First Look: YETI Rambler One Gallon ‘Jug’ Review

Ten cans of beer, 16 cups of coffee, or a whole lotta’ soup… YETI’s one-gallon Rambler Jugs can hold plenty. We tested it with liquids hot and cold.

YETI’s latest vessel is a veritable “kitchen sink” of the outdoors. If you can’t fit enough liquid in it, you may have other problems. The Rambler One Gallon Jug is big, expensive, durable, and ready for niche adventures where lots of hot or cold liquids fit the bill.

These adventures tend to sound like a party. YETI explains its capacities in some relatable terms:

• One margarita party
• 16 servings of gumbo
• One bucket of live bait
• 10 cans of soda

But the brand stays vague when it comes to thermal performance:

• “Stays cold all day”
• “Keeps drinks hot or cold to the last drop”

So, we went ahead and put it to a test.

YETI Rambler One Gallon Jug Test

I began by loading the Rambler about half-full with cubed ice, then filling it with water. After 10 minutes, I took a temp reading with a meat thermometer: 39° F on the nose.

Then came the easy part: I went to bed. I left the Jug on the floor at the foot of my bed. The room temp was about 70 degrees.

At 8:00 a.m., 11 hours after I filled the Jug, I opened it up. All the ice had melted. But, surprisingly, the water temperature was still the same — 39°, dead-on — as it was the night before.

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On to the hot-water test. I emptied the 39-degree water into a large pot and brought it to a boil. I poured it all back into the Rambler, sealed the lid, and went to work.

After four hours I measured the temperature. From 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. the water went from 212° F to 181° F — a loss of 31°. After another four hours (eight hours total since the test began) the temperature was down to 164.7° F.

Having worked in the coffee industry for over a decade in a past life, I can attest that the accepted industry threshold for a drinkably hot beverage is 160° F.

YETI Rambler One Gallon Jug Review

Beyond the thermal test, the jug as a whole was impressive, if a little unwieldy. It’s made of a stout stainless steel and uses vacuum-sealed walls for insulating. Its cover has 1 inch of insulation as well.

A nice touch, the threaded spout has a magnetic cap that sits firmly on a small recess of the lid. It snaps in place. This is great for keeping the cap from disappearing at the campsite (it’s also a nifty alternative to the chain or strap typically found on big water bottles and jugs).

On the downside, this Rambler can be a bear to open; be careful not to over-tighten. Because it’s so big, if snugly tightened on, it’s hard to open the jug with one hand and twist off the lid with the other.

When tight, the best method I found for unscrewing it was to hug the vessel in the crook of your arm and twist the lid by the carrying handle.

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If space and weight are no issue — this jug weighs just more than 4.5 lbs. — the $150 YETI One Gallon Rambler will keep your liquids and stews cold or hot for most of the day.

Like all things YETI, this is basically a very tough, no-frills product with a minimum of features. It’s big and it’s insulated, and that’s what it does well.