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#202599 - 02/14/19 08:43 AM Insulated or single wall mug?
Mbphoto Offline
member

Registered: 01/16/19
Posts: 37
Loc: Switzerland
Looking at Titanium mugs right now..

I do have a 1L Nalgene bottle, a 1L aluminium SIGG bottle, and a 1L Hydraflask S/S insulated bottle to choose from.

Whenever I find a good offer, I'm going to buy the Jetboil Mini Mo cooker.. (1 L is enough for me and my partner and the stove is perfect for our needs.)

So, now that that's settled, let's talk mugs laugh


Obviously, I love Titanium. Great element, chemically and biologically harmless, super lightweight, and long-lasting.

I've been looking at Snow Peak, Toaks, Alpkit, etc.

While I do like the stackable cups from snow peak most (since I wouldn't need a handle on an insulated mug), the prices for the double walled mugs are crazy!


I can get a single-wall Ti cup with handles for 20 bucks. It would also be nearly half the weight.


The problem is:
Would this single-walled mug really keep the coffee hot long enough, or would you strongly advice to go for an insulated one?

The S/S insualted mugs are not an option..

Advantage of the single-walled mug would be that you could heat it over the stove to keep the tea warm..


Any experience?

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#202600 - 02/14/19 09:32 AM Re: Insulated or single wall mug? [Re: Mbphoto]
Glenn Roberts Online   content
Moderator

Registered: 12/23/08
Posts: 2208
Loc: Southwest Ohio
I’m not the best person to answer, since I haven’t carried a mug for years (I also cook only for me: add boiling water to the freeze-dried bag, then heat tea water in my small 700ml pot and drink from the pot - clearly not feasible for you.)

Will it keep the coffee warm? Depends on how fast you drink it. smile (Sorry, couldn’t resist.)

One thing that you might take a look at is a cozy for a titanium mug (visit AntiGravityGear’s website - they may offer such cozies, or at least a kit.) The advantage here is that you can use the mug to heat water (at lunch, or a break on a cold day), then put it in the cozy to keep it warm. Some people love cozies, some hate them.

Depending on how you and your partner cook, you might want to just get a second Jetboil pot for your stove. Then each of you can have an insulated mug that you can cook in. (If you use the freezer bag method, you could boil a pot and use it to add food to your pack, then boil another pot and split it for coffee or tea - or even boil two pots, so you each have a full liter of beverage.)

Also, take a look at the MSR Windburner stoves - they’re a Jetboil clone, but some reviewers say they are slightly more wind-resistant and fuel-efficient. You can also buy spare insulated pots for these, too. I don’t have enough experience with Jetboil or Windburner to notice any difference. (I use a “plain” canister stove and put it behind a log or the downwind side of my body to block the wind.)

Others can fill in the gaps in what I’ve written; like I said, I’m not an expert on mugs.

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#202601 - 02/14/19 12:26 PM Re: Insulated or single wall mug? [Re: Mbphoto]
BZH Offline
member

Registered: 01/26/11
Posts: 1189
Loc: Madison, AL
I would consider a double wall mug a luxury item while backpacking. Its only for people who really want to lounge around camp in morning and slowly drink there coffee.

I like many others rarely carry a mug at all. When backpacking with my family, I carry the venerable Sierra cup. One for each person. If we are eating dinner it is our plate/bowl. If the kids want cocoa we give them a quick rinse and they now become a drinking vessel. Since I can only get so much hot water at once anyway I rarely find the need to have both an eating vessel and hot liquid drinking vessel at the same time. The lightest gear is the stuff you leave home.

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#202605 - 02/14/19 01:45 PM Re: Insulated or single wall mug? [Re: Mbphoto]
JustWalking Offline
member

Registered: 01/12/16
Posts: 293
Loc: PNW
I'm definitely a mug guy. I have, and carry, a snow peak double walled mug on every trip. I prefer to cook/rehydrate in my cookpot, and then eat from it, instead of dumping hot water into an FBC meal and eating from a bag. So I heat water first for my coffee/tea, then cook/rehydrate my meal.

