12 Best Hip Flasks for Discreet Drinking
Whether I’m camping, snowboarding, hitting up a concert, or even late-night stargazing, a flask can turn any day or night into a party.
Compact and portable enough to fit in my pants or coat pocket, I find they’re a great choice for bringing something with a bit more kick wherever I go.
- Flasks aren’t all stainless steel. Stainless steel may be the most common material (thanks to its durability and corrosion-resistance), but leaving the liquor in a stainless steel container for more than three days may taint the flavor. That’s why many modern flasks are made using titanium, glass, ceramic, or even tin—none of which will impact the flavor like steel will.
- Flasks typically come in one of three sizes. You’ll find that flasks will usually hold either 5 ounces, 8 ounces, or 11 ounces of liquor. There are slight variations, but these seem to be the “standard” flask sizes favored by most brands.
- Refilling flasks is always a challenge. For this reason, some brands opt for a wide-mouthed aperture, while others provide a funnel to make it easy to pour liquor from your full-sized glass bottles into the compact, small-mouthed portable flasks.
I’ve been personally testing out flasks for years now, and I’ve learned a thing or two about what separates an “okay” flask that you forget or give away to a buddy from a truly “great” flask that you pack on every outing.
Based on my research and testing, I’ve put together the list below with all the best flasks you could want for your daily carry.
The 8-ounce size is just right for solo drinkers or sharing with friends. With an ultra-tough 18/8 stainless steel body, slim silhouette, and wide-mouth brim for easy refilling, it’s a flask built to go everywhere you do.
Stanley Classic 8oz Flask
For your next camping trip, make sure you’ve got this bad boy filled with your favorite liquor and tucked among your gear.
The eight-ounce size makes it perfect to fill with a drink for two, and I love how easy it is to fill thanks to its wide mouth.
Between the leak-proof cap and stainless steel body, it’s one of the toughest, most reliable flasks I’ve ever owned. Best of all, it’s slim enough I can fit it into any backpack, edc pouch, pack, or even cargo pant pockets and take it anywhere, anytime.
Aspinal of London 5oz Hip Flask
Take just one look at this modern, elegant flask and you’ll fall in love. I know I did.
The five-ounce size is just right to pack a nip of something extra strong to bring on my walks in the countryside, romantic stargazing evenings with my wife, or a guys’ night out.
The stainless steel container is tough enough to handle more active use (it’s held up to 2+ years of camping, hiking, cycling, hunting, and fishing trips.), but it’s wrapped up in a gorgeous pebbled leather pouch that adds a touch of class to my loadout.
It’s also a perfect gift for a man, as the leather pouch can be embossed with initials as desired. (I know this, because I gave one to each of my brothers for Christmas last year.)
Ragproper Modern Glass Hip Flask
This flask goes in a different direction than the others on my list, which is honestly why I love it. There’s no steel in its construction, just glass and silicone. The glass bottle will store liquor for weeks (or months) at a time without the flavor distortion that results when stored in stainless steel.
The soft silicone cover not only ensures a solid grip on the flask, but provides reinforcement to keep the glass from cracking in case I drop it (or, in the case of my snowboarding trips, I take a tumble down a snowy slope).
The “viewing window” lets me see just how much booze I’ve got left, so it’s easy to know when I need to refill it. Best of all, the flask comes with two gunmetal lids, two cork-lined plastic lids, and four extra silicone lid liners to ensure it never leaks or drips in my pocket.
Vargo Titanium Funnel Flask
No more bothering with lugging around a funnel; this flask comes with its own built-in funnel that makes it incredibly easy for you to refill it.
The funnel is secured directly to your flask cap, so all you need to do is flip it up and you’re good to pour in the booze. Once you’re done, flip it back down and get drinking.
Neither the silicone funnel nor the titanium flask interior will taint the flavor of your liquor (a problem you likely experience with stainless steel), and the titanium body makes it a hyper-tough container.
Misc Goods Black Ceramic Flask
Go for the maximum old-timey vibe with this flask. It’s crafted using gorgeous ceramic that has been painted in glossy black or luxurious white, guaranteed to turn heads whenever you pull it out of your pocket.
Add to that a cork top, leather safety strap, and brass hardware, and you’ve got a flask any fella will be proud to show off. Best of all, it’s sized to hold up to 11 ounces of liquor—that’s nearly half a bottle.
Jacob Bromwell Model One
For a true “hipster” look in every sense of the word, you’ll absolutely want this flask in your pocket.
It’s built using an eye-catching and old-timey copper finish wrapped around a lead-free tin interior that won’t taint your liquor.
Instead of a screw-top, it features a cork stopper as well as a historically accurate wood stopper. Keep it in your boot-top, hip pocket, or coat pocket.
