In praise of the enamel mug
The camping mug that quietly became the best-designed object in most kitchens.
It chips, it gets hot, it costs less than a sandwich. It is also the object our readers most often say they would save from a fire.
Enamel is steel coated in glass, fired at around 800 degrees. It survives campfires, dishwashers and decades of use, and the chips only make it look more like yours.
The best-designed things are often the ones nobody designed for a magazine.
Made for the outdoors, kept indoors
The design has barely changed in a century. A pressed steel body, a rolled rim so it does not cut your lip, a handle riveted or welded on, and a coat of glass in one colour with a contrasting edge. Nothing on it is decoration. The blue rim exists because a dark line hides wear better than a white one.
That is why it looks right on a shelf next to a good chair or a linen tea towel. It has the same quality as most things people keep for decades: it was made to be used, not to be photographed.
What to look for
Heavier is better. A thin mug dents and chips at the first drop, while a thicker steel body takes years of knocks. Check the inside for an even coat with no bare patches, and avoid anything with a printed slogan, which wears off within a year.
A chip is not the end of it. As long as the inside is intact, the mug is safe to use. Most of our readers say the chips are the point: each one is a camping trip, a house move or a clumsy morning.
