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If I had known that such a hassle-free French-press mug existed, I'd have bought it years ago.
I feel compelled to respond to A. Don't expect it not to tip over if you don't have your hand on it in a car.We took the 48oz big brother of this thing (same construction) on a 16 day raft trip down the Grand Canyon in June '09. We used it daily to make coffee for 16 people and it banged around loosely in the kitchen box at the bottom of the raft with pots, pans, etc, through some of the biggest, most violent, rapids in North America. The plastic parts are high quality and everything has held up to daily *hand* washes in the sink and still looks new. Yes, there were a few small scratches here and there but these things are *tough* and will last for many years. The plastic is tough and rigid except for the basket that traps the coffee and pushes it the bottom of the mug but that is only because it is slotted around the perimeter so it can bend to conform to the inside shape of the mug and provide a tight fit. Garvin's one star review from Oct 4th, 2009 out here in the open instead of in a comment to that review.Where to start.I've had this mug for 5 months now and it's been nothing but *great*. That particular mug was owned by the outfitter we rented some boats from and had been down God knows how many trips before.
This thing reeks quality from the stainless steel body to the enamel exterior finish to, yes, the few plastic parts. And if you'll notice the description, this is a *desk* mug and not a travel mug. 16 days later it looked as good as the first day. I don't know what Garvin was expecting but for my $30 this thing is a bargain.
It was everything they said and more. It really works perfect, I use it everyday.
I bought this press to replace my bodum coffee press when I broke it's glass carafe (I tried to order a new glass carafe but Amazon wouldn't ship it out here to Hawaii for some reason). I tried to wash it a few times before using it, to get rid of the smell but that didn't work. I've also had Bodum coffee presses which cost the same or less than this one, but were made to a much higher quality standard. I believe that smell inidicates a plastic which uses PTFEs to make it flexible.
If you are paying top dollar for organic Fair Trade coffee then this wasted coffee can give you a pain right in the pocketbook. I know lots of people don't really notice or care how well things are made, and so maybe they won't notice or care if this mug is made poorly. I know all coffee presses trap a little bit of coffee under the filter, but my many Bodum presses throughout the years always had a much tighter space between the filter and the bottom of the carafe, so wasted coffee was never an issue.As a travel mug it fails because the travel lid is not liquid proof, so it will not prevent hot coffee from gushing out the top in case it tips over slightly in your lap. As a coffee press it was a poor performer because after you push the filter press all the way down, there remains quite a large gap between filter screen and the bottom of the mug, so there is a bunch of coffee sloshing around in there that won't come out unless you have 5 minutes to hold the mug upside down as the remaining coffee slowly drains through the filter. Ingesting PTFE residue is being increasingly recognized as not healthy. I am someone who definitely notices whether something is made well or not, so this low quality was disappointing to me.
The plastic was of a cheaper quality, felt flimsy, and was not finished well. For instance, I have a stainless steel travel mug made by OXO which cost me about $15.00 and the build quality is WAY better than this Planetary Designs item which costs twice as much. My wife didn't know this and accidently washed the mug in the dishwasher. Not cheaply made for a $15.00 product perhaps, but when you pay $30.00 for a single serving coffee press you expect it to be of a higher quality. In actual practice, this extra space translates into wasted coffee.
I would not have paid $30 for this in a store, if I had the chance to hold and inspect it beforehand.Another way I could tell it was cheaply made, beyond the look and feel of it, was that it smelled really strongly of rubber when I first got it. I used to use my old Bodum press every single morning, but now I use a metal tea filter and tongs instead over using this Planetary Designs press. I was also disappointed in it's performance, both as a coffee press, and as a travel mug. Most of the reviews of this coffee press/ travel mug here on Amazon are positive, however, I wish I had paid more attention to the few negative comments I came across, because those comments are the ones that really match my own experience of this product.When I first pulled the mug out of the box I noticed right away that it seemed cheaply made. And yes, it is likely to be riding in your lap since it is too big to fit in the cup holder of your car (to be fair, my wife has found a way to balance the thing on top of the emergency break handle, but that always makes me nervous). My OXO travel mug by contrast, is absolutely leak proof (you can turn it upside down and shake it and it will not leak) AND it fits perfectly into the cup holder of a car.If you're attracted to this item because of it's cool, modern design, then keep this in mind: Planetary Designs warns that this is not dishwasher safe, and they are right. This caused a large patch of the translucent orange film to melt off the side, exposing the stainless steel underneath.
You will have to wash this thing by hand if you want that pretty color to last.So yes, I am really roasting this product pretty good with my review, but what do you expect from a product I paid top dollar for but was so disappointing that I don't even use it. Yes, I really need to buy another Bodum press.To sum up, I will give kudos to Planetary Designs for designing a cool looking mug, but the poor quality in finish and function is a definite thumbs down for me. I think this Planetary Designs press looks cool from a distance (or on a website photo) but when I actually held it in my hand it seemed cheap. China is making better and better quality products these days, but this press is certainly not one of them. However, that smell eventually went away after repeated uses and washings (yes, my wife uses the thing as a travel mug for the sole reason that it is larger than our OXO travel mug).The build quality is not the only thing I was disappointed in. In fact, I was so disappointed in it's performance that I gave up using it after a few tries. So I ordered this Planetary Designs item after much research here on Amazon.
I could probably purchase both a better quality travel mug and a better quality coffee press for not much more than I'd spend on this poorly made Planetary Designs unit (if only Amazon shipped glass carafes to Hawaii).cheers and good luck.
Not that I was expecting it to reach that goal for me - you leave any coffee on its grounds long enough and things go sour. I've been using it for a week, and here are my thoughts thus far:pros: - body is indestructible- replacement press parts are cheap and readily available (haven't broken it, but it's a nice reassurance)- grounds stay out of your mouth- coffee stays hot while it's steeping- delicious, delicious coffee cons:- lids aren't the tightest seal- drink lid leaks from spout when it's closed- the press filter is awkward to fit in the cup and the plastic parts let grounds through, but thankfully the screen on the pouring/drinking spout takes care of that- falls somewhat short of its goal, which was a press that you can drink your coffee out of. You can, as long as you like bitter coffee or guzzle your brew. Personally, I just pour my coffee into my regular cup after it's done so I can savor it. The mug works well enough as a regular press and I like that the body isn't glass (I'm kind of a bull in a china shop), so it's a keeper.
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