REVIEW: STANLEY Beer Pint tumblers

[kreisl]

attractive pic1, attractive pic2.

STANLEY (or STANLEY PMI or "STANLEY 1913") is a brand, not a company.

The trading company who originated this brand was Pacific Market International (or PMI Worldwide) which was established in 1983 by Rob Harris; their other successful brand is Aladdin. All of the current STANLEY "thermos" are made in China as stated on the product themselves, not a secret. PMI Worldwide shares ownership stakes in 1 factory in China and 2 factory sites in Brazil, so one could see them as manufacturer never mind.

In the field of vacuum-insulated steel containers (visc) for beverages, the STANLEY brand could be compared to the FENIX brand in the field of China-made flashlights. Fenix is still undisputably "the first" leading flashlight brand coming out of the chinas even if they weren't the first or the inventors or are the best marketed nowadays. Same with these beverage viscs, there are countless brand-name competitors on the US market, earlier this year Project Farm did a test of 14 popular trading branded viscs; on geman sale sites, besides STANLEY, i looked at some YETI, and KLEAN KANTEEN, and stopped caring. Similar beverage viscs can be had for 4$ shipped from AX in all kinds of finishes and colors (1005003347106615), and your local big supermarket might carry them too, viscs have become a commodity (off-the-peg ware, stangenware), they are mass-produced in the china, constructed and finished with the same technology, and perform similarly, do their jobs well of keeping cold drinks cold and hot drinks hot. And they all share the same set of realistic fails, amzn is the best place to read and see lots of fails: finish/coating chipping or flaking off or bubbling up , 1D or 2D scratches , rust formation , denting, beverage leaking , deminishing performance (vaccuum leakage) , broken plastic lids, sweating , etc.

However, there are two negative aspects in those hundreds of amzn customer reviews of all branded viscs which get overlooked. Let's assume that you receive your desired STANLEY/YETI/KLEAN KANTEEN/etc visc beer tumbler in perfect condition, a cherry-picked production unit to perform and look Like New for decades to come (if handled with care). Then you still can't do anything about the following two Con's:

1. the steel smell/taste of the drink! If you come from plastic bottles, ceramic mugs, or glass tumblers, you'll hate the metallic taste up in your nose. At least in the first week when your nose/brain needs to get accustomed to the smell. If your beverage has an even stronger aroma, then your nose cancels out the steel smell, but with mineral water the water just tastes disgusting (during your first week with the brand-new product)! (even though the drink goes down the mouth and throat, you know that it's the nose which makes us taste the drink, doht you?)
2. the accelerated loss of carbonation in the drink! this aspect is massive, if your cold drink comes with carbonation (kohlensäurehaltig: sparkling mineral water, Pepsi/Coke, beer, club soda, sparkling wine, champagne, fizz water, etc). maybe other users aren't aware because they enjoy the beer foaming AND chug their beer within minutes, fine. but for slow drinkers, it's a horror and my personal #1 disadvantage of the STANLEY beer tumbler and all other viscs. It seems though that most buyers use the viscs for hot drinks like coffee (which has a stronger aroma AND is not carbonated); me, i never drink coffee.

The reason for the accelerated loss of carbonation is physical: the non-smooth interior finish of the stainless steel wall (is the interior non-smooth finish made of a coating or the bare stock stainless steel material? hard to tell but amzn customer photos suggest that it's a coating: a coating on the bare raw sheet metal material). Most beverage viscs on the market share this surface property, and there is nothing a manufacturer can do about it realistically. Only electropolishing would come to my mind but how realistic is that? — Actually the PMI company tried to address both Con's with "CERAMIVAC™ FINISH A smoother surface that keeps your drinks carbonated longer. Plus no funky metallic taste or smell." but the amzn customer reviews were devastating. The company has unlisted (discontinued?) the ceramivac-finished viscs from its shop.

