Today we’ll be comparing a Hydroflask with various Chinese competitors purchased on Amazon.
A quick note on Hydroflask generations - in 2019 HF introduced their “2.0" revision to their line of insulated water bottles. In addition to the changes shown in their marketing material below, they also removed the trademark logos and shrunk the main logo.
This is pretty clearly a case of marketing BS, trying to drum up interest in a “new and improved” product. The dishwasher-safe claim seems a bit misleading as well, simply because in older promotional materials for the 1st Gen bottles, the reason given for “hand-wash only” was that the high heat of the dishwasher could damage the vacuum sealing ability. Nothing about the powder coat.
Anyways, I would strongly recommend buying a 1st Gen bottle over one of the new 2.0s, as you’ll save some money, and quite possibly have a better product with less cost-cutting.
For this comparison, we’ll be using a 1st Gen bottle, but I’ll bring up the 2.0 when I believe it to be relavant.
Cost:
Hydroflask 2.0 $54.95 (40oz, straw lid)
Hydroflask $42.95 (40oz, twist off lid)
Thermoflask $22.49 (40oz, chug lid AND straw lid)
Takeya $18.68 (40oz, chug lid)
The no-name brands absolutely demolish Hydroflask here, offering more than double the bang-for-buck. In order to get a 40oz Hydroflask with a straw lid, you need to either buy an inferior 2.0 for $55(!) dollars, or purchase the 1st Gen bottle and one of myriad separate straw lid options for a grand total of right around that same $55 figure.
Craftsmanship:
Hydroflask: 1.1 pounds
Takeya: 1.01 pounds
Thermoflask: 1.01 pounds
The first Gen Hydroflask is built like a tank, at least compared to our cheaper competitors.
Starting with the bottle, there are some striking differences. First up is weight. The Hydroflask is noticeably heavier in hand, with absolutely zero flex in the steel sidewalls. By comparison, put both hands around one of the other bottles, apply pressure with your fingertips at the same spot and... Uh-oh. You can quite literally push the outer wall in far enough to make contact with the inner wall.
The powder coating on the competition is almost perfectly smooth, whearas the coating on the Hydroflask is a bit granular. It’s got some roughness to it, which definitely makes it easier to grip when full.
On to the included caps.
Hydroflask includes their wide mouth flex cap on the original 40oz bottle, and it is the simplest offering here. It’s also the most durable by a long shot. All moving pieces are robust, the threaded portion is clean and made of much harder plastic than the competition, and even after years of abuse, the cap seals perfectly.
The downside is you’re left drinking out of a wide mouth bottle, which is near impossible to do without making a mess when on the move.
The “chug caps” included with the other two bottles make for a much better drinking experience whether seated on the couch, or hiking up to an old watch tower.
However... The construction leaves much to be desired. Hinges are incredibly weak (plastic hinge on one, thin metal rod on the other), plastic arms are thin and likely will not hold up to abuse, threads are pretty nasty... These are the Model X to Mercedes’ S-class.
The Takeya also includes a flip-up straw lid, with two straws. The hinge on the mouth spout seems sturdy, and there’s a pressure release located on top to keep temperature changes from squirting water at your face the second you flip up the spout. (edit: on second thought that hole is actually to keep you from making an airtight seal the moment you put your mouth over the spout. That's necessary if you don't feel like testing your lung's suction strength against *relatively* solid steel). Unfortunately, instead of a valve, they just went with a hole that’s covered up by the mouth spout when not engaged. Cheap, but not very watertight. On the underside where the straw attaches to the barb, we’re treated to a pretty poor fit, which again will likely leak. The good news is that the bottom of the straw has been cut at an angle to facilitate slurping up every last bit liquid.
Last little tidbit you may find interesting.... While the lids are clearly different between brands, the two non-hydroflask bottles are exactly the same, just with different logos and colors.
At the end of the day, all of these have kept water cold for a full day in the heat without leaking, which is priority one. The Hydroflask is clearly superior, but that doesn’t necessarily make it the best value.
Personally, I’d take a 40oz Gen one Hydroflask and try to find a well-engineered chug cap to pair it with. (those chug-style caps make for the best drinking experience this side of an old school Gatorade squeeze bottle. You know, the tall skinny ones you used to find at gas stations with the heavily textured group?) That would be my daily driver, on me at all times outside of the house.
Then I’d get the absolute cheapest double-wall insulated 64oz bottle to drink out of at home. No water rings left on my stuff, and no need to get up every 5 minutes to refill a glass of water.