When it comes to nursing a to-go cup of coffee all day, I have resigned myself to the fact that the coffee does eventually cool down. Even though it doesn’t entirely bother me to get my caffeine fix from cold coffee, it goes without saying that hot coffee is where it’s at. Being a daily coffee drinker, I was thrilled to try out my new Camelbak Forge travel mug. Increasingly, I have noticed Camelbak drinking vessels virtually everywhere. In fact, at any given staff meeting, the tabletop practically resembles a parking lot for Camelbak products.
Admittedly, I was very impressed with the Forge from the start. The Forge comes with a whole host of features that largely revolve around keeping the coffee warm and safely contained. For example, the mug has a self-sealing cap that keeps all the liquid in the mug should you tip it over. I am not prone to knocking cups over, but it’s nice to know that this feature exists. In this review, I will give different three scenarios that showcase the usefulness of the Forge’s features.
Vacuum Insulation
When I loaded up the Forge with coffee at 7:30 AM, I was almost alarmed to find that it was still hot at 9:00 AM. This is due to its vacuum insulation. The basic design behind this is there’s a channel of air in the cup, or like a cup within the cup separated by an air-filled space. This provides the perfect insulation to keep coffee hot longer. On the literature that comes with the Forge, it says the vacuum insulation provides 4 hours of hot coffee. Well, by 3:15 PM, the coffee was still warm, and by 5:00 PM it was lukewarm. The insulation feature definitely met and exceeded my expectations. This also works with cold drinks. The vacuum insulation will slow down the melting of ice cubes.
One-Handed Drink Lever
There is a handy lever on the Forge that has multiple uses. The lever is almost like a trigger that makes the self-sealing cap go up. If you tip the mug over with the self-sealing cap open, the spillage will be minimal or none at all. The reason behind this is, the lever needs to be pressed to free the coffee. That being said, when you are ready to take a drink, tilt the mug into position and use the lever to release the coffee into your mouth. I thought this feature was great because you can regulate the dispersing of the coffee—something of an interactive feature! Try the same drinking action with a traditional to-go mug, and you might experience some residual dribbles that could potentially make a mess. The one-handed lever lets you take control of your jet of coffee from the Forge’s drink port (the hole from which the liquid is poured).
Lock Open Button
Let’s say you want to down your coffee quickly, and you want to let it cool down. There is a lock open button that ventilates the coffee allowing heat to escape. On the lid of the coffee mug, you can snap open the lock and the seal arms move into a position that lets heat out. When you feel you have let the coffee cool to your liking, you can close the lock and use the lever to taste your coffee. This lock button is great for those of you want to wait for the perfect temperature before consuming.
The Good:
- Keeps coffee hot for several hours
- Difficult to spill
- Sleek design—easy to handle
- Open lock position allows ventilation for coffee
- One-handed drink lever to let the coffee out
The bad:
- Not dishwasher safe (the lid is, but not the vessel)
Camelbak Forge is currently available at Amazon.
Note: Camelbak provided me with a product for review purposes. The opinions expressed are my own and not influenced by the company.
All photos by Anthony Frohlich