SWIG Harris Tweed Flask
For the gentleman who is happiest in a tweed suit, this flask is 100% built for you. They’ve wrapped the stainless steel body in colorful handmade tweed fabric with stitched leather detailing that gives it a truly elegant look.
It’s got space enough to hold a few drinks’ worth of booze but is sized right to fit in your boot-top, coat pocket, or backpack. You can even add engraving, a hinged screw-cap, and a specially designed funnel (for an extra fee) to truly make this your special friend.
Blackthorn Leather Wrapped Flask
Every flask comes with a unique design (Celtic High Cross, Compass Rose, Sugar Skull, Thistle, and many more) burned into the leather (which comes in not only classic brown, but blue, green, and wine red).
I love how many looks I get every time I pull it out—people always ask to examine it closely so they can see the leather details more completely.
The leather is hand-dyed and hand-stitched, wrapped around a 304 stainless steel canister sized to hold eight ounces of liquor.
The captured screw cap is easy to open and close, but I never have to worry about it getting lost or misplaced while I drink and hand it around.
Shinola Detroit Leather Wrapped Flask
Shinola Detroit has earned itself a reputation for delivering only high-quality leather goods, and this flask certainly meets the brand’s standard.
Wrapped around the stainless steel flask body is some lovely natural vegetable-tanned Italian leather, velvety soft and smooth to the touch with a luxurious look that will only grow more beautiful as it develops its unique patina.
Sized just right for concealment, you’ll have no trouble keeping it tucked out of sight until you need a swig.
Snow Peak Titanium Flask5
Don’t wait for the Après-ski to start drinking. Take this bad boy up the ski lift with you, and have a sip before you race down the slopes (kidding).
Built from ultra-tough but lightweight titanium, it’s sturdy enough to survive any tumble or collision.
The flavor-resistant interior will not only prevent the tainting of your liquor, but avoid absorbing the flavors of whatever you store inside. Switch between whisky, lemonade, vodka, soda, water, and rum without ever tasting the flask’s last contents.
BarMe Shot Flask
I hate messes when trying to drink, so I was so excited to test out this all-in-one shot flask. Not only does it include a sturdy stainless steel hinged screw-top flask, but the set also comes with a funnel (for easier, mess-free refilling) and a collapsible 2-ounce shot glass that stores securely into the flask’s body.
It’s tough, spill-proof, and ultra-convenient, and the perfect solution to share with friends, too. Thanks to the shot glass, I can serve the booze around so I’m the only one putting my lips on the actual flask. (No germs for me!)
GSI Outdoors Boulder Flask Thermos
I’ll almost always pack this flask for those lovely summer days at the lake or BBQing riverside with my friends.
Why, you ask? Simple: the lovely glass body makes it easy to show off the liquor within, and allows me to chill the contents by letting it sit in cold water (be it my cooler or the river/lake itself). I can enjoy a hit of chilled vodka, whiskey, or tequila (when I’m in a party mood) any time.
The glass is shatter-proof, made from a copolyester resin, so it’s tough enough to endure any outdoor adventure. I’ve taken it camping, hiking, kayaking, and paddleboarding, and no matter how much it gets banged around (more than I care to admit), it’s still in great shape.
Thanks to the silicone bumper and grip, it’s easy to keep a tight hold of even if my hands are wet, and it won’t break or crack if (or, perhaps better said, when) I drop it.
The Origin of Flasks
Flasks (a.k.a. hip flasks) as we know them today date back to the 18th century. Crafted for the social elite of the day, they were typically made from glass or silver, though some cheap models were made from pewter (a metal that turned out to be highly toxic due to high lead levels).
Gentlemen (and, let’s be honest, more than a few gentlewomen, too) carried a hip flask in their coat or pants pocket. In fact, the modern hip flask was modeled after makeshift flasks crafted from pig bladders women used to smuggle booze onto British warships for their sailor husbands (and paramours).
During the first six months of Prohibition in the U.S. in the 1930s, sales of hip flasks skyrocketed—more were sold in that short period than in the 10 years previous. No surprise, hip flasks were banned by prohibition law.
Are Hip Flasks Legal?
Though prohibition ended decades ago, hip flasks are still illegal in some U.S. states—but not for the reason you’d think.
Flasks are considered by U.S. law to be “open carry containers”, and thus are illegal in a majority of states (26 of the 50 states). However, the law will vary from state to state, so make sure to check in your state of residence to be sure they’re legal before taking one around.
Flasks are illegal in all government buildings.
Flasks are also illegal to take onto airplanes; they won’t pass TSA inspection.
Fun Fact: About Hipsters and Bootleggers
The name “hipster” originally had nothing to do with overgrown and manicured beards, ultra-thick suspenders, old-timey hats, and an affinity for “micro-brew” anything. It’s actually derived from people who carried hip flasks.
“Bootleggers” was another name commonly given to people who carried flasks, but in their boots rather than in their hip pockets.
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