Gear Review and Huge Giveaway: AVEX® Highland AUTOSEAL® Stainless Insulated Travel Mug

A key part of my morning routine.

Coffee is the elixir of life. At least, for me it is. And when it comes to the elixir of life, I'm picky about the quality, the source, and how it tastes. Read: I'm a self-proclaimed coffee snob.

Brewing the perfect cup is part of my morning routine regardless of what I have planned for the day (pictured right, complete with my Melitta Ready Set Joe and freshly ground beans). If it's a weekday and I'm heading to work, or it's a weekend and I'm heading out for a hike, I need a way to carry the perfectly brewed cup with me wherever I go without spilling a drop. 

I received a complimentary mug for testing from AVEX and immediately started putting it through its paces. I've tried a variety of travel mugs in my day, but the AVEX® Highland AUTOSEAL® Stainless Insulated Travel Mug is about as good as they get.  

Until I've had my morning coffee, I've been known to slip, trip, fall and drop things. The mug passed my durability tests with flying colors. Though I made it through a month without dropping the mug by mistake, for testing, I dropped it several times on purpose. The mug took falls from chin height (a bit over five feet) at work on to thin carpet and outside on to concrete.* The lid is a bit scratched as a result, but other than that, it held up just fine.

As far as heat retention goes, if you like your coffee hot two hours after you brew it, this mug is perfect for you. To see if the AVEX mug measured up, I filled it with coffee and topped it off with my typical coconut milk, then measured the temperature. The brew was 175ºF, which is a bit too hot to drink comfortably. I walked 20 minutes to work in rainy 40ºF weather and let the full mug sit on my desk for two hours after I arrived. In that time, the temperature of the coffee dropped to a comfortable, but still piping hot 155ºF. Not bad. (Coffee doesn't usually last for two hours around me, but I was willing to take one for the team in the name of good gear testing. You're welcome.)

The AUTOSEAL technology and lid in action.
It kept my bag safe and dry.

To prevent spills and leaks, the lid features patented AUTOSEAL® technology. And it works. Not a single drop of the precious coffee spilled during any of the durability tests. I even put the mug upside-down in my bag on a walk to work to be sure I could trust it. Essentially, the lid has a locking mechanism that allows you to keep the coffee in the mug until you're ready to drink it. When you're thirsty, slide the button into the unlocked position, push it in and drink up. If I'm in the car or on a walk and want a drink, fiddling with lids that require two hands isn't going to work. I love the fact that the mechanism is so easy to use and allows for single hand operation.

The only real problem I have with the mug is the ease of cleaning the lid. I put full fat coconut milk in my coffee daily, which is tough to clean out sometimes without a good scrubbing. The lid supposedly designed with "open architecture for easy cleaning," and it's dishwasher safe. But I don't have a dishwasher, and all of the pieces that make up the lid are tough to access. I took a sponge and soapy water to it during the week, then got in between the pieces with a Q-tip once a week to be sure it was clean. Ideally, the lid would come apart to facilitate easier cleaning.

The bottom line? If I hadn't received the mug from AVEX to test, I'd have bought it. I promised I'd pass the mug on to my brother when I was finished testing it, but I like it enough that I might just have to get him his own. For me, spill-proofness and heat retention are the most important features. Those happen to be two areas in which the AVEX mug is superior to others I've used. And at an MSRP of $24.99, it's an affordable, competitively priced option.

The lid, upside down, and the detailed cleaning and operating instructions. 

Thanks to AVEX, I have four 20 oz. Highland AUTOSEAL® Stainless Insulated Travel Mugs to give away! Use the widget below to enter, and good luck! 

(Entries must be received by 12:00am EST on January 10th. The winners will be notified the next day. Unfortunately, the giveaway is only open to United States residents.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway * My goal was to test it in real-life scenarios. Though it would've been cool, I didn't run over the mug with my car or throw it against a brick wall because, generally, those aren't realistic situations. I also chose chin height because that's where the mug usually is when I'm drinking from it, and that's about as high as it'll get. I didn't see the need to drop it from ceiling height or anything higher.