
And for the second, I added water with ice cubes, and waited. Each flask was subjected to two 12 hours tests: for the first, I poured water from a recently boiled kettle into the flasks, took the temperature (usually around the 92 degrees mark), and then left them for half a day. To do this, I used a Thermapen (a professional thermometer considered the best by top chefs, available for £65 at John Lewis) to gauge the temperature of the contents at the beginning and end of 12-hours. To help you choose which one to invest in, I tried and tested a selection of flasks that promise to keep your beverages colder and hotter for longer, measuring how much heat was retained or how cool they kept respectively over a period of 12 hours. Heat struggles to pass through the vacuum, meaning liquid stays at a roughly constant temperature. How do Thermos flasks work? In short, they use a double walled construction, with the air removed from between these walls, forming a vacuum. Once you have one in your life, you'll find it accompanies you to the office, to festivals, on camping trips, and even on holidays abroad. The best vacuum flasks perform a dual role: they keep hot liquid like coffee warm, and they keep cold drinks like iced water cool, for those boiling car journeys in the height of summer.

An insulated Thermos flask is a purchase that keeps paying back all year round.
