There are so many Hydro Flask and Yeti products out there, finding the most suitable one for your needs can be compelling.
In this post, I'm going to share with you all the information you need to decide. First in a digestible table, and then in more detail.
At the bottom of this post, there's another table for Hydro Flask vs Yeti Tumblers.
Long story short, in the end, I'd recommend;
- Yeti Rambler Bottle | $39.99 for school, work, commute, daily, or "cafe" use,
- Hydro Flask Wide Mouth Insulated (with Flex Cap) | from $29.90 for hiking,
- Hydro Flask Standard Mouth Insulated (with Sports Cap) | from $35.95 for outdoors activities require you to drink using one hand.
Before you make up your mind, let's make sure you looked at all the facts in this table:
Turn your phone sideways for a much better table display!
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Overall Score | ||||
Hydro Flask Wide Mouth Insulated (with Flex Cap) | Yeti Rambler Bottle with TripleHaul Cap | Hydro Flask Standard Mouth Insulated (with Flex Cap) | Hydro Flask Standard Mouth Insulated (with Sports Cap) | |
Best for.. | ...hiking | ...school, work, commute, daily, or "cafe" use | ...ultralight hiking | ...outdoors activities require you to drink using one hand |
Hydro Flask Wide Mouth Insulated (with Flex Cap) | Yeti Rambler Bottle with TripleHaul Cap | Hydro Flask Standard Mouth Insulated (with Flex Cap) | Hydro Flask Standard Mouth Insulated (with Sports Cap) | |
Pros | Leak proof, great insulation, lifetime warranty, durable, easy to fill | Dishwasher safe, great insulation, very durable, leak proof, easy to use | Fits everywhere, leak proof, great insulation, great grip, durable | One hand use, fits everywhere, great insulation, great grip, durable |
Cons | Not dishwasher safe | Heavy | Difficult to clean & fill, not dishwasher safe | Leaks, difficult to clean & fill, not dishwasher safe |
Hydro Flask Wide Mouth Insulated (with Flex Cap) | Yeti Rambler Bottle with TripleHaul Cap | Hydro Flask Standard Mouth Insulated (with Flex Cap) | Hydro Flask Standard Mouth Insulated (with Sports Cap) | |
Volume options and specs | 18 oz: 9.5" (H) x 3" (Bottom Dia). Empty Weight: 16.3 oz 26 oz: 10.25" (H) x 3.375" (Bottom Dia). Empty Weight: 18.3 oz 36 oz: 10.75" (H) x 3.75" (Bottom Dia). Empty Weight: 21.9 oz 64 oz: 11.5" (H) x 4.75" (Bottom Dia). Empty Weight: 33 oz |
You might be asking why there is 4 models of Hydro Flask and only one of Yeti. The answer is that the mouth width and cap/lid type makes a whole different product for Hydro Flasks:
Click on image to enlarge.
Whereas for Yeti, this isn't the case as it only has the Rambler model, with 18, 26, 36 and 64 oz volume options and that's it. You can purchase additional caps and lids to your preference, but all of them come with the standard, or so called, "TripleHaul" cap.
So after checking out all the different products, we decided that Hydro Flask Wide Mouth Insulated 32 oz (with Flex Cap) and Yeti Rambler Bottle 26 oz are the most convenient products of their particular series for most people - but all the info in this article applies to all bottles.
Ease of use
This subsection almost entirely comes down to the mouth sizes. Although larger mouth does mean easy filling and hand-washing, it does NOT mean easy drinking, as you can imagine.
Filling
Chances are, you're going to have to pour milk from its can into the bottle. As you know, shape of most cans make it difficult to pour it into bottles with relatively narrower mouths.
- Hand wash your Hydro Flask with hot soapy water without washing the exterior.
- Put your Yeti Rambler Bottle in the dishwasher.
More on these cleaning methods later.
