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Are Ultralight Titanium Insulated Cups Worth The Premium Price?

Snow Peak 600 Titanium Double Walled Insulated Mug
Snow Peak 600 Titanium Double Walled Insulated Mug

Winter’s coming and it’s time to start thinking about gearing up your cooking system for winter backpacking and camping. One option is to go the Titanium route, and pick up a ultralight double wall insulated mug, like the Snow Peak Titanium Double Walled 600 Insulated Mug, which costs $59.95.

That’s kind of pricey. Is it really worth it?

Please leave a comment.

76 comments

  1. Not for me,I use a cut down measuring bowl with some thermawrap around it cost £2. Plus the measuring part of cup is handy for meals

    • Ti cost is absurd – I used to say. And while a double wall isn’t something I use I did at one time spend a fairly stupid amount of money on it for all my kitchen ware – upgrading solely from steel. For all my family. Why?

      – Melted an Al pot once by mistake on an open fire. I tiny bit of hardship ensued for the rest of the trip.

      – Al causes Alzheimer’s. Plastics leach when hot/cold/frozen/warm with BPA, LCIDs, etc. Maybe not true. But I don’t care to neither learn about, nor experiment on myself with it.

      – I like my gear rugged. A spork can be made into a knife. A bowl/pot/cup can be in a fire all night long, lasts forever, can be dropped off the cliff or abused in many ways imaginable and still remain fully functional. That’s steel and titanium. I pay for it in either cost or weight.

      – Items I use often and intimately, I want to provide a rich, rewarding experience in return. My sleeping bag, my trekking pole. Definitely my cup. I gag when I see people drink from a styrofoam cup. Putting my lips to a glass or a steel/titanium rim is part of the enjoyable, authentic experience that, to me, nothing else (plastics/aluminium) provides. I don’t care about the weight (or cost) at this point. I’d rather leave behind something else. I am always bewiledered when they say that rich countries’ people are materialistic. They are not, because having lots of cheap, poorly made, short-lived junk isn’t equal to that. Have less, but better things. Things with a proven design, truly long-lasting, with remarkable craftsmanship. Things that can still be used two generations after you. That’s materialistic.

      – A decision to purchase Ti (over steel) was a simple one – it made sense on a per use basis. If you use something a great deal and can spend the money to obtain it, cost is a non-factor.

      Thus, IMHO, if you truly use double wall, just get it. On the other hand if that’s just another trinket to impress your buddies, than someone’s priorities need to be reassessed.

      My 1.5 cents.

      Tend

      • Tend, there is no proof that Aluminum is linked to Alzheimer’s…a study showed that patients with Alheimer’s in a study group had higher levels in their brains, but it has not been replicated, and there is debate as to how it got there. It is not impossible that the disease itself alters the brain so that an unknown process causes the naturally occurring Aluminum (and there is a lot of it around us) to congregate in the brain.

        The fact is, people have been cooking with Aluminum for decades, millions of people worldwide still use it, I do, yet the cases of Alzheimer’s remains a very very low portion of all populations. There have been cases in locales where they’ve never cooked with Aluminum.

        Aluminium is the third most common element on Earth, it is literally everywhere, you breathe a little in every day, it is in all your food and water, if you take medicines like aspirin or antacid you are getting more Aluminum from them than you’d get from Aluminum…

        Interestingly, there is NO study that demonstrates whether Titanium is benign or harmful long-term to humans who cook with it. It is not impossible that at some future date a study will find concentrations of Titanium in certain patients, thus sparking off yet another fad-of-fear lol

  2. I don’t know about you but I do not gulp my coffee down. I like to walk around a little with my coffee and warm up and stretch the leg muscles a bit in the morning as I drink my first cup. I usually have 2 or 3 cups as I like to enjoy my time camping and or backpacking in a casual manner. While limbering up, I enjoy the coffee while it is HOT. Real hot. Many cheap cups will let you drink your coffee but if you are leisurely, sipping; it will be cold by the time you empty the cup. One solution I have found is the Snow Peak 450 double walled Titanium Cup along with the plastic drinking lid. It really keeps the coffee HOT for a long time in sub freezing weather. The weight is almost negligible even if the cost is not. Overall I am happy with my acquisition.

