A whiskey tumbler makes a great gift. Even better is a double-walled, stainless steel whiskey tumbler with a lid that your outdoorsy loved one can use while enjoying his outdoor adventures. So which one should you buy? Today we’re going to take a look at one of the cheapest options and one of the most expensive options, and see how they compare.
The Coleman Sundowner Insulated Stainless Steel Rocks Glass is about as cheap as you can get in the world of camping whiskey tumblers. It comes in a variety of colors, is double-wall stainless steel, and has a lid. It also has a rubber pad on the bottom to keep it from slipping or falling off the table. It weighs in at a mere 7.8 oz. It will hold your whiskey, and if you like it on the rocks it will keep it cold for a reasonable amount of time. How long? We will find out!
The YETI Rambler 10 oz Lowball, at first glance, is the Cadillac of camping whiskey tumblers. Like the Coleman, it is double-wall stainless steel and comes in a variety of colors too. It also has a lid, but unlike the Coleman the lid has a magnetic “MagSlider” cover. It also boasts that it is dishwasher safe, which is a plus. It weighs in a bit heavier at 11.2 oz. Like the Coleman, it will hold whiskey and keep it cold on the rocks. But will the YETI outperform the Coleman? Is the higher price worth it? Keep reading to find out…
Initial Impressions
I own both of these whiskey tumblers. Being a cheapskate, I ordered the Coleman one for myself right around the same time my wife ordered the YETI for me as a gift (unbeknownst to me). Since I often like to have buddies like Chris over for a fire and some whiskey, I figured what they hey, I’ll keep both.
If I’m being totally frank, I prefer the YETI. It just feels like it’s better quality – it’s heavier and the lid slider just feels nifty because it uses a magnet. I pretty much just assumed the YETI did a better job at keeping my drinks cold (I will also use this to make cocktails) but until now, I never really tested how it compares to the Coleman so it was all based on my own assumptions of “you get what you pay for.”
While the YETI is supposedly dishwasher safe, I still hand wash mine. So both the YETI and the Coleman get some TLC in the washing department in my house. So I can’t speak to how they work in the dishwasher because I’ve never put them in there.
12 Hour Test
Who doesn’t love a science experiment, especially when it involves alcohol? I resolved to really compare these tumblers using scientific methods. In my climate-controlled house at 72 degrees Fahrenheit, I placed in each tumbler 7 ice cubes from my freezer and 1/4 of Evan Williams whiskey (don’t judge me). I then put the lid on each and decided I’d check it every 6 hours. I’ll be totally honest – my initial impressions of the YETI led me to think this would a least be a 24 hour test. But it ended up being just a 12 hour test. Let’s see how they compared…
In the images below, the Coleman tumbler is on the left and the YETI tumbler is on the right.
At my first 6 hour check, both tumblers still had ice – though the YETI ice chunks were a tad bit larger. I would not call the difference drastic though. At my 12 hour check, both tumblers’ ice was completely melted but the liquid inside was still cold to sip. At this point, I enjoyed two watered-down Evan Williams whiskeys. I like watered-down whiskey which is why I like it on the rocks and like to let it melt a bit before sipping. So I enjoyed both drinks. But the real point is that neither drink was noticeably colder than the other.
Conclusion
While technically the YETI could be called the winner of this experiment because it had larger ice chunks at + 6 hours, my personal verdict is that the Coleman is the winner. Why you ask? Bang for the buck. Since the Coleman can be had at roughly half the cost of the YETI and performs nearly as well as the YETI, then it’ll do!
That said, I still prefer the YETI personally – if just feels nicer overall and may win out in other factors I haven’t tested such as durability*. If you’re getting a gift or want perceived quality, I suggest you go with the YETI. If you’re buying it for yourself and are trying to save some money or you came from r/ultralight_jerk, go with the Coleman.
Have you tried these tumblers and have your own thoughts? Do you have other tumblers you recommend? Comment below! Thanks for reading.
*Right after I wrote this post and went to snap a pic of my tumblers for the feature image, I dropped the Coleman down a flight of cement steps while standing high above on my porch. I’m talking full-on bounce down multiple steps at high speed. Now, I don’t want to do this to my YETI because it still looks nice, but one might say I conducted a torture test of sorts and the Coleman passed – it now has a dent and some scratches on the lid and metal but it’s completely intact and functional.
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