Product & Innovation

It’s no secret that Stanley gear is made to last—and it’s not unheard of to see a Stanley flask still keeping coffee warm 50 years after it rolled out the factory. With that in mind, our new series Stanleys in the Wild tells the stories of your indestructible Stanleys—the places they’ve been and the things they’ve seen. This time around we’re heading down to the end of the earth with the crew at White Desert—a unique tour operator which takes people right into the heart of Antarctica. Dealing with temperatures as low as -25°C, it’s safe to say this lot know the importance of a good hot drink, and they regularly rely on our gear during their treks onto the planet’s least-populated continent. To find out more about life (and beverages) in Antarctica, we talked to White Desert’s very own Mindy Roberts… I know the White Desert team uses a lot of Stanley gear for expeditions. What bits do you use? The Stanley Classic Legendary Bottles, Travel Mugs and Food Jars are our most reliable gear for keeping drinks and food warm whilst in below zero temperatures. When exploring Antarctica, which is the coldest, driest and windiest continent, it’s very easy to spend hours exploring the landscape. Stanley ensures our guests and guides have easy access to warm soup, hot coffee or cold water to rehydrate in the great outdoors or when relaxing in their pods. How important is it to have good quality, functional kit when you’re somewhere like Antarctica? Once you are in an area as remote as Antarctica, your equipment becomes critical to your comfort, survival and ability to perform certain activities. The quality of equipment is not to be underestimated, it’s critical. What’s the reality of life in Antarctica? What’s a normal day like down there in winter? We only operate in the Antarctic summer. This is from mid November to early February each season. At this time of the year it’s 24 hours of daylight which can take some getting used to! During winter in Antarctica there is constant darkness and temperatures can easily plummet to -50°C. Typically, the only humans who overwinter are scientists who reside at their national research bases. During our season, guests can experience days with crystal clear blue skies, brilliant sunshine and ‘mild’ temperatures of around -5°C-10°C, which is surprisingly temperate for the Queen Maud Land region. However, the weather can change rapidly, bringing high winds, white-out conditions and stormy skies. Antarctica is an unpredictable wilderness—a place of unimaginable beauty and dramatic extremes. And whilst we’ve taken the hardship out of exploring, it’s still the most remote continent on Earth! How cold can it actually get there? I can sort of get my head around the numbers, but what do temperatures as low as -30 celsius actually feel like? We don’t normally have such low temperatures around our camps. This level of cold would be felt at the South Pole where we spend around 1-2 hours only. Stepping into temperatures of -25°C or lower is an assault on one’s senses – the bracing air infiltrates your lungs with an intensity like no other feeling. Couple those temperatures with the wind-chill factor and the effects are literally mind (and body) numbing. What else do you have to contend with down there? How does hiking in Antarctica differ from hiking in Britain for example? Hiking in Antarctica can be anything from a gentle walk to a nearby nunatak or an extreme adventure that cannot be experienced anywhere else on the planet. Spires of rock jutting out of the Earth kilometres high, surrounded by vast white sheets of glacial ice, make you feel like you’re on another planet. Traversing the terrain here can encompass anything from rope-walks via ferrata; crossing an ancient glacier by foot; abseiling; ice-climbing to rock-climbing a mountain peak with our award-winning High Mountain guides. There is so much to do that you’ll never get bored and everyday you’ll pinch yourself and think, “I’m actually in Antarctica”. This might be a bit of a naive question, but what’s the situation with people in Antarctica? Can anyone go there? Antarctica has no indigenous population or permanent residents. There are a small group of scientists and researchers who spend long periods on the continent throughout the year, dedicating their studies to vital climate change studies for National Antarctic Programmes. There is no single country that owns Antarctica. Instead, Antarctica is governed by a group of nations in a unique international partnership. The Antarctic Treaty, first signed on December 1, 1959, designates Antarctica as a continent devoted to peace and science. There are also very few tourism operations given the difficulty of operating on this vast uninhabited Continent. We are the only luxury operator in the interior of Antarctica and our hope is to create Antarctic Ambassadors from our client base, not only for the good of the Continent but also of the planet. Our clients are in positions to affect change and influence policy and an Antarctic trip is truly transformative. It sounds it. Last question to round this off… what’s your favourite hot drink for an Antarctic expedition? You can’t beat a classic hot chocolate to warm your insides while enjoying the bracing environment on ice. For some, this can be laced with a dram of Lagavulin, Amarula or any vice of choice! Find out more about White Desert here.