  3. I use a plastic glass – lightweight and cheap but not as cute – these cups are a waste of money.

    • You could also carry an insulating cup cozy which weigh very little. Great to help keep things a warmer or colder longer.

  4. The market probably say will say yes–Barnum’s law–but there’s no way I’d ever contemplate shelling out such an absurd amount for an utterly useless piece of gear. This is the sort of bait for gear-obsessed junkies that drives me crazy.

    On the trail, why would I even bring it? You can’t cook in it, so you have to have another pot the same size or larger to cook in already. No gain here. If I were being conscious of carried weight, I’d simply bring a small plastic cup, which costs a dollar and is 1/3 the weight, into which I can pour my steaming beverage. Insulation? I’d rather not burn my tongue, thank you, and I like warming my hands.

    In camp? Let’s be honest: one nicely aimed drop and your expensive vacuum seal is gone. Congratulations: you’re now the proud owner of yet another expensive non-insulating titanium mug! If I want to keep my beverage hot, a generic insulated mug is the same weight, just as good, practically free, and fitted with a spill-proof lid!

    At home? Ahh, here’s where this mug really shines as a piece of aerospace bling, and a sign of non-maxed credit limit. Unless you’re retired and independently wealthy, or find some way of getting tax rebates for stupid purchases, this has mug has no place in your life–not even in your obsessed imagination.

    If you’re already a certified sucka’, cleanse yourself of this foolish purchase by sending it to me at: 10378 On-the-Dole, Rising Gorge, NM. This will be step one of your consumer therapy.

  5. Not for me. Plastic will do and is lighter.

  6. No, it sounds great but the added functionality, a little insulation isn’t wort the price tag.

  7. No. Ti in general is not worth it for cooking equipment.

    An Aluminum cup weighs 1-3/8oz and is a 12oz size. If it starts cooling off, I simply put it on the stove and warm it up. You cannot do that with plastic.

    A Kmart grease pot holds 1.0 liter, and weighs 3.825oz. With a cut down lid and stem it makes a good cutting board. Cost was $5. It also frys fish, scrambled eggs, etc. and bakes (fritters, cinnamon rolls, apple biscuits, etc.)

    Aluminum distributes heat a bit better than Ti while cooking, so things rarely stick. It is easier to clean than Ti. Highly durable, I have used the same cup/pot for a LONG time. Yup, all dented up and still working.

    Total weight is just over 5oz. Adding a Ti spoon, total is less than 6oz.

  8. I think a pot cozy would do the same and not require you to carry two cups.

  9. These are well worth the price. Titanium is expensive to manufacture and the price reflects it.

    • Ever wonder why titanium has been showing up EVERYWHERE in the past 20 years? There was a GLUT in the titanium market and prices plummeted.
      Foolish buyers (read Americans) bought into the hype and paid full pre-drop prices! Titanium is poor at heat transfer so for cooking it should be lower on the list.
      The fantasy that you are roughing it with minimal gear is a fantasy! With modern technology and info sources, you are pretty secure from getting lost and being weigh down by Mt. Everest gear from the 1900s.

      • Have you ever fabricated anything from titanium? It is extremely difficult to weld and machine, and abrasive which dulls tools fast. Manufacturing a product from titanium costs anywhere from 2-10X what it would cost to make the same in steel, excluding the material cost. There may not be enough benefit to you to justify the cost of titanium, but most titanium products are priced fairly.

  10. I don’t like my drinks hot and I do like to drink my coffee fast. I’m not a sipper. I would not buy such a thing…

  11. Another vote for plastic here. Warms the hands, cools promptly to drinkable temperature, gets breakfast over quickly so I can start hiking and warming up the rest of my body.

  12. I won’t use anything else to drink coffee in the A.M. out of. Like someone already mentioned, I don’t chug my coffee, so I want it to stay warm as possible. This titanium double-wall cup helps that a lot more than any other material.

