Walking Equipment and Accessories

Stanley Perfect-Brew Pour Over Portable Coffee Maker | Review

For coffee-loving campers everywhere - here’s our take on Stanley’s sturdy coffee maker for on-the-move.

Why We Chose The Stanley Perfect-Brew Pour Over Portable Coffee Maker: Sturdy, reusable filter, BPA-free

Nothing beats waking up in the mountains with a good cup of coffee. The views, the tranquility and that all-enticing smell of coffee grinds brewing in the background. Pure bliss.

And with more and more lightweight coffee makers on the market, this is becoming increasingly possible. Take Stanley’s Perfect-Brew Pour Over for example: at just 300g and with fairly small dimensions of 12.8 x 10.9 x 12cm (HxWxL), we reckon it’d make a great addition to your cooking kit essentials this year.

Who Is The Stanley Perfect-Brew For?

If you’re a coffee-loving camper who’s also keen on sustainability, the Stanley Perfect-Brew might be quite the game changer for you. In particular, we can see it working well on multi-day backpacking trips where that little bit of extra luxury in the morning really pays off.

With a capacity of 590ml – roughly six cups – it should also be great if you’re out hiking in a group and want to make a quick brew stop.

Materials and Construction

There are three components to the Perfect-Brew Pour Over: the BPA-free stainless steel body, the removable filter (also stainless steel), and the threaded filter holder.

Because of this 18/8 stainless steel build, the Pour Over isn’t necessarily the lightest coffee maker on the market, but it is damn sure one of the sturdiest. This – coupled with Stanley’s lifetime warranties – should ensure the Pour Over lasts a very long time indeed.

Features

All in all, the Perfect-Brew is very easy to use. You simply place the coffee maker over your mug, spoon your coffee into the filter (medium-ground is recommended for this filter), saturate it with water, and let the Pour Over do its work. Though it’s specifically designed to fit most Stanley mugs and bottles, it should also work with the majority of camping mugs out there, though it might be worth checking the dimensions just in case.

Our favourite feature is probably the reusable and removable stainless steel filter. This basically eliminates the need for paper filters entirely, which is a huge plus for sustainability, but also means there’s one less thing to carry in your backpack. It also makes it very easy to clean on-the-go, though it’s dishwasher friendly too.

Tester’s Verdict

Grant Hyatt. North Wales based outdoor photographer.

“I’m a self confessed coffee snob and always keen to try out different methods of brewing. I’ve a mix of drip filters and presses already at home, but both are geared toward coffee on the hill that take up little space in the pack. This one from Stanley is not. I use their thermos regularly and am familiar with their indestructability and signature branding. The mug and filter are exactly the same. It’s lived in my car since i got it and would use it for pre-adventure car park coffees or on campsites. With drip filters, the coarseness of the grind is usually fairly important and I have found this one less forgiving than some. But once you’ve played around and found the sweet spot, you can get great tasting, strong coffee in good time.”