Choosing The Perfect Flask

Do you remember having to treat your flask with the utmost care, living in fear of the glass inner breaking? Thankfully those days are long gone and now the best flasks on the market are built to last, designed to keep the heat in (or out) and ready for adventure! We have a range of flasks to suit every occasion and every destination. And with happy customers reporting back from everywhere from Antarctica to Acton Central train station, we’re confident there’s one for everyone. So we’re delighted to share our easy-choose guide and a few trade secrets, too.

How do thermally induced flasks work?

Here’s the technical bit: to create our thermally induced vacuum (TiV) flasks, two metal tubes (the inner and outer wall) are slotted together and heated to create a vacuum, then welded closed. Having the two layers acts in the same way as the cavity wall in your house. It stops condensation collecting on the external wall, and prevents heat loss through evaporation. Genius!

How to keep your flask drinks warmer for longer

To make the most of our flasks’ impressive heat-keeping properties it’s a smart idea to half fill with boiling water and let it warm up for a few minutes, then discard before you pour in your delicious soup or hot beverage. A bit like warming the teapot before you make your cuppa! Then fill your flask to the brim for maximum heat retention.

Choose an eco-friendly flask that does it all

Our TiV vacuum bottle in copper or black is 100% recyclable at the end of its life. We’re confident it will be a long one! This is a does-it-all flask, with a lid that’s made from two parts so you can drink directly from the bottle without burning your mouth. It’s also wide enough to pour ice cubes inside and  ergonomically shaped so the flask is easy to carry and open. The food grade stainless steel interior is BPA-free, odour and taste neutral. Keeps drinks hot for six hours and cold for 12. Win!

Best flask for brightening up your day, trip or commute

New! Our bold and bright insulated bottles come in a range of travel-inspired designs that will have you reminiscing about your foreign travels. The pinks, purples and orange tones of the Mandala transport you to South East Asia. The blues, greens and yellows of our Tropical bottle take you south of the Equator. The understated black and grey contour-esque lines of the Swirls design take you anywhere you need a map. (Currently, anywhere that needs a map is a highly exciting prospect!)

These 750ml flasks keep drinks hot for 12 hours and cold for 24 with their double-walled construction and stainless steel screw-on lid.

Best flask with screw-in stopper and pouring spout

Our range of sleek matt black flasks with spouts come in 300lm, 500ml, 900ml and 1000ml sizes. This classic design keeps your drinks hot for eight hours, cool for 24 hours and the stainless steel lid can be used as a cup. These compact, durable flasks are copper coated and highly reliable. Used by hikers, gardeners, birders, teachers and DofE students everywhere.

Which flask is best for soups?

The TiV wide mouth flask is your ideal chunky soup container.  The double walled flask is copper coated for superb heat retention. It has a clever retractable handle and a removable shoulder strap. A screw-in stopper gives you leak-proof peace of mind. It comes with two cups - the stainless steel lid and another ‘buddy cup’ inside the lid. You can choose from the 800ml or 1000ml size. Keeps liquids hot for eight hours and cold for 12 (the wide mouth makes it easy to pour ice in, too!)

Delicious veggie chilli soup for hikes

It sounds highly nerdy, but we’ve found that partially blended soups stay warm for the longest! It’s to do with the amount of air that gets trapped in the mix. The other benefit of a blended soup over a chunky one is that you can drink it if you forget your camping cutlery! Here’s our favourite, filling, warming soup to keep you fuelled during your hike.

Ingredients

• 1tbs olive oil
• ½ onion, diced
• 2 sticks celery, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, mashed
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 tsp mild chilli powder
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
• 500 mls vegetable stock
• 1 small red pepper, chopped
• 1 small yellow pepper, chopped
• 1 tin mixed beans
• Optional - Sour cream, chopped coriander, lime and tortilla chips

Method

Fry the onion, celery and garlic in the oil until soft and translucent, then add the tomato puree, chilli powder and cumin. Cook gently for three minutes.

Add the tinned tomatoes and 500 mls vegetable stock and simmer for 10 minutes. Use a hand blender to puree the mix

Throw in your drained tin of mixed beans and the chopped peppers and cook for a further 15 minutes until the vegetables are tender

Your soup is ready to pour into your flask; now add a dollop of sour cream, a squeeze of lime and a sprinkle of chopped coriander!

We recommend taking tortilla chips to dunk!

The iconic Lifeventure thermal mug

We’re known for our original thermal mug, and for good reason. Many reasons in fact! This one-cup wonder is bullet proof. You can shove it in your rucksack or daybag and take it anywhere without risk of leakage or breakage. It comes in a rainbow of colourways and finishes. It keeps drinks hot for six hours and cold for 12. It’s compact, effective and stylish.

But we can’t put it any better than customer Gill, who wrote: “I took my thermal mug to Antarctica - and it STILL kept my drink hot for longer than advertised, even in -40°c. Can't say anything better than that! We've travelled many thousands of kilometers together, and my mug is a bit battered and bruised but has never dropped in performance. Nothing like having a hot brew in your pocket :)”

Cheers, Gill!