    Pro tip: pour hot water into your coffee cup while you prepare your grounds to pre-heat the titanium cup. It doubles the time the coffee stays warm in the cup, which is already a long time.

  13. No way! Much too pricey for me.

  14. Been using these for years. Lasted extremely well. Very happy, have several in different places. They are not for ultra light walking sure but they were not designed to be. We travel in our camper trailer a lot (45,000km last year) and use them most days on the road. Excellent quality.

    They are robust (no vacuum seal so feel free to throw them around all day if it makes you feel better).

    You don’t get a burnt lip and when you put your mug down to put kids to bed it stays warm (lids work well too).

  15. Not worth it in my humble opinion.
    I go with a cheaper plastic and/or heavier metal option for my insulated needs.

  16. I used to want one, but could never justify the price. Then I got a GSI insulated mug https://www.rei.com/product/884337/gsi-outdoors-infinity-backpacker-mug and could not be happier. Keeps coffee warm even if it is 20 degrees outside, I usually end up taking the lid off so the coffee will cool down a bit, not too heavy and a fraction of the cost of titanium.

    • I second the GSI insulated mug. It keeps a hot drink very hot — I can walk away & do something else, come back, and my drink is still hot. Also love the lid — no bugs or debris.

      Finally, it only weighs 3.5 oz including the lid. For $9.95. Pretty much a no-brainer.

      • Did the same, after struggling with the idea of spending big bucks on a Ti mug I went with the GSI set up with no regrets, keeps coffee hot, I boil water in it, it’s light weight ect… everything Ti is without the price tag. I have hiked with people who use Ti, personally dollars vs. ounces the financial benefits of my GSI are greater.

        • I too have the GSI mug and it’s nifty and functional in its own right–but it’s far from the shiny & geeky beauty of the Snow Peak (imho). I dig my GSI mug but it fails to impart that fuzzy feeling of ‘gear pride’ that comes w/ the Snow Peak. But the again, a big piece of my entertainment in tdking on challenging backcountry endeavours is my interaction with hiking gear technology/art while solving comfort challenging problems in the isolated outbacks. The Snow Peak strangely satisfies that very personal quirk.

  17. I have a ti Sol JetBoil. My solution is boil water, add instant coffee and drink. No need for an additional cup. During shoulder season when I tend to wake early and await sunrise, I can drink a couple pots of coffee directly from my combo cookpot.

  18. Love mine and would not swap it. Had the 450ml previously and upgraded to the 600ml last year

  19. While that is an awesome mug and I thought about buying one (not seriously) I don’t think I would ever buy it. Heck no it’s not worth the price! At least to me it isn’t! I can get something that weighs a couple ounces more for 1/4th the price. The price:weight ratio just isn’t cutting it for me.

  20. I’ve started using a Campbell’s Soup to Go cup. Eat the soup, save the cup. It has a lid, metal rim, foam insulation, weighs less than 2 oz. No handles so it packs easily. Perfect volume for me. I have coffee (Starbucks Via) in the AM and tea (Jasmine Green) in the PM.

  21. The size is fine for one person, cook-in-a-bag type of use where the pot only serves to heat water. Titanium itself is no burden for this. The double wall is probably not worth the extra weight for this kind of use.
    If price is the potentail problem, think of it as an investment: it will last many years, essentially forever unless catastrophic event. Initial expense is high but cost per use time unit will be low in the long run.

  22. Not worth it in my opinion. I’ve been using the same insulated Aladdin mug for more than 20 years now. It continues to keep liquids warm enough through the morning camp breakdown, and the weight is acceptable.

    Titanium does look cool though, and of course plastic can’t be used to heat, or reheat.

  23. No – but here is why. I carry a single wall Snow Peak 600 ml cup because I use it just to make coffee and heat the water in the cup. Double walled cups requre you to heat in another pot and transfer. I made a cozy to go around my cup and that works to keep heat in as well as a double walled cups.

  24. I got one of those as a gift, but I never bring it on solo trips because my cooking set has an integrated mug. The SnowPeak would just take up extra space in my backpack.

