Yeti Vs Hydro Flask – The Battle of Drinkware Giants

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Welcome to our ultimate YETI vs Hydro Flask comparison, a follow up to our previous post in which we discussed best tumblers on the market.

Both Yeti and Hydro Flask are well known for their drinkware. Yeti is an older company and an industry veteran in all matters cooler. That includes their Rambler and Tumbler product lines.

Hydro Flask is a much newer player on the scene, though in the short time they’ve been around they have made quite a name for themselves, coming out on top with superior products, including their soft cooler, that customers find a joy to own and use.

Hydro Flask mainly deals in drinkware, while Yeti deals in more general products, including drinkware. To make this review an apples to apples comparison, we’re going to compare their drinkware.

Specifically, we're going to compare Hydro Flask vs Yeti in two categories, which resonate with their product offering:

So let’s get started on this journey together and see who comes out on top!


YETI vs Hydro Flask – Common Features At a Glance

We’re going to go deeper into this in a bit, but I thought it might be a good idea to give a short summary of the main points of the comparison, just in case you’re in a hurry and you want the highlights real quick.

  • Same Stainless Steel Quality

    Both Yeti and Hydro Flask built their bottles and tumblers with the same 18/8 stainless steel exterior and interior. Not only is this steel super strong and durable, but it is also safe for your drinks and doesn’t leave a metallic aftertaste.

  • Both Have Double-Wall Insulation

    Both Yeti and Hydro Flask products employ double-wall insulation, which keeps your drinks cold or hot for up to 24 hours while making for a sweat-proof exterior.

  • Yeti Rambler Has a Superior Lid Handle

    The Yeti Rambler’s lid handle is very comfortable and can be held with just 3 fingers, making it easy to carry it around. While the Hydro Flask’s rubber lid handle isn’t necessarily uncomfortable, it’s just slightly more flimsy compared to the Yeti Rambler’s lid.

  • Hydro Flask’s Powder Coating Makes for More Color Options

    Hydro Flask’s exterior powder coating means you get many more color options for your bottle or tumbler. Yeti’s stainless steel exterior is the only option for their bottle, while their tumbler has only a few Duracoat color options.

  • Yeti is More Expensive

    On average, the Yeti Rambler is more expensive than the Hydro Flask product. The prices are more balanced for the bottles, but Yeti is still slightly more expensive.

  • Hydro Flask has a Lifetime Warranty

    Yeti only offers a limited 5-year warranty on its drinkware. While this is good, and Yeti honors that warranty, it’s really nothing compared to the lifetime warranty Hydro Flask offers on its products. This is a huge win for Hydro Flask.

And that concludes the short comparison. Would you like something a little more detailed? Read on!


Hydro Flask vs YETI – Detailed Comparisons

So now we’re going to split this into 2 parts.

First, we’ll compare the tumblers, where it will be Yeti Tumbler vs the Hydro Flask Tumbler. After that, we’ll have a look at the Yeti Rambler Bottle vs the Hydro Flask Hydration Bottle.


Yeti Rambler vs Hydro Flask Tumbler

Here, we’re going to look at the similarities and differences between the two products in a little more detail.

Yeti Tumbler vs Hydro Flask Tumbler


Yeti Rambler and Hydro Flask Tumbler Line Up

Let’s start with the similarities.

  • Stainless Steel Construction

    Both products use 18/8 pro-grade stainless steel construction, making for durable tumblers that won’t transfer any flavors or odors.

  • Double Wall Vacuum Insulation

    They also both offer double-wall vacuum insulation, just like their bottle counterparts. This helps to keep beverages hot or cold for longer.

  • Sweat Free Technology

    You don’t have to worry about a sweating exterior on either the Yeti Tumbler or the Hydro Flask Tumbler. The double-wall vacuum insulation technology ensures no condensation takes place on the exterior.

  • Insulated Press-In Lid

    This is a unique feature for these tumblers, separate from the bottles. Both of them have insulated press-in lids that are designed to stop spills and prevent heat transfer. Both lids are also dishwasher safe.

    However, there is a common disadvantage for both lids. Each lid has a hole through which you drink. This open hole is an easy spot for spills and the loss of heat from the tumbler. The problem is that the hole is permanently open. You can’t close it. Your only option, in either case, would be purchasing a different leak-proof lid.

