Lifeventure thermal mug
Have we had bad luck when it came to lifespan of our Lifeventure thermal mugs or are they simply run of the mill?
We purchased a pair of these mugs on a whim (no real research) we simply thought they represented good value for money as stainless steel double wall spill proof mugs for down at the auction house (very cold) ..night trips to the airport as anti-crash keepy-wakey aids, & out & about in the countryside ..obviously.
The idea is simple, the execution not so, is the product flawed or down to ourselves?
One thermal mug has failed completely, sadly discovered when making a night trip with strong coffee it was stone cold within the hour.
Whilst we do understand the design constraints pertaining to product,
the lifeventure internal mug has always been a bugger to clean, when travelling you don't tend to carry a stiff dish washing brush, the container is narrow to all but the smallest hands, taking odours on-board too easily necessitating very careful cleaning & long airing times
..god forbid you leave the lid screwed down for long periods as mustiness soon becomes apparant.
The inner is a plastic composition, (dark grey) so unless subjected to very strong light is easy to miss any residual liquid that has dried & gone stale or flakey whilst on the return journey ....thefore it's advisable to rinse out your mug immediately upon arriving at your destination whenever possible.
Designed to be water tight? ..well, again ours fell at that hurdle, ..plenty of reports on the net of leaks due to cross-threading, could this have been sorted since ours were purchased? ...we hope so as it's a gamble we've lost many times ending up with sticky sweet cuffs, scalded flesh & rucksacks reeking & leaking liquid. ..overall about as welcome as a burst colostomy bag
Another aspect of the Lifeventure (& common to thermal cups) is the silicone rubber valve / expansion vessel, don't assume you can store sugar here as it'll possibly be forced through & soak the contents, certainly when we purchased our mugs there was no accompanying paperwork, so all was found by trial & error.
The mug is in 3 parts, ...liquid containment vessel (mug) to which you must carefully & precisely thread the plastic mid section (expansion chamber & silicone rubber bung) ..lastly the top lid, (cosmetic purposes only) ..as the mid section has to be removed to access the drink.
Cross threading test... we tested the claimed water tightness by means of screwing the lid, tipping & shaking, which if you are rushing out to travel with your morning coffee, time may not allow, & do bear in mind this EVERY TIME YOU TAKE A SIP....
Having just read the lifeventure website the product does have a lifetime warranty (under reasonable use) so we shall be sending them back for appraisal...watch this space.
The spec (taken from Lifeventure site December 2012)
Features
● Keeps drinks hot for up to 4 hours or cool for 12 hours
● Stainless steel construction with vacuum insulated walls
● Expansion chamber with pressure release valve in lid
● Sleek, watertight design available in 11 different colours
● Conforms to British Standards for quality and safety
Technical Specification:
Capacity: 300 ml
Dimensions: 65 x 65 x 160mm
Weight: 300g
What is the top lid for on your thermal lids?
The top lid is used as a pressure release airlock which is used if the contents are allowed to cool down. This may normally cause a vacuum and then the main lid may be stiff. By using this top lid and rubber valve, the top should always be easy to open.
Can I put my thermal mug in the dishwasher?
We recommend that you do not put your thermal mug in the dishwasher. Although this won’t harm the workings of the mug, the dishwasher will take the paint off and this could potentially damage your dishwasher.
We purchased a pair of these mugs on a whim (no real research) we simply thought they represented good value for money as stainless steel double wall spill proof mugs for down at the auction house (very cold) ..night trips to the airport as anti-crash keepy-wakey aids, & out & about in the countryside ..obviously.
The idea is simple, the execution not so, is the product flawed or down to ourselves?
One thermal mug has failed completely, sadly discovered when making a night trip with strong coffee it was stone cold within the hour.
Whilst we do understand the design constraints pertaining to product,
the lifeventure internal mug has always been a bugger to clean, when travelling you don't tend to carry a stiff dish washing brush, the container is narrow to all but the smallest hands, taking odours on-board too easily necessitating very careful cleaning & long airing times
..god forbid you leave the lid screwed down for long periods as mustiness soon becomes apparant.
