Thermos - 16 oz. Stainless King Travel Mug with Handle - Matte Midnight Blue - Matte Blue

I have for years been a fan of Contigo mugs, but they have one big drawback - if you accidentally drop one and it hits on the bottom edge, the seal at the top won’t ever work again. When I murdered my last Contigo I had trouble finding one with a handle (arthritis - it’s not fun for me to grasp around the body of the mug). So I took a chance on this Thermos. First: Thermos knows how to keep hot hot and cold cold, and whoever may be manufacturing these mugs under the Thermos label, they haven’t lost the knack. It keeps my coffee really hot for hours. Second, I like the way the valve works. Line it up so the ridge is in line with the handle and it is closed (securely!). Or 180 degrees, doesn’t matter, as long as it is in line with the handle. To open the valve for drinking, twist the ridge 90 degrees. The ridge only covers the radius, not the whole diameter, so when you’re drinking, the surface of the lid should be flat (-ish) where your mouth is, and ridged on the side opposite your mouth. But — what if you hold the cup in your other hand, so the ridge is against your mouth? well, you can turn it 180 degrees, very easily, so whichever hand you’re using to hold the mug, you can drink out of it with no fuss. So, basically, I love it. My only regret is that it only holds 16 ounces. I’d rather have 20 ounces so I never run out. But this is minor. Also minor — for my purposes — it’s not possible to get a straw in, for sipping blended iced mochas. But I suspect that’s the tradeoff for having the mug be truly nonspill. (WARNING: you do have to turn it to the locked position before you put it in your purse or tote bag! I have twice forgotten to do that. Not a flaw in the mug design, more a flaw in my brain. I haven’t dropped it yet, but it’s only a matter of time; when I do, I’ll see if I can update this review with the results. It’s seamless on the bottom, so maybe that means a fall won’t destroy the nonspill lid technology.