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Reviews > Cook and Food Storage Gear > Cooking Accessories > Stanley Nineteen 13 Vacuum Bottle > Test Report by Brett Haydin

STANLEY NINETEEN13 VACUUM BOTTLE
TEST SERIES BY BRETT HAYDIN
LONG-TERM REPORT

INITIAL REPORT - April 01, 2010
FIELD REPORT - June 08, 2010
LONG TERM REPORT - August 10, 2010

TESTER INFORMATION

NAME: Brett Haydin
EMAIL: bhaydin AT hotmail DOT com
AGE: 37
LOCATION: Salida, Colorado, USA
GENDER: M
HEIGHT: 5' 11" (1.80 m)
WEIGHT: 195 lb (88.50 kg)
TORSO: 19.5 in (50 cm)
WAIST: 36 in (91 cm)

I started backpacking in Wisconsin as a youth, being involved in the Boy Scouts programs. As a young adult, I worked at a summer camp leading backpacking, canoeing and mountain biking trips. I now generally take short weekend or day trips in rough, mountainous terrain, although I have extensive experience in the upper Midwest as well. I take one or two longer trips each year, where I typically carry about 40 lb (18 kg). I prefer to be prepared and comfortable, but I have taken lightweight trips as well.


INITIAL REPORT

PRODUCT INFORMATION & SPECIFICATIONS

nineteen13
Photo courtesy of manufacturer

Manufacturer: Pacific Market International
Year of Manufacture: 2010
Manufacturer's Website: www.stanley-pmi.com
MSRP: US $25.00
Listed Weight: N/A
Measured Weight: 11.5 oz (326 g)
Listed Volume: 16 fl oz (473 ml)
Measured Height: 9 1/8 in (23 cm)
Measured Diameter: 2 3/4 in (7 cm)

Other details provided by manufacturer:


  • Double wall construction. Survives any mission.
  • Vacuum insulation. Keeps liquids at full steam for 6 hours.
  • Plastic lid. Doubles as 6 oz (177 ml) cup.
  • Stainless steel. Built tough. No liners/ coatings.

INITIAL IMPRESSIONS

as delivered
Stanley Nineteen13 Vacuum Bottle


The Stanley Nineteen13 Vacuum Bottle is a vacuum insulated bottle designed to keep hot beverages warm and cold beverages cold. Nineteen13 is a new line of Stanley products in 2010 which according to the manufacturer "fuses intelligent function with a bold new character." The bottle is constructed of stainless steel and has an attractive design printed on the outside. Mine has the name "Stanley" is some sort of script, but there are a number of designs available, including a great, big, snarling bear!

The bottle itself consists of the stainless steel bottle, a screw on cap that serves as a mug, and the stopper which has a silicone gasket. Both the stopper and the cap are made of molded plastic, however the handle on the mug has an opening that is lined with a softer material that feels a bit like rubber. I like this because it provides good traction for my fingers so I should be able to hold it well!

To be honest, I could find absolutely no flaws in the construction of the bottle and it looks just as I expected after viewing the website. I was recently introduced to the joys of bringing along a vacuum bottle by a hiking partner on a recent winter camping trip. I had no idea what to expect in terms of weight, but knowing that this was a luxury item, I am pleasantly surprised by the relatively modest weight. The classic Stanley vacuum bottle of the same volume, the one my father took with him to work, is listed as more than twice the weight!

READING THE INSTRUCTIONS

There really were no instructions of note included with the bottle other than what is stamped on the bottom of the bottle. The first seemed rather obvious to me: do not microwave. The other note is to "hand wash only." I have already warned my wife that this particular bottle is to remain OUT of the dishwasher!

TRYING IT OUT

It just so happened that I took a group of youth skiing and snowboarding shortly after receiving the Nineteen13 Vacuum Bottle. I filled the bottle up with steaming hot coffee at 8:00 AM, just before I left the house. I was able to enjoy a steaming mug of coffee at noon and again at 3:00 PM. While the manufacturer claims it keeps liquids warm for 6 hours, mine lasted to 7 hours!

