Purist Collective Maker 10 oz Mug Review

Many jumped on the stainless steel bandwagon when plastic bottles became taboo—or required a switch to BPA-free materials. However, it comes with its own quirks: namely, that your drink often gets a metallic flavor. While glass bottles seem the obvious alternative, since they don’t leach chemicals or imbue aftertastes, they leave a bit to be desired in terms of practicality and portability. For example, they’re not exactly what you want to toss to the ground with your travel backpack, or you may find a nasty surprise when you take another sip.

Purist Collective has found a happy medium by infusing its stainless steel bottles with a glass-like interior to keep your drink tasting, well, pure. Does silicone dioxide do the trick? Find your favorite beverage and read on to find out.

The Rundown

The Purist Collective Maker 10 oz Mug is one of three sizes offered by the brand: Maker, Mover, and Founder, which are, respectively, 10 oz, 18 oz, and 32 oz. We think of this 10-ounce version as more of a mug because of its size. While more people would reach for larger capacity bottles for water or similar hydration, many people look for smaller sizes to hold hot beverages. (And then there are those of us who need coffee in an IV drip. More on that later). With the included Scope Top, this one is definitely aimed more at hot beverage sippers than cold, though it also works perfectly well for chilled beverages.

And unlike that refillable mug you picked up at Walt Disney World, you probably won’t mind switching between drinks with a bottle from Purist Collective because of the bottles’ signature glass—or glass-like—lining.

While the outer wall of the Maker is 304 stainless steel, the inner wall is surgical-grade 316 stainless steel. And you’re welcome because we Googled for you: 316 stainless steel is more corrosion-resistant than 304, but it’s more expensive. So they put the higher-quality material closer to the liquid you’ll be ingesting and saved money by using a less expensive material on the outside.

Of course, the inside of the double-wall vacuum-insulated bottle is also lined with silicone dioxide with technology inspired by the lotus effect (please pause while we Google again … OK, here you go!), which refers to self-cleaning properties of the lotus flower, in which water droplets pick up dirt due to the micro- and nanoscopic architecture of the surface, which helps it to slide right off. In a similar fashion (Although please don’t ask us how! We’re gear testers, not scientists), Purist Collective transforms the silicone dioxide into a 60-nanometer-thick glass-like finish to create a barrier between your beverage and the stainless steel interior. It also reduces or eliminates the transfer of tastes between drinks, so you can switch from coffee to water to a carbonated beverage to beer, if you like, without turning your amber ale into a porter or tasting like it.

There’s minimal branding in the form of “Purist” written in all caps in silver toward the bottom of the bottle. We’re testing the Rush colorway, though it comes in six other muted colorways as of the time of this review.

The lid we’ve chosen is the Scope Top, which opens with a twist and allows you to drink from anywhere on the cap. It works great and keeps your beverage contained when closed, even if you shake it upside down, as you know we did! It’s also supposed to keep liquids hot for 12 hours and cold for 24, depending on the lid. However, coffee doesn’t last long enough in this cup to sit that long for our testers’ tastes. However, pouring in a cold beer later in the day, the brew retains its temperature for quite some time even with the lid off (as drinking a beer through a cap seems odd) without you having to freeze your hand holding a cold can. In fact, the bottle made the drink seem colder than it was when it left the fridge.

You can swap the lids, too, and Purist Collective sells them separately, so if you’d prefer a carry handle and don’t mind taking the cap off to drink from your bottle, choose the Element Top. If you still want a carry handle but don’t want to open it, opt for the Union Top, which has a spout that closes with an attached silicone cap, though you’ll forgo insulation. Purist Collective says all its bottles are leakproof, and you can check out our full review of the Purist Collective Mover 18 oz Bottle to learn more about that cap.

Oh, and we have to point out that Purist Collective doesn’t specify the material for the caps, although it says they’re BPA-free. Judging by that statement and how it feels, we’re going with plastic. Luckily, unlike other lids, these tops don’t seem to hang on to different smells and tastes, as long as you clean them regularly. There’s no separate pieces to remove; just open the Scope Top and let the water run through from the tap, and you’re good to go.

Oh, and we have to point out that Purist Collective doesn’t specify the material for the caps, although it says they’re BPA-free. Judging by that statement and how it feels, we’re going with plastic. Luckily, unlike other lids, these tops don’t seem to hang on to different smells and tastes, as long as you clean them regularly. There’s no separate pieces to remove; just open the Scope Top and let the water run through from the tap, and you’re good to go.

Packability

The Maker 10 oz Mug is a standard bottle width and fits easily in travel water bottle pockets on a travel backpack or daypack, in cup holders, and pretty much anywhere you want to stash it. And while we wouldn’t recommend tossing it near an electronic device, the leak-proofness (no, that’s not a word, but you get the gist) means you can even pack this in a tote or duffle bag with no specified bottle pockets and feel reasonably secure that your drink will survive. That’s especially true of the Element Top, and we think it would take a lot for something to accidentally unscrew the Scope Top too.

Speaking of which—if you’re heading out on a road trip and it’s your turn to take the 4 a.m. driving shift, it is possible to open this one-handed while your travel companion sleeps peacefully in the passenger seat. With the mug in a cup holder with a sturdy base (not the more flexible type that folds and unfolds if you pull out the tray), push down gently on the top as you give it a counter-clockwise turn. That will open it up, and then you can grab it and sneak a sip of java. Then place it back in the cup holder, push and turn the lid clockwise to close, and be on your way.

Quick Comparison

We’ve pulled out two of our other favorite travel mugs for comparison to give you an idea of how it stacks up to the competition.

The Snow Peak Kanpai Bottle 350ml, at 7.5 ounces for the cup and sipping cap, is two ounces lighter than the Purist Collective Maker Mug. It also holds more than 13 ounces instead of 10. That is one downside of the Maker; we want it to contain just a little more morning coffee, though jumping to the 18-ounce Mover seems overkill. The heft of the Maker can also trick you into thinking there’s still something left to sip, whereas you quickly know when the lightweight Kanpai is empty. The Kanpai also keeps hot beverages hotter for longer. Scalding, in fact, so that may not be something that bothers you. The Maker keeps beverages at a drinkable temperature long enough to finish the drink.

However, you can switch between different beverages without tasting the last one with Purist Collective’s Maker, unlike the Kanpai, which eventually ended up with a hint of coffee on the nose after our two-week test. Its cap seemed to hang onto it much more than the Maker’s lid and leaks, whereas the Maker does not. Kanpai comes with a second lid to prevent leaks, but the ultra-thin stainless steel lip of the bottle means it is not pleasant to drink from without the sipping lid.

Then there is the YETI Rambler 12 oz Bottle with Hot Shot Cap. It holds 12 ounces but weighs a full pound compared with the Maker’s 9.28 ounces. Plus, the Hot Shot Cap is quite tall and seems to require more force to open the lid to drink, though you can still sip wherever you like on the cap as you can with the Maker.

While all three are really great for your morning cuppa joe, we think the Purist Collective Maker may rise to the top—especially if the company bumps the capacity up to 12 or 13 ounces. Hopefully, they’re listening!