Camelbak Kickbak Insulated mug
Is the Camelbak Kickbak an insulated coffee mug, water bottle or camping pint glass? For us, it’s serving well doing all the above. Vacuum insulated with a double wall design to maintain the temperature of your drink, Camelbak claims it will keep drinks cold for 8 hours and hot for 4. While we have yet to fully test the accuracy of these claims, we made some iced tea, drank some, went to watch the Guardians of the Galaxy with some friends followed by drinks at a neighborhood pub and returned to the car to find our tea still contained ice. I’ve also gone to bed with ice in the mug and woke up to find my drink was not only still cold, but there was ice still left over.
Vanlife mug of choice: Camelback Kickbak
It’s pretty awesome to have on road trips, and with the versitality and ample volume, the Kickbak is our (hashtag) vanlife mug of choice. It’s impressive. That isn’t even the best part about the Kickbak; our favorite feature is the dual flip lid, which offers two different sized openings — one for sipping and one for chugging. It snaps out of the way for ease of use and the openings are perfectly sized. So far we both find we prefer the smaller opening as we haven’t spilled a sip yet.
Pre-ride ritual
Features (via Camelbak)
- Vaccuum insulation keeps beverages cold for 8 hours and hot for 4
- Splash-proof, dual flip lid is designed for hot and cold drinks
- Made with 18/8 stainless steel and naturally 100% BPA free
- Ergonomic grip, fits most cup holders
- Capacity: .6L/ 20 fl oz
- 3.3 x 3.3 x 7 inches
The Kickbak is offered in two sizes: models with 20 oz and 30 oz drink capacity. We find the 20 oz to be more than ample for our caffeine requirements. I’m not sure drinking 30 ounces of coffee in one sitting is a good idea anyway; more importantly it pairs well with the cup holders in our van. Although it looks big, it also fits well in the side pockets on my commuter rolltop pack.
The Kickbak is available in a variety colors.
It’s easy to clean, dishwasher safe and whether we’re toting coffee, tea or juice, has easily become our favorite drink carrier for weekends on the road. (disclaimer: I have yet to find out what coffee shops will charge to fill this thing)
Helpful tip: we always pre-cool or pre-heat insulated mugs before filling for maximum performance. (Insulated coolers work the same way)
Our main debate? The color. Inga has the orange model while I have the all stainless version. I toss mine in the backpack for rides to work and have found full stainless products take scratches and abuse better, simply because I can grab the steel wool and remove scratches.
The Camelbak Kickbak 20 oz lists for $29.00. Check it out at Camelbak.com or click here to order one now at Amazon.
Note: Upon viewing the insulated cup section at our local REI, we recently had the realization that we are actually using the larger 30 oz size and not the 20 oz, as originally posted.