  25. Evernew 400 cup plus a MYO 3mm CCF jacket (can be removed if I need to put the cup on the stove. A NIDO lid with sip holes fits snuggly so the coffee doesn’t get cold or spill when trying to slurp in bed.

  26. 60 bucks for a CUP!! They’re out of their minds.

    HJ

  27. For cost based functionality: No. The double wall adds additional weight whose only function is insulation. Other cups with a koozy can insulate your drinks just as well. The double wall further means you cannot heat a liquid in this cup over a stove.

    For vanity, fun and love of gadgets: Sure, what the hell! And I’m not pointing fingers. I am the proud owner of a Ti poop trowel and a Ti sierra cup – both of which save a miniscule bit of weight, cost extra $$ but I think are kinda fun. (I sometimes use my bandana under and around my Ti sierra cup to provide a bit of insulation when needed.)

    A friend uses one of the Snow Peak double walled mugs at the office. It sets-up some interesting “what the hell is that?” and “you hiked WHERE?” type of conversations. Again, not needed for functionality but fun.

  28. Even if you want a double walled ti cup to drink out of why would you carry one this big? It’s can’t be used to cook in so you’re only going to be drinking out of it.

    REI doesn’t make it anymore but I have a double-wall ti mug of theirs I carry that’s basically a 300 (10 ounces). Half the size and still plenty acceptable amount of warm refreshments.

    The 600 seems a bit much to add to your back country gear.

  29. I try my best to resist “REI-tis” – A contagious malady that makes you think you need the latest gear on the outfitter’s shelf. $60 Ti cup? I don’t think so. My 30-year-old sierra cup still works fine.
    And it seems that the touted replacement cycle is getting even shorter. Just last year, the five-star $160 NeoAir was a “must have”. Now it’s noisy and sleeps like a board compared to the new Sea-to-Summit? And I’m hearing that the “revolutionary” Sawyer Mini is now headed to the landfill because it’s too slow? Yikes!

  30. It was worth it for me because my brother in law bought one and gave me his single wall cup, which works just fine for me, although I have to be careful not to burn my lips when I first pour my drink in it. Since I inherited a hand me down single wall cup out of my brother in law’s purchase of one, it was definitely worth my investment. Now, would I buy one myself? No way!

    For me, one function of a cup of warm drink is use as a hand warmer. When something’s too insulated, my hands stay cold. I’ve tried my brother in law’s double wall cup and I miss the hand warmer function when using it. With the single wall cup and a thin pair of gloves, I’m doing just fine.

  31. For me I’d say no. If I want insulation I make a cozy out of bubble wrap. Lighter and way cheaper.

  32. Whatever gets you moving in the morning is worth it, despite the redundancy spotted by eagle-eyed ultra-lighters.

    If you are transitioning to lightweight backpacking, remember that your experience remains beyond the spreadsheet. Once your pack weight is pretty low, that number on the spreadsheet is almost as much of an aesthetic pleasure as a beautifully crafted ti mug, or a pure-tasting cup of coffee. Assuming you have a pack (and a load) that keeps the weight on your hips, your base weight should be considered as a percentage of your body weight, so a few ounces is really barely noticeable. Its more about the simplicity of carrying fewer items. The ultra-lighter purists will argue this, but as they say in China, “They are wrong.” So, for the transitioner considering a ti insulated mug in the context of their overall pack, know that usually you have to bottom out on your weight, and then add back the items you think are worth it.

    In this case, you would need a lid to make it really work as insulation, though, and it seems snow peak only makes them for their smaller mugs. The weight savings versus plastic/cozy is minimal. Maybe an ounce? Ounce and a half? If that makes your decision for you, then you aren’t carrying a mug anyway.

    So basically it comes down to whether you need to drink coffee out of something more pure than plastic, and, of course, the associated price.

