Gear Review: GSI Fair Share mug
Value Rating: 10
Durability Rating: 10
Overall Rating: 9
Location of Test: everyday in my backpack for bike commute
Duration of Test: Endless
Product Name: Fair Share mug
Product Brand: GSI
Best Use: better than tupperwear for lunch leftovers
Sizes: One size feeds all
The Full Review:
Hi there, Next Adventure fans, so glad you found us on the web.
Today we talk about experiencing lunch that leaked into your backpack or bag while on the commute to work or school and how that can be avoided for the future. I have had this unfortunate experience more than once, and if you have not yourself let me tell you how much of a mess and day downer it can be, and you lost your lunch costing time and money.
The GSI Fair Share mug is not anything fancy or high-tech, there is no hype to this product or glossy pictures in magazines touting its ability to perform, it just is and it does what it does, better than any other food container out there. The mug is a simple Lexan plastic that is BPA free (of course) with a lid that screws on neat and tight. The lid is leak proof even with hot Miso soup turned upside down in my bag, no worries. Try that with any other container.
The basic design of the mug is just a mug with handle and a snug fitting screw on lid. The added value is the measuring gradient numbers on the side which are glow in the dark for added use at night. (I can find my Fair Share mugs in the tent at night when camping since the numbers glow, fun.) Since the mug can keep liquids in so well, it also is able to keep liquids out, who cares about that? Well my friend I sure do, I also use the Fair Share mug to protect items I do not wish to get wet or crushed while traveling and adventuring. What fits inside of this awesome simple and inexpensive little mug? I put my wallet, small camera, and headlamp inside while on hiking, boating, backpacking and general travel so the valuable items will stay valuable and not get crushed or wet.
The mug has a built-in handle on the side which fits very comfortable in the hand and allows me to either hold the handle proper when the contents are hot, or I slip my hand into the space between the handle and the mug itself and my hand can gain some of the warmth from the food and the feel is much more secure, the mug fits on my hand this way just as a well-loved glove fits the hand. Please note also there are many holes drilled in the handle and these are not to make the mug lighter but rather to allow different carry options for your Fair Share mug. Using a carabiner, it is easy to clip the mug to a backpack or lash it to a kayak with a short tether tied through one of the holes, allowing easy access to snacks or lunch while on the go.
The mugs are made from super strong, safe, and easy to clean polypropylene plastic (aka Lexan) this plastic is found on many food grade items and reliable in many real-life situations. The plastic does not retain food taste (unless you do not wash it much, then there may be some extra flavor). The plastic is easy to wash in the sink or while on the trail I wash mine with a tortilla wrap making sure I eat all the left overs. Most importantly the mug is semitransparent, this is where things can get fun. I like eating left overs in a purple mug, it is fun and helps the food smell and taste better. Almost every day I am eating lunch in the brake room a staff complements the smell of my food and wishes they had some, I think it is the mug that brings these good compliments, but the truth is my wife is a great cook. And those days where I bring a simple lunch of rice and beans it always is fun to eat red, blue or green rice and beans.
You may think this a silly or funny item to review but each time I get to work, and my food is not inside the rest of my commute bag, each time I put my valuable items into the mug and screw the lid tight I trust it will work each and every time. This is important to me, this is big value in a small simple item.
I do wish GSI made a metal version, so I could use it also as a cook pot, I did ask GSI to make metal versions but alas they chose to update their original mug with an insulated sleeve and rubber coated lid, and they cut the handle away to slip into a pack easier. I am not so in love with these new options, but they may work better for you. I like the original.
Try this the next time you have your Fair Share mug out on a camping trip, use the empty and clean mug in your tent at night with a headlamp inside the mug hanging from the tent ceiling and you can enjoy a diffused color glow.
The Good
leak-proof
crush-proof
convenient
simple
inexpensive
reliable
fun
The Bad:
cannot be used as a cooking pot
wish there was a bigger size to fit pizza
The Bottom Line:
This simple and inexpensive item has many uses beyond its intent and what it was designed to do it does better than any other item in its class.
