YETI has released a new line of uninsulated water bottles called the Yonder Drinkware collection. They’re relatively lightweight and come in two sizes, 25 or 34 ounces.
YETI says the new Yonder bottles are rugged enough to survive drops or freezing. Weighing in at about half the weight of YETI’s popular stainless steel insulated Rambler bottles, the Yonder bottles are made to go farther afield than most people are wiling to carry the Ramblers.
Compelling Cap
The Yonder Cap blends an easy-drinking narrow spout with a wide-mouth opening.The most important feature that catches our attention is the Yonder Caps. The base provides a wide-mouth opening for ice delivery and easy cleaning, but the secondary top portion unscrews to reveal a smaller controlled spout for easy drinking.
The handle is rigid and large for carrying, and it is carabiner/clip ready for attaching to the outside of a backpack.
Like most YETI drinkware, the Yonder collection is dishwasher safe (thank you YETI).
Better than a Nalgene?
There are a lot of premium water bottle brands available these days, so who is the Yonder for? And is the Yonder any better than the competition?
Obviously YETI fans who appreciate premium, rugged quality will be on board with the Yonder, and we expect that its quality, price point, and brand recognition will make the Yonder a popular gift for outdoor lovers this holiday season. YETI says it made the Yonder due to interest and feedback from its brand ambassadors who tend to spend a lot of time outdoors in wild places. Surprisingly, before now, YETI didn’t have an adventure-ready water bottle — the relatively heavy Rambler Drinkware doesn’t count because it’s simply better suited for everyday lifestyle hydration a bit closer to home, work or vehicles.
YETI currently offers four color options.Either way, we think most water bottle customers look for several hard-to-quantify features when they make the buying decision — price, size, cap design, straw design, lid design, handle design, color, materials, and style. Some people love water bottles with bite valves and straws — and some hate them. And some people just don’t want to drink out a drab gray water bottle. They choose water bottles that match their personal style or vibe.
When we think of outdoor-ready water bottles, Nalgene’s classic, iconic, and popular 32 oz wide mouth water bottle comes to mind first. Why? They’re nearly indestructible, you can find them in all sorts of stores — often customized with other company logos — and they’re Made in the U.S.A. Most importantly, they do their job.
The biggest drawback to the 32 oz Nalgene is that it has a mediocre cap. The widemouth cap is hard to drink from when you’re on the go — riding in a vehicle or walking. Nalgene offers some cap accessories like its Easy Sipper insert . . . but it’s not that great. It’s a separate piece to fiddle with or lose.
The other issue with the 32 oz Nalgene bottle is that it’s relatively wide — 3.5″. People with smaller hands sometimes don’t appreciate it. The 34 oz Yonder, on the other hand, is 3.4″ wide and has a flattened side to make it a bit easier to grip.
Ever Try a Nalgene with a CapCap+?
The humangear capCAP+ water bottle accessory cap lets you ditch the standard widemouth Nalgene cap with a more versatile option.A great widemouth and small-mouth cap is the humangear CapCap+. The YETI Yonder Cap is similar in design, so basically you can add a capCap+ to many widemouth bottles and get a new drinking experience similar to the YETI Yonder’s water delivery method.
In fact, you can likely do it for less than the price of the YETI Yonder: 32 oz Nalgene bottles tend to go for about $12 plus another $9 or so for the humangear capCap+. So now you’re into your water bottle solution for about $21~ which is less than the $28 YETI.
On the other hand, the 34 oz YETI Yonder comes complete with a great cap, a bit greater capacity, and a slightly easier-to-grip design. Worth it?
Maybe! We prefer more choices than less, so we’re happy to see the new Yonder Drinkware collection from YETI. And we’re big fans of the capCap+, so the the similar Yonder Cap design speaks to us.
Is the Yonder Good for Backpacking?
The Yonder is light enough for backpacking, but most serious backpackers probably won’t take the Yonder backpacking. YETI reports that the 34 oz Yonder Bottle weighs 0.67 lbs, which is 10.7 oz. For comparison, a 32 oz Nalgene weighs 6.25 oz . . . and if you ditch the included cap and use a capCap+ instead, it still weighs just 7.5 ounces.
Meanwhile, lots of serious backpackers are leaving their Nalgene water bottles behind in favor of an even lighter option: Simply reusing a skinny 33.8 oz Smartwater bottle they can buy at a grocery store on the way to the trailhead and then refill it hundreds of times before it breaks. Smartwater bottles weigh close to nothing when empty and they’re surprisingly durable.
Of course, part of whole point of buying anything YETI is to get a more premium experience — a clean, rugged design that does its job well. We’re sure you’ll start seeing the new YETI Yonder Water Bottles out and about soon — and if the design matches your personal hydration needs?
Well, you can order the new YETI Yonder Drinkware here!