  • Variety

    Both of these products have a variety in both colors and sizes. Yeti manages to hold its own in variety against Hydro Flask here, unlike with the bottles.

    There are 5 different colors for the Yeti Tumbler and 2 different size options: the 20 oz and the 30 oz. The Hydro Flask has 3 sizes: the 16 oz, the 22 oz, and the 32 oz, and a whole slew of colors.

    While Yeti does include some variety, it should be noted that Hydro Flask still offers a lot more variety in the color and size sectors.

  • Retail Price

    While Yeti bottles are more expensive than Hydro Flask bottles, Yeti tumblers are comparable to Hydro Flask tumblers in price. For all sizes, the two products have near-identical prices.

  • Accessories

    Again, Yeti holds out in the accessories sector. Both products have lots of accessories for their products, from lids to handles to straws.

The differences are also largely the same as with the bottles.

  • Exterior and Color Variety

    The Hydro Flask’s powder-coated exterior offers more color variety than the 5 different Duracoat colors provided by Yeti.

  • Dishwasher Safety

    The Yeti Tumbler’s stainless steel exterior is more dishwasher safe than the Hydro Flask’s powder-coated exterior, even with Duracoat on it.

  • Lifetime Warranty

    Hydro Flask’s lifetime warranty trumps Yeti’s 5-year warrant on any day.

yeti tumbler features
Image: yeti.com
hydro flask tumbler construction features
Image: www.hydroflask.com

Yeti Rambler Tumbler Video


Verdict

As you can see, it’s a pretty close call between the two products.

  • Yeti has better dishwasher safety and better cap handle technology on their bottles than Hydro Flask.
  • Hydro Flask has more color and accessory variety, a lower retail price on average, and a lifetime warranty.

Yeti is certainly an industry veteran and will have its fair share of die-hard fans. If you’re one of those, then you have absolutely nothing to lose by sticking to Yeti.

On the other hand, if you’re looking for a really good product with variety, a lower retail price, and a lifetime warranty, we would highly recommend you get yourself a Hydro Flask.

Note: Did you know we have reviewed Yeti Rambler and also compared it to other popular tumblers, such as the Orca Chaser Cup or the RTIC's tumbler? For even more information, check out our article about YETI Rambler alternatives.

Yeti Rambler Bottle vs Hydro Flask Hydration Bottle

These products are pretty much the crème de la crème in the world of insulated water bottles. It is only natural that they will have a few similarities in what makes them so great.

Yeti bottle vs Hydro Flask bottle


Yeti Rambler Bottles and Hydro Flask Bottles LineUp

Unsurprisingly, bottles share many features with the tumblers discussed above. The similarities include the ones below.

  • Stainless Steel Construction

    Both of these have an 18/8 pro-grade stainless steel construction. Again, this kind of exterior is indestructible. It is resistant to rust and puncturing, and won’t ding so easily when you drop your bottle.

    This kind of steel also won’t absorb the bacteria, odors, and tastes in your drink, making it super safe to put your drink inside it.

  • Double Wall Vacuum Insulation

    Double-wall insulation is a special type of insulation where the inner wall and outer wall are separated by a space that contains a vacuum. Since the vacuum has nothing in it, it makes it very difficult for heat to get transferred between the two walls.

    This keeps the contents of your bottle cold or hot for long periods of time. For both of these bottles, you can expect temperatures to hold for up to 24 hours for cold drinks and up to 6 hours for hot drinks.

  • Sweat Free Technology

    This comes about as a natural consequence of double-wall insulation. Because there is no heat passing between the inner and outer wall, there isn’t going to be any condensation on the exterior surface of your bottle when you have a cold drink inside.

    This is a common problem in bottles that use inferior insulation technologies. With the Yeti Rambler and the Hydro Flask Hydration, you can look forward to sweat-free exteriors and a consistently dry grip on your bottle.

  • Variety in Sizes

    Another thing that both bottles have in common is their variety. They are available in many different sizes, ranging from the small 18-ounce bottle to the large 60-ounce bottles. As a consumer, you can pick a size that matches your own needs and preferences.

That’s about all of the similarities between the two products. There are also differences that set each apart from the other and, in some cases, give a slight edge. Let’s have a look at them.