Go ahead and pick one or two up for your next adventure, or just the commute to work. For the parents out there buy some for your kids to use in school or college and help eat safer and better.
The Full Review:
Hi there, Next Adventure fans, so glad you found us on the web.
Today we talk about experiencing lunch that leaked into your backpack or bag while on the commute to work or school and how that can be avoided for the future. I have had this unfortunate experience more than once, and if you have not yourself let me tell you how much of a mess and day downer it can be, and you lost your lunch costing time and money.
The GSI Fair Share mug is not anything fancy or high-tech, there is no hype to this product or glossy pictures in magazines touting its ability to perform, it just is and it does what it does, better than any other food container out there. The mug is a simple Lexan plastic that is BPA free (of course) with a lid that screws on neat and tight. The lid is leak proof even with hot Miso soup turned upside down in my bag, no worries. Try that with any other container.
The basic design of the mug is just a mug with handle and a snug fitting screw on lid. The added value is the measuring gradient numbers on the side which are glow in the dark for added use at night. (I can find my Fair Share mugs in the tent at night when camping since the numbers glow, fun.) Since the mug can keep liquids in so well, it also is able to keep liquids out, who cares about that? Well my friend I sure do, I also use the Fair Share mug to protect items I do not wish to get wet or crushed while traveling and adventuring. What fits inside of this awesome simple and inexpensive little mug? I put my wallet, small camera, and headlamp inside while on hiking, boating, backpacking and general travel so the valuable items will stay valuable and not get crushed or wet.
The mug has a built-in handle on the side which fits very comfortable in the hand and allows me to either hold the handle proper when the contents are hot, or I slip my hand into the space between the handle and the mug itself and my hand can gain some of the warmth from the food and the feel is much more secure, the mug fits on my hand this way just as a well-loved glove fits the hand. Please note also there are many holes drilled in the handle and these are not to make the mug lighter but rather to allow different carry options for your Fair Share mug. Using a carabiner, it is easy to clip the mug to a backpack or lash it to a kayak with a short tether tied through one of the holes, allowing easy access to snacks or lunch while on the go.
The mugs are made from super strong, safe, and easy to clean polypropylene plastic (aka Lexan) this plastic is found on many food grade items and reliable in many real-life situations. The plastic does not retain food taste (unless you do not wash it much, then there may be some extra flavor). The plastic is easy to wash in the sink or while on the trail I wash mine with a tortilla wrap making sure I eat all the left overs. Most importantly the mug is semitransparent, this is where things can get fun. I like eating left overs in a purple mug, it is fun and helps the food smell and taste better. Almost every day I am eating lunch in the brake room a staff complements the smell of my food and wishes they had some, I think it is the mug that brings these good compliments, but the truth is my wife is a great cook. And those days where I bring a simple lunch of rice and beans it always is fun to eat red, blue or green rice and beans.
You may think this a silly or funny item to review but each time I get to work, and my food is not inside the rest of my commute bag, each time I put my valuable items into the mug and screw the lid tight I trust it will work each and every time. This is important to me, this is big value in a small simple item.
I do wish GSI made a metal version, so I could use it also as a cook pot, I did ask GSI to make metal versions but alas they chose to update their original mug with an insulated sleeve and rubber coated lid, and they cut the handle away to slip into a pack easier. I am not so in love with these new options, but they may work better for you. I like the original.
Try this the next time you have your Fair Share mug out on a camping trip, use the empty and clean mug in your tent at night with a headlamp inside the mug hanging from the tent ceiling and you can enjoy a diffused color glow.
The Good
leak-proof
crush-proof
convenient
simple
inexpensive
reliable
fun
The Bad:
cannot be used as a cooking pot
wish there was a bigger size to fit pizza
The Bottom Line:
This simple and inexpensive item has many uses beyond its intent and what it was designed to do it does better than any other item in its class.
Go ahead and pick one or two up for your next adventure, or just the commute to work. For the parents out there buy some for your kids to use in school or college and help eat safer and better.