Best Thermoses & Insulated Bottles for Hiking & Camping

When choosing our favorite thermos for hiking, we sought a bottle that was relatively lightweight, versatile, tough, and – above all – reliable. In the Klean Kanteen TK Wide, we find an insulated bottle that ticks all those boxes.

Makers KK claim this bottle can keep drinks hot for 14 hours and cold for 47 hours. In practice, we found those figures to be more like 10-12 hours for hot drinks and 35-40 for cold drinks, which is still mightily impressive. 

Although we’d opt for an out-and-out coffee thermos like the Stanley Classic for hot beverages, this one wins our best-in-class award for its sleek, sturdy design, convenient lids, and ability to keep water icy cold longer than any other insulated bottle we know of. 

This bottle comes with two practical lids. A “Twist Cap” with built-in reusable straw and a leakproof “Café Cap” with a swivel loop for easy transportation. The colored versions of this bottle also have a matte finish that provides a little extra grip for easy handling. 

Specs

• Volume: 16 oz.
• Lid: Screw top or café cap
• Weight: 8.1 oz.

This bottle is the ideal middle-of-the-road option for buyers who want good, but not necessarily exceptional, heat or cold retention. 

Makers Zojirushi don’t state how long this bottle keeps drinks hot or cold, but we found it maintained the temperature of soup for a respectable 6-8 hours and kept water icy cold for around 15 hours. These figures hardly place the Zojirushi among the top performers on our list but are more than adequate if you only plan on using your flask for day hikes.

Though it may leave a little desired in terms of insulating capacity, this bottle is a winner as regards to convenience. It’s easy to clean, weighs just 8 oz., and has a wide-mouth, flip-open lid with an air vent that allows your beverages to flow out smoothly. This thermos lid can also be dismantled to simplify cleaning.

Specs

• Volume: 16 oz.
• Lid: Flip-open
• Weight: 8 oz.

What makes one thermos better for camping – as opposed to hiking – than the other? 

Well, for starters, you will need awesome insulation capacity so those drinks you poured in the morning are still toasty by the time you reach camp. Secondly, you need enough capacity so that your “tank” won’t be empty by the time you get there. Finally, you need an integrated mug to save room in your pack for all the other stuff – tent, sleeping bag, etc – you’ll be carrying. 

The Primus Trailbreak EX offers all of the above and a little more to boot. It’s capable of keeping your coffee hot for around 15 hours, cold fluids cold for over 24 hours, has a mighty 25 fl. oz. capacity, and comes with a screw-on mug that’s more bowl-sized in its dimensions.

The Trailbreak is also very well-designed. It has a tapered shape that ensures it fits snugly into side pockets in your backpack, a silicone sleeve to protect your fingers from the cold (often an issue with stainless steel bottles), and comes with a duo of lids, one for easy access, one for maximum temperature retention. 

At 20.1 oz., this is the heaviest bottle on our list after the Stanley Classic. However, it’s 25 oz. capacity, user-friendly design, and excellent heat retention make it a great option for overnight trips nonetheless.

Specs

• Volume: 25 oz.
• Lid: Screw-on stopper
• Weight: 20.1 oz.

The Stanley Classic has been a favorite of campers everywhere for decades, and each update in the design makes this ever-popular bottle just a little bit better than before. 

This 20-ounce, stainless-steel thermos is among the top performers on our list as regards both heat and cold retention. It can keep hot liquids hot for 20 hours and cold liquids cold for around 24 hours. This makes it second to none for heat retention and only beaten by the Klean Kanteen TKWide and GSI Outdoors Microlite for cold retention. 

This Stanley thermos also scores highly in terms of convenience thanks to its use of a leakproof twist-and-pour stopper, an insulated lid that doubles as a drinking cup, and streamlined dimensions that make it easy to pour one-handed. We would’ve preferred a grippier powder coating, but the bottle’s collapsible handle largely negates the need.

Specs

• Volume: 20 oz.
• Lid: Twist-and-pour stopper
• Weight: 19 oz.

If you’re heading on a camping trip, or simply prefer a warm lunch over a cold one when out on the trail, the Thermos Food Jar is well worth considering. 

