Yeti Vs. Ozark Tumbler Challenge
Have you been curious how the popular Yeti brand insulated tumbler compares to the much less expensive brand Ozark Trail? Both can be filled with 30 ounces of liquid, are made with stainless steel, are BPA Free, and can keep drinks HOT or COLD for hours! They happen to look extremely similar as well.
I was wondering how long they could keep ice for and how they compared in performance to each other, so the following are the results of my very casual and unscientific Yeti Vs. Ozark Tumbler Challenge! I started by filling each cup with 15 ice cubes, set them in my kitchen with the lids on, and started the clock.
4 Hour Results- There was no noticeable difference or any results to give.
8 Hour Results- I was able to pour about the same amount of liquid out of both cups, just under 1/4 cup each. Both still had lots of ice.
24 Hour Results- Ice seemed to be melting the same, and water levels were pretty much the same at 3/4 cup each.
31 Hour Results- Water was still cold! Also, the ice in the Yeti tumbler completely melted, while the Ozark had a teeny tiny bit of ice left.
The less expensive Ozark Trails Tumbler was declared the winner of my very casual unscientific Yeti Vs. Ozark Trails Tumbler challenge! Actually they both seemed pretty similar in performance and are both fantastic tumblers.
Living in extremely hot weather in AZ, it’s a wonderful thing to fill up either one of these cups, do errands in the car, and still have an ice cold drink to enjoy . That is ah-mazing in the summer! And, at just under $10, this Ozark Trail Tumbler is a great value… especially since it does the same job as Yeti in my opinion.
Ozark Trail Tumblers can be found at Walmart.com, and in-store near the camping section. At that price we can afford to buy the whole family a cup! 😊
What is your favorite cup, water bottle, or tumbler to keep your drinks cold?
Thank you for this!!
YW Heather!
That’s awesome! Thanks for your very unscientific experiment..great to know.
You’re welcome Mayra 😀 thanks for reading!
Thanks Lina! Also, a local news station tested both brands and came up with the same results.. I would definitely buy the least expensive cup! Save that money!
Sure Lolie –I agree! 😀
I found a very similar bubba that seems to do the same for $10 at Walmart. It is only 24 ounces, but keeps my water cold all day and then some. It has a neon pink lid and a neon yellow straw to make it a bit more exciting. I don’t like how plain the others are, but may just have to get a monogram sticker to make it cute! Wanting to get another one for back to school as we do not have air in our building so the ice in my water melts super fast. Thanks for testing this out!
I have the bubba as well but the 32 oz. it’s fantastic. I think these metal cups are all created equal!!!
Sure! Yes I’ve seen those monograms stickers too – Cute.
I have the Bubba Hero Sport! I’m on my second one, my first one fell off my treadmill after 4 years and the drinking straw part snapped off when it hit the hard floor (it was open!) I’m looking to invest in the larger one now!! It keeps my ice all day and I live in Southern California!
Just to let you know, Bubba has a lifetime warrenty! Check out their website. I just got mine replaced and I had to email them 2 pics of my cup that I have had for 5 years! They mailed me a brand new one for free! Good luck Danii!
I would love for you to do a test outside in the heat! That is what I am really wondering about. I have a habit of forgetting my cup in the car and then coming out to hot water! Lol!
I can take mine outside for a 2 hour walk in 115 degrees and still have ice. I have the ozark trail
So awesome! Thanks Tara!
I have the ozark, and have been taking it with me when running errands. It sits in my hot, black suv and is still ice cold after a few hours!
My husband has a job that keeps him in his truck all day. Even with the 90 degree heat, the Ozark has ice left in the cup at the end of the day!
We LOVE our Ozark Trail tumblers! The heat index has been in the 100s this week and I accidentally left mine in the car all day and came back to an ice cold drink. No need to buy the more expensive one! Awesome comparison! Thank you!
Sure Whitney-And I agree 😀 Great tumblers.
We have the Ozark, the RTIC, and the Yeti 20 oz tumblers. There is no noticeable difference to me at all. My husband and I each use one everyday. We just grab which ever one is clean. My husband recently got the 30oz Ozark tumbler and loves it. We have a Yeti can kozy and 2 Ozark kozy. No noticeable difference between those either. So my recommendation is get the Ozark if available! It’s way cheaper. On a side note I love the RTIC lid because it has a hole so I can use one of the fun plastic Starbucks straws!
Thanks for adding that Amie! I agree! 😀
We have an RTIC too and I love it! The RTIC came highly recommended over the Yeti just because of the price. However, I may need to give the Ozark a try now. 🙂 Thanks for this great review of both products!