    Personally, price didn’t enter into it, but I use plastic with a DIY cozy (closed cell foam, duct tape). My cup is a tupperware-like thing from the container store. It has a screw-on lid, and it doubles as a protective case for my TrailDesigns Sidewinder, so that the sharp-edged foil can’t scratch the nonstick surface of my cook pot. (I didnt want to mess with the tyvek sleeve that TD sends you, which has questionable durability anyway.) I thru-hiked the PCT with it this year. I used a plastic pour-over cone with built-in steel mesh filter for coffee, so I needed a second vessel anyway. The lidded cup also works for re-hydrating meals during an afternoon of hiking, if you are scrimping on fuel and can improvise another spot for the sidewinder. Likewise, it can increase your water capacity, or just help you draw water from shallow sources. I adjusted a lot of gear along the hike, but these pieces remained unchanged.

    Major bonus: the lid on the cup kept the coffee in there when I wanted to pass it to the hiker(s) waking up next to me. More than a few times, it got everybody moving in the morning! If you wanted, you could also carry coffee with you for the first few miles of the day.

  33. The cup that comes with my thermos is very light and keeps my hot drinks hot. So when backpacking I leave the thermos home but take the cup. Maybe if I backpacked more I would go for a $60 cup.

  34. I use a single wall titanium pot (~700ml) from snow peak to cook and eat out of on the trail. I purchased a double walled titanium snow peak 400ml nesting cup ( with a top but no handles) to add to my kit since it fit perfectly in the pot, but it doesn’t keep my drinks hot long enough so I switched back to a reflectix cozy. Now I use the double wall at the office. Great for coffee and it will last forever but not worth the weight on the trail.

  35. My wife and I both use these cups because the double wall keeps the contents warm longer. I used to use a plastic cup (lighter and cheaper) but I admit, the contents cooled off pretty quickly. To me cozy’s are kind of PTA. We use them to carry our lunches which we hydrate in the mornings.

  36. Is your car worth the price? Your house? Any of your furnishings or electronic equipment?

    Whether something is worth it to you depends on the level of satisfaction you get from using it and the time spent working to acquire it. My double walled Ti cup, along with the premium coffee I use to fill it, is a small luxury that brings me satisfaction above and beyond the price I paid. And I suspect I’ll have it as long as I walk this earth.

    I could certainly get a cheaper cup or cheaper coffee or cheaper clothing or cheaper everything but I’d rather have fewer but better possessions in my life.

    Besides, I bought mine on sale.

  37. I will be overnighting at the AMC Zealand Hut on October 31 (caretaker service). Since I just need my sleeping bag, clothing, food and minimal gear I plan to bring my titanium insulated mug and enjoy hot beverages. Different adventures require different gear. I would not bring it on a backpack.

  38. I have 3 snow peak double walled mugs. They are things of beauty, and I got the first in Tokyo at a Snow Peak showroom, so it has sentimental value but too large and heavy for my current cook kit options. That’s the 450 with handles. then I tried the 450 stackable and most recently the 300 stackable. 300 is enough for me. It’s not quite as expensive, and it’s lighter than the plastic GSI Infinity.

  39. Absolutely, unequivocally, without any doubt, NO. Since it is double walled, you cannot use it to cook, as it will burst. Since it is Titanium, even with the double wall construction it will radiate the heat from a hot drink very quickly and at more than $10.00 an ounce, it is ridiculously overpriced. I carry an Aladdin Insulated mug that will keep hot drinks hotter and longer, has the same capacity, weighs the same, but most importantly it costs less than $5.00 at Walmart or many other retail stores.
    I think the same people who have to have a $700 Western Mountaineering sleeping bag, and a $600 Cuban fiber tent will want this Ti mug. It’s the people who are more concerned about what other hikers think of them than the true functionality of their gear

  40. Stupid Light. Much better option (IMHO): GSI Backpacker mug – 3.0 oz. with lid( older style) $10 new, Works. Will not cry if I lose it / break it.

  41. $60 for an insulated mug is not worth my money. Even if I had unlimited resources, I would have to better look into the specs and usage of this $60 mug to see if I preferred it for my cook kit.

