Yeti tumbler cups are great for keeping your drinks cold or hot for hours and the stainless steel is much more durable than glass or ceramic. But do Yeti tumbler cups dent easily? And if so why do they dent so easily?
No, Yeti tumbler cups and bottles don't dent super easily with regular use. However, if you drop your Yeti or bump it with force on a hard surface then significant sized dents can occur.
When you're spending this much on an insulated tumbler cup you want to make sure it lasts as long as possible and you want it to look brand new for as long as possible too.
In an ideal world this means zero dents and no scratches. But in the real world accidents happen and I for one have dropped my Yeti tumblers and bottles more than I like to admit.
So do Yeti rambler products dent easily? Or can they handle a beating?
See the latest price of the new Yeti tumbler cups at Yeti.com
(or compare prices and colors to Amazon)
Do Yeti Tumbler Cups Dent Easily?
While Yeti tumblers don't dent easily with regular use when using them out in the wild they can definitely build up dents and scratches and if you go ahead and drop them or bump them hard against something then you will dent them, sometimes pretty badly.
I wish I had better news for you and could tell you that Yeti cups are tough as nails and you can run over them with a car and they'll be fine, but that just isn't the case.
I personally own 2 Yeti cups, a 10 oz lowball tumbler and a 30 oz tumbler and I've been lucky enough that throughout the years these haven't dented at all.
However, this is mostly due to the fact that I use them at home or at the office and rarely take them out adventuring.
My Yeti bottles, which are made from the same material, get way more outside use and while they haven't dented yet they are starting to scratch.
What Makes Yeti Tumbler Cups Dent?
Yeti cups are made from stainless steel. They are double walled and vacuum insulated which means they have an inner and outer wall with a vacuum inbetween.
The vacuum is what stop the heat transfer and keeps your Yeti drinks cold or hot for hours at a time.
Yeti cups dent easily for 2 main reasons. Firstly, the stainless steel used to make them is actually quite thin. This reduces weight but makes them not as strong. The second reasons is the vacuum inside the bottle creates an inward pressure on the walls of your Yeti cup, making it easier to dent inwards.
Does Yeti's Warranty Cover Denting?
Yeti offers are 5 year warranty on all their rambler products. This includes the tumbler cups, mugs and bottles. But does the Yeti warranty cover dents or not?
The Yeti warranty for Rambler cups and bottles covers dents during shipping. However, it does NOT cover dents that you cause yourself through regular wear and tear or from being bumped or dropped.
So if your Yeti cup gets shipped to you brand new and it arrives on your doorstep dented and damaged then Yeti will cover it. But if you do the damage yourself they won't.
On their warranty page they say:
Punctures, scratches, normal wear and tear, and the natural breakdown of colors and materials over extended time and use are not warranted.
While they don't specifically address dents they are pretty specific that the warranty covers manufacturing defects.
So Yeti covers issues that occur because of the way the cup or bottle was manufactured. If this issue is from manufacturing then they will fix/replace it but if you did it yourself they won't.
So if you Yeti cup was fine when you received it then you either dropped, banged or dented it in some way then you'll need to fix the problem yourself or just live with it. Learn how to fix a dent in a Yeti cup.
Will Yeti Replace Dented Cups or Bottles?
As mentioned above Yeti have a 5 year warranty that covers manufacturing defects, it does not cover dents caused by wear and tear.
Yeti will replace a dented tumbler cup or bottle if, and only if, the bottle was denting during manufacturing or during the shipping process. If you dented you Yeti yourself then Yeti will NOT replace it free of charge.
If you have dented your Yeti cup their you'll either need to go out there and get a new Yeti cup or just live with the dented one you've got.
See the latest price of the new Yeti tumbler cups at Yeti.com
(or compare prices and colors to Amazon)
The same is true for if you scratch the paint of your Yeti cup. Paint scratches through wear and tear aren't covered under Yeti's warranty. But here are some things you can do if your Yeti cup has paint chipping.
Do Dented Yeti Tumblers Still Work?
You may be worried that your Yeti cup will stop working and no longer keep drinks cold or hot because you dented it. But do dents actually affect the performance of Yeti cups or do they keep working even with a dent in them?
In most cases dented Yeti cups and bottles will keep their vacuum seal and continue to keep drinks cold and hot for hours. A small dent is unlikely to compromise the vacuum seal. However, if the dent does allow air in between the inner and outer wall or makes the inner and outer wall touch each other performance will be reduced.
There are two main reasons a dent may mean your yeti cup doesn't work as good anymore.
The dent has compromised the vacuum seal
If the dent is extremely bad or if the impact that caused the dent was quite severe then there is a chance that the vacuum seal on your Yeti tumbler cup or bottle has broken.
See Yeti's are able to keep drinks cold and hot for so longer because the vacuum in between the inner and outer wall doesn't let much heat through.
If the vacuum is compromised and this area fills up with air then heat can move through much more easily.
This means heat can move through to warm up your cold drink or the heat from your hot drink can escape into the outside air. This is not good.
If this happens there is also no way to fix it.
You can test if this has happened by filling your Yeti tumbler cup up with water and seeing if it floats of sinks. You can also use boiling water to see if your vacuum seal has been lost. Learn more about what to do if your Yeti cup no longer works properly.
The inner and outer wall are touching
If the dent has caused the metal of the outer wall to now touch the metal of the inner wall of your Yeti cup then heat can easily move in and out of the bottle through this point as there is no vacuum separating them.
The rest of the Yeti will still work to insulate your drink but overall it won't perform as well.
How Can You Stop Your Yeti Cup From Denting?
Rather than waiting until you've dropped your Yeti, dented it and ruined it (at least aesthetically) why not actually take some steps to protect it from denting in the first place?
For a couple of extra bucks you can protect your Yeti from wear and tear and minor accidents and make it look better and last longer.
Yeti Tumbler Bumper
Dropping or bumping your Yeti can easily cause it to dent and may even compromise the vacuum seal ruining the insulating ability of your cup completely.
These thick silicone Yeti tumbler bumpers provide an extra layer of protection for your Yeti tumbler and means it's less likely to get damaged. Think of it as a phone case for your Yeti.
These Bottle Bottle bumpers provide protection for your tumbler but they are also anti-slip so your tumbler won't move around easily.
They also come in a variety of bright fun colors and they aren't too expensive.
See the latest price of Yeti tumbler bumpers at Amazon
Tumbler Sling
This neoprene Yeti tumbler sling makes carrying your Yeti tumbler easier. You can either carry it using the handle or you can attach the shoulder strap and carry it over your shoulder.
It's very affordable and a good way to protect your Yeti tumbler when you're carrying it around with you.
It comes with an adjustable shoulder strap that you can click on and there are three different colors – black, blue and pink.
See the latest price of the Tumbler Carrier at Amazon
Can You Fix a Dent In a Yeti Cup?
I've done a full article of how to fix a dent in a Yeti cup so read that if you want more details but yes it is possible to fix a dent in a Yeti cup…sometimes.
The basic strategy is to heat up the dent using a hair dryer or heat gun and then apply dry ice to the area, repeating the process as well as using a bit of force to get the dent out.
The heat causes the metal to expand and the quick application of cold causes the metal to contract which can pop the dent out restoring your Yeti tumbler.
This method only works sometimes and it depends on how bad your dent is as well as where the dent is located on your cup. It's not a perfect solution but it's worth a shot.
See the latest price of the new Yeti tumbler cups at Yeti.com
(or compare prices and colors to Amazon)