My husband and I did this. He with the Ozark and me with the Yeti. My ice lasted longer in the Yeti than his did in the Ozark. Both were in our cars for a couple hours and the outdoor temp was 90+.
Interesting! Thanks for sharing 😀
Thanks Lina for the product testing and Collin for the post for the referral link to Walmart. I just ordered one from Walmart, ready for pick up today. Yay! I had never heard of these before the Yeti give away Collin hosted earlier. I’m always in need of a way to keep my iced tea cold during the hot California summers. 💗
You will love it!!! Thanks Dawn 😀👌🏻
I saw this on FB and they got the same results as you did. Why pay more when the ozark is better and cheaper? Love these challenges! Please post more studies of brand A (expensive) vs B (cheapo one).
I agree! Ozark has an impressive tumbler! thanks Jackie 😀
These sound awesome. I only wish they came with one of those no spill suction thingies on the bottom and a finger loop would be nice too.
I know, picky picky… but I’d still buy.
I think you can buy accessories for them like a handle any fits around it. 😀
Ohh awesome, now I’ll have to go tumbler hunting this weekend..
Thanks!
My family was just having this conversation – thanks for proving a winner!
-Jessica
http://www.wearitforless.com
Thanks For stopping by Jessica!
Love ❤️ our Ozark Trail cups…we have 4 of them and use them daily!
Would love for you to do a similar test with the hydro flask as well. We love ours but they are so spends.
Could not bring myself to spend that for hiking bottle that gets abused! Found a couple on Amazon for a lot less & they work great! Not sure how they compare but they keep the ice longer than I need it. My favorite has been polar tank dessert ice 20 ounce. I believe it was under $20
I love my Ozark 30oz tumbler! It’s so great I would recommend it highly to anyone!
Thanks Jen–It does rock!
I have an Ozark tumbler and LOVE IT!!! It holds ice forever. It is the best $10 I have ever spent.
I love HydroFlask so much, check them out on Amazon. They work fantastic. Better than both in my opinion.
Awesome test! I had no idea the ice lasted >24 hours in these! Are these in any way spill proof for kids?
Members mark ones at SAMs club have a slide latch lid
Just bought the members mark ones since Walmart in my area is out of ozark trail. They are 30 oz. 2 cups. With slide latch lid. Which Yeti and ozark done have A friend has them and put ice in on Tuesday and still had some in there today.
We have three Ozark cups, and one Yeti cup. There is no noticeable difference in performance. Also have an Ozark growler. Love them.
When Chris Janson sings about Yeti (“Buy Me a Boat”), it makes me want to buy Yeti products including a boat!! hehe. But being on a budget, I’ll stick with the Walmart brand!
And a truck to pull it!!!! Love that song.
I just got my 30 oz Ozark trail cup this week and my kids were amazed that it was still icy cold after sitting outside in 105*+ temps while we were swimming! Worth $10 easy!!
For sure! Thanks for sharing 😀
Out of stock 🙁
Check your local store. I bought one on Wednesday & my store had a huge display of them!
Love this challenge! Thank you for this info!
Great – thanks Heather!
While I see everyone around me jumping on the Ozark Trails cups I will stick with my Contigo 24 oz stainless steel, double walled, leak proof, spill proof cup. It was a bit more expensive but is just as nice with the added bonus that it doesn’t make a mess when my clumsy self drops on the concrete floor of my garage as I am getting out of my car. The poor thing is covered in dents now but still works a champ.
We got those in clearance at target for $5.00 like 5 months ago and they are great! We have the ones with the slide lock and I feel like they perform as good also.
Lina, maybe you could add the Contigo ones to another challenge and see how they place. Pretty please!!! 😉
Cool! Thanks Jackie for your feedback!
I love my Ozark and since the price of the tumbler was so good, I bought a handle from Amazon because it is a bit heavy when it’s full. You can also get a lid with a sliding closure that will accommodate a straw for $2.50. I filled my tumbler with ice and a 12 ounce Coke at 10:30 this morning. It’s 3:30 in the afternoon now and the coke is ice cold and not watered down at all. Amazing.
Please do you mind sharing the link to the handle that works with your ozark?
I didn’t know you live in AZ. So do I. Tolleson area.
Collin does not live in Arizona the person that did the test does.
I have an RTIC 30oz tumbler great product.
Try hydroflask I think it’s better than any other brand on the market!
Love my Ozark mug!
When I priced the 30 oz Yeti it cost much more than $30… Just got my Ozark, thanks for the post!
We all have Ozarks now! I fill my cup up before bed with ice and water. I sip on it while reading. In the morning, the water is still ice cold and there’s still a hunk of ice in it. My tervis, the ice would be melted and my water warm in the morning. Blech! I also like that the ice doesn’t dilute soda, tea or coffee drinks! These tumblers remind me of the silver mugs that you used to get at restaurants many many years ago for drinks, before they went to plastic cups.