    Currently, I use 3 different mugs, for different purposes, all made of plastic:

    * uninsulated GSI mug (no lid), holds 12 oz, weighs 1.5oz
    * insulated Thermos brand mug (no lid), weighs 2oz
    * insulated REI brand mug with lid, not sure on the weight, my guess is 4-5oz

    On winter trips, I sometimes also take a vacuum-sealed stainless steel insulated thermos, holds about 18oz, my guess is the weight is about 8oz.

    Sometimes I also use an empty plastic salsa tub as a mug. For insulation, I’ve made a cozy from aluminized bubble-wrap (Reflectix).

  42. My mug I will buy will be MLD Ti 475mL or one of those Foster’s beer-pot, and that’s only because I want to see how far I can push ultralight winter hiking and ultralight hunting before yoyoing back to the standard Evernew .9L and Open Country 4qt.

  43. I use a plastic cup. I never could justify the cost of Titanium.

  44. I own a blue Snow Peak double-walled 450 ml cup–and I luv it. It’s my one piece of luxury in my otherwise stringent gear list. When I hit camp and all is set up and I’m well fed, I make coffee, add some whiskey to it and sit and look up at the stars and sip away. The mug keeps my cozy ritual going for a good 20 minutes before ‘hot-sippin’ goes luke-warm. (Usually my brew is gone before then). I do most of my backcountry outings in the temperature range of +10 C – -10 C so rhe insulating properties of the cup make a decent enough diff for me. But I mus admit, each time I pack it into my pack it is the last piece of gear I pack–and I always feel guilty about bringing such non-essential luxury with me. But hey, i weigh 90 kg and have enough muscle to hump those extra grams of luxury. It’s really the extra volume of bringing along this non-essential item that threatens its place in my tightly packed backpacks. I bring it to work at times as a reminder of various backcountry outings the two of ‘us’ have been on together.

  45. I LOVE my titanium insulated cup. I have a 450ml, slightly smaller (and thus even lighter!) and it’s been absolutely perfect for tea and cocoa for one person. There are cheaper things out there, obviously, but my mug makes me very, very happy in a slightly absurd way.

  46. I’ve been using my 22 ounce Snowpeak for 6 seasons now and love it. Large enough to rehydrate a meal AND keep it hot. Or (lately) makes a nice cereal bowl for bran flakes and cold milk (from powder). Plus it takes a beating and keeps on performing.

  47. No. I considered a single-wall ti cup as it can be used for cooking, or for warming up cold coffee. Ti beats most other materials in toughness. A quality that is perhaps more important to long-distance hikers than to those who go on shorter trips.

    I was packed and ready to go on my first long section of the AT in 2012 when a birthday present from my son arrived. I had a single-wall ti cup in my pack, along with a 700ml ti cook pot. But when I opened the box, there was a Kupilka Cup! It was heavier, better insulated, and much groovier than the single wall ti cup. But while everything else in the pack was replaced, tweaked or thrown out over the next few years, that cup ended up accompanying me on every mile of the AT.

  48. I have a GSI plastic cup that weighs 2.5 oz. and cost me $3.00 I also have a single-wall titanium cup from Snow Peak (2.8 oz. at a cost of $35). Filled with hot coffee, the Snow Peak will burn my lips, the GSI won’t. Kind of clear which one I prefer, huh?

  49. Heeeeeeck no. I use a Nalgene flask with a DIY cozy. Tight lid, fits inside my pocket instead of sitting on the cold ground, can come with if I’m not finished drinking by the time I’m finished packing up. Also good for daytime tea, I can brew and go instead of sitting. Unless I want to sit. It works fine then, too. ;)

  50. In my opinion, this is completely unnecessary.

  51. No, not worth the premium price, but I don;t begrudge folks splurging on hiking gear as I am guilty of that also. There are other options that are cheaper and work just as well. For example the GSI Outdoors Infinity Backpacker Mug. https://www.rei.com/product/884337/gsi-outdoors-infinity-backpacker-mug It costs $10 American, weighs 3.5 oz, as opposed to the Snow Peak 450 double walled mug which weighs 4.2 oz and costs $50. The GSI mug holds17 fluid oz and is constructed of #5 polypropylene which is the most benign plastic and is not known to leach harmful chemicals in any significant amount.The Snow Peak 600 double walled mug shown in the picture would weigh and cost even more than the Snow Peak 450. With either Snow peak mug in my opinion it would be necessary to buy a plastic lid to prevent burning the lips, thus adding to expense and weight. I have the GSI mug and have been very happy with it although I recently bought a Sea to Summit Collapsible X-Mug (2.4 oz, capacity 16 oz) to save space, but haven’t taken it out hiking yet, so the jury is still out on that one.