Thanks to a growing baby at home, I was able to measure out two 8 oz (237 ml) bottles and pour them into the mug. When I screwed the cap on there was a small amount of liquid that came out. I am not 100% sure if it was user error because on subsequent attempts it did not spill over. My impression is that the volume claim is accurate, at least within my expectations.

SUMMARY

I am pretty stoked to use this bottle on my upcoming backpacking trips. If the claims are to be true throughout the testing period, I should be able to enjoy hot coffee, apple cider or any number of great beverages throughout the cold days to come.

I would like to thank Stanley, Pacific Market International and all the folks at BackpackGearTest.org for allowing me to be a part of this test series. Please check back in two months from the date on this report to see how well the bottle is performing.


FIELD REPORT

FIELD LOCATIONS AND CONDITIONS

During the past two months, I have used the Stanley Nineteen13 Vacuum Bottle on three additional overnights as well as some early morning summit attempts. My first trip was an unsuccessful winter ascent of Mount Antero in the San Isabel National Forest of Colorado. The trail was almost completely snow packed; well for much of the hike it was really just a snow-covered jeep road. I camped at just over 11,000 ft (3,350 m) with mild temperatures dipping to 20 F (-7 C). For most of the trip I was in snowshoes due to soft snow conditions. The overall distance of the hike was only 8 mi (13 km).

My second trip was also in the San Isabel National Forest in Colorado in the vicinity of Brown's Creek. The temperatures were mild from between 30 and 50 F (-1 and 10 C) with sunny skies and breezy conditions. My campsite was at approximately 10,500 ft (3,200 m) in subalpine forest conditions. There was a small amount of snow about the area, but the trails were mostly clear.

My final trip was into Missouri Gulch in the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness in Colorado. Temperatures were unseasonably warm; between 50 and 80 F (10 and 27 C) with mostly sunny skies. I camped at 11,750 ft (3,600 m) in an alpine meadow.

During the first part of the testing period, I encountered quite a bit of snow and took two snowshoe hikes on local trails. As the weather warmed up I have also taken three other day trips where I encountered variable conditions. One trip was a successful summit of Mt Antero which I earlier had noted above where I conditions ranged from dry conditions at the trailhead to snow summit conditions requiring crampons and an ice axe. I also used the vacuum bottle to store ice water on a short mountain bike ride in 80 F (27 C) conditions.

PERFORMANCE IN THE FIELD

IMAGE 1
Mountain Biking with the Nineteen13
Over the past two months I have used the Nineteen13 to store hot liquids almost exclusively. While on the trail I have used it to make spiced apple cider to drink in the cold, but I also have used it to store coffee in the morning at work. While I haven't performed any scientific tests yet, I can state that I have observed steaming hot spiced apple cider 9 hours after making it on my hike up Antero. I admit that this far exceeds my expectations! I did observe that overnight the piping hot liquids cooled down considerably, but still did not get cold.

My sister came up for a visit on Memorial Day Weekend so we took advantage of the warm temperatures to take a mountain bike ride along the Broken Boyfriend trail in Buena Vista, Colorado. Thinking ahead I packed in some ice and water into the Nineteen13 to see how cool the water would remain. I was genuinely surprised at how the vacuum bottle performed. Not only did it keep the water cool on the bike ride, but there was still a bit of ice remaining in the bottle the following morning! The bottle also fit snugly in the bottle holder on my mountain bike as the photo to the right shows. As a follow up experiment, I filtered water from spring melt water directly into the Nineteen13 while camping in Missouri Gulch. It was great to celebrate my summit of Mt Belford with a very cool sip of water!

I was a little concerned early on in the testing about the aftertaste from drinking out of the bottle. There was a bit of a metallic taste, but after multiple washings this has gone away. I have been very careful to rinse out the bottle and to wash the bottle after using other liquids such as coffee. Despite this, I have noticed a very faint lingering taste of either coffee or apple cider from time to time. I suppose it could be human error on my part, but it really has not bothered me.