The Stanley brand has been in the business a long time. Over a hundred years, to be exact. It was 1913 when William Stanley invented the all-steel, double-wall vacuum bottle and stuck his name on it. Rumor has it, that he wanted his coffee hot all day while he was working, and was inspired to apply some of his theories learned while developing transformers. As it turns out, necessity really is the mother of invention. Since then, the Stanley name has become synonymous for ultra-durable, super reliable products made with an eye for sleek design and real life uses. Generations of people have come to rely on their Stanley bottles, mugs, lunchboxes, cook sets, flasks, growlers, coolers, and more every single day, knowing that they’ll keep their food and drink at temperature longer, all while standing up to life’s wear and tear. Today, Stanley’s Built For Life™ promisemeans that your grandad’s thermos that supported pilots in World War II could very well get set beside that brand new Classic Vacuum Insulated Bottle you picked up for your weekend camping trip. At first glance, you might be hard-pressed to notice a difference: Same tough construction, same classic look, same Stanley hammertone green finish, although once you pick them up, you’ll be able to tell which is which. So when you’ve been the gold standard for “Unbreakable” for literally generations, one question keeps coming up from our customers who have seen the way Stanley bottles seem to last and last: What’s changed over the years? The answer? Everything and nothing. The Beginning To start out, you have to understand what makes a Stanley a Stanley. When William Stanley invented double-wall steel vacuum insulation all the way back in 1913, he set the fundamental groundwork for the technology that would define the company’s reputation for unparalleled performance. At the time vacuum insulated bottles were lined with glass, and they did a fine job keeping coffee hot. That is until one of those got damaged. Glass in your cup of Joe may ruin your day, but in 1913, the equivalent of having to fork out $150-$200 for a new bottle could ruin your entire month or more. This is where Stanley really came to save the day — with value and durability. One of Stanley’s key innovations was Char-Vac™, where charcoal dust was packed between two stainless steel walls while the vacuum insulation was created. This method made the bottles tougher and more resilient, albeit heavier and bulkier. Stanleys from the time of Char-Vac™ were much coveted and are still in use to this day, with some Stanley fanatics still obsessed with the decades old bottles they bought as teenagers. Stanley discontinued use of Char-Vac™ in 2009, opting instead to thicken the outer steel wall. This resulted in a bottle that was significantly lighter weight and built to the same industry- leading specs. But if we’re keeping it real, then we have to say that the old bottles were built to handle some damn good abuse. A level of tough that our newer Classic Series bottles can’t always compete with. This is why we introduced the Master Series in 2017. It’s designed for the people who need the over-the-top durability of the previous Char-Vac™ model and, the new Quad-Vac™ technology means it’ll keep your drinks hot for days. Other innovations were implemented over the years as we constantly tweaked our formula. Bottle necks were widened for easier filling and cleaning. We switched up the kind of stainless steel we use to make our bottles far more resistant to corrosion. We found ways to reduce body welds, reduce the number of potential fail points. Old Vs. New: Which Bottle Is Better? All of these little changes were and are part of the same obsessive hunt for perfection we’ve had from the beginning. William Stanley invented something amazing all the way back in 1913- and we’ve continued to improve on what made our bottles great to begin with, thermal insulation and unprecedented durability. The Quad-Vac™ technology used in the Master Series collection is unrivaled in a marketplace of look-a-likes. The conversation of which bottle is better - the new Stanley bottle or the old Stanley bottle - is always coming up. The truth: neither is better than the other, because they’re both Stanleys. The new bottles are part of a constant evolution, of never being satisfied. Like every great inventor the pursuit of perfection never stops. The Stanley name is more than a single product or process, it’s a promise to the people who have come to rely on us for years: we make bottles that last a lifetime. That’s why, whether it's a Stanley you bought in 1965 or one you picked up just yesterday, we will always honor our lifetime warranty to make sure that every product is as reliable and durable as the day you bought it. Have you had a life changing experience with your trusty Stanley bottle? Let us know! You can tag us on your favorite social media platform or just shoot an email to info@stanley-pmi.com! ABOUT STANLEY The Stanley brand has a rich 100+ year history. Born from inventor William Stanley Jr. who forever changed the way hot drinks were consumed, in 1913 he fused vacuum insulation and the strength of steel in one portable bottle, inventing the all-steel vacuum bottle we know and love today.