Weighing just 4.8 oz., this is the lightest model on our list. While this lightweight design does mean it offers less insulating capacity than some of its competitors, we found it keeps hot food hot for around 7 or 8 hours and cold stuff cold for 10 to 12 hours. Not bad for such a lightweight flask, right?

Also not bad is the inclusion of a built-in serving bowl and full-sized spoon – handy add-ons that can save you serious pack space and/or puncturing your kit with a spork. 

The mouth on this bottle is a little too wide to make it easy to drink from, however, so we’d recommend using it for food only.

Specs

• Volume: 16 oz.
• Lid: Screw-on
• Weight: 4.8 oz.

If the Thermos Food Jar is a little light on capacity or insulation for your needs, then the Hydro Food Flask may be the ideal solution. 

At 14.8 oz., this flask is a lot heavier than the Thermos Food Jar, but offers an added 4 fl. oz. of capacity and can keep your eats/drinks at the desired temp for significantly longer. While the Hydro Flask doesn’t include a built-in serving bowl, the opening is so wide that you can just eat straight from the jar!

Design-wise, this is the simplest model on our list. All you get is a double-walled jar with TempShield insulation, a screw-on lid with a soft grip for easy handling, and a gaping 4.3-inch-diameter space for all your eats.

Specs

• Volume: 20 oz.
• Lid: Screw-on
• Weight: 14.8 oz. 

Looking for an ultralight, compact thermos to take along on multi-day adventures in the backcountry? If so, many of the models we’ve looked at so far probably don’t fit the bill. In the Thermos Stainless King Compact, however, you may just find the perfect backpacking companion.

This 16-ounce bottle weighs just 4.8 oz., making it the joint-lightest model in our review with the Thermos Food Jar. Like the Food Jar, it doesn’t insulate quite as well as the heavyweights on our list but is more than capable of keeping cool drinks cool for the best part of a day. We found it kept hot drinks hot for around 12 hours even when ambient temps were at or below zero. 

The design of this bottle is free of frills and sure to appeal to those who like to keep things simple. It has a tough stainless steel double-insulated body, a twist-and-pour stopper, and an insulated serving cup lid. While a handle or powder coating would have made it a little easier to handle, there is an indent in the exterior that allows you to pour your drinks one-handed.

Specs

• Volume: 16 oz.
• Lid: Twist-and-pour stopper
• Weight: 4.8 oz. 

The Healthy Human Stein is one of the world’s most popular reusable water bottles awarded “Best Bottle” by CNN Underscore in both 2020 and 2021. 

But what’s behind all the gushing praise and awards going this bottle’s way?

Well, for starters, the Stein is one of the most affordable high-quality flasks out there. It costs almost half the price, for example, of the Primus Trailbreak EX Vacuum Bottle and considerably less than many other 16-ounce bottles on the market.

This insulated water bottle also has an incredibly user-friendly design. It’s streamlined enough to slide easily into a backpack, has a powder-coated exterior for easy handling, a leakproof lid, and a three-finger carry handle that can be attached to your belt or backpack with the included carabiner. 

In terms of insulating capacity, the HH Stein is a solid performer. It can keep hot drinks warm for 10-12 hours and cold drinks cold for 20-24 hours. If it had just been a little lighter and included more than a single screw-on lid, it may well have beaten the KK TKWide to our top spot.

Specs

• Volume: 16 oz.
• Lid: Steel-lined screw-on
• Weight: 10 oz.

For hikers with a slightly larger appetite – or who tend to guzzle water like elephants – the GSI Outdoors Microlite is well worth a place on your shortlist. 

This vacuum-insulated bottle has a whopping 35-ounce capacity and yet weighs a relatively modest 13 ounces thanks to its use of ultra-thin (2mm!), low-footprint steel walls. While the slenderness of these materials makes it a little less resistant to dings, it still boasts impressive insulating capacities, keeping cool fluids cool for 32 hours and hot fluids hot for 18 hours.

As you might expect from a bottle with such a high capacity, the GSI Microlite is a little on the bulky side. As such, it isn’t the best option for trips where pack space is at a premium. This is also the only bottle on our list with an integrated leash on the cap. Although this prevents loss, it can make cleaning the lid a little trickier.

Specs

• Volume: 1 liter (35 oz.)
• Lid: Twist-cap with integrated leash
• Weight: 13 oz.