ProView – GSI Insulated Travel Cocktail Set Review

Even though it can be highly technical at times, requiring exceptional skill to use correctly and in many cases designed to save lives, generally speaking, outdoor gear is ultimately meant to facilitate fun. Mountaineering is fun. So is snowboarding, fly fishing, mountain biking and winter camping. And after that fun is had and all that technical gear is put away, you can turn to something like the GSI Outdoors Insulated Travel Cocktail Set to celebrate that fun.

This durable, silicon-coated outdoor kitchen accessory doesn’t have cables or pedals or require special boots, it simply needs a reason to celebrate. And because it has two glasses, it’s friend-ready. 

There’s little to not like about this drink carrier. For the sobers, know that it’s just as capable when filled with a mocktail or hot or iced coffee options. The recycled polypropylene tumblers do have temperature rating, so keep that in mind come cold mornings. Unlike a lot of flasks on the market, this is very easy to fill with your drink of choice and some ice, which the removable strainer can help keep from tumbling into the cup. You can use the flask to shake and mix because when assembled and secured tight with its aluminum screw lid, the contents aren’t going anywhere.

Features

The flask—not shaped like a flask in the traditional sense—is recycled steel, coated in co-polyester with a silicon base and 360º grip. It feels solid and stable and keeps drinks both hot and cold for a reasonable enough amount of time. 

The nesting capabilities here are great. It assembles in seconds because the tumblers are carefully sized to snugly fit over the top and bottom of the flask thanks to small friction cleats around the exterior. The strainer is encompassed with a series of tiny clips that snap it into place just below the lip. It wouldn’t hurt to keep a finger ready in case those clips wear with time, which I tend to think is going to happen. 

The stainless steel screw top is never cross-threaded on me, always securing itself in place as needed. And once its on and the cups are in place, the complete package zips into a rather pedestrian hard-sided case. It’s fine. I’m not sure what else would be needed, to be honest, as the flask and cups are all quite durable and up to the task. 

Functionality

This isn’t meant to keep your coffee hot until camp in the afternoon or drinks cold after being in a hot car all day. I used it to keep Bloody Marys cold after a few hours snowboarding at the resort and after mountain biking in late autumn. It went on some hikes and did its job there too. In fact, it’s terrific for packing in any backpack’s side pocket or even inside a heavy puffy jacket. Again, you don’t need the case all the time, but it will prevent you from losing the cups. 

GSI Outdoors Insulated Travel Cocktail Set is an ideal fireside partner or picnic table companion. It looks the part and doesn’t get in the way. It slid nicely into my kitchen kit for car camping down on the east side of the Sierra in late fall and will do the same all summer, too.

The tumblers are sturdy and just big enough to hold the right amount and importantly not sized to encourage you to have one too many. The GSI team doesn’t want to make one of these things that can hold 32 oz. of booze, especially given its intended use—a nice drink after an outdoor activity and likely, before you drive home.

Quality

Superb. I honestly think this is the GSI Outdoors Insulated Travel Cocktail Set standout quality. I feel as if it’s one of those products you use for a couple years, for some reason forget about, then rediscover a year later in perfect condition. I purposely left some liquid in there for a few weeks to see how it held on to any smells or if just any muck of some kind would build up under the lid’s silicon seal or along the rim of the strainer. Nothing did.

I’m not convinced the case’s zipper will last long. But is there a zipper anywhere any outdoors-minded person fully trusts? Just take it easy and it’ll be fine. It has a webbing loop for clipping into places, but don’t rely only on that. When filled, the flask is heavy—20 oz. empty—and a single line of stitching isn’t going to cut it for long.

The Final Word

The glamping world continues to advance into the traditional frontcountry world and I’ve found it more fun to embrace it than eschew it like some sort of California trail pioneer. I know how to backpack, I know how to minimize and simplify and go with less. But if I have a vehicle and pit toilets nearby, why bother leaving comfort items at home? Pack that table. 

GSI Outdoors Insulated Travel Cocktail Set is an ideal add-on to my already GSI-heavy car-camping kit. I have tables, pots and a sealable bowl I bought when I did my NOLS course in 2009 that’s still going strong. No reason to think this won’t do the same. Buy with confidence.

Cheers.

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