The inner is a plastic composition, (dark grey) so unless subjected to very strong light is easy to miss any residual liquid that has dried & gone stale or flakey whilst on the return journey ....thefore it's advisable to rinse out your mug immediately upon arriving at your destination whenever possible.
Designed to be water tight? ..well, again ours fell at that hurdle, ..plenty of reports on the net of leaks due to cross-threading, could this have been sorted since ours were purchased? ...we hope so as it's a gamble we've lost many times ending up with sticky sweet cuffs, scalded flesh & rucksacks reeking & leaking liquid. ..overall about as welcome as a burst colostomy bag
Another aspect of the Lifeventure (& common to thermal cups) is the silicone rubber valve / expansion vessel, don't assume you can store sugar here as it'll possibly be forced through & soak the contents, certainly when we purchased our mugs there was no accompanying paperwork, so all was found by trial & error.
The mug is in 3 parts, ...liquid containment vessel (mug) to which you must carefully & precisely thread the plastic mid section (expansion chamber & silicone rubber bung) ..lastly the top lid, (cosmetic purposes only) ..as the mid section has to be removed to access the drink.
Cross threading test... we tested the claimed water tightness by means of screwing the lid, tipping & shaking, which if you are rushing out to travel with your morning coffee, time may not allow, & do bear in mind this EVERY TIME YOU TAKE A SIP....
Having just read the lifeventure website the product does have a lifetime warranty (under reasonable use) so we shall be sending them back for appraisal...watch this space.
The spec (taken from Lifeventure site December 2012)
Features
● Keeps drinks hot for up to 4 hours or cool for 12 hours
● Stainless steel construction with vacuum insulated walls
● Expansion chamber with pressure release valve in lid
● Sleek, watertight design available in 11 different colours
● Conforms to British Standards for quality and safety
Technical Specification:
Capacity: 300 ml
Dimensions: 65 x 65 x 160mm
Weight: 300g
What is the top lid for on your thermal lids?
The top lid is used as a pressure release airlock which is used if the contents are allowed to cool down. This may normally cause a vacuum and then the main lid may be stiff. By using this top lid and rubber valve, the top should always be easy to open.
Can I put my thermal mug in the dishwasher?
We recommend that you do not put your thermal mug in the dishwasher. Although this won’t harm the workings of the mug, the dishwasher will take the paint off and this could potentially damage your dishwasher.
Dishwasher test (well you have to don't you) !?
Our Bosch dishwasher did strip the paintwork, making it soft & flaking at the merest touch... however unlike other cheaper thermal containers it did not cause any apparant adverse lining failure (often resulting in foam expansion).
therefore hand-wash unless you are striving for the bare stainless steel & a war-torn kit look.
We found hot water soaks with a smidgen of washing up liquid to get the job done, but not heavily scented which did appear to taint the plastic liner in both smell & taste, only air drying rinse & repeat cleared this over a prolonged period, making clean tasting drinks without a glug of washing up taste a bit hit or miss.
Poorly executed design, cheap but expect a hot sweet sticky cuff stain or worse whilst using this item, it will catch you out.
Lifeventure can be contacted on:
http://www.lifeventure.co.uk/
Phone: +44 (0)118 981 1433
Fax: +44 (0)118 981 1406
Email: [email protected]
therefore hand-wash unless you are striving for the bare stainless steel & a war-torn kit look.
We found hot water soaks with a smidgen of washing up liquid to get the job done, but not heavily scented which did appear to taint the plastic liner in both smell & taste, only air drying rinse & repeat cleared this over a prolonged period, making clean tasting drinks without a glug of washing up taste a bit hit or miss.
Poorly executed design, cheap but expect a hot sweet sticky cuff stain or worse whilst using this item, it will catch you out.
Lifeventure can be contacted on:
http://www.lifeventure.co.uk/
Phone: +44 (0)118 981 1433
Fax: +44 (0)118 981 1406
Email: [email protected]
Fairplay disclosure: we were not sent samples for review by / on behalf of Lifeventure.