So you're likely to fail at times, and in that case, it's going to make the outer surface of the bottle somewhat "sticky" or "gluey" because unlike water, milk is a caloric substance. I absolutely HATE when this happens, and I assume so do you - which makes large mouth for filling important.
Drinking
This is the only thing a wider mouth affects negatively - but it's also the most difficult thing to come to an objective judgement as everyone is different. Some people can like wide mouth while drinking, but in most conditions it's the most difficult with hot drinks.
You see why it's called "over the nose".
Still, for most people, advantages of wider mouth outnumber those of narrower ones.
Cleaning
None of the Hydro Flask bottles mentioned in this post are dishwasher safe - which is another thing makes wide mouth superior over narrower ones, because with the narrower mouths it's a pain in the butt to try and clean the region around the mouth inside the bottle.
It can damage the powder - which is why you can't put it into the dishwasher either. However, you can wash your Hydro Flip Lid and Wide Straw Lid in the dishwasher.
You can try filling the bottle with water & dish soap (or whatever you prefer using as a cleaning fluid) and shake it, or bend a brush and use it accordingly to have better access there, but you still fail to apply the necessary pressure to achieve a decent level of cleanliness. Even if you do find a way, it's an extra effort on the user side - which is why we gave negative points to narrow mouths.
Another pro of Hydro Flask here is that it offers its own bottle brush compatible with its ALL bottles:
There's also this product on Amazon which would be equally good (if not better!) as it has more bells and whistles involved such as a tiny brush to clean the crevices of caps and lids:
This will be pretty short on Yeti's side - because it IS dishwasher safe. Extra points to Yeti.
Icing
Putting ices inside is an overlooked aspect of mouth sizes, yet it's important if you want to keep your cold beverage cold forever. Obviously with narrower mouths it's going to be a battle trying to fit them inside. As you'll see in below section, putting these bottles inside a freezer WON'T MAKE THE LIQUID INSIDE ANY COLDER because of their double-walled insulation. So you'll need ices for keeping them cold the most.
If you're absolutely sure that you'll never have to use big blocks of ices, then you don't have to pay attention to this sub-heading.
Insulation
Unlike S'well water bottles with triple wall and some Klean Kanteen bottles with single wall insulation constructions, all Yeti and Hydro Flask bottles use double-wall insulation - which means they're difficult to compare one another, to say the least.
Cold beverages are kept cold up to nearly 24, and hot beverages are kept hot up to nearly 12 hours. Obviously, until this cut off point, they do get closer and closer to room temperature slowly. I mean this is a no-brainer (sorry) but I still want to make it clear for some of you: Don't think of it like the liquid inside returns to the room temperature suddenly after 12/24 hours.
- Freezer: Due to the double-walled insulation, liquid inside won't get cold.
- Stove: Again, due to the double-walled insulation, liquid inside won't get hot. But an extra comment for Hydro Flasks is that the stove can damage the exterior.
So yeah, it's silly to provide "hours" in terms of insulation, and I don't like it. My humble advice is to forget about them. Just know that for most of us, all Yeti and Hydro Flask bottles in this review do a great job in keeping your beverages hot/cold in most conditions. I'd doubt 90% of you will need more than what they offer.
Coating of Yeti adds to its durability just slightly more compared to that of Hydro Flask - but the way you treat both bottles will make the most impact.
Durability
Hydro Flask offers a lifetime warranty for both bottles & tumblers [3] , whereas Yeti offers 5 years warranty for bottles, and there seems to be no information about the warranty of their tumblers [4].
On the other hand, both products use a 18/8 stainless steel construction. The first number refers to the chromium percentage inside the material and second number to that of nickel. Along with 18/10, 18/8 is the most commonly used ratio in dining and food preparation materials [5].
Both products come with a powder coat around the exterior for improved grip.
However, 18/8 isn't only to provide more durability - but more to ensure no flavor transfer, which brings me to my next point...