The durability has been remarkable. I had the misfortune of dropping the Nineteen13 down a gully I was preparing to glissade down while on my day hike of Antero. I watched in horror as I the bottled bounced and slid down over 200 ft (60 m) coming to a stop at a convenient rock sticking out of the snow. When I got down to the bottle I could hardly believe that aside from a very small dimple on the bottom, there was hardly a scratch! Amazing!

I have found the cup to be easy to drink out of and that the handle is easy to grasp, even with a gloved hand. Pouring the liquids into the cup has been a piece of cake as well.

SUMMARY

I am really happy with the Nineteen13 so far. This has become worth its weight as a luxury item of sorts. Enjoying hot liquids while hiking in the winter and ice cold beverages in the summer is worth the extra ounces in my book. The bottle has proven to be exceptionally durable and is very stylish. My only concern has been the taste from time to time. I will try to be more diligent in caring for the bottle, especially after returning from the trail.

I would like to extend my gratitude to Stanley PMI as well as the folks at BackpackGearTest.org for allowing me to be a part of this test series. Please check back in two months to see how the bottle performs after another two months of hiking and fun in the sun!


LONG-TERM REPORT

LONG-TERM TEST LOCATIONS AND CONDITIONS

Over the past two months, I have brought the Nineteen13 along on on two additional backpacking trips as well as four day hikes. All told, I have logged five trips over ten days as well as seven additional days of hiking. It has been brought along snowboarding trips, mountain biking and occasionally to the office.

The first trip I took was an annual trip up Longs Peak in the Rocky Mountain National Park. The elevation was 9,400 - 14,255 ft (2,865 - 4,345 m) on rocky alpine terrain. With the temperatures ranging from 80 to 40 F (26 to 4 C) and conditions from sunshine to snow pellets we needed to be prepared for anything. While it was quite windy at the time the overall conditions were fine.

The second trip I took was a car camping trip to Kite Lake near Alma, Colorado to summit several fourteeners. The lake is at roughly 12,000 ft (3,700 m) and the temperatures were rather mild. It reached 70 F (20 C). The hike itself was about 7 mi (11 km) over rocky, alpine terrain.



PERFORMANCE IN THE FIELD

I would have to say that my opinion of the nineteen13 vacuum bottle has remained nearly unchanged since my field report. This bottle does a remarkable job at holding temperatures over time. The metallic taste seems to be more pronounced when drinking straight water as I barely notice any taste when drinking coffee or spiced apple cider. I asked my hiking partner to share some of my cider (with a little spiced rum additive) and he thought it tasted fine.

As I mentioned in my last report I have put more effort into rinsing the bottle and cleaning it more thoroughly these past two month. I have noticed that the lingering taste of coffee is gone so I can attribute that to carelessness.

Despite falling out of my pack several times now, the bottle remains intact and hardly the worse for wear. The seal remains intact and the bottle does not leak. Indeed, durability is not a concern whatsoever! My only really noticeable concern is that the water does not pour evenly at first. Since I have a child still drinking from a bottle, I have also used the vacuum bottle to store hot water. When trying to transfer water to the baby bottles, the first bit of water splashes all around. This hasn't been a very major concern, but is worth noting.

SUMMARY

The good:


  • Keeps liquids at temperature for a long time
  • Very durable
  • Not extremely heavy for a vacuum bottle


The could be better:

  • Slight taste of metal especially with plain water.
  • Could be a little easier to pour out of

CONTINUED USE

I will most definitely carry this vacuum bottle along with me on all my winter trips from now on. It was a cute novelty to bring along in the summer but it really wasn't practical for me where I already have cool mountain streams.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Stanley PMI as well as the folks at BackpackGearTest.org for allowing me to be a part of this test series. This has been a very enjoyable test!

This report was created with the BackpackGearTest.org Report Writer Version 1.5 Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.

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