Lightweight Coffee Cup Recommendations Please

I’m a ceramics teacher and artist.  Naturally I detest plastic, disposable, and otherwise mass produced eating and drinking ware.  But I get it, we’re backpacking.

I have, however, religiously carried at least one piece of pottery on just about every trip I’ve done, usually in the form of a teacup, but sometimes a small bowl does double duty.  It’s partly symbolic, but mostly because it makes my morning coffee or evening tea that much better.  Sometimes a particular cup travels with me for a while, but usually they get rotated and replaced every trip as I have so many I’m trying to get to know :)  I’ve been collecting pictures of my pottery on peaks and beside campfires for a long time.

I’d like to see more of those photos.

At some point, somewhere in life, you have to draw a line.  Should everything be pure practicality, numbers, and spreadsheets?  Or can we live better?  Of course we choose the time and place and how, but I think it’s important to choose something.

A handmade cup or bowl may be a small act, but it seems to me life is nothing but the sum total of lots of small acts.

Very nice. Thanks for sharing those. I particularly like the one next to the Uco candle.

Thanks Matthew!

I like that shot too.  The cup is very simple; a matte olive glaze outside, brown inside, pretty simple shape, small foot, but I think it works.  I love looking back on these as I can remember everything; and then I pick those cups up some other time and they have a history.  As you can see, I’m a hopeless romantic.

Really, any ole cup would do, i suppose. Even a gas station coffee cup, if you want. But, i use the gsi infinity mug. Not the lightest, but it is very versatile, and insulated to keep things hot, or cold.

Also a fan of the GSI infinity mug. Hard to justify as UL at 3.6oz so I consider it my luxury item.

I like to get going in the morning, but I also must have a big cup of very strong and hot coffee, and I don’t like to gulp it quickly. With this cup I can hike at a leisurely pace and have my coffee, too.

Most times I’ve covered a mile or so by the time I’ve finished my coffee, and I can hook the handle into my pack’s waist belt and keep walking if I’m not ready to stop.

Those mugs are awesome, Craig!  I’d love to start a thread where folks showcase items they carry on trail to bring other aspects of their life on trail, particularly art.  It’s not exactly gear, though, so where? General Backpacking? Philosophy?  MYOG?

I love the pictures and thought of bringing a ceramic mug, but I know it would not last for me.

The only time I drink coffee or hot drinks is camping/backpacking.  We had a swiss foreign exchange student stay with us, and she brought several gifts for us.  One was a plastic honey container that I have re-purposed to be my hot drink cup, sometimes food cup.  With the added insulation (top and sides) it  weighs 1.4 oz.  I think it has a character of its own.  And I never worry about someone else thinking it is theirs . . .

I have used a plastic “measuring cup” camper’s style cup with hook style handle for decades. I need to measure water, etc. for cooking and I like that the cup dies not conduct heat (especially to my lips) so hot items stay hot longer than with metal cups.

This plastic cup nests inside a cut down ZipLoc fridge bowl and both fit inside my 3 cup pot.

Plus they are cheap!

As far as hot liquids and plastics go, I go for #5 (polypropylene) as from what I’ve read it withstands high temps better. Food safe, dishwasher safe, microwave safe. I don’t always take a coffee cup (sometimes I use my cookpot/mug Toaks Light 650 w/handles), but if I do decide on an “insulated” single-purpose coffee cup for 12-15 fl. oz I have found a 15-16oz Ricotta cheese container from Aldi (or maybe some other grocery stores) to be very lightweight (.69oz/19.5g w/lid) and suitable. A plus is that it’s about the diameter of a 12oz beverage can, so a thin foam cozy fits on it (my lightest/cheapest cozy weighed .22oz/6.15g), but must be stretched a bit as the ricotta container is slightly tapered.  I also found that some foil “peel-off” lids from packaging will nest perfectly into the lid to (possibly?) reflect a little bit of heat back down into the cup. Or you could always cut a circle of heavy duty alum. foil.   So about .91oz total.  And a nice diameter to fit your hand around. Now if only I could find a sippy lid that fit :)

I’ve been using a Coleman 12 oz plastic (polypro) cup that I scored at Wallyworld for around $1.50; weighs 1.3 oz.  Just the right size for a morning cup-o-joe or cocoa…my old 8 oz cup was just too small.  To keep things hot I stretched one of those free, promotional, neoprene beer can cozy thingies that banks or businesses give away over the cup for a total weight of 1.5 oz.  Not bad in terms of price and weight for an insulated mug!

