by lukemunrowalker » Mon Mar 12, 2018 6:35 pm
I've been through a few flasks over the years, and can confirm what everyone else is saying about the current fashion for 'cafe caps' = they're 'leakproof' for things like sitting on the cup holder of your car, but when throwing into a rucksack, the attitude should be "If it can leak, it will leak."
As far as brands go, I can +1 on the above users recommendation on the Klean Kanteen, it maybe wins out due to the traditional screw on lid having the metal inner, this isn't the case with the sipper lids, which can taste a bit plasticky when used with coffee/tea. I also have the single walled one for water, and that has the added bonus of being able to be put directly onto a fire / camp stove to heat / purify water when needed. The other brand I would recommend would be Primus, specifically the trailbreak line, the larger ones have both the 'sipping cap' and the screw-on one. I ditched the sipping lid as I just drink straight from the flask, the lip is metal, but seems to stay cool even when the contents are piping hot. The Primus also has a nice design to it, which looks a bit less nerdy when using it on a train and so on.
As for what size, I have a few versions in the 350ml to 550ml range. This gives more versatility of use than forking out for one 1 Litre+ size.
As for the ability to keep drinks warm, flasks have a limit. If your leaving it for over 5 hours you're maybe better off with a teabag, a small ti cup, a wee 250ml gas can and a small stove.
☆Top Tip, for any daytrip items that typically have a flip-up lid, e.g. hand cleaning gel – tape it down with good old gaffa tape.
☆Oh, on the same subject, I can also recommend the Primus trailbreak vaccum lunch jar, it looks great and it works a treat, a hilltop pasta dish makes a nice morale boosting change from the usual cheese sandwich!
