Oxo Good Grips Thermal Mug With SimplyClean Lid Review: Our New Favorite Travel Mug

It has plenty of heat. It's easy to fit and looks good. It doesn't come in a smaller size than 16 ounces, which is odd, as the Hydro Flask cousin comes in a larger size. Oxo is still figuring out the colors. The mug in the picture is a deep-sea blue, but the one I received for testing was a more subdued shade of the latter. "Bright red" is almost a happy shade of orange in the photo, but it looks more like "Campbell's tomato" in real life.

I filled each mug with water just off the boil and sealed them shut, then returned four hours later to take their temperature. There were few surprises as the vessels were of different sizes and the water would be able to stay warmer. The 14-once Yeti, with its wide mouth and thin lid, was alone at the bottom, warm but no longer hot. A big middle chunk was occupied by the 16-ounce Contigo, which was not bad for the size of 140 degrees; the Hydro Flask at 144; and the 17-ounce Takeya and the 16- and 20-ounce Oxos. The Zojirushis had a heat retention of 173 degrees for the little guy and 180 for the big guy.

This is where it gets a little prickly. Do you want something that is very hot? My mouth did not like the hot water. Most people will need to open a vessel with liquid and let it cool off before drinking. Anything under 140 degrees is in a danger zone.

The Zojirushis were above 140 at 156 and 165 degrees, and the Oxo was below the mark at 137. Zojirushis are the best bet if you need a hot drink for a long time.

At the end of the testing, when I half filled the Oxo with water, flipped it upside-down and put it in a plastic tub, I was surprised. I was expecting the bottom of the tub to slowly fill with water. I tucked the Takeya, the Hydro Flask, and the two Zojirushis into their own tub and surrounded it with other things. My Tupperware party was found by Elisabeth in the morning. She was curious to know more about what I had done after she went to bed, and I was excited to report that there was no leak between the six of them.

She said it was "Impressive." Engineers are applying themselves to the world's pressing problems.

I brought the Oxo and Hydro Flask up to my roof patio, and with one in each hand, did a wild dance, trying to get them to leak. Impressively, they did not.

The Zojirushi and Takeya were surprised by the stability of the less secure competition. It was about my classification system.

The new Oxo is not the best mug for everyone, but it does so many things well that it's clearly the best travel mug out there.