REVIEW – I was a frequent camper in my youth, but it sort of fizzled out with children and other responsibilities. My ex-wife and I would car-camp from time to time, but I’m hoping to get back into the swing of that, due to the enhanced experience modern camping has become. Case in point: these wine tumblers that were sent to me by Tempercraft. Take a look.
What is it?
The Tempercraft wine tumbler is a 12-ounce, double-walled tumbler made from 18/8 stainless steel.
What’s in the box?
- Tempercraft wine tumbler
- Steel straw with silicone mouthpiece
- drink-through spillproof lid
Hardware specs
From company website
- 18/8 Food-Grade Stainless Steel
- Isothermic, Vacuum Insulated, Double-Walled Construction
- Condensation Free
- BPA Free
- Keeps contents cold up to 24 hours and hot 6+ hours
- Dimensions: 3 1/4″W x 5 1/4″H
- Includes: Twist Lid
Design and features
The steel dual-layer material is coated with matte-finished enamel. The company will engrave logos and initials into this material for free. They have a lot of potential artwork, but any solid .jpg will be fine. I downloaded a cycling icon from a free-for-personal-use site and my order arrived in about a week.
Performance
I went all out to test this gadget. I tried it with wine (cold white and room temp red), a nice fresh cappuccino, a few different shaken and stirred libations, and a regular cup of pour-over from my AeroPress. While the tumblers performed flawlessly, I would warn against taking them in the car unless they fit all the way down into your cup holders. They are not very stable just sitting in the top of the cup holder if you have to stop suddenly. (Voice of experience speaking.)
All drinks were kept at their proper serving temperature throughout the allotted time I was sipping, whether cold or hot. The hot drinks didn’t burn my tender fingers, and the cold drinks didn’t form condensation in the humid North Carolina summer of my test. Both of these features make them a real winner when drinking outside or indoors. (One of the rules of laboratory work I learned in high school is “hot glass and cold glass look the same.” The same is true when you’re steaming a line of coffees for friends. Knowing the outside of the cup will be room temperature makes for less worry for the host, but you need to warn them before they take a huge slug, thinking it’ll be OK because it doesn’t feel hot! Sometimes, drinking from metal mugs, even those with double-wall insulation, can burn your lips if you’re not careful.)
The friction-fit top and the steel drinking straw made for easy access in the car or while mowing the grass. And the colorful silicon straw tips made it easy to tell my Negroni from my friend’s sangria. The lid made a good, tight insulator from the heat of the hotter drinks, too.
What I like
- Made from high-quality, sustainable materials
- Looks great, indoors or out.
- Durable – and better for the environment than plastic or styrofoam
What I’d change
- Can’t think of a thing
Final thoughts
Camping has recently taken giant strides forward due to new technologies. You can still go out into the wild with your 1990s nylon backpack and your Teflon forks and knives, but if you’ve not taken a gander inside a camping store showroom or webpage, you’ll be amazed at the light, inexpensive, and positively luxurious goods being made right now. Case in point: a 12-ounce double walled tumbler made from 18/8 stainless steel for $20. It’ll keep your wine chilled, or your hot cocoa hot, and has a lid as well as a steel straw with a silicon tip so you don’t chip a tooth. Tempercraft has a whole raft of products like this, and they can be customized easily.
But the campsite doesn’t have to be the only place you use these quality pieces. The dual-wall construction means there will be no condensation on your nice wood furniture from your guests’ wine, cocktails, or sodas.
Price: $19.99 includes engraving if desired. Other designs are priced differently.
Where to buy: Tempercraft.com and Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by TemperCraft.
