Contigo West Loop
You could argue that when it comes to travel mugs I’m pretty much a closed book, as in nothing else will do, my Contigo is the best and everything else is wildly inferior.
I’m currently on my second West Loop in around 5 years, the first one is still working fine, it’s just that, as you’ll read a bit further on, new versions have a better lid that makes them easier to clean, so Muddy Madam bought the replacement for my birthday.
What makes the West Loop my favourite mug is that Contigo have created their own spill proof lid called AUTOSEAL® that guarantees 100% spill and leak poof drinking.
What this means, and I’m simplifying it now, is that on the side of the lid you have a button, when you press the button a seal opens which allows you to take a swig of whatever’s inside, release the button and the seal is closed. There’s also a lock on top of the lid to stop you from accidentally pressing the button and consequently losing your drink.
If you click on the link at the bottom of the review you can watch a short video of how it all works, which saves me from explaining it! All I’ll say is that it’s much better than the old version as now I can clean all its nooks and crannies.
The West Loop uses vacuum-insulated technology, which according to their website, keeps hot drinks hot for up to 5 hours and cold drinks cool for up to 12 hours. Being honest, I’ve usually drank everything long before then.
On reflection I can’t remember that last time I used a cup for my coffee, in fact, as I’m writing this on a cold and miserable Wednesday morning at 6.45am, it’s sat in front of the keyboard ready and filled to the brim with comforting coffee, as you can see here on your right!
I use my Contigo everyday at the office, it’s usually filled up with a milky coffee at 8.30am, and on the odd occasion there’s any left by 12.oopm, it’s still warm and drinkable. On reflection, if I used hot milk instead of milk straight from the fridge, it would probably last longer.
The fact that it doesn’t leak makes the West Loop more versatile, it sits in Deux Smurfs cup holders whilst off-roading, and if I’m going for a meander somewhere by foot, it easily sits in a coat pocket.
It’s tough too, the number of times I’ve dropped it doesn’t bear thinking about, ok, I’ve chipped the lid and some of the paint has been scratched off, but it keeps on performing. I suppose if you’re looking around for travel mugs, £30 may appear quite expensive, but in my opinion, having used it everyday, it’s well worth the money.
Available in a range of colours and variants, Contigo travel mugs can be found online or at various high street outlets
Website: Contigo, Debenhams & others
Price: around £30