 Do Dents Affect Your Bottle's Insulation? Do Dents Affect Your Bottle's Insulation?Today we're exploring the question, will a dent affect your bottles insulation? Unless you have Spiderman-like reflexes, inevitably you will drop your bottle. Plastic bottles like Nalgenes will be fine, but dual-wall stainless steel bottles are a different story. Steel is a very strong and durable material for water bottle construction, but one major downside is that it is prone to denting. Many of these water bottles are not exactly cheap, costing as much as $50 for larger bottles from brands like YETI and Hydro Flask. So if you've invested in a brand you love, you want to know that your insulation still works, right? The truth is that dents CAN affect your bottle's insulation, but it's not as simple of a question to answer as it may seem at first. The location and size of the dent play a role, so there are more things to consdier than you might expect. So today we're exporing the question, "which dents affect your bottle's insulation?" Coming Next:
 The Inside of an Insulated Bottle (RevoMax) Video Review: Do Dents Affect Your Bottle's Insulation?I recently posted two videos about this test. One that's a 3-minute recap of the most important details, and another that's a full-length 18-minute video showing more of the testing footage and general information about these types of bottles. They each cover similar info as this post, so check those out if you'd prefer to watch the recap!
How Do Dual-Wall Insulated Bottles Work?Heat transfer through three primary methods:
Dual wall bottles work so well because they have a vacuum between the two stainless steel layers. Of the three heat transfer methods, only radiation is able to work through a vacuum. So when you have an intact vacuum, you're able to limit heat transfer in (or out) of your bottle. Another type of bottle you will see more and more commonly is what's normally referred to as a "triple-layer" bottle. These types of bottles have the same general construction as dual-wall bottles, but they add a copper coating to the outside of the inner stainless steel layer. The idea is that copper is better at limiting radiation heat transfer than steel, so this further improves the insulation properties of your bottle. To show you, I cut into a Hydro Flask (dual-wall) and a RevoMax (triple-layer with the copper coating). Fun fact, in the video you can actually hear the air rushing in to replace the vacuum when I cut through the Hydro Flask!
Do Triple-Layer Bottles Work Better Than Dual-Wall Bottles?
Where Is The Worst Place On Your Bottle To Get A Dent?From cutting open these two bottles, I found that the spacing between the two layers is much wider on the bottom compared to the sides. So your bottle can have bigger dents on the bottom and still hold its insulation, which is probably by design because the bottom is the most likely place to get a dent. But if you are unlucky enough to drop your bottle on its side onto a rock or something else that dents it there, then the dent doesn't need to be as deep to create a contact point between the two layers.  Approximate Spacing Between The Two Steel Layers In A 40oz Hydro Flask How Big Does A Dent Need To Be To Affect Your Bottle's Insulation?It's not just the location of the dent, but also the severity that matters. Insulation Failure A: Gradual Decrease Smaller isolated dents can create contact point between the two steel layers. Any contact point like this is going to be a pathway for heat transfer through conduction, so these dents can affect your insulation. But the good news is that your bottle will still have good insulation around the majority of it, so it won't be a complete failure.  Small Dents Can Create Contact Points for Conduction Heat Transfer Insulation Failure B: Complete Loss (Vacuum No Longer Intact) Worst-case, you might get a larger dent that cuts through the outer layer of steel. This allows air to enter the space between the steel layers to replace the vaccum, and then your bottle will be not better at insulating than a single-wall bottle.  Large And/Or Compound Dents Can Lead To Complete Insulation Loss Insulation TestsNext, I stress tested a RevoMax bottle by dropping it from increasing heights. I did a 4 hour insulation test before the test and after each drop. The bottle took A LOT of damage before the insulation was effected, even including some dents with extreme buckling and folding of the steel. The bottle still had the same insulation after 12", 24", 36", and 48" drops.  Buckling From The 48" Drop Full Of Water (Held Insulation) Eventually the insulation was completely compromised (Failure B mentioned above) after the 60" drop. This occurred when multiple dents with severe buckling overlapped, and that overlapping area is where there was too much repeated strain on the steel to the point that it cut through the outer layer.  Overlapping Dents After 60" Drop (Lost Insulation) So the main reason the insulation failed is because the compound dents overlapped. I wouldn't be surprised if the bottle would have held insulation after a single 60" drop. Conclusion: Do Dented Bottles Hold Insulation?In the vast majority of cases, YES! The bottom line is that you probably don't need to worry about your bottle's insulation being compromised by a dent. Most dents, even really severe ones, are not large enough to affect the insulation. Plus, the vast majority of people will replace their bottle before the insulation is affected because large dents can make the bottle sit wobbly, which is pretty annoying. But if you like to hang onto your bottles longer than the average person and you start to get overlapping major dents, that's when you would be more likely to start seeing your insulation get worse or potentially even competely fail. Do Your Own Insulation Test!But if you have any doubts, do an insulation test. Fill your bottle with the hottest water from your sink, measure the temperature, then let it sit for about 4 hours and measure it again. If the temperature dropped less than ~10 degrees F, your insulation is still probably good. More than ~10 degF and you might have a problem.  Doing An Insulation Test With Your Bottle How Do You Protect Your Bottle's Insulation?Other than never dropping your bottle EVER, there plenty of effective, easy options to keep your bottle protected and insulation as-designed. Here are a few to consider:
Good All-Around Sling for Many Bottles Slings for 32 and 40oz Hydro Flasks Bottle Boots
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