I do like to lounge in camp, especially at night, when I'm enjoying a mug of hot cocoa or herbal tea while chatting with camp mates, before finishing off the night with a dram of scotch. A mug is a definite for me, and I definitely prefer double walled - keeps hot drinks hot a bit longer, you don't burn your lips on the mug when you go to drink something hot, and you can easily hold the mug without gloves and such when there's hot liquid in it. Win-win-win! :-)

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#202606 - 02/14/19 01:49 PM Re: Insulated or single wall mug? [Re: Glenn Roberts]
JustWalking Offline
member

Registered: 01/12/16
Posts: 293
Loc: PNW
Originally Posted By Glenn Roberts
Also, take a look at the MSR Windburner stoves - they’re a Jetboil clone, but some reviewers say they are slightly more wind-resistant and fuel-efficient. ...


I'd say they're a bit more wind resistant that slightly. The Windburners are very wind resistant once they're lit because of the way the pot obscures the burner head. While I use a 'plain' canister stove on most of my trips as well, if I'm only heating water (cold meals instead of FBC meals), I bring the Windburner 1L stove, it's just so fast and efficient.

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#202607 - 02/14/19 02:57 PM Re: Insulated or single wall mug? [Re: Mbphoto]
OregonMouse Online   content
member

Registered: 02/03/06
Posts: 6799
Loc: Gateway to Columbia Gorge
As you can see, our members represent a whole variety of alternatives.

I'm with Glenn in hydrating food in the freezer bag, using the leftover water in the pot for tea, and drinking my tea out of the pot. I don't even take a separate mug when backpacking.

If I were going to sit around and drink coffee at leisure (which I do at home!) I'd stick with a single wall mug, in which you can heat water or rewarm cold coffee, and make a cozy for it to keep the contents warm. (If you have an old foam pad you no longer use, it can be the raw material for lots of items including cozies, sit pads, etc. Or you can use bubble wrap, a lighter alternative.) Even with an insulated cup, you may find your coffee cooling off before you finish it on cold mornings, but you can't reheat the insulated cup on your stove.

Again, that's one idea out of many proposed here. You might want to start with something cheap (plastic cup with a cozy) and see how that works for you, before investing in the more expensive Ti insulated cup. You could do the trial outside at home.
_________________________
May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view--E. Abbey

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#202608 - 02/14/19 03:16 PM Re: Insulated or single wall mug? [Re: JustWalking]
Glenn Roberts Online   content
Moderator

Registered: 12/23/08
Posts: 2208
Loc: Southwest Ohio
I can relate to not wanting to eat from a bag. It can be messy, and it leaves you with a wet, slimy (and probably smelly) thing in your trash bag. For a night or two, that’s not a big deal; when I’m in bear country, or out for more than two nights, I switch to fixing my meal in the pot. I forego a hot beverage with my meal, and just drink water from my water bottle. Later in the evening, I might have a brew-up. So, I still never carry a mug.

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#202611 - 02/14/19 10:10 PM Re: Insulated or single wall mug? [Re: Mbphoto]
Petro1234 Offline
member

Registered: 10/27/16
Posts: 101
Loc: engeland
Obviously weather dependant. In summer i find insulated ones leave me standing around after ive packed the stove up waiting for it to cool. Single ones when its cold leave me throwing coffee down my neck before it gets cold that i do not really want to drink, or with cold coffee now the stoves packed.


Edited by Petro1234 (02/14/19 10:11 PM)

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#202612 - 02/14/19 10:33 PM Re: Insulated or single wall mug? [Re: Mbphoto]
wandering_daisy Offline
member

Registered: 01/11/06
Posts: 2865
Loc: California
I use a titanium cup and then use a "cozy" around it and have cut two rounds for top and bottom from an old foam sleeping pad. My current cozy is just the top of an old wool sock. You loose a lot of heat from the top, so even with an insulated mug you need to cover the top.

This way I have insulation for slow drinking and can also set the cup on the stove to boil a small amount of water.

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#202614 - 02/15/19 03:45 AM Re: Insulated or single wall mug? [Re: wandering_daisy]
Mbphoto Offline
member

Registered: 01/16/19
Posts: 37
Loc: Switzerland
I must admit, I'm not really the "determined camper" type of guy. (nor have I any experience with backpacking and camping..)