I'll just have to accept the situation. If i really want/need to enjoy my ice-cold sparkling mineral water, then i pour it into my thicc glass tumbler as before (and maybe i should unretire my 0.7L plastic tumbler in the meantime after all). If on a given day i'd prefer coldness over carbonation, then i'll happily pour into the STANLEY tumbler because yes viscs are outstanding at keeping cold drinks cold. You decide tho what's preferable: an ice-cold beer with near-zilch carbonation, or a room-temperature beer with normal carbonation? "stale" beer could be defined either way!

Btw if, after years of usage, one suspects that the vaccuum has vanished thru leakage, it is good to have your own performance reference from when the product was brandnew:

At 22.0°C room temperature on my wood mini cutting board, with a set of 18 dry ice cubes (made with "Café"-top aligned liquid water amount, i.e. 223g water), not topped up with wet water, and shut with red plastic lid (press fit sealing lol), it takes over 27.0h until all ice has vanished into the forming water.

Feel free to chime in and leave your own praise or pet peeves; i highly recommend reading thru the negative amzn customer reviews. You'll come to the conclusion that these viscs are not suitable for professional/commercial/restaurant use (it's a 1$ cost price cheap china product which would eventually turn sour on the restaurant business owner), are not super robust (if dropped on tiled floor, you'll see the damage like dents, scratches, or chips), and they're imho not really suitable for carbonated cold drinks. But they are great to have for all other cold (or hot) drinks, and also for viscous food stuff like yoghurt, frozen yoghurt, Ayran, geman Quark, ice cream, tomato juice, fruit juice, smoothies, soups. Just try not to leave salty sour acidic liquid residues slowly drying in there (stainless steel isn't rustproof but just stains less than regular steel).

If you do know a visc tumbler with electropolished stainless steel interior/interior finish, please let us know. It would be a game changer!! WARNING: Accelerated loss of carbonation (of cold drinks) AND the funky steel taste is common to all beverage viscs and the www (not only on amazon) should be fully aware of it, before one can issue a recommendation. Include this warning when you choose to gift a visc to friends or family.

 

[hsa]

Use this:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005PO9T44/?tag=cpf0b6-20

It is shinier than any of them I have seen. I put beer in it when I ride on the golf cart and it retains carbonation better than anything I have tried because the lid seals it. Push the button and the lid pops. Drink, be happy. Stop putting water in beer containers, it will never turn into beer and you will always be grumpy.

 

[kreisl]

Use this:
h t t p s : / / w w w . a m a z o n . c o m / d p / B 0 0 5 P O 9 T 4 4 / ? t a g = c p f 0 b 6 - 2 0

haha nice aff link thanks!

The Zojirushi Stainless Tumbler SX-D series (i doht know the difference, one model is made in China, the other model is made in Thailand, none of them are made in Japan) comes with SlickSteel® polished stainless steel interior:

• SX-DA45 SX-DA60 (steel look 2015)
• SX-DB45 SX-DB60 (steel look 2016)
• SX-DC45 SX-DC60 (color look 2015: brown, gold, black)
• SX-DD45 SX-DD60 (color look 2016: copper, deep blue)
• SX-DN45 SX-DN60 (color look 2018: clear copper, clear blue, steel) has matte interior

and caht be easily found on amazon.co.jp with any ASIN. retailer's remnants could be ordered from the ëbæy at silly export prices no thanks.

The Tsubame Kenma Factory tumblers' interior look abrasive-polished but aren't double-wall vacuum-insulated.

In theory one could try to mirror-polish the STANLEY tumblers' interior (i am very experienced at mirror-polishing) but the resulting finish would re-scratch again when i ate my ice-cream or yoghurt from it. Any micro scratch in a mirror would produce carbonated bubbles. So i woht even try. No end consumer in the universe mirror-polishes the interior of such tumblers, and i woht be the first to have tried it, basta!

 

[hsa]

Quite a process. All I know is that it keeps beer cold and fairly bubbly. Haha. What is the ASIN?

 

[kreisl]

The ASIN is the amzn SKU identification number.

For ASIN:B00TD82404 the amzn price chart looks like this:

For ASIN:B00TD82BXO the amzn price chart looks like that:

I would say that the amznDOTcom price looks pretty decent not overpriced!

 

[_UPz]

Thanks for the leview!

