POSTED BY

Steven Leckart

AT 12:36 PM
Friday May 22, 2009 +

Food • Kitchen and Housewares • Sports and Survival

Review: MSR MugMate Travel Filter [Verdict: Get One]

mugmate.jpg

When citydwellers go camping, we tend to opt for the ol' "Cowboy Cup." Read: pour the ground beans into a cup, add water, let sit and sip. A few grounds in your mouth here and there, but dammit, you feel tough as nails.

You know what? I've decided that's plain ridiculous.

Lightweight backpacking fanatics are some of the best advisers when it comes to useful gear. You may not always walk away with the cheapest solution, but most anything they recommend is usually guaranteed to be practical, packable and well worth toting.

Case in point: MSR's MugMate, a reusable coffee filter that clocks in at just 0.98 oz. You could cart along a standard coffee filter, but this one fits directly in an average cup, and balances perfectly because of those two handles.

Featherweight fanatics urge ditching the top cover to cut down on the added 0.32 oz. On the other hand, true javaseurs say it's vital to let your coffee steep while covered. I leave the decision up to you. Either way, even if you're not camping, the MugMate works great at home or the office for a quick, single, grounds-free cup. The only downside is it requires a very slow, intermittent pour to avoid overfilling and spilling grounds into the cup.

If any true cowboys give you any guff out on the trail, you're on your own.

11 Comments

chimera

#1 – 2:25 PM May 22, 2009

I have one of these instead:
http://www.smartcafe.co.uk/products/hot_cafetiere_mugs.asp

Granted it's probably a bit heavier, but you don't need a separate cup and it's insulated.

Less messy for office coffee!

Davidc

#2 – 3:56 PM May 22, 2009

These look like they're originally made by Finum.
http://www.finum.com/permanent-tea-filters.htm

These are by far the best permanent tea filters I've ever used, mainly down to the very durable very fine mesh the tea leaves never get stuck in the mesh as is common with other filters. Stick it in the dishwasher a few times to remove discoloration. Didn't know they could be used for coffee too.

Anonymous Anonymous

#3 – 5:22 PM May 22, 2009

I'm not a big fan of those. My friend has one and the coffee they make tastes crappy. I usually take a little melitta cone when I camp. It makes a darn good cup o joe and the paper filters make for easy clean-up.

giantnegro

#4 – 8:18 AM May 23, 2009

I've got one, use it every day and I love it. Of course, I only use it because I'm too lazy to buy a real coffee maker, but I still love it.

zachary carlsen

#5 – 11:47 AM May 23, 2009

there's a nice write-up on a number of camping brewing devices in the new york times. they gave devices like the mugmate low scores for over-extracting the coffee.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0CE5DE103BF934A35756C0A96F9C8B63

cha0tic

#6 – 7:22 AM May 24, 2009

Another vote for the smart Cafe mugs here. Maybe not for lightweight camping, but for work or car camping it's ideal and makes people jealous as they're drinking their crappy instant.

chimera

#7 – 8:30 AM May 24, 2009

#6 - Hooray for Smart Cafe owners :)

For all the tea drinkers - the mesh is extremely fine on these, so would probably be pretty good for tea leaves and other infusions.

ssll

#8 – 10:58 AM May 24, 2009

I camp with a little mesh strainer that some people use in their sinks:

http://www.thekitchenstore.com/acmedrst.html

$3 or less

Kevin

#9 – 2:36 PM May 24, 2009

We've got 6 of these between the home and office, and have been using them for over six years. We only brew tea out of them, but they're the best damn way to brew tea EVER! We use them at least twice a day. I haven't used one for coffee. I imagine it would work fine though.

The MSR version is over priced. For instance, REI sells the Mugmate for $16.95, while specialteas.com sells the original Finum (Teeli) version for $6.95.

Anonymous Anonymous

#10 – 5:03 PM May 25, 2009

I picked up an Aeropress specifically to use while camping (light weight, small footprint, great design), but it's so good that it is now my every day coffee press.

amen

#11 – 3:10 PM May 26, 2009

@10 totally agree. I backpack extensively and there is nothing better than the aeropress for backcountry coffee. The device reviewed above is great for tea...
Seriously, the aeropress looks goofy (or like lab equipment) but it makes astonishingly good coffee.

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