I guess, if I make coffee/tea at camp, then it has got to be the good stuff. Just to get a hit of caffeine, I'd prefer to bring my caffeine pills (they kick like a horse, weigh 100 times less, and are reasonably cheap).
Also, I don't want to feel like I'm in a hurry, but rather enjoy my breakfast/dinner wink


Really like the idea of the cozy. Makes two cups out of one.
They also have lids for these cups, so I'd definitely get one of these too..

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#202618 - 02/15/19 06:09 AM Re: Insulated or single wall mug? [Re: Mbphoto]
GrumpyGord Online   content
member

Registered: 01/05/02
Posts: 945
Loc: Michigan
I am generally lightweight but I carry an insulated gas station type mug. Actually one I got from Backpacker Magazine years ago. I like coffee with breakfast and since I get a quicker start in the morning I leave the top off and the coffee stays hot while I eat and pack up. At night I make tea with my freezer bag meal and then get to enjoy a hot drink while I sit around an relax. The mug keeps the drink hot for 30 to 45 minutes. I have tried several different lightweight cups and mugs but go back to my plastic mug. It is not really that heavy and I put stuff inside when it is packet so it does not take up that much room.YMMV

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#202636 - 02/16/19 06:18 PM Re: Insulated or single wall mug? [Re: Mbphoto]
Rick_D Offline
member

Registered: 01/06/02
Posts: 2939
Loc: NorCal
I take a pretty large single-wall titanium mug, no handle, and use a neoprene "beer cozy" to insulate it. I believe something similar is available under the Vargo brand and probably Snow Peak and others.

Super light, the cozy keeps drinks and food warm and it doesn't burn my lips drinking my morning coffee. Being single-wall it can be used as a cookpot or kettle, if desired.

Cheers,
_________________________
--Rick

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#202857 - 04/08/19 10:02 AM Re: Insulated or single wall mug? [Re: Mbphoto]
BradMT Offline
member

Registered: 08/23/04
Posts: 151
I find a non-insulating mug (like single wall Ti) essentially useless... in the mountains they cool far too quickly. Having used most out there, starting with the venerable Sierra Cup in the mid 1970's, the GSI has become my favorite. A small luxury perhaps, but well worth its 3.7 oz (105g) weight.

https://www.rei.com/product/884337/gsi-o...AyABEgLhe_D_BwE
_________________________
There Is No Bad Weather, Just Bad Clothing...

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#202861 - 04/09/19 03:29 PM Re: Insulated or single wall mug? [Re: wandering_daisy]
Petro1234 Offline
member

Registered: 10/27/16
Posts: 101
Loc: engeland
Originally Posted By wandering_daisy
I use a titanium cup and then use a "cozy" around it and have cut two rounds for top and bottom from an old foam sleeping pad. My current cozy is just the top of an old wool sock. You loose a lot of heat from the top, so even with an insulated mug you need to cover the top.

This way I have insulation for slow drinking and can also set the cup on the stove to boil a small amount of water.


That soundl like the solution, especially when eating food and your pan is greasy. Perhaps a neoprene sleeve cup for me.

Ill be honest and say the double wall cup is not covered and even in bad conditions doesn't cool fast.

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#202999 - 05/11/19 04:24 AM Re: Insulated or single wall mug? [Re: Petro1234]
Mbphoto Offline
member

Registered: 01/16/19
Posts: 37
Loc: Switzerland
Call me crazy, and I probably am, but I bought both.

A cheap (20 USD) titanium mug with lid from ebay China, and a very expensive double walled titanium cup (no handle) from Nordisk (around 65 USD)

Both at around 430 ml capacity.


So far, I've used them both extensively at home for my coffee.
The double-walled Nordisk one looks identical material-wise but it has that beautiful laser engraving done, and obviously keeps the coffee warmer for a longer time.
The single wall cup weighs next to nothing, which is quite amazing.


If you want a super light titanium mug (with handle and lid), search ebay for a "boundless voyage" titanium mug with lid.
I can assure you that the quality is great and even suspect there to be a high probability that they are the same as the expensive ones sold by European brands.

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