GEAR | Insulated Tumblers Go Head To Head – Which Is The Best?

June 14, 2021 Shell Robshaw-Bryan

Camping Tips & Advice, Homepage Feature, Outdoor Gear Reviews, Reviews

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For our insulated tumbler head to head test, we chose the Yeti Rambler, Corkcicle Stemless Cup and the Arteesol Stainless Steel Cup. Read on to find out which insulated cup performed best.

Whilst both Yeti and Corkcicle are well-known for their insulated cups, we decided a cheaper random Amazon brand cup would make a good third choice and with the UK in the grip of a heatwave, we thought now was a great time to run our test.

Insulated Tumblers On Test

Corkcicle Stemless Cup 12 Oz – Expect to pay around £23
Yeti Rambler 10 Oz – Expect to pay around £25
Arteesol Stainless Steel Cup 12 Oz – Expect to pay around £13

Stability

In order to test stability I put all 3 cups inside our Igloo cooler, each with an inch of water in, with their lids firmly closed. I then rolled the cooler from the garden into the house.

Both the Yeti and Corkcicle remained upright but the Arteesol fell over and the contents of the cup ended up filling the bottom of the coolbox.

Looking at the base of the 3 cups it’s clear to see the difference. The Yeti has the biggest, widest base, giving it great stability, but whilst the Corkcicle tapers in a similar way to the Arteesol, it has rubber on the base which helps to grip the surface it’s on, whereas the Arteesol has a stainless steel base.

Stability Winner: Yeti Rambler & Corkcicle tie as winners

Insulation

To test insulation I poured equal amounts of already chilled water into each cup before placing on the lid and closing the drinking spout.

I put all 3 on a tray outside on a warm but cloudy day and made sure none of them would benefit from shade as the sun moved through the mostly cloud-filled sky. I left them from 1pm until 6pm and then measured the temperature with my water thermometer.

The best performance came from the Yeti Rambler with a water temperature of 17.3°C, next, rather surprisingly was the Arteesol Cup with a water temperature of 17.8°C and finally in last place, the Corkcicle Stemless Cup with a water temperature of 18.1°C.

Although the Yeti won, the significantly cheaper Arteesol Cup put in a really good performance and I was surprised it beat the triple-insulated Corkcicle, so I re-tested twice just to make sure!

Insulation Winner: Yeti Rambler

Durability

As this isn’t a long-term test, we’re going largely on build-quality perception here. The Yeti feels like it’s bomb-proof, you can tell it’s built to last and will withstand an elephant standing on it (probably).

Whilst the Corkcicle does feel sturdy and well-made, it’s not quite a robust as the Yeti and has a similar feel to the Arteesol.

Even the cheaper cup feels very well made and relatively robust, the only exception being that the cup lid felt the most flimsy of the 3 on test. It still does the job, but it just doesn’t feel as robust as the lids of the Corkcicle or the Yeti cups.

Durability Winner: Yeti Rambler

Look & Feel

Whilst the Yeti has scored well in almost every area, the only thing I’m not keen on is the size of it, looking at it and holding it you’d think the Yeti had the biggest capacity, but actually at 10 Oz it has the smallest capacity of the cups on test.

I don’t have particularly small hands, but I do find it quite big and chunky, indicative of all that insulation and the walls that are visibly thicker than the walls of the other two cups. Whilst I love the performance and how it looks, I find the Yeti the least comfortable to hold.

My 6.2″ husband who has giants hands, predictably has no such gripes with the Yeti, so for kids or those with small hands or arthritis, the size of the Yeti is a little unwieldy, so this time it loses out to the Corkcicle.

Whilst the Arteesol is the most slender, it’s fully stainless steel, which means if your hands are wet, it’s easier for it to slip, whereas the Corkcicle and the Yeti are coated and the Corkcicle, in particular, feels great in the hand.

All of the cups come in lots of different colours and the Arteesol has solid and colour gradient options to choose from too, but on looks alone we pretty much found it impossible to choose a favourite, so have awarded the winner mainly based on how it feels to use.

Look & Feel Winner: Corkcicle Stemless Glass

Overall Test Winner

Based on all of the above testing criteria, the Yeti Rambler takes the crown, followed by joint second place for the Corkcicle Stemless Cup and the Arteesol.

Yeti Rambler insluated cup winner — **Our overall test winner, the Yeti Rambler**

Although the Arteesol loses out a little on stability, we were surprised to find it cooled more effectively than the triple-insulated Corkcicle and at half the price, it makes a great budget buy, but if you can stretch to it, the Yeti Rambler is well worth the investment for great all-round performance.

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Shell Robshaw-Bryan

Editor & Owner at Camping with Style

Shell loves all things travel and outdoors and is a nature-loving, comfy-camping kinda girl. Shell started the Camping with Style blog after a serious snowboarding accident which left her with a broken back. Despite this she used the outdoors and healing power of nature to aid her recovery and she continues to spend time outdoors whenever she can.

From open water swimming, snowboarding and kayaking to hill walks and meditation, Shell shares her travels and microadventures here on the blog and in various publications she's written for, Shell has a particular interest in promoting wellbeing and the many benefits of nature therapy.

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