 

[kreisl]

ive been observing stanley pricings on amznDOTcom for weeks and they're leaping every other day all over da place. today black friday the price of LEGACY TRIGGER (~480g omfg) has plummeted to unbelievable 13$, so even plus int. shipping and imp. duties it's an unbeatable total (25.14e, i've pulled de trigger!!). btw Stanley's black friday sale is 18$; this model is pretty new and hasn't been released in the europes (and might not be, in future; the CLASSIC NEVERLEAK was introduced instead as the novelty in the 2021 europe).

The legacy trigger has QUADVAC insulation with (interestingly) no better thermal performance than the CLASSIC TRIGGER: the official spec "7\10\30h" is unchanged hah. (fyi the MASTER series with quadvac does have better thermal performance but wtf needs the master series??)

i am curious to learn if the geman carrier or the geman customs\taxes authorities eff this delivery up and try to charge me in addition to amznDOTcom's invoice, we'll see. wrong extra charges has been topical and relevant on bargain forums ever since the 1st of July 2021 change of taxation laws.

stainless steel interior:
the workmanship of the CLASSIC TRIGGER is kinda poor: one can see and feel the circular scratchy\scrappy "seam" of the inner bottom (inner bottom lid), apart from the smooth ugly inner vertical seam. the BEER PINT from the op has neither, a technical miracle of production and workmanship! i am also checking the workmanship of the SWITCHBACK. I also noticed different finishings of the stainless steel interior, for the same model, which i find unbelievable ("the red variant would lose carbonation faster than the blue variant", so to speak).

colored exterior:
Doht buy any of the following 3 finishes:

• Nightfall Blue
• Wine Red
• Maple Brown

Amzn customers have posted photos of them after 3 dishwasher runs. P*ss p*** quality, avoid like the p*s*. In contrast:
Hammertone Green, and Hammertone Ice Blue should be durable; they're shiny smooth in the beginning and can dull in dishwashers or through scuffmarks.
Matte Black (=Foundry Black?), and Polar White (=Canvas White?) are pseudo-matt glossy-slippery powder coatings and should prove very durable; scuffmarks are basically invisible on the white finish, apart from the loss of glossiness. The white powder coating is difficult to clean though, so just really try to never get it dirty haha.
There are more color variants in special editions (Blaze Orange, Country DNA, Star Wars, etc) for collectors.

 

[bykfixer]

My wife bought one of the cups to drink tea from. Each day after work she'd pour out a bunch of ice at the end of her day. Eh, I didn't pay it much mind as I had a ceramic drinking cup I have used for years. Never could get past the metal taste of a stainless lined cup. So one day the brown truck dropped of a resin spinner kinda like a barbecue spit.

I watched her spreading some colored resin and turn a plain black cup into a work of art. "Can you clear coat that cup over a sticker?" I asked. We went to sprawl mart and I bought a black "Built" brand cup figuring it's the offspring of a "Bubba" cup and those had served me well until I lost or broke them.

Following the wife's lead on her projects I sprayed it with white Krylon and let it 'cure' 2 days. Applied a sticker and she put it on her spinner thingy. A thin coat of epoxy was applied and spun for 8 hours. It cured for a week. At the end of the week it was a wee bit sticky from the A and B parts not being a perfect match. I carried it around for a few days drinking mostly cranberry juice through a silicone straw in order to mask the metal taste.

It held 5 ice cubes all day as long as I introduced a cold beverage to the ice. On the occasion where I placed an 8oz soda into the cup the fizz did not seem to disipate any faster than normal. Perhaps if I poured it in very very slowly so it would be extra bubbly it may have been noticed if it goes flat quicker, but an 8oz soda poured into a 16oz cup with a little ice foams up pretty good if you don't pour it in very slowly at a steep angle.

So after a few days I noticed my white cup had a few smudges and fingerprints from the slightly sticky coating. I washed it with water and spread out the sorta dingey aspect, let it dry and sprayed it with frosted clear coat enamel for automobile engines and that was that. The last coat was sprayed from about 18 inches away in order to fog a slight texture onto the surface. It now has a nice grabby feel to it without being sticky.

