The Super Sparrow Ultra-Light is an insulated bottle that is specified equally for keeping its contents warm and cold, so it should be viewed as a do- it-all piece of gear. You need to carry a separate cup for very hot contents, but the opening has a pleasantly rounded edge for drinking out of, which works well otherwise. Leaving the kettle standing for ten minutes after boiling before I make my coffee means it’s drinkable from the bottle without scalding my lip 90 minutes later, but doing this does mean I don’t tend to reach for this flask for very long days.
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Price: £18 | Weight: 336g (750ml) | Materials: stainless steel, plastic | Features: Stopper with grab loop | Dimensions: 257x77mm (750ml tested) | Sizes: 350ml, 500ml, 750ml | supersparrow.com
Washing up is simple – just the bottle and the loop-handled stopper, which has an easily removable silicone seal. The stainless steel walls have a graphic embellished finish, the edges of which are quite prominent and add a little extra grip to the lightly textured coating. The flask also came with an alternative stopper featuring a spout and a straw. I tried this with both hot and cold drinks but it’s difficult to keep the straw clean with frequent coffee use.
The best possible performance is acceptable with 81°C contents temperature recorded after three hours, 73°C after six hours and 65°C at nine hours. The Super Sparrow Ultra-Lite is a very strong bottle – frequent drops have only chipped the finish, with no dents showing as yet.
