Review: Vibrant Living Insulated Travel Mug

Product Link: Vibrant Living Insulated Travel Mug
Vendor: Yoon Enterprise
Price: $19.25

When we think about vacuum insulated bottles, most people are more familiar with Zojirushi.  You see it in Asian supermarkets, or you find it highly recommended it.  Now comes Vibrant Living Insulated Travel mug that looks very similar to a Zojirushi but slightly cheaper in cost.

Pros:

• Works for both hot and cold beverage
• Built-in holding ring
• Drink directly from bottle without opening top

Cons:

• Lack of color options

Package Includes:

• Vibrant Living Insulated Bottle
• Thank you / Warning

The bottle arrives in a white corrugated box.  On the outside of the bottle lists the name Vibrant Living and the color of the bottle on one side.  Opening the box, I found the bottle inside a thin plastic bag.  When you removed the bag you'll find a very nice sleek looking bottle with the Vibrant Living name printed near the bottom of the bottle.  The bottle is approximately 9.5" tall with circumference at 8.5".  It looks like Vibrant Living chose to design a bottle that's taller rather than wider hence the height.  This design while tall makes it easier to hold in the middle.

Now I didn't realize that this has a locking mechanism on the bottle.  I kept pressing the red button and expected the top to flip open.  Unfortunately after 3 hard presses it wouldn't open and I fear the worst.  I thought I received a defective bottle!  UGH!  I finally realized that the area around the red push button is actually a plastic lock.  From above the button, pull back the black plastic.  Then follow up by pushing the red button and flip top will open to reveal the sippy area.  Sippy area is white and made of plastic and almost 1.5" deep.  The hole opening for the liquid to pass through wasn't too big, I would say about the same as a straw.  I think this is a good design for hot beverages since it helps to prevent too much liquid from coming out when you tilt the bottle to drink.

On the top of the bottle is a folded holding hook.  Flip it up and you can now hold it by the hook or hang it against your backpack.  I have to admit you don't see much of this design anywhere so it was nice to have.  I do think they could make some improvements and make the hook a little thicker.  It's a bit thin and I worry about breaking it after a while.

Before using the bottle, I followed the Thank you / Warning note.  I washed the bottle and also soaked it in hot lemon water overnight before using.  One thing to note with washing the bottle, you need to have a long brush that can fit into the 1.5" opening otherwise it's very tough to clean.

I'm using this bottle for water only.  I don't like to mix different beverages with the bottles I use as I think no matter how well you are cleaning bottles, the taste of different beverages still resides in the bottle.  Anyway, on a cold day I filled it with hot water and take it on my commute.  I was sipping the hot water throughout the day since my office is typically freezing.  I did finish my bottle of water after about 6hrs.  While it wasn't piping hot by the time I finished my water, it was still warm.  I'm ok with this since I really don't want the water to stay scalding hot when I use it.

Now on a hot day I filled the bottle with cold water and ice cube.  I actually filled the ice cube to the top and then fill the leftover space with cold water I keep in the fridge.  Again I drank the water or ate ice cubes throughout the day.  I'm typically done with the bottle within 6-7hrs.  My water was cold throughout the time.  Again, even though the bottle is advertised as keeping cold for 24hrs, I don't really need it to last that long. 

Overall, I'm really happy with the water bottle and felt that it lived up to the description.  I do wish they had more color options though!  I would like to get different colors for family members.

Product Link: Vibrant Living Insulated Travel Mug
Vendor: Yoon Enterprise
Price: $19.25

Disclosure: I was provided this Vibrant Living Insulated Travel Mug for testing purposes.  I'm not obligated to write positive reviews so my opinions are based on actual usage of the product.