Stanley- Not Just Your Grand-Dad’s Old School Mug
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As re-usable water bottles become abundant on store shelves and new water bottle companies are popping up like weeds, we feel there needs to be a way to cut through the clutter. Often times, we are approached by several water bottle companies for review and while we do find some of the companies worthy, Stanley has been one of our favorites. Stanley has been a household name for many decades for people wanting to keep their coffee or soup warm throughout the day. When I heard about Stanley reinventing the brand a few years ago by offering new product lines, I was skeptical. Having an interest and passion for the outdoor and active lifestyle, I had no interest in a thermos that was bulky and heavy with new colors.
For two years now, we have been testing out a number of Stanley products and the brand has truly made a change worth talking about. Some of the products we have been testing include; Nineteen13 1-handed water bottle, Ink recycled mug and travel mug, Ink Flask, Tea Infuser (my favorite), Carbonated Drink Bottle, Two Stage eCycle mug, Earth Friendly Man Lunch, and Two Cup Vacuum Bottle. As you might notice, we have been able to test out a number of the Stanley products over time.
For our recent test, we decided to take all of our Stanley products up with us on a hut trip to see if they can stand up to the active lifestyle above 11,000 ft. One of the newer products by Stanley is the earth friendly man lunch box. This is nice in case you have chips or crackers that you don’t want smashed or a sandwich that you don’t want smushed. With its’ hard shell, this lunch box will keep pretty much all your food protected. It has a nice tight closure, so you don’t need to worry about the box opening up in your pack. (in case you are wondering if you could use this to keep your food away from bears, the answer is no!) I really liked the fact that it was compact, but it still was able to hold enough food for a day out. The shape also lends itself nicely to fit into a pack versus a square lunch container that is too boxy.
The Tea Infuser which is my favorite is amazing! If you are a tea drinker like myself, you like both loose leave tea along with pre-bagged tea. The tea infuser allows you to place your loose leaf tea into a tight knit wire basket that adjust to lift in and out of your hot water. This is nice if you life to make your tea leaves last more than one cup. The top of the tea infuser is pretty beafy and might add a couple ounces, but I am still a huge fan! If there was any Stanley product in my collection, the tea infuser is by far the most used product. Please note, if you are a coffee drinking, this can also work for coffee.
The 1-handed Nineteen13 water bottle is a stainless steal bottle that allows water out of the bottle by pushing in a button and to keep water from exiting, you just let go of the button. This bottle is probably the least favorite out of all the Stanley bottles I tested. The folks at Stanley saw me drinking out of your standard plastic squeeze bottle and thought their product was a better solution. I personally like the idea of being able control the amount of water that is coming out of the bottle. With the push button, you get a pretty weak flow and when I am thirsty, I would much rather prefer a squeeze bottle. This bottle is targeted towards the cycling market, but if on a bike, I think time on my handlebars is precise, especially if you are in traffic. If you care more about the style element, this bottle does look pretty sweat.
The other Stanley product that made the top of our list is the Two Stage eCycle Mug. In this mug, you get a stainless steal outer that acts as a separate wall to keep the mug insulated. If by chance you need another mug, the stainless steel outer shell separates from the plastic inner mug. This is nice if you are trying to keep flavors separate but don’t want to take two mugs along. Example; if you are drinking tequila at night and coffee in the morning, you typically don’t want to mix flavors… Speaking of drinking, if you want to store your liquor separate, Stanley has a pretty stylish flask. The flask came in handy to store peppermint schnapps on our recent hut trip.
Overall, we have been pretty excited to use most all our Stanley products. Whenever we are out and about carrying around our Stanley mugs, we are always getting compliments on how cool they look. If you have a soft spot in your heart for the environment (which you should), most all Stanley products are made out of recycled materials and many are recyclable when the time comes to get a new one. So if you’re trying to decide between the millions of reusable mugs on the market, I would highly suggest most the products we have tested by Stanley. For more information, please visit www.stanley1913.com or www.amazon.com/stanley.