Taste
This is going to be pretty short. None of these bottles transfer taste as I already mentioned above. As weird as it sounds, this feature is lacking in some bottles out there.
Caps, Lids and Leaking
The most important thing about caps is that some are leak proof and some aren't.
Flex Caps of Hydro Flask & TripleHaul Caps/Straw Caps of Yeti are leak proof, whereas Sport Caps/Straw Lids/Hydro Flips of Hydro Flask ARE NOT.
Yeti or Hydro Flask - none of them are designed for hot beverages.
This isn't to say that leak proof are superior, because not everyone needs leak proofing. The advantage of Sports Caps is that they allow one handed drinking:
GIF: Here's how you open/close Hydro Flask Sport Cap using one hand.
This can be important for you if you'll use the bottle while driving, cycling, on the go, etc.
A closer look to the top carry handles. That of Hydro Flask can move, is softer (hence shapes to your customized grip) and is attached to the cap with stainless steel pivots. It might prove less durability after years of use (although I'd doubt - and it has lifetime warranty anyway), but it undoubtedly feels more gentle compared to Yeti.
For Hydro Flask
If you already bought your bottle and realized you'd do better with another one, don't worry. Caps of both Yeti and Hydro Flask products are on Amazon and you can easily change yours to your preference. Below, I'm going to provide your compatible options:
For wide mouth, in particular order:
Wide Mouth Flex Cap - Wide Mouth Straw Lid - Wide Mouth Hydro Flip
Flex Cap is the only leak proof cap among them. As you see, wide mouth Hydro Flask doesn't have a compatible sports cap - only Straw Lid.
For standard mouth, in particular order:
Standard Mouth Flex Cap - Standard Mouth Sports Cap.
Again, Flex Cap is the only leak proof cap among them.
For Yeti
Same things about Sports and Flex Caps above are valid for Yeti as well. The only difference is that Sports Cap is called Straw Cap and Flex Cap is called TripleHaul Cap (for easy carrying with 3 fingers). Below caps fit over 18, 26, 36 and 64 oz bottles:
TripleHaul Cap is actually what they call the handle. So Straw Cap also offers the TripleHaul. Again, it makes drinking with one hand easier, but it can't be used with hot beverages. Unlike Hydro Flask caps except Flex Cap, Straw and TripleHaul Caps are leak proof.
Versatility
You should consider 4 things here.
Fitting in car cup holders & side water bottle holders of backpacks
Either Yeti Rambler Bottle or Hydro Flask Wide Mouth Bottle oz won't fit inside the regular cup holders. But, there are exceptions such as some Ford Truck cup holders. If this is pretty important for you, measure the diameter of your car's cup holder, compare it to the bottle dimensions I've laid out in the introduction table, and choose the volume & type of your bottle accordingly.
For backpacks, you should do the same (measure it in advance), however it's more difficult to do so since unlike car cup holders, those of backpacks are made of fabric and hence are pliable. So instead of measuring the diameter, you can check the fit using a plastic water bottle with the dimensions equivalent to your preferred bottle size to get a feel beforehand.
But in most conditions, as long as your backpacks has side and mesh water bottle holders (like these hiking backpacks [6]), you're fine even with the fattier volumes (like 40 oz) of these bottles.
One handed drinking
One handed drinking is only available in Hydro Flask models with Sports Cap. If you're driving, for example, this can be important for you. You can easily flip it open with your thumb and start drinking without the need for suing both of your hands. See the Cap Heading above for animated demonstration.
Coating powder for easier grip
This applies to both brands. Powder coats around the exterior offer not only higher durability, but also an easier grip. If you're planning to walk with the bottle a lot, this can be important for you.
Another thing to mention here is sweating. If your hands sweat and you're either self conscious about it or just simply don't like it, coating helps with reducing the sweat as well since it works the same way the cardboard does around Starbucks cups.