Hand wash with a bottle brush on the inside and old tooth brush around the lid avoids ever getting condensation between the outside and inside walls. Epoxy resin is not dishwasher safe anyway. But I've always hand washed my double wall cups.

Here it is 6 months later

 

[kreisl]

SWITCHBACK. fresh order on amzn prime and i got a 2.5yrs+ old stock unit, well because the model got discontinued in the mean time! ("19 A" means "manufactured Q1/2019)
its SWITCHBACK trigger cap assembly is the same as the 2021 2-part TRIGGER construction (apart from the plastic ring and the switchback cap lol) however there are detailistic improvements\structural updates on the 2021 iteration. i like seeing that. hence i caht recommend for the wuv of god the SWITCHBACK and I'll be returning it.

On its interior, it has the two aforementioned scratchy seams. Upon closer look, these are in fact weld seams not scratches in the finish lol. Most vacuum insulated steel mugs have them (including ZOJIRUSHI) and ugly they are. Seeing that cr*p, you doht really wanna sip your champagne off of them. Weld seams, unsanitary.

the white powder coating finish on the 2021 models (or production units) is different: coarser, grippier, and +5g thicker (the CLASSIC 16oz travel cup w/o lid: 273g white2021 vs 268g white2019). prolly by intention. am looking forward to receiving the LEGACY TRIGGER, hoping that it has a better build quality.

whoever is getting confused by my stanley posts .. the stanley product line or catalog is confusing because discontinued models are still widely available (and seem superior) and overlap with current models and vice versa! my general advice is to keep 2021 production units (thicker white powder coating, smoother steel interior, latest CQI version of the TRIGGER lid) and to ignore discontinued models like the switchback altogether. am not sure how stanley handles lifetime FREE warranty service claims once a model (not color variant) has been discontinued.

 

[kreisl]

STANLEY NEVERLEAK ©2021.

The NEVERLEAK lid is identical on the CLASSIC and on the LEGACY series (CLASSIC NEVERLEAK, LEGACY NEVERLEAK) and was newly introduced in 2021 (1st gen). And i am here to tell you to avoid the 1st gen iteration (unless you believe in the FREE lifetime warranty service by the company, depending on where you live, USA vs Europe). I am sure that Stanley will fix this design issue in future production batches or discontinue the new lid altogether.

The twist mechanism has, on the drawing board, 3 well-defined engage positions:

1. engaged [exit] position: twist counter-clockwise until you see the 'opened lock' icon. that's the position where/when you can disassemble the 3-part lid.
2. engaged [open] position: twist to the central position. you can see the opening and drink from it.
3. engaged [shut] position: twist clockwise until you see the 'closed lock' icon. the mechanism also comes to a mechanical stop there, it is not possible to twist any further. this is the secure leakproof position, now you can throw the mug in your backback and go travel, nice!

Problem1! When you try to twist to the [shut] position, the mechanical stop occurs ~20° before you reach the engaged [shut] position, i.e. the two are "out of sync", not perfectly coordinated with each other.

Problem2!! The threads of the gear screw are made out of horribly cheap plastic material, very soft. Very soft. Absolutely not durable for its intended purpose (gear screw!!). Hence your hand/fingers doht realize Problem1 but try to keep twisting clockwise because your eyes want to see the 'closed lock' icon and your hand/fingers want to feel the engagement. And sure enough, since these threads are so soft, with extended force you can get to the engaged [shut] position, see it, and feel it, nice! The start of the plastic threads (=the mechanical stop) gets damaged/destroyed after repeated doings and cracks off, very nice see the four pics from 3 different users.

pic1 (high-res):

pic2 (high-res):

pic3 (high-res):

pic4 (high-res):