  52. I have the smaller one with the lid, and while it’s functional the gsi does just as good a job for a little less weight – it was a Christmas gift some years back. The angst have at what other people spend money on is entertaining though.

    Best thing I’ve found recently is he recyclable Starbucks cups. 1.something oz with decent lid, good volume and a cardboard holder to keep it cool or you can make a reflectix cosy.

  53. I think it’s funny that some people are getting so upset at the price. The way I see it, I paid $45 dollars for an indestructible coffee mug that will last forever. If you knew how many regular coffee mugs I used to go through at my office just in a year, then you would think it was a good investment, too.

  54. The question was, is it worth it? That is a personal choice. To me it’s just more gear that’s unnecessary and absurdly priced. So, no.

  55. After having read the 60 or so comments it seems to me many people are jealous of the ones who spend a few extra bucks to have a little luxury. Plastic does not do it for me. Had that crap too many years. Coffee and cocoa gets cold too fast. Stainless is a weight I would not have a slave carry. Having a bit of a luxury after too many years of humping with $5.00 backpacks and drinking from tin cans and the barrel sized sleeping bags strapped to my forehead with a tump line-sometimes really; I want to have a lightweight luxury. Seems like today’s generation is brainwashed to be anti anything that is nice or really makes life better. Such a sucky way to think and live. I know. I lived the cheap life for many years out of necessity and now I appreciate the finer things and also recognize the communistic liberal snobbery anti anything that smacks of luxury. Hope you all get over that brainwashing. The years I couldn’t afford nice leather boots, or lightweight tents or even dream of eating a freeze dried/dehydrated meal; I always wanted to have the better thing someday. Not to flaunt it under the noses of other which some of you cretins think but to ENJOY the feeling of having the option of not living like a hobo and retarded piss poor moron.

    • I also have issues with some of the minimalist crap going round these days. There’s a big difference between being homeless and eating out of dumpsters and backpacking the PCT with a cuben fiber tent and drinking micro-brewed beer.

  56. Makes me laugh, most backpackers I know who are overly obsessed with pack-weight are usually carrying 10 to 50 pounds extra weight in fat on their body!

    You can’t get them to see sense, they could hold back on the fried chicken, pizza, burgers etc for a few weeks, thus lose maybe 10 pounds, and be surprised to find that they can carry enough kit to furnish a field kitchen, and still not be out of breath walking up hills and mountains.

    All this nonsense over Titanium, it is just more sucker-money, invent a market and enough fools will buy into it. I’ve used Titanium pots, and will never buy one, the heat is very local, even with low power heat sources, like Sterno stoves, steel is kind of similar, but in between Titanium and Aluminum. Aluminum heats quick, distributes the heat more evenly, and if you know what you are doing, food doesn’t stick to it.

    As for the nonsense about Aluminum and Alzheimer’s etc, it is nonsense, no study proves a link, and even IF it did, Aluminum is the THIRD most common element on Earth, after Oxygen and Silicon; if you take two aspirin or antacids a day, you’ve consumed more Aluminum than you’d get from cooking in a day.

