For those new to the Lead Safe Mama website:
Tamara Rubin is a multiple-federal-award-winning independent advocate for childhood Lead poisoning prevention and consumer goods safety, and a documentary filmmaker. She is also a mother of Lead-poisoned children (two of her four sons were acutely Lead-poisoned in 2005).
- Tamara owns and runs Lead Safe Mama, LLC — a unique community collaborative woman-owned small business for childhood Lead poisoning prevention and consumer goods safety.
- Since 2009, Tamara has been conducting XRF testing (a scientific testing method) using the exact instrumentation employed by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to test consumer goods for toxicants (specifically heavy metals — including Lead, Cadmium, Mercury, Antimony, and Arsenic).
- Since July of 2022, the work of Lead Safe Mama, LLC has been responsible for 5 product recalls (FDA and CPSC).
- All test results reported on this website are science-based, accurate, and replicable.
- Items that Lead Safe Mama, LLC reports on are tested multiple times to confirm the results published (for each component tested).
- Recent notable press… There has been too much to mention already in 2024! Please check out our press page to see some of the amazing coverage of our work so far this year!
This is an ad-free article.
Advertising and affiliate income help us cover the costs of the work we do here (independent consumer goods testing and childhood Lead-poisoning prevention advocacy). We have published this article without advertisements. We have also removed ads from most of our more widely-read articles to make them easier for you to read. In addition to supporting this work by starting any shopping you might be doing with clicks on our affiliate links, if you would like to support our independent consumer goods testing and childhood Lead-poisoning prevention advocacy work by making a contribution (which will also help us keep our more widely-read articles ad-free), click here. Thank you!
UPDATE: In 2023, we confirmed that there is a leaded sealing dot under the bottom cap on insulated stainless steel products from this brand. If your bottom cap comes off, please return the product and/or request a refund from the manufacturer. Please consider switching to HYDROFLASK — which has been a consistently Lead-free brand for almost 10 years.
Published: December 1, 2018
Updated: January 5, 2024
Please note: The test results in this article are ONLY for the specific pink tumbler pictured and described here. As I have not tested many products from this brand, I cannot guarantee that other similar (or different) tumblers will have the same test results. I have one other similar tumbler (in a different color) that was positive for a high level of Lead — and will be publishing about that shortly as well.
Click HERE to see this brand of tumbler on Amazon.
QUESTION:
Does this tumbler have a Lead sealing dot on the bottom?
This tumbler appears to be of the same type of construction as many other insulated stainless steel tumblers and water bottles I have tested that have a stainless end cap on the bottom. In many cases for products like this, under the bottom cap (when it comes off — whether intentionally or accidentally), there is a Lead sealing dot used to create the vacuum seal, which generates the insulating property of the product.
Most of the items that we report on here on the Lead Safe Mama website are sent in by our readers (members of the Lead Safe Mama community) for testing. As a result I do not do destructive testing (I do not destroy or take items apart in order to test them). This particular pink Yeti tumbler was sent in by a reader as a newly purchased/ unused product, and the bottom cap was not coming off in any way when I received it, so I was not able to confirm (at the time of testing) whether or not there may be a Leaded sealing dot under this bottle’s bottom cap.
I did not hear from readers who reported instances where the bottom cap of insulated stainless steel products from this brand (Yeti) came off until 2023. It is not uncommon for the bottom cap (or other type of bottom “button” or seal) to come off of an insulated stainless steel product like this (exposing a Leaded sealing dot). Green Sprouts, Pura Kiki, Stanley and Crocodile Creek are all brands with products with this issue in the past (or currently) — where the bottom cap/ seal/ button has been reported (by Lead Safe Mama readers) as coming off and therefore leaving an exposed Leaded sealing dot that could potentially cause harm to the user. You can read more about each of the issues with those particular brands by clicking the brand name in the previous sentence.
Continue scrolling for exact XRF test results and more images.
As with all similarly constructed stainless insulated products, if you don’t own a product a known Lead-free brand (Hydroflask or Owala are the only two confirmed Lead-free insulated Stainless Steel water bottle brands we are aware of), I recommend keeping an eye on the bottom cap to make sure it stays in place. If the end cap DOES fall off, please check the newly exposed bottom for Lead. These sealing dots are typically made of either solid Lead — or a Lead alloy that is approximately 600,000 ppm Lead. Products with components that have Lead levels over 100 ppm are considered unsafe and illegal to be sold for use by children. As a result, a home test kit (which we do not recommend for testing most consumer goods) will often work to test the seal of an item like this. You can find several different home test kit options linked at the top of the Lead Safe Mama website menu. Please consider returning the product to the manufacturer if it fails in this way (if the bottom cap comes off) regardless of the brand of your cup or water bottle — especially if the product does have a Lead sealing dot!
