Nothing beats a hot brew when you’re tramping around the hills on a winter hike. It’s like we’re hard-wired to appreciate that soothing warmth spreading around our bodies like a “Ready Brek” glow. The post has since gained a whopping 2.1k likes and nearly 1k comments from impressed shoppers who are all raving over the vacuum flask for being "worth every penny." This flask from OKADI gets full marks for its capacity and versatility. OKADI is a brand that has been serving people with quality products for the last 20 years and this particular model is their flagship model. It’s a big flask for big groups This thermos flask is made of a combination of Stainless Steel, Polypropylene and Silicone, and the dimensions are an excellent 21.1 x 12 x 9.1 cm. It is sized extraordinarily well for solo hikers who are concerned about size and weight but still wish to carry a hot brew around to warm up with. In our opinion this is one of the best thermos flasks on the market today. The budget-friendly vacuum flask is designed with top quality stainless steel and features a double vacuumed wall to help it keep your beverages hot/cold all day long, making it ideal for those looking to save some energy in the home.

You may think choosing a vacuum flask is a simple matter of grabbing the shiniest example in the camping shop (if it’s open!) and hoping for the best. Well, unfortunately we’ve tried that approach several times and have frequently been disappointed. Slurping soup is great fun from the Milu – in fact, we’ve started using it at home because it keeps your minestrone piping hot, unlike a cold china bowl from the cupboard. We examined each flask and its pouring mechanism and attachments for faults. We penalised flasks that had faults affecting their usability.Nobody really loves that weird flask taste in tea. Chin up, you can make fresh tea in a thermos flask and enjoy a good brew! Are you curious about the magical a bilities of a thermos? Then head on over to our article that explains how a thermos flask works. How To Make White Tea In A Thermos Flask The Smardy flask is manufactured with high-quality stainless steel that makes it extremely durable and we are confident it will perform well over the long-term. It utilizes a silver coat in the vacuum portion of the flask which enhances heat retention. You may not have heard of ‘BPA’, but in a similar way to aluminium in camping kettles, it should be avoided when you’re looking for a thermos flask. BPA stands for Bisphenol A, and it’s a chemical which has been used to make certain plastics and resins since the 1960s, and was commonly found in thermos flasks. We dropped each flask five times from 90cm to mimic a dropped flask. Those with large dents that inhibited function or ability were rated low.

For this reason, it is essential to clean the flask after every use. If your flask came with a user manual, follow those instructions but otherwise just give it a good rinse with some dishwashing liquid and water (make sure that no dishwashing residues remain behind). Also, allow the flask to dry properly before you close the lid and store it. A moist interior could also cause a bad taste the next time you make some tea. The temperature performance of the Smardy is quite praiseworthy. It gives around 12 hours for hot drinks and 24 hours for cold drinks. Certainly good enough for day trips in any conditions. Available in a range of colours (we like the electric blue), the flask is highly suitable for camping trips and general travelling refreshments. Pouring is very easy due to the superb flexible handle fabricated from silicone. Heat Retention is a major factor determining the usefulness of a thermos flask. It directly affects how long your drinks or food will stay warm or cold.The 18-8 flask is from the renowned brand Stanley. Stanley has been serving people since 1913 and this model is truly legendary. No other brand apart from Thermos themselves can boast such heritage. Dimensions The downside of this approach is that a high capacity flask will be big and bulky. There’s no getting away from it. However, if you’re able to split your gear equally between all members of the team (e.g. one walker carries lunch, another carries the picnic blanket etc) then overall you will use less space than if you each carried smaller flasks.

Thermos should just rename their 1 litre ‘Light and Compact’ vacuum flask as “The Daddy” because it effortlessly delivers everything you would expect from the company who developed the vacuum flask as we know it today from Sir James Dewar’s original prototype in 1904. As we said before, the Milu is more bowl-shaped and can easily be eaten from directly. The 6.6cm wide opening is extremely convenient for easy filling and eating as well. The temperature performance is excellent and compares favourably to the other top performers in the world of elite flasks. Your coffee will remain hot after 12 hours and your ice cubes will remain unmelted after a very decent 24 hours. So, you can still pour a chilled drink even after a long walk on a hot day. Part of this ability is due to the clever ‘honeycomb’ insulation used inside the Hydro Flask. It worked well for us!

The best flasks to buy in 2023

Some have even said the flask is "worth every penny" and "pays for itself", as it has kept water warm for 8 hours a day - meaning they can grab their favourite brew without the added electricity costs.

Capacity: Bigger capacity means more contents to enjoy. It also means more weight to carry, but only if you fill it to the brim. For best insulation, buy a flask that’s slightly bigger (but not heavier) than you need, and leave a couple of centimetres of air at the top. We’ve included capacity and weight info for all our flasks below. Using a flask is actually also a very responsible thing to do in terms of recycling – apparently 99.75% of disposable coffee cups are not recycled! If you’re after a large flask, the Oneisall 2L is a great stainless steel option with a lovely ergonomic design. This is a high-quality two litre flask which is capable of serving drinks for the whole family – great to bring along for day trips in the car or campervan. A Thermos King will last years but it’s not officially dishwasher-safe, and you’re not even meant to submerge it in water (if you do, you kill the manufacturer’s 50-year guarantee). Inquisitive users report that it does survive the dishwasher intact, albeit with peeling colour. You should carefully consider the required capacity of your flask before buying one. Have a think about how many people will require a drink from it, and who will be the person carrying it around. Is it for home use (some people take a flask to their home office in the garden), or carrying on a walk for rest and recuperation?

Our pick of the best Thermos and vacuum flasks will keep your brew hot and your lunch cool all day

Hydro Flask are a fashionable US company who have made reusable flasks and water bottles immensely cool over on the West Coast of America. The Hydro Flask Wide Mouth is a quality vacuum flask employing some great tech, a lovely powder-coated exterior surface for great grip as well as excellent heat retention properties. The downside is that they are a touch on the expensive side – you don’t get this sort of style for free girl! Textured coatings are useful – it’s a nice touch to have a handle on a drinks flask but generally, for a one-litre flask, it’s more useful to have a textured coating that provides grip. Making tea in a thermos is straightforward. Once simply add the hot water, the ingredients, swirl or stir the thermos to blend everything well, and enjoy. As we said before, vacuum insulation is important for keeping the heat energy inside your flask, and the Hydro Flask does this well. It is made of stainless steel that is extremely good for heat retention. In terms of heat retention, it is excellent. Starting with hot water at 95 ℃, you can expect it to drop to around 60 ℃ after 12 hours, 51 ℃ after 24 hours and 40 ℃ after 36 hours. Pretty incredible.