Best Hydro Flask Alternative: A Review of 7 Awesome Options

The Yeti Rambler Bottle is big enough to keep you hydrated on the hottest days. And, it will keep your drinks ice-cold. The Rambler comes with a two-piece lid. The top piece threads into the bottom piece, which threads into the wide-mouth bottle. This makes drinking out of this bottle easier and means you won’t spill on yourself when chugging it down on extra-hot days. 

The Rambler is significantly heavier than a Hydro Flask Water Bottle, even when you compare it to an HF with a comparable volume. However, the Rambler is made with heavy-duty stainless steel and is much stronger, which means it won’t get dented as easily as an HF. Both bottles are double-wall vacuum insulated and have excellent temperature retention. 

Perhaps the only downside of the Rambler is the hefty price tag. This is the most expensive water bottle we reviewed here, and also more expensive than a Hydro Flask. 

Specs:

• Volume: 36 oz
• Weight: 24.5 oz
• Material: 18/8 stainless steel
• Color Choices: 6

The Takeya Actives Insulated Bottle uses double-wall vacuum insulation to keep your drinks cold for 24 hours and hot for 12. It has a unique flip cap design that makes drinking with one hand easy. And when you flip the cap back, the hinge lock keeps it from slapping you in the face while you’re drinking – a big bonus for some.

Compared to the Hydro Flask, this bottle’s flip cap makes it a standout. While you can get an HF with a straw lid, there isn’t a flip-top lid option. You can also get the Takeya Actives bottle with a straw lid instead if that’s more your jam. 

Specs:

• Volume: 24 oz
• Weight: 12.8 oz
• Material: 18/8 stainless steel
• Color Choices: 19

The Iron Flask Sports Bottle is a 32-ounce stainless steel water bottle. It uses double-wall vacuum insulation to keep your drink cold or hot all day. 

What sets this bottle apart from a Hydro Flask is that it comes with three different leak-proof lids. Yes, you can buy other lids for an HF, but you’ll have to pay extra for them. With the Iron Flask, you get a straw lid, flip lid, and a stainless steel lid. And it costs less, too!

Specs:

• Volume: 32 oz
• Weight: 22.88 oz
• Material: 18/8 stainless steel
• Color Choices: 25

The Tritan Thermos 24 oz Hydration Bottle is a BPA-free and highly durable plastic bottle. It has a clever flip-up lid that opens with the push of a button. It also has a rotating intake meter so you can keep track of how many bottles of water you drink in a day, all without using any single-use plastic bottles. 

The Tritan is also comfortable to grip, has a flip-up carrying loop on the plastic cap, is dishwasher safe, and at such a low price is one of the most affordable plastic water bottles we reviewed. 

On the downside, this is not a vacuum-insulated bottle like the Hydro Flask, so won’t keep your drinks at the desired temperature for nearly so long. 

Specs:

• Volume: 24 oz
• Weight: 6.7oz
• Material: Eastman Tritan polyester
• Color Choices: 6

The Nalgene 32 oz plastic water bottle is a staple in the outdoor community and a regular sight in the water bottle pockets of hikers everywhere.

Though these Nalgene bottles lack the double-wall vacuum insulation of the Hydro Flask brand bottle, they are extremely durable. So durable that if you drop it off a cliff while climbing it probably won’t break. And, Nalgene plastic bottles are much, much lighter than an HF, so are a far better option for minimalists. 

The BPA-free plastic used in the Nalgene is also dishwasher safe and can handle hot drinks as well as cold ones. 

While vacuum insulated water bottles are all the rage these days, Nalgenes are a classic that will never go out of fashion. 

Specs:

• Volume: 32 oz
• Weight: 6.25 oz 
• Material: Tritan 
• Color Choices: Endless

The Klean Kanteen Classic water bottle features a 2-inch-wide opening for easy pouring and filling. It is made of lightweight and durable stainless steel and has a simple yet elegant screw top lid with a haul loop. The wide mouth also makes this bottle compatible with most backcountry water filters. 

This stainless steel bottle is the perfect size for daily use. While not insulated like a Hydro Flask, its use of one instead of two layers of steel means it has a much higher capacity than a double-walled bottle of similar external dimensions. Though it is not intended for hot liquids, it can be used to carry them – just be aware that the bottle will just get very hot!

Specs:

• Volume: 27 oz
• Weight: 7.25 oz
• Material: 18/8 stainless steel
• Color Choices: 1

The CamelBak Podium insulated water bottle is intended for cycling, but it has many applications beyond the bike. The sports cap on the Podium is easy to drink out of – just squeeze the bottle and you’ll get a rush of the wet stuff. If you’re going to throw this in your backpack, just flip the positive lock-out mechanism and rest assured that no liquid will leak out. 

This option is different from most of the bottles in this review. It is double-walled and insulated, but soft-sided. And unlike an HF, it’s only designed for cold liquids. We’ve used it with hot coffee on a morning bike commute and know others who have done so too, but it isn’t specifically intended for use with hot beverages.

Specs:

• Volume: 21 oz
• Weight: 3.5 oz
• Material: Polypropylene plastic
• Color Choices: 4