which are on this list). She has also tested numerous water bottles for the Kitchen Appliances Lab and is constantly trying out new drinkware in her daily life.

Sarah Gregory is a deputy editor in the Good Housekeeping Institute. She tested several travel mugs and led the test of heated mugs.

Kitchen & Cooking Lab Director Nicole Papantoniou oversees testing of all kitchen gear, including coffee grinders, coffee makers, espresso machines, and Nespresso machines. She has used almost all of these travel mugs and constantly rotates through an assortment for daily use.