6 Expert-Reviewed Zojirushi Stainless Steel Travel Mug SM-SA48 Picks for 2026

Customer Review: “Sleek, fits in your purse and drink holders. Lovely color, a bluish green, not the turquoise blue in the photo. I like the green. Lid comes apart in two pieces, very easy to clean. Looks stylish in design, compact, light. Keeps liquids warm a long time about 8 hrs. Not as long as my Thermos flask, but long enough for a day out. If you fill to the top, it stays warm longer. I half-fill it with coffee, and it still stays warm a very long time. Price could be cheaper. But it is excellent quality and I am very pleased.”

Customer Review: “These are very nice and maintain temperature very well. Hot coffee is still very hot 4 hours later. It closes securely with no leaks. The lock is nice if you’re dropping it in a bag or something. Looks great and is just an all around well made item. I ended up ordering a couple more.”

Customer Review: “Sleek, fits in your purse and drink holders. Lovely color, a bluish green, not the turquoise blue in the photo. I like the green. Lid comes apart in two pieces, very easy to clean. Looks stylish in design, compact, light. Keeps liquids warm a long time about 8 hrs. Not as long as my Thermos flask, but long enough for a day out. If you fill to the top, it stays warm longer. I half-fill it with coffee, and it still stays warm a very long time. Price could be cheaper. But it is excellent quality and I am very pleased.”

Customer Review: “These are very nice and maintain temperature very well. Hot coffee is still very hot 4 hours later. It closes securely with no leaks. The lock is nice if you’re dropping it in a bag or something. Looks great and is just an all around well made item. I ended up ordering a couple more.”

Customer Review: “This is the best water bottle I’ve ever used. I love the fact that I can put ice in from the refrigerator dispenser without having it fall all over the place; nearly 3” is the perfect size opening for doing this and almost every other water bottle has a tiny opening which makes ice fall on the floor when you try to fill it from a refrigerator dispenser. The outside of the bottle stays warm to the touch while the inside temperature of the water bottle remains ice cold when you put ice in it. It’s pretty amazing how it works. I fill it about halfway full of ice and add cold water to the fill line, screw the cover back on and head to work around 7:30 am. This water bottle stays in my car until I get home from work usually around 5:30 pm. I’ll open it several times during the drive to take sips, but it remains seated in the cupholder where it fits well in the vehicle. My vehicle has been parked in a parking lot with all windows rolled up in the scorching heat the last few weeks with outside temperatures approaching 90 degrees. I imagine the inside temperature of the vehicle is much hotter. When I get back out to my car after work the bottle is warm to the touch on the outside, but when I take a sip of water it is still just as cold as it was the morning I poured it and the ice is still in there, with very little melting. I have not put warm liquids in this bottle yet so I’m not sure how well it keeps liquids warm. The lock and seal on this bottle are both well engineered. I have never had any leaking or accidental top opening and would feel confident in throwing this bottle in a bag knowing it won’t leak. The lid and seal can be removed to hand wash, but I wouldn’t put it in the dishwasher if you want the seal to stay in good condition. This bottle is my go to bottle now at home and at the office, but it is a must have if you travel. Definitely worth the money you pay and based upon my experience with other similar products this blows the Yeti Rambler out of the water in terms of ice/cold water retention. Fantastic product.”

Customer Review: “I didn’t see any reviews so I thought I would add one. If you’re interested in this model the SM-YAE48, I’m guessing you’ve had good experience with one of the previous models. I have use the older model SM-KHE48 (slicksteel version) for about 3 years and have loved it. The last update of this mug added a teflon coating so I didn’t buy it. This new one does not have any coating – just the polished “slicksteel”.It’s a little different design, where the lid does not come apart. It’s one piece, only the rubber gasket seal on bottom and rubber stopper in the flip cap come out. The older version came apart which made it easy to clean. In spite of not being able to take apart this version, there doesn’t seem to be areas that will be difficult to clean. This lid sits in the thermos, the older version screwed on top of it.The one part I don’t like in this and the previous versions is that there is an indentation on the very bottom inside that seems to attract stains along the edges after awhile. Would be better if the bottom were smooth.Overall, it’s wider and more stout than previous versions – it fits in the cup holder better on my vehicle. Keeps coffee hot all day, doesn’t spill – lid has a pretty bullet proof lock. The lid opens all the way back (further that 180 degrees) so the stopper never hits you in the nose while drinking and you can still see while driving. Great mug – $20 better than the previous version? …probably not, unless having your mug not rattle around in your cupholder is all that important to you. The older one’s run around $30… so if this drops to maybe around $40 it would be a nice upgrade. Overall great mug though.”

Customer Review: “My second water bottle. Keep hot and cold drink as it temperature for a very long period of time, leak proof, stylish easy to clean and worth every penny of it.”

Customer Review: “I was disappointed that this does not come in many colors. Well, that is if you do not want the coated (inside) version, and you want the bigger 20 oz size, I think this is the only Zoji option. And I definitely did not want orange (or Pac Man?!?!), so I got the black one. It is actually very nice, so I no longer mind having to get black. It is not a boring gloomy solid black but kind of metallic (like paint on a car, but not glossy). I had gotten a different model for a smaller 16 oz size — the model with the fatter cap and straight body. I like that one too. Both have what are called “SlickSteel” interior but this black-or-orange model is not as shiny inside, so apparently the Zoji process for making it has changed. Also, this one has one less gasket (one instead of two rings) although I did not mind two. I like that the rings can be removed for cleaning and also that you can buy replacements. In fact you can buy replacement lids in case you break the lid. So I think these will last me a lifetime. Both models hold the temperature extremely well, and both look great.Also, most people probably already know, but the State of California warning on the packaging is just because the product is stainless steel, and stainless steel is made with chromium and nickel (which is “known it the state of CA to be toxic…). The chromium does not leach out and harm you. Really the only reason the label is on so much stuff is trolls bring lawsuits against companies to collect money because of a crazy law, and the label protects agains those lawsuits. It is too bad because it alarms some people. Do some research and don’t get upset about the scary labels.”