For me, a MSR Titan Cup (52g) + MYOG Lycra sleeve (7g) (58g or 2.1oz total). Keeps my drink warm about a long as plastic. Not as good as double wall ti but much lighter/cheaper.

This does cost a lot more than plastic but it’s a lot nicer to drink from at the same weight.

I am surprised to see all the love for the GSI infinity mug.  It’s what I use too, but it is heavy.  Coffee is VERY important to me when camping and the GSI mug works well.  :)

Love my GSL Outdoors insulated mug.  Plastic inner with a cozy outer, web handle, and sippy hole on top.  3 oz.  $10.  Best 10 bucks I’ve ever spent.

Take a HDPE bottle (recycling #2) from your trash or dumpster dive at the recycling center.  Cut the top off.  Smooth the cut edges with fine sandpaper (or not).  It will weigh 15 to 25 grams.  Won’t burn your lips.  Slightly less hot to hold than a metal cup.

I recommend HDPE because it stands up to dish washer use and after that hot water wash with a caustic detergent and the hot water rinse, there won’t be any shampoo, conditioner, mustard, whatever left inside. And it will be easy to clean up between trips.

Here’s a 16-ounce Hydrogen Peroxide bottle that sells for $1.09 (new, with H2O2 in it) at Walgreens.  Use the H2O2 to clean some blood-soaked clothing or something and cut it down to a 14- or 15-ounce coffee mug.

The lip will be a little floppy on some bottles once cut, which is why I save the H2O2 bottles (after cleaning up the blood) because they are thicker than most consumer products bottles.  Also, fuel additives, HEET, and such also come in somewhat thicker-walled bottles, but then you’ll have to believe the chemical engineer at just how good dishwasher detergent is at removing oils (you know, doing what it does for your dishes!).  And those have the advantage that no one else will drink from your mug that once held toxic chemicals.

Advanced repurposing: you can cut a band from the container and jam it on as a second layer near the lip to stiffen up the opening.  And/or cut some strips and fashion a handle if that’s how you prefer to drink your coffee.

I will heartily UN-recommend the Sea to Summit Delta InsulMug.  The weight isn’t terrible for an insulated mug (4.1 ounces on my scale), but it doesn’t insulate very well, and the lid pops off at the slightest provocation.  My old Aladdin insulated mug (the kind you get at convenience stores) goes 4.9 ounces but at least it keeps my coffee warm.

My wife has one of the GSI infinity mugs, and it seems nice.  I may have to splurge.

And David, you’re worrying me!

I’m close to David on this.  A plastic Easy Mac container is perfect.  It has a thin layer of insulationg foam around the plastic.  Size is good.  Relatively durable.  It’s got a little bit of insulation.

I am surprised to see all the love for the GSI infinity mug.  It’s what I use too, but it is heavy.

There may be some confusion between the regular and “stackable” versions of the Infinity mug. The stackable version is entirely different and much lighter (~1.8oz).

As described on my blog, I can issue a stern warning not to buy the Evernew 300mL double wall ti mug. The Snowpeak 450 double wall is far better.

https://intocascadia.com/2015/10/10/reviewwarning-evernew-300ml-double-wall-ti-mug-eca354/

Foldacup is pretty awesome… $8 bucks on Amazon.

You might have one of these green 8 oz cups already in your garage. They come with cheap messkits and are widely available.

Or the 16 oz round ziplock container you can buy at any grocery store. If you want insulation around it Do DIY or check out AntigravityGear. com

Or use your cookpot.

https://www.rei.com/product/401090/open-country-plastic-measuring-cup

I have done exactly as Casey did. No, it is not the lightest cup but…

It is triple duty functioning as a measuring cup, coffee cup and bowl, working extremely well for all 3 functions.  You can precisely choose it’s volume when you make it.  It can hold the freezer bag as it rehydrates.  It insulates very well and drinking a hot cup of coffee from it in the morning is a pure joy.  I am at that point in my UL journey that I have no qualms about adding an oz here or there if it greatly improves comfort, this does.

I recently had a Kodiak brown bear finish my morning coffee for me. RIP (rest in pieces) my GSI Infinity… :^(

Probably best that you just let him have it.  I’ve heard they are quite grumpy before their morning coffee.  ;^)

Sorry about the mug. I too morn for your mug.