Obviously, the china production team could solve the 2 problems by changing the mold and by using a firmer harder more durable plastic material. Will they do it? I am not sure. I doht believe that they will change the plastic material only because de kresil says that it's cr*p plastic material . In the meantime, owners can accept to live with the workaround:
Simply twist clockwise until you feel the slightest resistance and stop there; you have reached the mechanical stop. The mug is perfectly leakproof by that point, it's just that this half-ar*ed closed position isn't very secure/secured because of the missing engagement, duh; on the bright side, it's definitely secure enough for car travel or hand carry (commuter, train, office, workshop). Nobody would dare to throw a STANLEY TRIGGER mug or a STANLEY NEVERLEAK mug in a sports bag together with his laptop/notebook anyway; for such a "rough" travel mug purpose one would rather choose a mug with a central CLICK button like the inexpensive HELIOS Click'N'Drink, the uberpopular EMSA Travel Mug, or the respectable BRAUN Thermal Mug.

So what are the advantages of a twist lid? (Btw, Stanley isn't the first with such a lid)

• compact construction, shorter height, more packable-friendly
• low profile good looks
• the lips touching section is kept clean/sanitary/hygienic/protected/unscratched
• easy full disassembly and re-assembly, caht lose or break parts/components
• very easy to clean thoroughly with a standard sponge or brush
• internally robust fail-safe 3-part construction (what components could fail?? )
• shouldn't shatter/crack/break upon floor impact
• spillproof
• leakproof

The disadvantages are:

• 2-handed operation
• slow operation
• lowish outflow rate of beverage
• leakproofing not secure enough for throw-in-bag carry
• big hooman nose bumps against lid, not enough clearance for big noses
• the twisting action leaves microscratches/scuffmarks all over the smooth finish
• poorer(?) thermal performance
• Achilles heel, weak spot: failing/breaking/cracking/wearing down/deforming/degrading/material fatigue of the soft gear screw threads, either by overtwisting clockwise or under frequent usage

Given the construction, even if small bits of the gear screw threads broke off, one could still continue to use the product because the lid opening itself remains leakproof. I am just saying that you shouldn't buy it, knowing what you've learned from this post (if you believe da kreisl's word). I will revisit this post in future, curious whether Stanley has managed to improve the product quality of the NEVERLEAK lid by then.

Verdict:
While i like this new lid creation by Stanley (it works, never leaks!), i cannot recommend it to present shoppers because the 2021 iteration (=1st gen) is not an "internally robust fail-safe 3-part construction"
(who the eff had claimed that?? ).
NEVERLEAK 2021? — Not a lid for 600 heavy use!

 

[kreisl]

Someone on the internets found a snugly matching lid for the STANLEY Adventure Stacking Beer Pint from the op!

Me likey:
Stanley Adventure Stacking Beer Pint tumbler glass Hydro Flask Press-In lid CPLM001 mod

 

[kreisl]

Another someone from the internets found a snugly matching flex boot cover (silicone boot sleeve) for the STANLEY Travel Mug!

Me likey:
STANLEY Thermos Trigger Action Neverleak Thermal Travel Mug silicone boot sleeve cover protection (youtube clip)

HYDRO FLASK has the wrong color, AliX has the right one (can you even see it in the photo? so nice!!) for US$0.70 mas shipping:

 

[fulee9999]

I have one of the Coleman/Avex/Contigo FreeFlows from the video you linked ( only mine is raw stainless ), and I can confirm that it works very well.
It took several falls ( with me on it ) like a champ, holds cool water amazingly even when left in direct sunlight, so can recommend.

 

[bykfixer]

Tell ya what, these vacuum sealed stainless lined thermal vessels are great at keeping stuff cold or hot but……

They don't like being run over by a dump truck.

Rest In Peace little travel cup.
You served me well.

 

[kreisl]

Awesome pic in itself, thanks for sharing!

As my previous post shows, i own 3 different thermal mugs. The other day i managed to buy the dip at an all time intraday low (9.99€ shipped), so i scooped up three additional units of the BRAUN:

I'll use the spare units for eventual spare parts, or for a bday present. While thermal mugs are portable, one could accidentally damage/scratch the plastic (or aluminum) rim where you drink from (lips touching). At that point i'd want the lid to be replaced; STANLEY warranty wouldn't cover such cases.