My granddad told me that the patent on the yeti cup expired and that’s why you’re all of the sudden able to buy equivalents everywhere. I bought a 2 pack from SAMs for $20 and they hold ice really well!
Had ozark trail all summer. Flawless!
Sub zero and contigo bottles
I have yeti and another called RTic I got off amazon. I love them both. Yeti to me on the 32 oz is just a smidge better however not 5x better as that is the price difference. I say Ozark all the way. Problem is they are sold out at every Walmart ever….lol
Yeti’s patent has not expired. The $30 vs $10 should actually ready $40 vs $10 since that is the price of each 30oz cup.
Do the cups sweat?
No they don’t at all.
I’ve found yeti tumblers on Amazon for 20 bucks with free shipping! Mine actually came way before it said it would. Wasn’t supposed to arrive until August 5-25th and it came two days ago.
Yeti Rambler Tumbler Stainless Steel, 30 oz https://amzn.to/2a76dI7
Love this!!! Reminds me of a similar experiment that a journalist did for Backpacker magazine years ago comparing Walmart brand backpacking gear. Sometimes there is no magic, only marketing.
A decent test, if you’re only using it inside. Did basically the same thing with my 30 oz RTIC and a 30 oz plastic insulated tumbler. With about the same results. But the true test is outside in 90 plus heat. No comparison. The RTIC blows away any insulated tumbler I have. Was just in Kentucky for a week, 95 plus the whole time. My RTIC still had ice and cold drink throughout the day. With 12 hr days being left in the Jeep.
Swell bottles are amazing. Pricey but definitely worth every penny and fits easily in diaper bags and backpacks. Great for travel.
Awesome! I have a contigo that i bought at target and i love that one. It was like 20 dollars though :/
I bought my dad a 30 oz Yeti for Fathers Day but my mom kept taking it, so he bought her the 30 oz Ozark Trails tumbler and did a comparison. He went as far as weighing the ice to the gram and after 18 hours, they were identical! So he bought everyone in the family Ozark trail tumblers (which is great because my kids kept taking MY yeti!). No more Yetis for us…the Ozark Trail works identically at less than a third of the price!
That’s great! Thanks for sharing 👍
Anybody know if the coolers are the same?
I always feared the bottles themselves would become hot to the touch, but guess not. I want one now!
The outside can get hot if left in a hot car…but the inside is still ice cold!!
My experience was not the same. I filled a 20 Oz Yeti and the 20 Oz Ozark Trail with ice and water and the Yeti held the ice hours longer than the Ozark. Despite the copying of the Yeti appearance, I did ot find that Walmart successfully copied the Yeti performance.
Interesting. Thanks!
Received my Ozark Trail tumbler yesterday and took it with me to a get together. My ice water stayed cold all night!! What was even better was I paid less than $.50 with a $10 gift card I had to Walmart + free shipping! Yay!
Great score Karla!!!
My office bought us all Rtic Tumblers (30 oz) for a safety award. While at Walmart a couple weeks back, I checked out the Ozark tumblers to compare. They are almost an identical product but 3 out of the 5 tumblers had lid gasket issues. Sometimes it’s a little hard getting the lid completely closed/sealed on my tumbler. Just takes a little more effort than one would think. Well, I noticed that the gasket in the Ozark lid was twisting while closing completely. Having said that, if I were to actually purchase a tumbler, I’d go with the Ozark but definitely test the lid/gasket out before leaving the store. I am not sure if it’s something that would eventually happen anyway but I thought it was worth mentioning.
Great tip Donnie! Thank You!
I am a coffee drinker, so I am interested in how both handle hot drinks.
I am too! Great idea Any. Maybe I can do a coffee follow up 😀
I mainly use mine for coffee. Call me crazy but I first put in 3 ice cubes and fill coffee in up to the top. I like to be able to drink coffee as soon as it hits my cup so that is the reasoning for the ice cubes. Anyway, they melt almost immediately but leave the coffee just right to drink. It’s still hot enough that you can’t guzzle it but tolerable enough to sip and enjoy like coffee should be drank anyway. I always finish the cup in a couple hours but I’m sure it would stay hot longer especially if you don’t use ice cubes.
I cannot drink coffee out of mine (have both a yeti and Ozark trail…they are the same IMO) because it stays too hot. I have poured a cup of coffee, forget about it and went grocery shopping, come back to it 2 hours later and it was still HOT. Unless I add ice to it, I skip the yeti/Ozark and stick with Tervis for coffee 😄.
IS this made in the USA if not better to buy made in usa help support your Country