Thermos Nissan 26-Ounce Travel Companion Stainless-Steel Insulated Bottle

(1) Very convenient size. It fits well inside my briefcase, which is *not* especially capacious inside. It will probably fit in most similar cases except, of course, for those "portfolio" style bags with only an inch or so of room for papers.

(2) Keeps coffee hot all day. I make a pot of coffee in the morning at 7 or 8 am, then get to my office and start sipping at around 9 am. The coffee remains hot and enjoyable as late as 6 or 7 at night. (and probably even later than that...I simply have never had cause to find out because I don't like to keep drinking caffeine that late on a workday) Following directions to "preheat" the interior with hot water prior to use is not really necessary, but I've found that it gives the coffee a little bit of extra thermal "kick" when I do it.

(3) Easy to clean. I have found its stainless steel finish and poly cap/cup are very easy to take care of. Most of the time, simply rinsing it under hot water is enough. A few times I've used a kitchen sponge for a few seconds to clean the cap and threads, but that is seldom really needed.

Summary: this thermos has done exactly what I needed it to do, it's easy to take care of, and it will probably pay for itself if you use it in lieu of making trips to the corner coffeeshop. There are other bottles out there that might be better for food/soup, or might keep its contents hotter if you plan to leave the bottle for days at a time before drinking its contents. But for ordinary use like I described above, this thing is great & I'm glad I bought it.


Great thermos for coffee or tea   July 13, 2003
Steven Power (Colorado Springs, CO United States)
112 out of 114 found this review helpful

When I bought this bottle I had pretty high expectations because of previously owning a similar one, and having been issued a much larger one of the same type from the Army. The Nissan Travel Companion met my expectations completely. It will keep coffee hot for 48 hours if you need it to and are leaving it full for that time. The time degrades from that to about 8 hours if you are drinking the contents. If you fill the bottle with hot water, let it sit for a few minutes, to heat up the inside of the bottle, and then fill it with your coffee, it will stay hot for as long as you leave it full and unopened. Sounds silly, but try it.

Most days, I actually want to drink some of my coffee before the day has passed and the thermos works well for that too. I make a pot (7 cups will fit) in the morning, rinse the bottle out with very hot water, and I drink my coffee throughout the day. It is very hot for most of the day, into the evening. If a cup or two remain at the end of the day, they will not stay hot into the next morning. It only works for more then a day, if you leave it completely full, and don't open it until you want to drink it.

The bottle is well made. I've had it for almost 6 months now and use it every day. I even use it on weekends so I can turn my coffee pot off. It keeps the coffee fresher and just as hot as leaving it on the heating burner.

I only recommend this thermos (or any stainless steel bottle) for black coffee, tea, or hot water. Add your cream and sugar or whatever afterwords. Vacuum bottles are not dishwasher safe and it is dangerous to put food stuffs in it because you won't be able to get it completely clean. Coffee and tea can be rinsed out without a problem.

Summary. Keeps fluids hot for up to 8 hours of normal use. Up to 48 hours of full quantity storage. Very durable and drip proof. Not dishwasher safe, and should not be used with soup, cream, milk, or sugar.

Conclusion. Is day old coffee still "day old" if it is still piping hot?


Some Like it Hot; Some KEEP it Hot!   May 18, 2006
M. Allen Greenbaum (California)
39 out of 39 found this review helpful

Nissan Gets It Right

The travel thermos keeps liquids hotter than any similar container I've owned. What's going on here with this thermos that has drawn over 40 (mostly rave) reviews? How does hot stay hot, and cold stay... cold?

* There's a solid, double steel wall, but it's light and portable.

* A tightly fitting screw-on cap (which doubles as an almost six- ounce container)

* A reduced--but still 26 ounce--volume (compared to the big old lugs we're used to) helps maintain temperature.

* This is the real deal. Six hours later and coffee is still hot, a day later and it's at least warmer than room temperature.


Preheat and Screw it Tight. No, this is not a song by Archie Bell and the Drells. Just a couple of suggestions to get the most out of your thermos.

* Preheat the thermos by filling it with hot water before filling it with a hot drink; fo the opposite for cold. This helps the contianer do its job, and takes just a few seconds. However, it is not necessary to ensure a hot (or cold--let's not forget the cold!) drink

* Please be sure to tighten the lid all the way. I've ruined a few books with a container that I mistakenly thought was sealed. My bad-it's easy to close, just don't rush it.

It's Practical, Too.
* The light, smaller size makes this ideal for backpacking when you hike or bicycle. Moreover, the reduced weight and tapered design make this easy to hold, even without the handle on the more traditional but heavier Nissan thermos.

Problems.
* None. I've had no problems with odor, cleaning, or anything with this. An ideal gift item, as reliable and appreciated as your favorite drink.


Best travel "Thermos" out there   January 23, 2005
Marvin Gozum (Phila, PA USA)
23 out of 23 found this review helpful

I was quite frustrated by many similar designs that just didn't seem to work right, although at the time I had no idea how good a travel "thermos" should be. I thought all these 'munition' styled insulated bottles were made the same, but clearly they aren't.

The lid on my current travel thermos broke and I was in the market for a new one, and by accident ran into the Amazon reviews. I couldn't believe the claims. But it made sense, considering "clone" bottles cost half to 1/3rd the price of the Nissan Stainless, maybe clones weren't made with similar standards.

I tried similar designs from Starbucks, Dicks Sporting Goods, and a kitchen supply store and none could keep liquids warm past 4 hours, much less hot. They all came with fancy pour spouts, a spring loaded pop-up or insta-open fancies that all broke in 1-2 years and were very difficult to clean [coffee in the spring mechanisms was impossible to clean without disassembling the non-user serviceable spouts]. What ever happened to a simple cork like cap?

I was surprised by the Nissan. As it use is for travel, weight and size is important so while a tad bigger and heftier, keeping liquids _hot_ at least 8 hours or longer was far more important, and it did that very well. It had a simple screw on cap, that was superbly easy to clean. This is the one year anniversary of my bottle, and I couldn't be more happier. It has many dings and bumps today, dropped numerous times, treated without respect as it goes through hell all day and still rocks!

Some quickie notes to help other readers:

Heat retention: although this is claimed to past 12 hours, it depends on how much liquid remains in the bottle. The energy of the remaining liquid is extracted faster than if the bottle were full. If you don't precharge the bottle with boiling water for at least 10 minutes or longer, the liquid won't stay hot as long either. I drink small 'sake' size sips of coffee all day at work and with this bottle, 8 hours is the norm.

Cleaning: for stainless steel, a simple method of removing coffee stains is baking soda, i.e., sodium bicarbonate ... it neutralizes the acids and the stains literally strip away from stainless steel. A tablespoon added to boiling water, soak for half hour or longer [for best results, recap the bottle and leave overnight] will restore a new shine with little to no scrubbing.

Excellent product, it could last forever!


great bottle, poor cup   January 24, 2001
18 out of 24 found this review helpful

The insulated bottle is excellent--keeps coffee piping hot, and there is no glass to break, seals to leak, etc. Unfortunately, the cup is not at all insulated, so you can't pick it up for a few minutes after you pour the hot coffee into it. For a $35 thermos, I expected better.