Customer Review: “Zojirushi is one of my all-time favorite brands — not just because it’s made in Japan, but because of the thoughtful design and precise engineering they put into every product. I own several Zojirushi items, including a rice cooker, a hot water dispenser, and a few thermos bottles. This is my fourth thermos bottle of the same size, and it continues to impress me.The first thing you’ll notice is how incredibly lightweight it is — you can literally feel the difference in your hand. The interior is coated, which prevents any metallic taste and keeps water tasting fresh. The opening mechanism is smooth and secure, with a lockable lid that makes it spill-proof. There’s even a small lip inside the cap, a brilliant design feature that prevents water from rushing out too quickly when you drink.Every part of this thermos is easy to disassemble and dishwasher-safe. The paint finish is durable and long-lasting, showing no signs of chipping even after frequent washing. Inside, Zojirushi uses a highly advanced vacuum insulation technology — and it truly works.I’ve tested this bottle alongside Stanley and other popular brands, and Zojirushi consistently outperforms them. It keeps water cold for more than three days, something I’ve confirmed through repeated personal use.Hands down, this is the best thermos you can buy — exceptionally engineered, lightweight, and built to last. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a premium-quality, reliable thermos bottle.Keep it up, Zojirushi — your products make everyday life better.”

Customer Review: “Honestly – if you want a leak-proof, portable, reliable thermo – this is it. I did my fair amount of research – if like me you like your coffee hot – hot, this keeps the temperature almost too much! Perfect for commute & camping. It’s easy to use & clean. I like the colour too – and the small elephant is so cute. 10/10”

Customer Review: “This is a fantastic travel mug in pretty much every way. The bottle is shockingly lightweight, the locking lid is both leakproof and easy to clean, and the design is sleek and modern.However I was mostly interested in its ability to retain heat. People frequently rave about this mug online, and I’ve seen some wild claims about it working ‘too well’. Apparently it retains heat so efficiently, that beverages are still boiling hot even after sitting around for days.That, to me, always sounded too good to be true. So I wanted to test it and see how well it works. I boiled water and filled the mug to the very top – the water was 208F right before I closed the lid. I put the lid in the locked position, and left the mug sitting on a kitchen counter. The room temp was 65F when I did this.After exactly 6 hours, the water was 173F, aka 35 degrees cooler than it was in the beginning. Still far too hot to drink, but a decent temperature reduction nonetheless. For comparison, the product details state that if a drink is 189F at 1 hour, it should be 160F at 6 hrs, aka 29 degrees cooler. So my water was 6 degrees cooler than advertised, but because my water started at a hotter temperature, that seems fair (also I realize that the product details won’t be perfectly accurate every single time).I checked the water again after 12 hours (so 18 total hours since I started) – the temp was now 129F, and far easier to drink (but still hot). So after 18 hours, the water had cooled down 79 degrees in total.All of that being said, my takeaway is that this is a phenomenal mug. It kept my water hot for almost a day, and it definitely seems to work better than every other travel mug I’ve used (Yeti, Stanley, etc). However, the claims that the mug is able to keep drinks perfectly heated are clearly exaggerated. In fairness, I only did this one test, and it was by no means scientific or anything. But I think it’s fair to say that while this is an above-average thermos, it isn’t going to magically keep your beverages scalding hot for days. I still highly recommend it, as it works really well and it’s just a well-made and cool-looking thermos overall.”

Customer Review: “About six months ago I bought a Yeti for the first time, based on all the glowing reviews. It’s okay, but doesn’t retain much heat after about 5 hours, and the stainless steel is either stained or rusted (and that happened after a week). So I started looking for something better.Excellent heat & cold retention was my main criteria, but ease of cleaning and no leaking were also important. And I wanted another 20 ounce cup. I studied ALL the cups with lids and their reviews, multiple times. I was trying to pay less than the bag of gold & treasure I paid for the disappointing Yeti.One day the Zojirushi popped up. I kept passing it by because it looked like a thermos, not a cup, and the price was in the same range as the Yeti — giving the possibility of two expensive cups that didn’t work.But the reviews were stellar, some of the one star reviews were because liquids were still too hot hours later, clean up did look simple, the lock feature meant no drips, and even though it wasn’t a “cup”, it was possible to open & drink one handed. So I put it on my list and waited for a sale.A month and an Amazon Sale Days! later, there was no sale and I bought it anyway. I’m so glad I did. It’s feather lightweight, the lock feature is secure, the design of the drinking spout is perfect, it’s super simple to clean thoroughly, and the heat retention is AWESOME!!I fill the container with hot coffee before I go to bed, so that I can have coffee before getting up (I’m retired). After seven or eight hours, the coffee is only slightly less hot than it was when it was packaged. Perfect drinking temperature. I cannot believe the heat retention of this thermos. If I were going to get a drink from it after only a couple of hours, I’d probably have to pour it into a cup to cool a little. Highly recommended and well worth the price.Tip: the instruction booklet is in Japanese. If you have “Google Lens” on your phone, you can take a picture of a page, then hit “translate” to switch the page to English.”