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GSI Outdoors Infinity Insulated Mug Review

ByBlair Witkowski

I’m fanatical about weight when I go backpacking. You know those guys who shave the handles off their toothbrushes and cut the excess straps off their packs? Guilty. So when it comes to a backpacking mug, you can bet that I’m getting the lightest thing I can find. 

And while I absolutely love my Stanley Camp Mug for car camping and sipping coffee around the house, there’s no way that 8-ounce monstrosity is going anywhere near my backpacking pack. That’s where the Infinity Insulated Mug from GSI Outdoors comes in. 

It’s light. It’s insulated. It’s spill resistant. It’s cheap. It’s just what I’m looking for in a backpacking mug, and I have almost no complaints about it. 

Measurements & Specs

Here’s what you need to know first and foremost: the GSI Outdoors Infinity Insulated Mug weighs 3.5 ounces. That makes it the lightest insulated mug I know of that actually looks and functions like a real mug (I’m not counting those rubbery collapsible Sea to Summit things). 

The mug and lid are made of polypropylene plastic with a soft cloth-wrapped insulating neoprene sleeve. It has a capacity of up to 17.4 fluid ounces if you fill it to the brim (it fits 16 ounces comfortably) and measures 3.6 inches wide by 4.6 inches tall. The handle is part of the sleeve, and it’s soft and collapsible so it doesn’t add any discernible girth to the mug. 

Build Quality & Design

The overall design of the GSI Infinity Insulated Mug is ingenious, and there are several things about it that I especially like. First and foremost is that the inner plastic “cup” part of the mug slides easily in and out of the outer insulating sleeve for easy washing, drying and packing. 

The plastic cup has a transparent gray color, and measurements in ounces and milliliters are printed on it. They’re printed in such a way that they are readable from the inside, as opposed to the outside. That confused me at first, but I quickly realized that this allows you to know how much liquid is in the mug without taking the insulating sleeve off. I love that. 

I also love that the lid seals on with the exact right amount of tightness. It’s easy to snap on and off, but also has an O-ring that creates a snug, watertight seal. And I mean watertight. I filled mine with water, put on the lid, turned it upside-down and shook it vigorously without so much as a drop of spillage. 

As far as durability goes, it does what it needs to do for a lightweight, plastic backpacking mug. It doesn’t have the “could-stop-a-bullet” ruggedness of a stainless steel Stanley camp mug, but it’s as tough and hard-wearing as anyone has any right to expect plastic to be. If there’s a weak link, it’s probably the outer sleeve, which may start to fray and loosen a bit over time. 

Insulation 

The insulating sleeve is made of neoprene—a sort of foam-like synthetic rubber that’s used to make everything from wetsuits to laptop sleeves—with cloth wrapping. Neoprene is durable, waterproof and thermally stable, so it’s just about perfect for this purpose. It’s grippy in my hands and also has some texture on the bottom to keep the mug from sliding. 

The lid also has a mouthpiece that opens and closes, which helps keep heat from escaping through the top when you’re not drinking. I gather that this is a relatively new upgrade from older models of the GSI Outdoors Mug. 

The folks at GSI don’t make any specific claims about how long their insulated mug will keep hot things hot and cold things cold. If I was a more thorough reviewer, I would probably take the temperature of its contents every five minutes for a period of several hours and make a graph or something. Sorry, not today. 

I will say that I made myself a cup of tea in the GSI Infinity Insulated Mug before I started writing this review, and it’s still hot more than an hour later. It’s not like a Thermos that’s supposed to keep your drink hot all day long, but it will keep a cup of coffee or tea warm for as much time as anyone would realistically need to drink it, even if you like to sip it slowly. 

Comfort & Sippability

The lid of the GSI Outdoors Infinity Insulated Mug is comfortable to drink out of, and I’ve never had an issue with leaks of any kind. The mouth hole is half-circle shaped for easy drinking, and there’s a tiny air hole right above it, which prevents liquid from backing up and gushing out when you try to take a sip. 

The plastic is BPA-free, and I have not had any issue with it emparting any flavors to my drinks. I’ve seen a couple other reviews where folks said they got a “plastic-y” taste from their GSI mug, but that hasn’t been my experience. 

You might start to notice it absorbs some flavors from whatever you drink out of it, especially coffee. If you’re a backpacker, you’re probably used to your coffee tasting a little like ramen noodles and your ramen noodles tasting a little like coffee, so you know the struggle is real. But a good cleaning usually rids mine of unwanted taste, and the plastic parts are dishwasher safe as well. 

I’m not totally in love with the handle, which is basically a soft nylon strap. It’s just too flexible to get a good, stable grip like you would with a regular mug with a solid handle. You can kind of make it work if you put all four fingers through the handle (or maybe three fingers of a thickly gloved hand) but overall I find it easier to simply wrap my palm around the mug itself. 

Final Thoughts on the GSI Outdoors Infinity Insulated Mug

Ultimately, whether the GSI Outdoors Infinity Insulated Mug works for you will depend on how well it integrates onto your overall backpacking cookware setup. But if you’re looking for a standalone mug that does exactly what it’s advertised to do and won’t weigh your pack down, this is a very solid option. 

The lid is virtually spill-proof, the measurement markings inside the cup are extremely helpful, and the insulated wrapping does a great job keeping my coffee hot (and my hands cool). 

I haven’t yet mentioned that the mug is also made of recycled materials, which is a nice added bonus. It’s also attractively priced at around $13, so even if it ends up being more of a camping/hiking mug than a true backpacking companion, at least you’re not out that much cash. It makes a great gift for outdoorsy friends too.