Needless to say, i've been using all 3 thermal mugs every effing day, for indoors and in car. Mostly with cold drinks (fizz water, beer, yoghurt, tomato, frozen fruits muesli, milk) since i doht like hot/warm drinks in general. One of best additions to my everyday life!

 

[kreisl]

random bump, here a few other pics of the STANLEY Neverleak:

pic5 (high-res):

pic6 (high-res):

pic7 (high-res):

 

[bykfixer]

MiiR is a new company to me. My company gave me a 16 oz tumbler that thus far has been a good cup. It's got a glass smooth stainless liner that had zero after taste first drink(s). I started out with chilled ice water in 70 degree weather and it kept 4 ice cubes from melting until the water was gone. It also kept my coffee hot very well. To the point where I lifted the lid off to let it cool after about 45 minutes because the coffee kept burning my tongue.

A semi textured powder coated outside means kinda grippy without being annoying.

Basic slider closes pretty tight. Not spill proof as it's a push on lid that stays put fairly well without being difficult to fasten down. No pinched gasket issue either.
The condensation at the top is from where I filled it with about 4oz of coffee earlier.

I don't how much these are or where to buy one but they are a nice drinking cup.

 

[kreisl]

…
And they all share the same set of realistic fails, amzn is the best place to read and see lots of fails: finish/coating chipping or flaking off or …
…
but with mineral water the water just tastes disgusting (during your first week with the brand-new product)! (even though the drink goes down the mouth and throat, you know that it's the nose which makes us taste the drink, doht you?)
…
Actually the PMI company tried to address both Con's with "CERAMIVAC™ FINISH A smoother surface that keeps your drinks carbonated longer. Plus no funky metallic taste or smell." but the amzn customer reviews were devastating. The company has unlisted (discontinued?) the ceramivac-finished viscs from its shop.
…

Just a random/time update:

• The CERAMIVAC link is dead by now lol. Google helped me find an old ref on the Canadian site, which i screenshot.
• I doht drink hot drinks. Other than for performance test purposes, i only pour cold drinks in my three visc's (2x STANLEY, 1x BRAUN). While i can still taste the metallicness of the water, especially with room-warm uncarbonated water, i doht care anymore and my mind suppresses the feeling of dislike after the first gulp. The trick for me is to drink cold sparkling mineral water, which i always do, and the cold sparkling refreshment becomes the overwhelming impression of the beverage, with no thought wasted on the background metallic taste. Btw tasting only through smell is real! I am so accustomed to drinking sparkling mineral water from the STANLEY and its taste, i simply enjoy getting my thirst quenched and i doht "listen" to my taste buds, or my tired brains have reached indifference mode, whatever. Likewise, drinking water from the STANLEY Trigger-Action Travel Mug tastes like plastics, simply because your nose touches the big plastic lid. So whenever you taste plastics or metallics because of your nose smelling the container, never mind, simply ignore it. You've been doing this (=the ignoring) all life long .. with your protein shaker.
• However, beer is a nogo in my STANLEY Stacking Beer Pint because of the ridiculous foam generation (loss of carbonation). Luckily, beer is very okay in my STANLEY Trigger-Action Travel Mug which has a smoother steel finish inside (production glitch?), i got no major issues there; I travel with sparkling mineral water, beer, or soda pop in my unit all the time. A press on the trigger releases the build-up pressure, and then you can enjoy the drink, no problems whatsoever! The BRAUN, on the other hand, is absolutely not suitable for carbonated drinks; one simply cannot press the green push putton down, if there is a slightest build-up of pressure inside. In that case one must screw the lid off to release the pressure (which feels ugly because the cross-threading), screw it back on, and then operate the mug as usual.
• The STANLEY Trigger-Action lid can become impossible to clean 99.5%, if you use it with the wrong drinks, e.g. hot chocolate, liquefied peanut butter, pulpy fruit juices, smoothies. The BRAUN lid construction (structure) is less intricate and more accessible, thus much easier to clean 99.5%; it's the only visc where i mix/shake and drink my tomato juice from.
• the main reason why i am writing today is the discovery of a gradually developing material defect in the white powder-coating finish near the bottom rim/brim of the STANLEY Beer Pint. I am confident that the defect wasn't there at the time of purchase. The coating is breaking apart, hasn't chipped off (yet?). It's a cosmetic issue (and i'll try harder to ignore it, not getting hung up by it), doesn't affect function or performance, so I guess it wouldn't warrant a warranty case.

