Are titanium cups good? Are titanium mugs worth it? These are the most frequent questions people ask. Perhaps you’ve read some individual thoughts talking about cups and mugs but this was not enough. Therefore, let’s go deeper with the questions concerning backpackers and ultralight gear.
The list below is the key points I will discuss in this blog.
· Ultralight
· Durable
· Biocompatible & Hypoallergenic
· Single Wall VS Double Wall
· Heat Conductivity
· Versatility
· Features Of A Good Titanium Cup
· How To Care For Your Titanium Cup
Ultralight
Is a titanium cup light to carry?
The answer is definitely yes! The weight of a titanium cup is only 1/4 or even 1/3 of a Stainless Steel cup. You can instantly feel the weight difference if you pick up stainless steel and titanium cups.
But what does it mean for backpacking or hiking?
The weight of your whole gear is reduced if you switch to titanium. This helps save your valuable energy when carrying a lot of stuff. Imagine thru-hiking where there is no set campsite, you’re carrying everything in your rucksack. In this instance, every weight reduction helps.
Durable
How is titanium's durability compared with other common materials of mugs?
“Durability is the ability to withstand wear, pressure, or damage”, source Oxford.
Tensile strength is the maximum stress that a structure can sustain (MPa, short for MegaPascal - A basic unit of pressure or tension measurement in the International System of Weights and Measures). The Mohs scale measures mineral hardness, ranging from 1 to 10. 10 being very hard. A diamond ranks 10 on the Mohs scale.
Titanium's tensile strength is 480 MPa, while Aluminium alloy is 310 MPa and stainless steel is 485MPa. The hardness of titanium on the Mohs scale is 6.0, while Aluminium alloy is 2.75 and stainless steel is 4. So although titanium has a slightly lower tensile strength than stainless steel it is much lighter and has a greater mineral hardness.
That is the unique property that puts titanium in a different category from other materials.
For your adventures of course you want a durable travel cup, and titanium is the logical choice.
Biocompatible & Anti-corrosive
Is titanium toxic when heated?
The primary factor in choosing drinkware is always safety. Therefore, is ultralight titanium gear safe when heated?
This concern is quite reasonable. Like plastic cups, even though they’re quite light, they do leach BPA’s to your beverages even when not heated. Over time Stainless Steel leaches Nickel and Chromium. And Aluminum also has a risk of exposure. These are both dangerous to the human body.
Unlike plastic, aluminum, or stainless steel, titanium is biocompatible, which means it doesn’t leach at all including when heated.
Does titanium affect taste?
Simply put, no, titanium is anti-corrosive and doesn’t react even with the most acidic liquid. Titanium won’t affect the taste of your hot beverages at all. We often hear people say that they notice a metallic taste in their stainless steel mugs. It’s because stainless steel isn’t anti-corrosive and it indeed rusts in certain conditions.
When you buy a titanium cup, you can rest assured that you’re drinking your hot beverage the same way you would enjoy it at home in a ceramic cup.
Does salt water ruin titanium?
Titanium is corrosion-resistant in a wide range of natural and artificial environments, including salt water. Let’s take an example to understand how is that possible.
Salt water is more corrosive than fresh water because of its chemical composition. The salinity of seawater mainly comes from salt ions (Cl−, Na+), and hydrogen sulfide (H2S). It’s the hydrogen sulfide that makes sea water highly corrosive.
However, Na+ and H2S don’t react with titanium. You can rest assured salt water can not ruin your titanium mug. So washing your cup in the ocean is a good cleaning method.
Lifetime
How long does titanium last?
Titanium is one of the toughest metals and will last for a lifetime of adventures. When you measure the value of its longevity, the cost is way lower than alternative mugs made of other materials. On top of that, it is also a daily reusable item that can be used outdoors as well as in the office.
The maintenance of titanium cups is quite simple. Just rinse it out and dry it.