  • Retail price

    This used to be probably the most obvious difference between the two, and likely the most significant in determining which bottle most consumers will buy. Until recently, as the sizes grew, the retail price of the Yeti grew much faster than that of the Hydro Flask.

    Fortunately, YETI lowered the prices a bit to match those of Hydro flasks. To give you an example, for the 18 fluid ounce bottle, the retail price of the Yeti Rambler Bottle is now exactly the same as that of the Hydro Flask Hydration.

    To sum up, recently both brands have aligned their prices (or more precisely YETI did lower them), and now bottles from both brands currently cost about the same.

  • Exterior

    While the Yeti Rambler has a plain stainless steel exterior, the Hydro Flask Hydration has a powder-coated exterior. This kind of exterior means there is a much larger range of different shades to choose from when you’re buying a Hydro Flask Hydration.

  • Sizes

    Yeti Rambler Bottle comes in three available sizes (18 oz, 26 oz, 36 oz). Hydro Flask, on other hand, has the edge in that aspect, offering not one but two series, each offering a pool of sizes to choose from.

    Their Standard Mouth series is on par with YETI's (18 oz, 26 oz, 36 oz). Their Wide Mouth series, however, goes further and offers 20, 32, 40 and 64 oz. Both brands also offer a small, 12 oz bottle dedicated to children.

  • Customization

    What's really cool for Hydro Flask is that they offer an online tool for customers to personalize their products!

    You can use a combination of any of the 11 available sizes, 2 different lid options, and as many as 14 different colors for up to 4 different bottle parts. How awesome is that? my hydro flask bottles

  • Dishwasher safety

    While the powder coating on the exterior has a major advantage for the Hydro Flask Hydration, it comes at a cost. If you put your Hydro Flask Hydration into the dishwasher, the powder coating is going to get stripped off by the high temperatures.

    In fact, Hydro Flask does not recommend putting their products in the dishwasher. Yeti’s Rambler does not have the same problem. Since the exterior is stainless steel, you can throw it into the dishwasher without worry.

    In fact, Yeti themselves mark their drinkware as dishwasher safe.

  • Lifetime warranty

    This is a major win for Hydro Flask. Hydro Flask offers a lifetime warranty on their products with no extra price. With Yeti, you only get a limited 5-year warranty.

  • Cap

    Yeti’s TripleHaul Cap technology gives you a better and more comfortable cap handle. It allows you to get a good grip with only 3 fingers. This adds to its leak-proof and spill-free capabilities.

    While the Hydro Flask Hydration’s lid is also airtight, leak-proof, and spill-free, the handle on the cap isn’t as comfortable to hold as the Yeti Rambler’s.

  • Accessories

    Hydro Flask offers a lot more accessories for its bottles than Yeti does, applying to both the standard and wide mouth bottle varieties. They include loop caps, straw lids, and many others.



Verdict

As you can see, both of these bottles have some pretty great things going for them. Some of these qualities are a win for both products, while some others give each bottle a slight edge over the other. Yeti wins on dishwasher safety and grip, while Hydro Flask seems to offer more variety and a better retail price.


Where to Buy?

You can buy both company’s products on their websites as well as other retail outlets, both online and offline.

Going to both Hydroflask and YETI store is likely a good choice, as both stores are trusted, with tens of thousands of reviews left from actual customers. Plus, as Hydro Flask lets you customize the product, it's the only place where you can use their online too for customization.

Another viable option is to make your purchase on Amazon. Amazon is the largest online marketplace in the world. By buying your products on Amazon, you will get to read real reviews by other buyers to help you make better buying decisions.


Yeti vs Hydro Flask – Bottom Line

And with that, we end our comparison of these two drinkware giants. As you can see, it was a close call and both of them employ only the best technology for their products.

We certainly enjoy using both. Whichever you buy Yeti Rambler or Hydro Flask Hydration products, you can rest assured you’ll have bought a top-tier offer.

Happy drinking!


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Greg

Greg’s a co-founder of bestcooler.reviews and author of 100+ product reviews and comparisons on this website. When not at work, Greg’s an avid sportsman who enjoys running marathons, loves snowboarding, hiking and discovering new single tracks on his bike.

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