    The fact is, there are people who al the time want the latest piece of kit to be ahead of the pack, and no matter what is released to market someone, somewhere will buy it to get-one-over someone else. I look out at new stuff all the time, but still find that, mostly, the old ways are the best ways, a lot of the new stuff is about companies pushing technological advances in pursuit of profit, they don’t want you to be using the same bivi, tent, sleeping bag, cook set etc year in, year out, there is no profit in it. Some people swear by their ancient down sleeping back, Esbit stove, Beeswax waterproofed cotton jacket and whatnot…but they’ll always be someone wanting to buy the latest kit…we laugh at them at the gym, when they come out with the latest fitness gadget too…

    • Billy Bob Titanium Teeth

      Aluminum is one of the most reactive metals, I don’t want to eat it with my food, it makes it taste bad. Aluminum is very soft and has a low toughness. Aluminum age hardens and makes nasty oxide layers and becomes very brittle. Titanium is far superior and will last longer than any aluminum, it is used in medical implants because it WILL NOT REACT in the human body, the exact opposite of aluminum. I don’t think aluminum will do any harm to peoples brains but it will not last as long as titanium. Titanium is an expensive metal and is a investment for any backpacker, skinny or fat. I have my titanium cup that I bought from REI for $17.00 over 16 years ago and I will have it for at least another 30 years.

      • Huh? I thought one wanted as much oxide layer as possible on aluminum, because thats what keeps aluminum from entering the food?? Isnt that the point of anodizing aluminum? To make a thicker oxide layer?

        The durability is not an issue what so ever. Both aluminium and Ti will last a lifetime in this kind of use. I have an aluminum mess kit from the 70’s used 1000s of times by my parents and now me. It shows no sign of giving up at all.

        Unless the food is acidic i MUCH prefer aluminium cookware before titanium. For actual cooking that is. Titanium is great for boiling water, but thats about the only thing you can do with it in my experience. Anything else will burn and make both food and cleanup a not so nice experience.

        But this was about mugs, not cookware. And for a mug i wouldnt use metal at all personally. It burns my lips unless i use some rubber thingy which just is one more thing to wash and possibly loose.

  57. The question, “Is it worth it?” leaves the commenter to decide what meaning to read into the question.

    The price seems to be in line with other titanium bits, so it is not over-priced in that way.

    Presumably, the extra money over an equivalent stainless steel item buys lighter weight. The extra money may be $30 or $40, since the SS insulated cups are not very expensive. The weight savings may be an ounce or two, maybe three. In my estimation, if I used an insulated cup (I do not), that’s cheap. The spending extra occurs just once, and enables you to enjoy several ounces of pack weight reduction for hundreds of trail miles, and decades of use. The extra amount is equivalent to what one spends on transportation to regional trails for JUST ONE hike. That’s a good deal to me.

    If I wanted an insulated cup, I would naturally pick the lightest suitable choice. If I can afford to drive to the trail multiple times yearly, I can afford an extra few bucks for a lighter item just once.

  58. Lol if you have the money, why not? I have the money and I’m going to buy several, just because so many people on this thread think they are being smarter by using plastic.

  59. I have used mine every single day as a travel mug and at home, (i’m looking at it on my desk!) on the trail- everywhere- day and night. Its banged up after a few absent minded drive offs in my car- when i left it on the roof – the double wall seal intact..( something that would have ended most mugs) and ink is long gone -it has attained a well used patina but I love the thing.

    Everybody assumes it is JUST to keep things warm… but it keeps my gin and vodka cold when drinks switch gears in the day. Insulates hot and warm things from my hand – easy on the lip… In fact- my 600 holds a full beer in it after i discovered that my beer stays way colder than in a bare can.

    Also good for oatmeal or soup, etc. etc. So if i divide its cost by 10 years or so since i bought it and fully expect another 10 out of it… I’ve spent more on pants that are long gone.

    To each his own- I’m keeping mine- if i lose it somehow, I will buy another.

  60. Wow. So many comments on whether a titanium cup is worth it or not.
    Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I LOVE my 450-ML purple titanium double-walled mug with the soft silicone lid (sold separately by Snow Peak). Worth every damn ounce and every dollar because it adds a splash of color and beauty to the morning coffee ritual. It’s also made in Japan and high quality. It’s a bit luxury, sure, but what’s wrong with that? Put simply: live a little.

  61. 100% worth it IF a steaming hot liquid matters to you. You can pour, do some camp chores and you’ll still be drinking a hot cup of coffee. Indestructible and well worth a few ounces.

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