Klean Kanteen Rise Tumbler 16 oz Review

Klean Kanteen is a family- and employee-owned company prioritizing the planet’s well-being with sustainable products. The company is Climate Neutral certified, a 1% for the Planet member, and a certified B Corp. In short, Klean Kanteen works to meet high social and environmental standards and invests 1% from every sale to help organizations focusing on plastic pollution, safe consumer products, conservation and climate, and outdoor stewardship. So if you’re a sustainable, Earth-friendly packer, you’ll want to keep reading. And if you’re not? Maybe you just need a new cup to hold your morning smoothie or coffee.

So the company has lofty goals and has created products to help it reach them. How does the Rise Tumbler work in practice, though? Let’s find out.

The Rundown

The Rise 16 oz Tumbler is 90% post-consumer recycled 18/8 stainless steel, so it’s already off to a good start when it comes to eco-friendliness. Add a nontoxic, chip-resistant Klean Coat® finish, and you’ve got a nice-looking mug ready to hit the road.

We have the Tofu colorway, a neutral blend of gray and taupe, but it also comes in Sea Spray (two shades of green), Stellar (two shades of blue), and Autumn Glaze (two shades of rusty, orangy-red), as of the time of this review. In each case, the splash-proof flip lid matches to create a nice-looking, Earth-tone cup.

The matte finish on the outside of the tumbler is super smooth and comfortable to hold, and it’s not slippery like shiny finishes can be, which is great. The broad base fits easily in cup holders and has resisted any chipping or denting throughout our testing period. However, there is a circle outlining where it routinely sits down where the coating is either accumulating dirt that cannot be scrubbed off or starting to wear away. There is also one spot where the two colors meet in the middle where it seems the finish didn’t quite make it entirely over the lip of the stainless steel, but it hasn’t spread any further during testing, so we hope it was just a production error in our sample.

Klean Kanteen says the tumbler will keep hot beverages hot for 6 hours and iced drinks cold for 23 hours, and we find that to be fairly accurate—or at least it probably would be if you leave the lid closed the entire time.

Ah, the lid. While the remainder of the tumbler is easy and ergonomic to use—and the lip is even comfortable to sip from without the cover—the lid itself is problematic.

It’s a splash-proof flip-top lid, but it’s not leak- or spill-proof. Liquid will leak out if you fill it up and tip it over. However, if you’re pushing a stroller or shopping cart with it in the cup holder or driving over a bumpy dirt road, your drink won’t splash out if it is closed. And if you’re driving on your next road trip, it’s easy to flip up and open one-handed.

To install the lid, you simply push it down the top of the tumbler. It has a silicone gasket to create a seal around the edges, which is removable for cleaning.

Its wide mouth lets your drink cool more quickly and accommodates a straw if you’re sipping something cold or drinking a smoothie. However, that wide mouth, and the thicker lip created by the lid, make it tricky to actually drink from the tumbler. It feels like you have to tip the cup further to get your drink, and then it can spill out. We have to say that happens less with practice, and if you act like you’re drinking from an open mug instead of a travel tumbler, you’ll get the hang of it faster.

Unfortunately, no amount of practice will change the fact that condensation accumulates on the silicone seal attached to the flip-up portion of the flip-top lid. Many users find their noses hit that seal with every sip, leaving an uncomfortable and unsightly drop of moisture each time. The beverage you’re drinking also leaves a residue over the outside edge of the tumbler with every sip, which can accumulate into a few drips if you’re not careful, spilling down the outside of the cup.

We also have to mention that, over a few weeks of drinking coffee, water, and tea, no amount of soaking or scrubbing can completely eliminate the scent and, to a lesser extent, the taste of the liquid previously inside. And let us tell you, the odor of black coffee mixed with Earl Grey tea is not very pleasant.

Packability

As stated in its name, the Klean Kanteen Rise Tumbler can hold 16 ounces of liquid, which we find to be a great size whether you’re a coffee connoisseur or want to hit your daily hydration goal. And if that size isn’t your cup of tea? Rise comes in five other shapes and sizes designed for wine, coffee, or a cocktail. All but the wine tumbler include the same lid, though.

The 16-ounce tumbler weighs about 10 ounces, so it’s not very heavy to hold and fits in most cup and bottle holders, whether in a vehicle or on a backpack. Sliding this into the water bottle pocket of a travel daypack is not the best move, though, as the lip of the lid can catch on the edge of the pocket and flip up, which, of course, means your drink will spill. However, it works fine to carry it home if it’s empty.

Quick Comparison

Comparing the Klean Kanteen Rise 16 oz Tumbler to a few other pieces of insulated drinkware, the pros and cons are better highlighted.

The Purist Collective Maker 10 oz Mug is leak-proof and has a thin glass coating on its stainless steel interior to prevent taste transfer. It does a great job at this; so great, in fact, that it can be difficult to ignore the metallic taste of other drinkware when you switch. While the Purist Collective’s lid also began to accumulate odors after a few weeks of testing, it didn’t rise to the level that the Klean Kanteen Rise Tumbler did.

However, the Rise Tumbler is much easier to open one-handed since the Maker Mug requires a twist to open, and we like the in-between size of the Rise. Purist Collective offers an 18-ounce bottle in addition to the 10-ounce mug, and something in the 14-16-ounce range is nicer not to have to refill a drink every hour while not being overly large.

The Hydro Flask 12oz Coffee with Flex Sip Lid is a similar weight as the Rise Tumbler, though the Flex Sip Lid is spill-proof, so you can slide it into the bottle pocket of your bag without worrying about moisture seeping out. It can still take on the taste of your coffee or strong-flavored beverage after a time, like the Rise, but it won’t get your nose wet when you drink, and you can take it apart into four pieces for a deep clean.

Overall, if you’re looking for an environmentally-friendly option and mostly drink one beverage from your cup, the Klean Kanteen Rise 16 oz Tumbler is a nice-looking, easy-to-hold choice. You just may want to ditch the lid when you can or pack extra tissues to wipe your nose.