We started lower than brewing temperature and filled each tumbler with 180 °F hot coffee (no creamer). Over the past year, we’ve offered guides to water bottles, hydration packs, wine glasses, coffee mugs, and more, and we still get questions about things like tumblers (hence this guide) and growlers (a jug for beer; we have a guide to them, too). It retains both heat and cold only for as long as you need to get from one place to another, and it lets you sip easily while on the move. This tumbler features a sleek carry handle, making it easy to take your drinks with you wherever you go. Since so much of what made one tumbler preferable over another in our evaluation had to do with how it felt in the hand, we decided to recommend the Rambler for those people (several were at our campfire dinner) who wouldn’t be caught dead holding anything less than a burly drinking vessel.

We spent an entire evening around a campfire with about 100 industry designers and professionals and asked many, many questions about their tumbler of choice. This slim, powder-coated stainless steel tumbler fits easily in hands and cup holders, and that’s why we love it. That was enough for us to bump it to runner-up status, but it’s still a great option, as 140 °F is comfortable to drink, according to the National Coffee Association. The construction remains the same (double-walled stainless steel), and the tumbler still comes in eight powder-coat colors as well as three other sizes: 12 ounces, 16 ounces, and 28 ounces. Well, what we’ve discovered in talking to our readers is that people are—apparently—infinitely curious about what to carry a beverage in.

The lid is easier to put on and take off than the Hydro Flask’s, thanks to its much larger thumb tab, and it closes with a pleasing softness. We prefer those to plain stainless steel tumblers because those get uncomfortably hot to the touch if left in the sun.

Klean Kanteen has discontinued our runner-up pick (though you may still be able to find it for sale in places), and replaced it with the 16 oz Rise Tumbler. The 20-ounce version we originally tested was in the exact same group of finalists in our cold tests as the Hydro Flask, though it didn’t do as well at keeping heat; after 2. Finally, although in the past the company had told us that washing its tumblers in the dishwasher or soaking them in hot water might discolor the powder coat, it now says that the tumblers and their coatings are dishwasher safe. However, the new slider lid’s drink opening is large enough to accommodate a straw; the previous version’s was not.We compared the current 16-ounce tumbler with the old 20-ounce one, and apart from the sizes, the two are identical: same grippy color coating and same pint-glass-style taper. Beyond style, Hydraflow champions eco-friendliness by promoting reusable practices and being BPA-free. In temperatures reaching as high as 112 °F, all the tumblers we tested had an effective insulating value, so they can all keep your drink hot or cold for a few hours. The tiny anti-glug hole in the Hydro Flask’s lid won’t let liquid slosh out when the tumbler’s in a cup holder, but you still can’t toss the tumbler into a backpack and expect no leaks. A wider profile makes the stainless steel Yeti feel at home on a farm, at a construction site, or at camp.

The lid still nestles down into the cup, leaving the edge of the steel tumbler exposed; we didn’t notice any metallic taste, but if you don’t like drinking from metal tumblers, this might be a dealbreaker.Some tumblers have additional, accessory lids, such as sliding, rotating, or flip covers for the opening, which create a splash-guard effect but are not leakproof. The standard lid has a medium-size opening at one side of the mouthpiece designed to restrict flow from hot drinks yet allow cool beverages to pass with fluidity.