A vacuum flask is one of the quietest bits of winter prep there is, and one of the most useful. When the power goes down you can only boil the kettle while the mains — or a camping stove — is available; a good flask lets you boil once and still have hot water for drinks, baby feeds or a hot-water bottle hours later. Fill it before a forecast storm and the household keeps a warm brew and a hot meal going long after the hob is off.
There is little to get wrong, so the picks are simple and split by the job. For hot drinks the household will share through an outage, a 1.2-litre stainless drinks flask holds heat for the best part of a day. For a hot meal without lighting a stove — stew, soup or porridge kept hot for a cold day out or a cold house — a wide-mouth food flask is the better shape, and we've picked one from Thermos and the near-indestructible Stanley classic. All three are stainless steel rather than glass-lined, so they survive being dropped in a boot or a rucksack, and all keep heat for hours rather than minutes.
A good stainless flask keeps drinks and food hot for the best part of a day with no power at all — a hot brew in a cold, dark house does more for morale than almost anything.
A vacuum between two stainless walls is what stops heat escaping. Stainless is tough and won't shatter like glass-lined flasks of old, so it survives being knocked about in a bag or car boot.
Look for a stated performance such as hot for up to 24 hours and cold for 24 hours. A larger flask holds heat longer than a small one, so size it to how many people you are keeping supplied.
A stopper that seals reliably prevents spills in a bag, and a lid that doubles as a cup means you can share a hot drink without extra kit. Check the closure is robust and easy to use with cold hands.
Around 0.5L suits one person out and about; 1.2L or more is better for a family at home during an outage, holding enough for several hot drinks or a couple of instant meals.
Filling a cold flask wastes heat straightaway. Rinse it with boiling water first, tip that away, then fill — you'll noticeably extend how long it stays hot.
A pocket-sized flask empties after a mug or two. For power-cut use at home, a 1.2L flask keeps a household in hot drinks for far longer.
Left shut with moisture inside, a flask can grow musty. Dry it fully and store it with the lid off so it's ready and fresh when you need it.
A rugged stainless steel vacuum flask that keeps drinks hot for up to 24 hours and cold for 24 hours. The 1.2L size suits a household through a power cut, with a leak-proof stopper and an insulated cup lid for sharing a hot brew.
A wide-mouth vacuum food flask that keeps a hot meal hot for hours — the answer to warm food during a power cut or a cold day out when the stove stays packed away. The wide neck takes stew, soup or porridge and includes a folding spoon. Thermos's vacuum insulation is genuinely long-lasting rather than a token claim.
A rugged vacuum food flask that keeps a stew or soup hot for many hours, which matters in a cold power cut or a long day outdoors. Wide-mouthed and near-indestructible, it's the classic that earns its place in emergency kit.
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