I'll try to post some picture of the defect/its origin, stay tun.. 🐟
If i am right about the origin, then this coating breaking should occur with most other units as well, over time.

 

[kreisl]

We're deep in 2023 and it looks like STANLEY has not fixed the construction issue of the < STANLEY Neverleak review > but has been deleting those photos from amazon.com instead, where it is easy to report customer reviews!

pic8 (high-res):


Shame on them.

 

[kreisl]

Another someone from the internets found a snugly matching flex boot cover (silicone boot sleeve) for the STANLEY Travel Mug!

Me likey:
STANLEY Thermos Trigger Action Neverleak Thermal Travel Mug silicone boot sleeve cover protection (youtube clip)

HYDRO FLASK has the wrong color, AliX has the right one (can you even see it in the photo? so nice!!) for US$0.70 mas shipping:
View attachment 23049

Just a random hi and update on the state of things: after all these years, I still use all three items in the configurations shown, unchanged. And I'm happy with everything, so there's nothing to report or update lol.

I wouldn't even call it a mod, but it's noteworthy: I taped the brushed steel rim not to protect the steel from scratches, but to protect the soft(!) charcoal gray plastic cover from cuff marks. Since the tape is also gray, you won't even notice it's there. On a more relevant note, the silicone bootcover serves perfectly as a protective hygienic hood for the gray plastic when I carry the travel mug, e.g. in a backpack, (upright in my) gym bag, in a work bin/bucket, or leave it outside exposed to dusty winds, extreme sunlight, surrounding dirt. Highly recommended and imho a must-have for owners of the STANLEY travel mug:

I used to carry the travel mug in a plastic bag lol to keep the embouchure clean and sanitary. Basically, I was carrying a container for the container, and I felt ridiculous about it. Was that the price to pay for a "fully one-handed" travel mug? The BRAUN travel mug's lid is made of black hard(!) plastic, it's also a fully one-handed travel mug, and I only use it in controlled environments (i.e. for car rides or indoors) because the lid needs to stay clean, untouched, and mint.

Anyway, over the years these are my main uses for the three mugs (i rarely drink warm/hot drinks):

• STANLEY beer tumbler: indoors only. drinks: cold sparkling mineral water; cold fruit juice; stirred cold ayran; (warm tea); wine. food (with a reusable plastic spoon): frozen berries w/ milk, yoghurt, and muesli/granola/cereals; ice cream; hot lentil soups, cup ramen, or similar viscous foods. the black lid gets rarely used, e.g. when i temporarily store the tumbler and contents in the fridge or take it to the garden. imho not recommended for beer due to rapid loss of carbonation.
• STANLEY travel mug: drinks only. indoors or outdoors (or car trips): cold sparkling mineral water; (regular or diluted) beer. imho not recommended for milky liquids or even tea/coffee because their dried residue gets stuck in the corners, crevices, button chamber and can't be rinsed out as easily as dried beer. workaround: rinse immediately and hard after drinking. the loss of carbonation is a bit less with my unit.
• BRAUN travel mug: drinks and indoors only (or car trips). cold sparkling mineral water**; (hot tea); tomato juice shaker; ayran shaker. this mug is used the least often simply because i doht drink tomato juice or ayran often. it's easier to clean, therefore more suitable for 'messy drinks' (like milk coffee, yoghurt drinks, thick juices, smoothies, milk shakes). **imho not suitable for carbonated drinks because you cannot press the green button down but have to screw open the lid to release the air pressure.

Rough summary:

• kresil on the move (work, sports club, social meetings, car trips) : STANLEY travel mug.
• kreisl indoors at home: STANLEY beer tumbler. (BRAUN only for special drinks, e.g. shake-mixing a tomato juice 1-2x per week)