Having that perfect beverage and drinks while camping is very important. It can increase your enjoyment, mood and fun times while in the outdoors. While in the outdoors, you don’t have the luxury of a refrigerator or microwave. Your drinks are not going to be as cold or as hot as you want them to be. This is one of the reasons why choosing the best camping cups or mugs for your outdoor trip is important.
Choosing The Right Material For You
Titanium
One of the best materials for camping and backpacking is titanium. Titanium is very light and very durable. This material is also rust proof and corrosion resistant. This is also easy to clean and effortless to maintain. If the titanium tableware falls off a table or you suddenly fall down, this material will often survive compared to other materials. You don’t need to worry about this material getting squished while in a backpack as well. The only thing I don’t like about this is that this material is rather expensive. You will often need to pay extra or more if you want a very good titanium equipment.
Hard Anodized Aluminum
Hard anodized aluminum is very popular in backpacking and camping equipment. This material can be seen in a lot of mess kits, cookware, and tableware. This material is rather inexpensive which is great for people who are on a tight budget. This is great for beginners also. They can get a feel for what kind of cookware or tableware they want to get in the future for a very cheap price. This material is rather durable as well and somewhat shatter proof. It is metal after all. One of the best materials to have for your cookware and tableware.
Stainless Steel
Stainless steel is most likely my favorite material when it comes to tableware and cookware. This material is more durable than titanium but not that expensive. It is heavier than titanium though which is the negative side of this since backpackers will want the lightest weight as much as possible. Stainless steel is easy to clean and very scratch proof. You can use a steel wool to clean this type of material and that won’t leave any scratch. Stainless steel is often rust proof and corrosion resistant as well. Cookware, tableware and utensils made out of stainless steel tend to lasts for a very long time.
Plastic
Plastic cups are also pretty popular. This material is cheap, very flexible, and pretty durable as well depending on the construction. A lot of the cups included in a mess kit are often made out of plastic. Be sure to check whether the plastic is BPA free and toxin free. You don’t want to poison your body with harmful chemicals. Plastic is not as durable as the metallic materials but they can still be constructed to be very durable.
Wood
Wood is not very popular. Most wooden cups are not disposable so I hardly see people get wood. Wood does have style though. It looks good. So if you want to be unique then get a wooden cup. It is because everyone will have some sort of metallic cup and you are using a wooden cup. Using a wooden cup feels like you have more affinity with nature as well. Wood is pretty durable and can handle heat well.
Paper
Paper cups are often disposable cups. They are the cups that you see on your local stores or street vendors when you are buying coffee. This material is very cheap and you can dispose of it rather easily. You will often have to get a lot or in bulk since the price is dirt cheap. The cups are not that durable. They can get crumpled and destroyed while in a backpack. I will often bring disposable cups if I am car camping with a large group. I don’t want to clean or wash tableware for a lot of people. I can conserve energy if I use disposable items while in a camping trip.
Silicone
Silicone is very foldable and compact. You can often times fold the cup into a smaller size. This is pretty good if you need more backpack space or if you want your own cup in your office. You can bring silicone cups with you rather easily since they are pretty portable and easy to carry. The cups are often very cheap and inexpensive as well.
Types Of Camping Cups And Mugs
Vacuum Sealed Insulated Water Bottles
Vacuum insulated water bottles are not that popular. I hardly see people bring this to camping or backpacking. People who bring this type of item generally do not use it for coffee or tea. The people who I see bringing this item loves beer. They want their beer to be as cold as possible while camping or backpacking. This type of item works well for that.
Insulated Coffee Mugs
These mugs are often made out of stainless steel. This type of cups or mugs will have a double wall design. The double serves to keep the drinks hot or cold. When filled with a hot drink, the outer wall will stay cool to the touch. When filled with a cold drink, you wont get condensation or sweating on the outer wall. This is great for car camping and somewhat good for backpacking. If you really want a cup for backpacking and don’t mind the extra weight then insulated coffee mugs are a good choice.
Cups / Cookware
This is the most common type that I see. Cups that can also be used as a cookware are often pretty common. They are multi purpose and can be put on a campfire or gas stove. You can boil water with this type of cups and mugs. They serve as a cookware and as a container for drinks as well. Just be careful. You cannot touch the cup or mug once they are put on the fire or stove. The cup will be very hot and the cup can burn your hands or lips.
