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Yeti Vs Hydro Flask
The Hydro Flask bottle trend is garnering worldwide attention these days. You see that happy-looking logo wherever you go!
Even I have given into the Hydro Flask hysteria (Photo of me on the right)! You don’t have to, read on to find out!
But is this bottle the best stainless steel travel bottle out there?
There are other bottles out there that have been a staple in the outdoor industry for longer than the Hydro Flask has existed.
One of these is the tried-and-true Yeti bottle. Wondering which to invest in?
For this review, we are going to contrast the 36-ounce Yeti with its 40-ounce Hydro Flask counterpart to help you make that decision.
Quick Comparison: Yeti Vs Hydro Flask
| Product | Dishwasher Safe | Warranty | Denting If Dropped |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1. Yeti Durable  Check Price | Yes | 5 years | Likely |
| #2. Hydro Flask Cheaper  Check Price | No | Lifetime | More Likely |
Hydroflask Vs YETI Bottle – 2 Insulation Tests!!
Test 1: Ice Test without the Tops
Test 2: Ice Test with the Tops
Material
The Hydro Flask bottle and the Yeti bottle are both made of stainless steel, which is pretty much the gold standard for reusable bottle material.
They are non-sweat bottles, so you don’t have to worry about dampness and slipperiness.
It also means that the temperature inside the bottle is staying pretty much the same for a really, really long time.
The Yeti is highly durable, much more so than the Hydro Flask, which is apt to dent if you drop it.
Hydro Flask Drop Test: Do Hydro Flasks Dent Easily?
Insulation
Both the Hydro Flask and the Yeti have double-walled, vacuum-insulated stainless steel insulation.
Basically, this is a good thing because it keeps your drink at temperature for longer, and it also keeps out that nasty metallic taste as well as those weird smells we all hate about plastic water bottles.
The Yeti bottle is great at insulating; it keeps hot beverages hot for 5 hours. However, the Hydro Flask is even better.
Lid
The Hydro Flask comes outfitted with a screw-on lid that includes a flex handle. This is a decent lid that doesn’t leak.
If you don’t like, it, you’re in luck, the Hydro Flask website offers a wide array of great lid options that can fit this bottle.
You may notice that the Hydro Flask is cheaper than the Yeti, so your total Hydro Flask cost will still be less than the Yeti if you go ahead and opt for a different lid. One of the most popular is a screw-on flip-top lid.
This is a quick and easy way to drink, and the flip lid locks in to keep water from running out of the opening. Of course, if you want hot drinks to stay hot for a long time, stick with the more insulting screw-on lid.
The Yeti is not so creative when it comes to lids. In fact, it has just one lid option: a BPA-free plastic crew-on lid with a solid handle. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with this, it works extremely well, but there are no other options to fit your preferences.
Opening
This is where the Hydro Flask and the Yeti really start to look different. The Yeti is basically a cylinder, it opens at the top without any fancy curving at all.
The mouth on the Yeti bottle is as wide as it possibly could be, which is really nice for drinking and for iced beverages.
For one thing, you can cram a lot of ice cubes into the bottle. Also, you drink from this without the rim touching your nose. It just goes right over!
The one drawback to this is that the threads for the cap are on the inside of the bottle, so your lips have to touch part of the bottle that’s not protected by a cap.
The Hydro Flask also has a pretty wide opening, but the mouth is still narrower than that of the Yeti. It will touch your nose and you’ll have to put your ice cubes in one at a time.
However, the cap screws over the mouth rather than inside it, so your lips will touch only areas of the bottle that have been covered by the cap.
Ergonomics
The basic difference in ergonomics in the design of these two bottles is the coating. The Yeti is typically sold in shiny stainless steel, but the Hydro Flask is slimmer and has a powder finish that is not as slippery.
Depending on which cap you get, the Hydro Flask may also be better to carry around than the three-fingered grip on the Yeti cap.
Finish
The Yeti only comes in stainless steel and four powder-finish color options, while the Hydro Flask comes in a full range of colors.
Of course, you can go for the regular old stainless steel finish, but you can also get a powder finish in one of 14 appealing colors. The company is constantly releasing new colors, so you never know what cool new options you’ll get.
Cleaning: Can You put Yeti or Hydroflask in the Dishwasher?
As far as stainless steel travel bottles go, both the Yeti and the Hydro Flask are pretty easy to clean.
The Hydro Flask can only be washed by hand, since the finish can chip in the dishwasher. It is not dishwasher safe.
However, the stainless steel Yeti is dishwasher safe!
Verdict – Yeti Vs Hydro Flask
Both of these bottles are excellent! However! I’d say that the Hydro Flask is a little better, after all. For one thing, it’s a whole lot less expensive.
The Hydro Flask is also more dent-resistant, and it comes with a lifetime warranty that definitely trumps the 5-year warranty on the Yeti.
While the wider mouth and dishwasher-safe feature are better on the Yeti, the Hydro Flask’s cost and performance are worth the extra effort.
I take my Hydro Flask everywhere, from the airport to the woods. It’s never let me down! Besides, who wouldn’t love all the great color options?