The Meaning of Vacuum Insulated

How do you keep your water cold or your coffee hot? It can be unpleasant to get a mouthful of lukewarm liquid, but that might be a pretty common occurrence if you carry your drink around all day. A lot of bottles and tumblers just don’t keep temperature very well. Fortunately, there is a solution, and it’s called a vacuum flask.

Vacuum insulation is used in a variety of ways, but the flask form was invented by Sir James Dewar in 1892. He used it to keep temperatures stable during scientific experiments, but it was quickly adapted for household use and became a commercialized product about ten years later. A vacuum insulated bottle is made of two containers—one is nested inside the other, and the air between them has been removed.

Why does this work? Without getting too in-depth, the two main ways that heat can travel through your beverage during use are conduction (through direct contact between two materials) and convection (through the movement of a gas or liquid). The partial vacuum has fewer molecules to collide and less gas to move, so it creates a buffer around your drink and prevents a majority of heat transfer. It’s not perfect, of course—particularly at the neck of the bottle, where the two containers meet—but it’s significantly more effective than non-insulated or even double walled drinkware. The best vacuum insulated water bottles will even stay cold for more than a full day!

At Zak Designs, we make our vacuum insulated water bottles and growlers out of food-grade stainless steel, which is clean, durable, and eco-friendly. They’re easy to take on the go, with built-in carrying handles or tapered bottoms that fit in car cup holders. The double wall vacuum insulation is independently tested for temperature retention, and it prevents condensation from forming on the outside of the container. You can find a variety of vacuum insulated drinkware on zak.com, from beer growlers to travel mugs to water bottles.

Keep in mind that all this utility requires a little extra care and attention. Wash your vacuum insulated drinkware by hand, since the dishwasher could damage the vacuum seal, and never put it in the freezer or microwave. With proper care, you’ll get years of use, and never have to deal with a lukewarm drink again.