Is there a good Thermos for $30 or less?

I am looking for a Thermos for coffee for ice fishing this year. Can a good one be had for $30 or less? I'm not really expecting something to keep hot for 12 hours or more since my outings would be shorter than that. I don't want to get something that is going to be luke warm after 1-2 hours though. Any recommendations? I was initially looking at these on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0017IHRNM/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002YOQ40/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&smid=A2FP3WC79CXYXU

I have the first one, though I haven't used it in an ice fishing type of environment, and it keeps my tea hot for quite a while.

I have never had a problem with Thermos brand vacuum bottles. Always keep my stuff hot for a few hours. The key is to prime it first. Pour very hot water in it and let it sit for a few minutes before pouring in your hot beverage. This way the heat from the water will be used to wamr the air in the walls of the bottle as opposed to your beverage.

JoshuaNY said:

I have never had a problem with Thermos brand vacuum bottles. Always keep my stuff hot for a few hours. The key is to prime it first. Pour very hot water in it and let it sit for a few minutes before pouring in your hot beverage. This way the heat from the water will be used to wamr the air in the walls of the bottle as opposed to your beverage.

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+1, bought mine for like $20 at walmart. Works great!

It's similar to the first link but has a different finish. A hammered metal color

Nearly any metal body thermos will do ya. Preheat with boiling water. I don't care for those silly pour through stoppers... for coffee etc I like a narrow mouth because less cold wind can get inside and cool it down. Also carry TWO thermoses. Once you open it the first time, it starts cooling quick. So wait until you REALLY want some coffee or whatever is in your thermos, before opening it for the first time. Then you still got the unopened one, which will still be hot several hours later.

Using a shanty or tent, or are you sitting out in the open? If you got a shanty, consider a primus stove or even a wick-type kerosene stove or propane stove, and the makings for coffee. A Melitta Pour-over is compact and simple. One model, the "Ready Set Joe!" is only a couple of bucks and you can find it at the grocery store.

The Green Stanley Stainless Steel ones are great I got one that is over 40 years old and the other bout 30. They are built like a tank and my trick is to fill with boiling water then dump out the water and add your coffee. It will stay warm for most of the day.

Thanks for the advice guys.

I'm usually in portable houses. I have a heater going most of the time but it's probably a little too much messing around for me to bring a stove. I like to move around and it's just one more thing to pack up and drag around on the ice.

BTW I still have my Grandpa's old Stanley, from before they put handles on them. When handles came out, he had to have one too, so he made one for it out of band clamps and plexiglass. (He worked for Boeing at the time.) So I am pretty sure it dates from the 50's. He replaced the stopper I think in the early 70s because the rubber seal on the old ones didn't last as long as the later ones. Except for the handle and the stopper, it looks pretty similar to the green dimpled ones you can buy today. He passed on let's see... 1988 I think. So it is an heirloom as well as a practical piece of gear, and it does get used. Keeps coffee hot all day in the mild Louisiana winters.

Yep Slash they are build like tanks my Grandpaw took out a young man breaking into his car with his in the late 1970's ! Put the kid out cold and he got a 3 day stay in the hospital before getting a ride to the county jail.

Deltaboy said:

The Green Stanley Stainless Steel ones are great I got one that is over 40 years old and the other bout 30. They are built like a tank and my trick is to fill with boiling water then dump out the water and add your coffee. It will stay warm for most of the day.

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Same here, the Stanley is a great thermos. I saw some in Wal Mart that are labeled as lightweight and picked one up and it is lighter than my old ones.

Nearly any metal body thermos will do ya. Preheat with boiling water. I don't care for those silly pour through stoppers... for coffee etc I like a narrow mouth because less cold wind can get inside and cool it down. Also carry TWO thermoses. Once you open it the first time, it starts cooling quick. So wait until you REALLY want some coffee or whatever is in your thermos, before opening it for the first time. Then you still got the unopened one, which will still be hot several hours later.

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Another trick is to wrap that second one in a couple of towels, possibly even the first in a very cold environment. Any extra insulation, protection from the cold and wind will help it to retain heat better.

Deltaboy said:

The Green Stanley Stainless Steel ones are great I got one that is over 40 years old and the other bout 30. They are built like a tank and my trick is to fill with boiling water then dump out the water and add your coffee. It will stay warm for most of the day.

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This. See if you can get one of the old USA made ones second hand, they are better than the new Chinese version. If you hunt around there is another thread here were some of us did some testing on some different types.

Here it is...

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/278395-Good-Thermos?highlight=thermos

@david they are the best thermos's that you can get. they seem to hold the heat in for ever. but ive usually finished off a full thermos within 2 hours up the bush if its cold.

Legion is correct...the chinese authorized imitations of the original Stanley /Alladin are inferior in heat retention.The vintage thermos had an interior of very thick pyrex type glass,and was much heavier...if you find a vintage one simply look at the interior with a flashlight ,if the glass is fine you will have a real american icon .

Word has it the "Thermos" brand bottles work very well. Bought mine sometime back in the early 90's as my UNO-VAC had finally given up the ghost and the green Stanley Alladin just would not keep anything warm (let alone hot) for more than a few hours. My Thermos keeps a quart of coffee ridiculously hot for around 12-14 hours and at about 75% after 24 hours. The new "Stainless Steel King" can be had for about $25 and is reported to do an excellent job. Thermos also makes the Nissan bottle which keeps its contents hot for what seems forever. My Nissin is a 16 oz. model so nothing is usually in it for more than 8-10 hours but by that time what comes out is just as hot as what went in.

Acmemfg said:

Word has it the "Thermos" brand bottles work very well. Bought mine sometime back in the early 90's as my UNO-VAC had finally given up the ghost and the green Stanley Alladin just would not keep anything warm (let alone hot) for more than a few hours. My Thermos keeps a quart of coffee ridiculously hot for around 12-14 hours and at about 75% after 24 hours. The new "Stainless Steel King" can be had for about $25 and is reported to do an excellent job. Thermos also makes the Nissan bottle which keeps its contents hot for what seems forever. My Nissin is a 16 oz. model so nothing is usually in it for more than 8-10 hours but by that time what comes out is just as hot as what went in.

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You must have gotten a dud then because I never had any issues with The Stanley other than the stoppers start leaking after 15-20 years of use.

I have a Nissan vacuum bottle and a Stanley. They both work great. I normally only use the Nissan though because the Stanley is larger than my needs.

Omak said:

+1, bought mine for like $20 at walmart. Works great!

It's similar to the first link but has a different finish. A hammered metal color

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I also have this thermos, in Hammertone.
As long as you prime it with hot water beforehand, it will keep coffee hot for over 12 hours. It's very tough, too.
The only downside was I only found it at Wal-mart.

I like the Stanley Vacuum bottles too, but I think the ones close to 40oz is more then 30 bucks

You can find them used at garage or Estate sales.

Deltaboy said:

You can find them used at garage or Estate sales.

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Good point that would work, for whatever reason my first instinct is always "Buy New". I often forget about garage sales and the like