The ceramic-lined RTIC Outback Jug is better than stainless steel at eliminating metallic taste or long-term interactions with flavored liquids. Better yet, it keeps ice water cold, making all-day hydration easy.
I’ve spent the last decade testing and reviewing outdoor gear, including multiple RTIC hard and soft-sided coolers. I trust the company to produce high-quality gear at fair prices, and the RTIC Outback Jugs have proven trustworthy. I’ve used them for extra cold hydration on hot beach days, whitewater rafting trips, camping trips, hiking, and chores around the house.
Before the RTIC Outback Jugs entered our household, we often ran out of water on family road trips and outings. Now we always take at least one jug of ice water with us. We no longer waste money buying overpriced, micro-plasticky, single-use bottled water at gas stations just to get by.
RTIC Outback Jug Review: ‘We Crave Cold Water’
If you’re reading this review, you’re probably struggling with the idea of buying an insulated steel and ceramic water jug: Is it worth it? Can I just use plastic water bottles or pack extra water bottles?
My personal experience may be helpful to you in your decision making process. With my family and buddies, after any full day of adventuring — whether we’re paddleboarding, rafting, skiing, fishing, or hiking — every person in our vehicles heading home craves water at the end of the day. We’re not thirsty for soda, juice, or sports drinks.
We crave cold water.
Obviously when we get after it outside, we often struggle to stay hydrated. One surprising place this happens is when we go skiing. It’s cold out, so don’t get as thirsty as we do in hot sunshine, and we get to rest on the uphill chairlift rides. But back in the truck on the way home? Thirsty.
Now before I head out alone or head out with others, I fill up an RTIC Outback Jug to use as a refiller jug for smaller water bottles. The 1/2 gallon is fine for 1-3 people on shorter trips while the 1-gallon option is great for families of five. And I sometimes bring both if we’re hitting the beach or biking or hiking.
Is it worth it? Let’s put it this way: In our household, the Outback Jugs are getting used a lot this summer.
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Key Features
I really like the leakproof lid. It can be a bit tough to loosen after I’ve screwed it down tightly, but the steel handle makes it easy to get extra leverage for closing it or opening it.
Both the lid and the drinking spout have thick silicone gaskets. I’ve never experienced a leak, even when the bottles fall over in my pickup and roll around while I’m driving on curving mountain roads.
The ceramic-lined interior is legit. The slight metallic taste I sometimes notice on my smaller stainless steel water bottles doesn’t usually bother me much, but if it bothers you, a shift to ceramic-lined jugs and bottles might be your answer. There’s no metallic taste.
I appreciate the rugged handle and its soft rubber grip. I’ve dropped a lot of water jugs in my lifetime, and I’ve broken some handles. The RTIC Outback Jug handles are stout. I like that a lot.
Great double-wall insulation. The double-wall insulation means the sides won’t get wet and sweat on you. I’ve used other jugs with thicker walls, but I like the balance between insulation and keeping the jug relatively trim. With 1/4 to 1/3 ice, the water inside usually stays cold all day long. Often there’s still ice inside the next day. RTIC says the cold can last up to 24 hours, but you can only expect hot coffee or hot chocolate to stay pleasantly hot for 6 hours.
Key Specifications
1/2 Gallon Outback Jug:
Dimensions: 5″ wide x 10″ tall
Volume: 64 ounces
Weight: 2.2 lbs
1 Gallon Outback Jug:
Dimensions: 6.3″ wide x 11.75″ tall
Volume: 128 ounces
Weight: 3.2 lbs
Competitive Alternatives and Options:
There are all sorts of insulated water bottles available for athletes, construction-related workers, and outdoor adventurers. Here are a few options I like that might also meet your needs:
YETI Rambler Jug — YETI introduced one of the first ultra-rugged, double-walled stainless steel water jugs that wasn’t simply an oversize “Thermos” style bottle. The YETI Rambler costs twice as much as the RTIC option and does not have a ceramic interior, but its overall quality is the best of the best. Stainless interiors are slightly more rugged than ceramic, so that’s a reason to choose the Rambler. We also like the cool magnetic drinking spout lid.
Stanley IceFlow Flip Straw Jug — This Stanley option maxes out at the half-gallon size, so it’s better suited for single person use. The Flip Straw sipping lid supports that use case, so if you like to rehydrate through straws, this is the big jug for you.
Hydro Flask 128 oz Oasis Water Jug — This Hydro Flask option only comes in one color, black, which isn’t the first color choice I’d choose for beach days in the sun. It has a rugged, stainless-steel double-walled construction. One key difference is that Hydro Flask says it can keep hot drinks hot for up to 12 hours, which is twice as long as the RTIC Outback’s hot claim.
YETI Silo Half Gallon Jug — If you want a rugged, high-quality jug for athletes or teenagers, the YETI Silo Half Gallon Jug is a good choice. It’s not stainless or ceramic lined, though, it’s just a BPA-free plastic that’s still dishwasher safe. It’s available with a straw cap or a magnetic cap. The handle even has notches for hanging on a chain link fence (for baseball and softball athletes).
The Bottom Line:
The ceramic lining is a key reason to buy the RTIC Outback Jug over competitive stainless steel jugs. If you like to use your jug with drinks other than water, ceramic doesn’t interact or impart any annoying tastes. So, if you’re sensitive to any metallic aftertaste you’ve experienced, a ceramic-lined jug might be the way to go. However, ceramic can crack or break if you drop your jug with a catastrophic fall that dents the steel through the double wall construction and into the interior wall. This is pretty rare, but if you’re freakishly hard on your gear, you might error toward 100% stainless constructions. Still, the overall value of the Outback Jug is excellent and likely worth the slight risk. If you’ve wasted money buying single-use water jugs in the past, this investment might pay for itself in a single summer — never mind the benefits of staying hydrated. I wish I would have added an Outback to my gear garage years ago.
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