The Best Yeti Cup and Hopper Cooler Alternatives
Best Yeti Hopper Alternative &
Cheaper Yeti Cup Alternative
So, you’re on the lookout for the best Yeti Hopper alternative? Or maybe a cheaper Yeti cup alternative? You’re the opposite of alone. It seems like everyone is clamoring for alternatives to Yeti.
Of course the main reason for this is cost. (Why are Yeti Coolers so expensive anyway?) But neither is the “end all be all” of the cooler/tumbler world. Enough rambling. Let’s get started!
Overview
Best Yeti Hopper Alternative & Yeti Cup Alternative:
- Best Yeti Hopper Alternative with the Highest Quality
- Ozark Trail Jumbo Soft Cooler (The Hopper’s “copycat” cooler)
- Review of the Best Yeti Hopper Alternative for the Money
- Yeti Cup with the Best Overall Quality
- Best Yeti Like Cup for the Money
- America’s Favorite Stainless Steel Travel Mug
- Best Stainless Steel Cups for Camping
Yeti Hopper Cooler Alternatives
The Yeti Hopper is, without a doubt, one of the all-time best soft sided coolers on the market today. It doesn’t matter what variation it is; the original Hopper, the Hopper Two, and the Hopper Flip will all serve you well.
Is it the only great soft sided cooler? Far from it.
We turned to the top authorities on our quest for the best Yeti Hopper alternative, so don’t worry. You don’t have to use a big percentage of your paycheck to keep your food and drinks cold for a long time. There are plenty of great options!
The Best Yeti Hopper Alternative with the Highest Quality
The Orca Podster
The Orca Podster is the best Yeti Hopper alternative, hands down. It’s ultra-durable and can hold ice for days.
These tough Orca Coolers are each about $100 cheaper than a Yeti Hopper. (Estimating.) Another advantage is that you can carry a Podster like it’s a backpack or you can carry it with a single shoulder strap.
While an Orca Podster isn’t cheap like the rest of the Yeti-like coolers reviewed, it’s only about two thirds the price of a Yeti Hopper.
Pros:
In addition to the excellent quality, the Orca Podster has two major bonuses: First, this Yeti Hopper alternative brand is 100% American made.
Second, Orca Podsters can retain cold for the same amount of time as Yeti Hoppers. Actually, who are we kidding? They’re arguably a little better at staying icy cold. Orca Coolers have a reputation for holding ice longer than Yeti Coolers.
Other notable features include:
- Molle-Webbing for Exterior Storage
- Backpack Shoulder Straps
- Water- and Leak- Proof Zipper
- Great Color Selection: Seafoam, Real Tree Camo, Green/Brown, and Coral/Grey
Cons:
Alas, every cooler has its Achilles heel. But we had to dig deep to find a problem with this particular Yeti Hopper alternative.
We finally spotted something to classify as a “con.” The Orca Podsters have a 3 year warranty, not the lifetime warranty we’ve come to expect from Orca.
Orca Podster Accessories:
Transform your Podster from a backpack cooler to a cooler bag with a Pod/Podster Shoulder Strap. The $20 price tag is well worth the versatility and convenience.
The Pea Pod Blue is a tiny 10.5″ W x 7.5″ H x 1.75″ D dry bag with a water-repelling zipper. It has the same Molle webbing as the Podster itself, so you can easily connect this little blue bag with the Podster itself.
The Best Yeti Hopper Alternative Knock Off
Ozark Trail Jumbo Soft Coolers
Well, it isn’t hard to see why Yeti’s suing Walmart for this cheap Yeti alternative. Yeti’s got to be pissed off that, after spending millions on marketing, people are flocking to Walmart’s “copycat” version.
But hey, it’s affordable. What else are you supposed to do if you don’t have a few extra hundreds laying around?
Pros:
We love the front zippered pouch for storing small items. It’s so much easier to keep track of important things like car keys! But that’s just the beginning.
Check out these other features:
- Dual Integrated Bottle Openers
- Two Comfy Carry Handles
- Padded Shoulder Strap
- EVA Compression Molded Base (EVA = Evaporative Air Cooler)
This Yeti Hopper alternative can hold 30 pounds of ice and keeps it for at least 24 hours. Get ready for some fun overnight camping trips!
Cons:
Walmart wants you to believe this Yeti Hopper alternative is just as good as a Yeti Hopper. But it just isn’t.
That isn’t necessarily bad, but it’s something to be aware of.
The Ozark Trail Jumbo Soft Cooler doesn’t hold ice for days, like the Yeti Hopper does.
Durability is an issue, too. The zippers are more likely to break, and the fabric’s more likely to tear than an actual Yeti Hopper.
That being said, if something malfunctions, you could replace Ozark Trail’s cheap Yeti Hopper alternative three times and still pay less.