Coating of Hydro Flask is dishwasher unsafe and weak against hot water (see Cleaning subheading under Ease of Use), but provides slightly better grip to my knowledge, whereas Yeti provides slightly better durability. So this is a trade-off.
For example, for a corporate worker who doesn't want to mess with cleaning scrubs and vinegar etc due to little free time, dishwasher safety can be more important. For a biker, increased grip can be more important.
Volume
There are a lot of volume options for all these bottles. If you'll be traveling with them mostly, you'd better opt for larger bottles especially if you'll rarely have access to drinking water. Same reasons also go for outdoors use.
I'd recommend Yeti Rambler Bottle 36 oz and Hydro Flask 40 oz if you're this guy. If you're more serious about outdoors and wouldn't mind hauling a HUGE bottle with you everywhere, 64 oz versions can be even more convenient for you.
On the other hand, if you'll use them at work, school, during commute, in cafes etc, I'd doubt you'll need anything more than 32 oz (equals 1 liter). You have access to drinking water more often, and these volumes are more than enough for drinking beverages.
It really doesn't worth the extra 8-10 oz you get when you look at the sacrifices you make in terms of volume and weight. No one wants to haul a HUGE bottle with them during daily use. I'd recommend Hydro Flask 32 oz and Yeti Rambler Bottle 26 oz if you're this guy.
Conclusion
Yeti Rambler Bottle is recommended for school, work, commute, daily, or "cafe" use.
Hydro Flask Wide Mouth Insulated (with Flex Cap) is recommended for hiking/camping activities.
Because of the Sport Cap, Hydro Flask Standard Mouth Insulated (with Sports Cap) is recommended for outdoors activities require you to drink using one hand.
Hydro Flask Standard Mouth Insulated (with Flex Cap) is recommended for ultralight hiking.
Hydro Flask vs Yeti Tumbler
I gathered around a comparison chart for Tumblers as well.
Turn your phone sideways for a much better table display!
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Overall Score | ||
Yeti Rambler Tumbler | Hydro Flask Tumbler | |
Pros | Dishwasher safe, good insulation, durable, fits inside most car cop holders | Fits inside most car cop holders, good insulation, durable, light |
Cons | Heavy | Not dishwasher safe |
Yeti Rambler Tumbler | Hydro Flask Tumbler | |
Volume options and specs | 20 oz: 6.875" (H), 2.75" (Bottom Dia), 3.5" (Mouth Dia). Empty Weight: 12.7 oz 30 oz: 7.875" (H), 2.75" (Bottom Dia), 4" (Mouth Dia). Empty Weight: 16 oz |
As you see, this time both brands offer 2 volume options. Easier to choose!
You can see the spec size and weight differences in the table, but another thing worth mentioning is that 20 oz version Yeti Rambler Tumbler does NOT have the curve in the middle (see the image at right).
As you can imagine, the curve is intended to provide better grip with increased volume and weight.
Similar to bottles, Yeti Tumbler is dishwasher safe whereas Hydro Flask Tumbler isn't. Both are double walled, and for the sake of not repeating myself please go and check the headings above as all the facts I've mentioned there are valid for these two as well.
Check the seller before buying, seems like there are some counterfeit items. Click on the links laid out here to be navigated to the products seemingly with the highest reliability.
An important difference with bottles is that, the lids aren't screwed but push-sealed - which means being more prone to leaking compared to bottles.
I hope this review was helpful for you to understand which Yeti or Hydro Flask is the best for your specific needs. Feel free to ask me any questions/provide feedback and I'll be happy to respond in the comment section below if it's within my knowledge.
Thanks a lot for reading. Happy trails.
References
- https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/B1x+13888US.pdf
- https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61pL7Jr1XCL.pdf
- https://www.hydroflask.com/warranty/
- https://intl.yeti.com/en_US/warranty-information.html
- https://mightynest.com/articles/stainless-steel-all-about-food-grade-304-188-and-1810
- https://outdoorcrunch.com/best-backpacking-backpacks/
Also,
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