Contigo Autoseal Fulton Stainless Steel Desk Mug, 12-Ounce - WLO130A01

I bought this mug because I was looking for a good insulated cup or mug for my mother to use on her walker. 

Many insulated mugs are tall and narrow, which leads to poor stability when used on a walker that’s being used for walking!  Also, an easy-to-seal lid is needed to keep the liquid from sloshing out along the way. 

This mug is wider and shorter than many of the alternatives, which improves its stability on the walker.  Also, the screw-on lid has a spring-loaded mechanism that keeps the lid sealed whenever a lever built into the handle is not being pressed down.  So, even if it should tip over or fall, it probably won’t spill. 

On paper, this looked like an ideal solution, except for one small disadvantage, which is that, because the mug is metal, it can’t simply be put in the microwave to reheat the drink.  Instead, I need to transfer the liquid to a ceramic mug and heat it up, then pour the liquid back, however, this doesn’t take too much time additional time, and overall it works out well. 

In actual use, we discovered that leaks can occur if the mug is already held up to one’s mouth and tilted before pressing down on the lever. 

The mug is sealed when the lever is not touched at all.  When the lever is firmly depressed, the drinking/air holes are open and it operates properly for drinking.  However, when the lever is in-between (in the process of being pressed or released), there is third leakage path that is open and can allow liquid to leak out of the mug and run down the inside of the handle (which is hollow) and leak out of the bottom of the handle.  (This did happen a few times before we figured out what was causing it.) 

This can become an issue because the most natural behavior seems to be to raise the mug to one’s lips and then figure out what to do with the handle.  Pressing the lever when the mug is already tilted allows this leak to occur. 

So, just remember to make sure that the lever is firmly depressed whenever the liquid could be coming in contact with the lid.  Also, when finished drinking, remember to keep the lever depressed until the mug is nearly vertical again so that any small amounts of liquid still pooled in the top of the lid have a chance to drain back into the mug. 

The mug uses a double-walled design, so it does keep liquids hot or cold much longer than an ordinary mug.   However, the insulation isn’t quite as good as a Thermos mug that I have to compare it with.  This may be due to a difference that I can see in the construction.  In the Thermos mug, the inner metal wall appears to attach to an insulating gasket that in turn connects to the outer wall.  The Contigo mug has continuity of metal surfaces as the inner metal wall attaches directly to the outer metal wall.  Since heat conducts relatively well through metal, the heat can leak from the inside of the mug to the outside just a bit more easily with the Contigo mug than the Thermos.  It’s a minor point since the insulation is pretty good, though not quite the very best. 

The mug will work with either right-handed or left-handed use, since there are two holes in the lid that are un-sealed when the lever is depressed.  The liquid can exit from the lower hole while air enters the upper hole (the holes are made the same way so each hole can function either way). 

To see if this mug will fit into a cup-holder, you may find the following measurements useful:
     Diameter at base:  3.3 inches
     Height of the bottom of the handle:  about 1 5/16 inches

Recommend this product? Yes