Well after the best part of 24 hrs with a SS flask and a conventional flash filled with boiling water, the temperature of the water in the SS flask was
44C. To drink, it felt decidedly lukewarm.The conventional flask water temperature was 52C. This felt significantly warmer and an acceptable drinking temperature (just) for tea.
So, it could just be that I have a cheap and nasty SS flask but unless anyone can show me one where the metal does not provide a direct thermal bridge with the outer case, I will continue to believe that conventional flasks out-perform SS ones when it comes to maintaining a constant temperature.
Tim