Stanley Thermos Review
Filed under
Hiking Gear
After being disappointed with other brands of thermoses in the past, I really wasn’t expecting that much from the Stanley Thermos. I heard that they were tough, but I figured it was probably just a marketing gimmick. Boy was I wrong!
I abuse pretty much all of my gear. From driving off with cameras on my back bumper to dropping gear down the side of a mountain, it was nice to finally have a product that could stand up to my abuse. I was really impressed with the strength of everything from the thermos handle to the handy little cup cap.
I brought a couple of Stanley Thermoses out to Sedona over the weekend and after using them around the campground I am now a loyal fan! I was so impressed with them that I will be bringing them on all our future trips.
Why We Liked the Classic Stanley Thermos:
- Very tough – They stood up to all sorts of falls and even a few tumbles downs some rocks. I can see why people say that these things last a lifetime. The Classic Stanley Thermos stood up to pretty much any abuse that we could throw at it.
- Kept everything we put in them very hot. In fact, I filled the thermos up with boiling water at around 9pm and at 8am the next morning it was still hot enough to steep some tea. (The thermos was left out on a table in temperatures around 50 degrees)
- Very convenient. It was nice to have Hot water waiting in the morning without having to start the fire.
- The Lid is tough and doubles as a drinking cup.
- It was nice to see a company that still cares about quality. I have tried many cheap knock off Thermoses in the past and I will tell you that none of them compared to the Stanley. We highly recommend it to anyone who is thinking about adding thermoses to their camping gear. This is one product that you will not have to worry about replacing anytime soon.
Looking for a Stanley Thermos?
- Stanley 1.1Qt Classic Vacuum Bottle
at amazon
Update: We have had a number or people write in with their own reviews which you can see below. The thermos we reviewed was from a couple of years ago and worked great for us. We will be reviewing this years model very soon and if we find that the new thermos does not reflect our review we will re-post our new findings.
dennis nelson on Thu, 11th Feb 2010 3:41 pm
i had a thermos and it wouldnt stay hot over 3 hrs. so they sent me a new one and its doing the same thing. 3 hrs. and coffee gets cold. is there something im doing wrong
Bill on Fri, 26th Feb 2010 10:00 am
Dennis, I don’t think you did anything wrong. For the past eight years the Stanley bottles have been made in China and not the USA. When they were still made in the USA by Aladdin Stanley they had a layer of charcoal in between the two layers of stainless steel and they were heavier. The Chinese made bottles are lighter because they don’t have the charcoal layer and I don’t think the stainless steel is as thick. Sure, Stanley-PMI says that the bottles are made to the same rigid standards as before but I’m not convinced.
Jason Wilcox on Sat, 27th Feb 2010 8:35 am
I believe the thermos weighs to much for back packing or hauling anywhere on foot! Car Camping yes or if your traveling with a mule!…Hey I really like your blog keep up the good work. I think it’s one of the best out there well put together!
Arlene on Wed, 24th Mar 2010 7:42 am
I too have purchased 3 stanley thermos and had one replaced by the company. I thought I was doing something wrong, but I’m having the same problem as every else seems to. I don’t mind paying a low price for China junk, but these thermos were over $25 each. Now I’m paying high quality prices for China garbage.
Jerry Reich on Fri, 26th Mar 2010 5:54 pm
I had the same problem with it keeping things hot for olny a few hours,then my freind told me to get rid of the stopper that has the holes for pouring and replace it with the old solid type that you have to remove to pour the coffee,and I did and now it keeps hot for 8-10 hours,also remember to pre-heat and the more times you open it the colder it gets.
Jerry Deschamps on Tue, 31st Aug 2010 9:21 pm
I lost my old Stanley Thermos which was made in the 1970′s and worked great, it is buried somewhere in the road I was building. We picked up a new Thermos at Walmart in Okotoks Alberta, $29.99. I was thinking it was way lighter than my old one but its a Stanley so I went ahead and bought it. The next morning I poured hot coffee into the thermos as I have been doing for many many years and when I went to have my first cup 2 hrs later it was only warm. What the heck is up with that. I decided to try to warm up the thermos that night and poured boiling hot water into it over night and in the morning it was cold. I am not impressed, yes it was made in China and yes its a piece of junk. I will never recommend a new Stanley Thermos to anyone again. $30 down the drain and because I live in a isolated area I can’t even buy a real thermos which as far as I’m concerned will be anything but a stanley when I do get back to a city.