Last thanksgiving, I had the chance to return to Montana. And like always, a ski trip was item No. 1 on the to-do list. I brewed some specialty coffee, poured it in my Nissan, and put it in my backpack to carry with me on the slopes.

It was an especially breezy day on those lifts at Big Sky Resort, with gusts at a strength pronounced enough to freeze a perma-grin on my face. It wasn't until around 3:00 in the afternoon that I realized I was still carrying the coffee in my pack, untouched and waiting to be indulged in.

My body was tired and cold as I sat on the Swift Current chairlift for a high-speed nine-minute wind-whipping-you-in-the-face quad ride. Next to me sat my eight-year-old niece who stared at me from under her clunky ski helmet with a grin and wildly rosy cheeks. I pulled the Thermos® from out of my pack and asked my niece, "Do you want to join me for a coffee break?" And there we sat, riding the chairlift and ignoring the high winds, while passing back and forth the thermos lid filled with coffee. I was pleasantly surprised that it was still piping hot despite having filled the container five hours previous.

I had fly-fishing plans with my friend Chad the next morning, so I packed the thermos with leftover coffee in my pack to heat in the microwave before we left for the day. The morning of our trip, I cranked open the lid, poured some coffee into a cup and was again surprised to see the beauty of steam seep out from the opened lid.

If, like me, you have purchased a variety of thermos brands in vain and with high hopes of coming across the one that would truly hold in the heat despite frigid winter conditions, give yourself permission to stop the hunt. Gather all those thermoses and stow them away for next Christmas when you can pawn them off as white elephant gifts. Replace them all with one Nissan vacuum insulated bottle. It has all the insulation you'll ever need.

So be gone, tepid coffee break. It's time to get back to the good-old tongue-blistering coffee break days.

Click this link to purchase: Thermos® Nissan™ Stainless Steel Vacuum Insulated Briefcase Bottle