Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsUnfortunately, it did not live up to the Stanley name :-(
Reviewed in the United States on December 18, 2023
Revised review (April 2024): Maybe most people would feel good about getting 8-9 months of use out of a mug, but I'm disappointed. The mechanism that plugs the lid - whatever you call the piece that's disengaged when you pull the trigger - well, it finally gave up. I guess I could continue to use the mug and just accept that it now leaks if (when?) I turn it over, but I think the lid failure was a last straw. My overall review is that this an uncharacteristic fail from a highly reputable company, so I haven't given up on Stanley as a company, but I'm quite disappointed with this particular product...
Original review (December 2023): I purchased this mug about 4-5 months ago, and really liked it overall, so I'll start with the pros:
I love the color and texture. From the photos, I expected a combination of new and old, and that's what I got - a sort of modern take on the OG green one that I used when I was in the boy scouts in the early 90s. 5 stars for a good look.
It is leak-proof, exactly as advertised. Again, 5 stars.
It's not a "hot tomorrow" mug, like some that I see advertised, but It keeps my coffee hot for a long time. I'm definitely not a cold coffee kind of guy, and I've been pleasantly surprised on several occasions to find my coffee still hot after I've been preoccupied with a project for a couple of hours. 5 stars.
It doesn't get too hot like a number of other mugs I've had in the past, but the buffering is almost too good. I have a condition that makes me sensitive to cold, and the steel can get a little too cold to the touch in cold weather. I think this is a "gotta take the bad with the good" sort of thing, so 4.5 stars.
A minor and perhaps only personal issue that took some getting use to - the trigger is all the way at the top, which can have a slightly awkward feel in my hand. 3 stars.
It's fairly easy to disassemble and clean, and I like that it's dishwasher safe. I have another Stanley mug that's even more rugged, and every piece of that mug comes apart. Figuring out how to put my other Stanley back together the for the first time was a bit of a challenge, but this Stanley is much simpler and easier to reassemble. When I first received the mug, I was a little concerns that that the mechanism didn't appear to be very sturdy. After a few weeks of using the mug, I found that it was holding up just fine, so I dismissed the notion that there could be an issue with its durability.
However, this morning, approximately 4 months after I purchased the mug, I was cleaning the lid and a small piece of plastic fell out. It took me a minute to figure out where it came from, but finally I noticed the main outside part of the lid has three plastic rib-like structures, and the corners of two of the ribs had snapped off. I'm sure these ribs are an important design feature, as they appear to align with three slots on the inside of the detachable lid bottom, but as far as I can tell, the lid parts stayed connected when I reassembled, and the mug doesn't leak.
Regrettably, due to this recent discovery, I will have to return the mug, and I'm struggling to decide due to the long list of positives that I discussed above, I'm concerned that I may find myself in the same situation in a few months if I purchase the same product. It appears I have until the end of January 2023 to return the product, and I plan to contact Stanley customer service before I decide what to do about replacing. I will return to provide an update when available.