Travel Cups
Travel cups are often made out of silicone or stainless steel. People often bring these cups when they are traveling. If the person is traveling to another state and he/she is going camping there, then these cups are very useful as well. The silicone cups are very compact, foldable and easy carry. They are perfect for traveling.
Disposables
If you don’t want to be bothered with washing the cups or cleaning the cups after you use them then disposables are a good choice. I mean, if you are car camping with a lot of people, that equates to a lot of dishes, cookware and tableware that needs to be washed. It is a good thing that we can just get disposables. We don’t need to worry about washing the tableware and spending a lot of effort on cleaning them. We can just use that energy enjoying nature more.
Backpacking Factors
Weight
The weight of the cup is very important when you are going backpacking. You will be bringing a lot of other items as well. Each item that you bring will have some sort of weight. The more weight you carry, the more energy you will need to move or hike. Carrying items with very little weight is one of the best things that you can do to conserve energy and have more fun while enjoying nature. The less weight that you carry, the more miles you can hike and the faster you can walk as well.
Packable Size
The size of the cup is also important. The amount of space you have in your backpack is limited. You can only put a certain amount of items in your backpack. The more compact the cup, the more space you will conserve. Of course, metallic cups cannot be folded. So you have to look at cups with a nested design. You can put these cups into other containers which can help you save some space. You can also attach the cup at the outside of your backpack if you no longer have room. I don’t recommend this though, it is kind of annoying to have something dangling around your backpack.
Capacity
The capacity of the cup is something that you have to think about. There are cups with a small capacity and cups with a large capacity. For me, I tend to like cups with a large capacity. I like to drink coffee. I usually need around 32 ounces of coffee in the morning. So I tend to get cups with 32 ounces of capacity. This is just preference. You can get whatever size or capacity you want. Just keep in mind that the bigger your cup, the more weight it will have.
Handle
If you are getting cups that can be used as a cookware as well then you need to take a look at the handle. Handles can melt. Once the handles melt, you may not be able to use the cup anymore. There are different types of handles as well. Some do not even have a handle like the disposable paper cups. The handle is something that you also need to consider.
Easy To Clean
I like my tableware and cookware to be easy to clean. If the item is dishwasher safe, the better it is. I don’t have to clean the tableware in the camping site. I can just put it in a bag, take it home, and put it in a dishwasher for cleaning. I don’t have to spend a lot of energy washing and cleaning the item. After a camping trip, the last thing you want to do is wash dishes or wash tableware as well. I often just want to take a rest or go to sleep.
Other Accessories To Consider
Lids
You can actually buy lids off the Internet. There are many lids available. There are plastic lids, paper lids, metallic lids, glass lids and so on. However, you need to make sure that the lid will fit your cup. There are cups that cannot have a lid. There are also cups that comes with a lid already. Lids are great at insulating your cup. It prevents heat from dispersing to the air thus the beverage stays warm or cold as time passes by.
Carabiner
There are lots of times when you do not have enough room in your backpack. You can just use a carabiner to attach your cup to a strap outside of your pack. Carabiners can also be used to strap other items. You can also put your tableware in a mesh bag and strap it to the outside of your pack using a carabiner clip. There are many uses for a carabiner especially for the outdoors. It is often good to have one.
Pot Gripper / Oven Mitts
If you are going to use your cup as a cookware as well, then a pot gripper or oven mitts can help you out tremendously. You may experience problems holding the cup if it is very hot. There are lots of pot grippers and oven mitts that are very lightweight. You can use these items to hold or lift other types of cookware as well.
Tea Infusers
If you love tea then getting a tea infuser or tea ball is a good choice. This will allow you to make tea while in the outdoors. Some tea infusers can also be used as a prefilter for your water filter. They can take take out big rocks and sediments from murky river water.
Outdoor Coffee Makers
There are a lot of people that love coffee. Coffee is a big part of our culture or way of life. There are lots of coffee stores and coffee flavors. I highly recommend getting an outdoor coffee maker if you love coffee. With new technologies and recent innovations, we can now have espresso machines with a very low weight. There are now portable espresso makers so that we can enjoy espresso while camping or backpacking.