The Best Yeti Hopper Alternative: Get the Most Bang for the Buck
The Polar Bear Nylon Series
If this sounds familiar, it’s because we’re kind of obsessed with the Polar Bear Soft Cooler.
- First, we love that you upgrade the cooler into a backpack. (Which you can’t do with a Yeti Hopper!)
- Second, this is a cheap cooler brand! The Yeti Hopper 30 is more than two times more expensive than the Polar Bear 24 Pack.
Pros:
Choose any size and you’ll have seven colors/patterns to choose from. The color selection makes this an excellent gift idea. Give the “Mossy Oak Camo” to your cousin who hunts, or the solid black to your New Yorker friend who always seems to be dressed in black.
Although it’s a “soft” cooler, this cooler is anything but soft. It’s surprisingly durable.
Also, this best Yeti Hopper alternative has pretty good ice retention. You can count on your stuff staying cold for 24 hours. Maybe even longer!
Cons:
Unfortunately, this Yeti Hopper alternative doesn’t have a leak-proof zipper. That’s something your friends with Yeti Hoppers can hold over your head… but on the flip side, you can always gloat about the thick stack of dough you saved.
Yeti Cup Alternatives
Yeti makes a mean soft cooler. In fact, the Yeti name is so popular for coolers that it’s easy to forget about their killer insulated cups.
However, if you are on the market for a Yeti Cup Alternative, it’s probably because you want to save some money. (Or perhaps you just want to show up your douchey Yeti fanatic friends.)
At Chuggie, we take stainless steel tumblers and cups just as seriously as coolers. This blog post wouldn’t be complete without them.
Each Yeti cup alternative is: BPA free, 18/8 stainless steel, double walled, vacuum insulated, and sweat proof.
Listed below is each cup’s capacity (or capacities), the listed price, and a complete review. The reason we say “listed” price is because we’re always digging under the surface to find better deals.
Here you’ll find the best, up-to-date discounts as we discover them.
The Yeti Cup Alternative with the Best Overall Quality
The Orca Chaser Cafe
Capacity: 20 ounces
This Yeti cup alternative is spill-proof, with a one-of-a-kind flip-top lid. There’s also a built-in handle, which is more important than you might think. Plenty of the best stainless steel tumblers require you to purchase a handle separately.
The Orca brand won first place as a Yeti Hopper Cooler alternative. Now it’s crushing its tumbler/cup competition like crazy.
The Best Yeti Cup Alternative for the Money
Engel Stainless Steel Tumblers
Capacities: 20, 22, and 30 ounces
This mighty Yeti Cup alternative meets all of our standards:
- Made from Kitchen-Grade Stainless Steel
- Sweat Proof
- Double-Walled
- Vacuum-Sealed
Our favorite feature is the lid, which forms a perfect seal. So drop, bump, or even throw your hot coffee.
You may look like a lunatic if you purposefully throw this Yeti cup alternative.
But you can smile crazily for bystanders, knowing the tumbler is unbreakable and won’t leak. (Make sure you’ve actually closed and sealed the lid before trying something like this)
It’s a good way to mess with people!
America’s Favorite Yeti Cup Alternative
The Thermos Stainless King
Capacity: 16 ounces
We thought about going with a brand matching with a best Yeti Hopper alternative (either Ozark Trail or Polar Bear) … and then we remembered the Thermos brand’s Stainless King travel mug.
This unbreakable travel tumbler works well in any situation, from keeping your java warm during your commute, to keeping your Bloody Mary refreshingly cold on your annual camping trip.
Stick with the basic steel look or branch out to one of the six other available colors.
The Yeti cup alternative is definitely lacking something … where’s the handle? Luckily, you can get the thermos and the handle in one pass through Amazon.
The Best Stainless Steel Camping Cups
Modern Innovation Steel Cups, Set of 5
Capacity: 16 ounces
Sometimes, all you want is an actual cup made from stainless steel. No lids, handles, or straws – just a good old fashioned camping cup.
The benefits of using steel cups rather than paper cups are compelling.
- First, you eliminate excessive waste by choosing reusable cups.
- Second, your beverages will stay at the desired temperature longer than they would in the common plastic camping cup.
- Third, these cups don’t have all the bad chemicals found in plastic. Almost all plastic has some sort of negative resin or phalate, even if it is “BPA Free.” So why not eliminate it altogether?
Modern Innovation’s steel cups are dishwasher friendly but when you’re away from home, they’re a cinch to wash by hand. Much easier than tall tumblers, that’s for sure!
Where do you go from here?
These Yeti cups and coolers alternatives are high quality cooling gear that has been tested extensively. Yeti Hoppers and cups are amazing, but these other options shine some light on the seemingly age-old debate of Yeti vs [Insert Practically Any Cooler Brand Here].
Whatever cooler and cup you choose, we’re certain it’ll be a great match for you. All of these are wonderful Yeti Hopper/Tumbler alternatives.
May your beer be cold and your adventures stress-free!