To see more travel cups that have been tested by Lead Safe Mama, LLC — click HERE.
To reiterate: With some brands of these insulated stainless steel products, my readers have NEVER reported a bottom cap failure (examples: UKonserve, Thermos). With other brands, I have heard consistent reports of bottom cap failure leading to an exposed Lead sealing dot (Pura Kiki, specifically).
Continue scrolling for exact XRF test results and more images.
Components tested:
Reading #1) Pink Main Part of Tumbler Body:
-
- Lead (Pb): Non-Detect/Negative
- Cadmium (Cd): Non-Detect/Negative
- Mercury (Hg): Non-Detect/Negative
- Arsenic (As): Non-Detect/Negative
- Barium (Ba): 8,522 +/- 306 ppm
- Chromium (Cr): 82,000 +/- 1,000 ppm
- Antimony (Sb): Non-Detect/Negative
- Selenium (Se): Non-Detect/Negative
- Tin (Sn): 300 +/- 71 ppm
- Copper (Cu): 3,282 +/- 484 ppm
- Nickel (Ni): 66,300 +/- 1,600 ppm
- Iron (Fe): 586,900 +/- 2,900 ppm
- Vanadium (V): 23,400 +/- 800 ppm
- Titanium (Ti): 191,100 +/- 1,800 ppm
- Molybdenum (Mo): 2,127 +/- 155 ppm
- Cobalt (Co): 13,500 +/- 1,600 ppm
- Magnesium (Mn): 21,400 +/- 1,900 ppm
Reading #2) Stainless Steel of Base and Body:
-
- Lead (Pb): Non-Detect/Negative
- Cadmium (Cd): Non-Detect/Negative
- Mercury (Hg): Non-Detect/Negative
- Arsenic (As): Non-Detect/Negative
- Barium (Ba): Non-Detect/Negative
- Chromium (Cr): 154,400 +/- 1,000 ppm
- Antimony (Sb): Non-Detect/Negative
- Selenium (Se): Non-Detect/Negative
- Tin (Sn): Non-Detect/Negative
- Copper (Cu): Non-Detect/Negative
- Nickel (Ni): 88,500 +/- 1,500 ppm
- Iron (Fe): 742,200 +/- 2,200 ppm
- Vanadium (V): 1,149 +/- 201 ppm
- Titanium (Ti): Non-Detect/Negative
- Molybdenum (Mo): Non-Detect/Negative
- Cobalt (Co): Non-Detect/Negative
- Magnesium (Mn): 11,000 +/- 1,100 ppm
Reading #3) Black Plastic cap:
-
- Lead (Pb): Non-Detect/Negative
- Cadmium (Cd): Non-Detect/Negative
- Mercury (Hg): Non-Detect/Negative
- Arsenic (As): Non-Detect/Negative
- Barium (Ba): 641 +/- 201 ppm
- Chromium (Cr): Non-Detect/Negative
- Antimony (Sb): Non-Detect/Negative
- Selenium (Se): Non-Detect/Negative
- Tin (Sn): Non-Detect/Negative
- Copper (Cu): Non-Detect/Negative
- Nickel (Ni): Non-Detect/Negative
- Iron (Fe): 273 +/- 41 ppm
- Vanadium (V): Non-Detect/Negative
- Titanium (Ti): Non-Detect/Negative
- Molybdenum (Mo): Non-Detect/Negative
- Cobalt (Co): Non-Detect/Negative
- Magnesium (Mn): Non-Detect/Negative
Reading #4) Clear Plastic of cap:
-
- Lead (Pb): Non-Detect/Negative
- Cadmium (Cd): Non-Detect/Negative
- Mercury (Hg): Non-Detect/Negative
- Arsenic (As): Non-Detect/Negative
- Barium (Ba): Non-Detect/Negative
- Chromium (Cr): Non-Detect/Negative
- Antimony (Sb): Non-Detect/Negative
- Selenium (Se): Non-Detect/Negative
- Zinc (Zn): Non-Detect/Negative
- Tin (Sn): 124 +/- 24 ppm
- Copper (Cu): Non-Detect/Negative
- Nickel (Ni): Non-Detect/Negative
- Iron (Fe): Non-Detect/Negative
- Vanadium (V): Non-Detect/Negative
- Titanium (Ti): Non-Detect/Negative
- Molybdenum (Mo): Non-Detect/Negative
- Cobalt (Co): Non-Detect/Negative
- Magnesium (Mn): Non-Detect/Negative
Reading #5) Black Silicone Ring of cap:
-
- Lead (Pb): Non-Detect/Negative
- Cadmium (Cd): Non-Detect/Negative
- Mercury (Hg): Non-Detect/Negative
- Arsenic (As): Non-Detect/Negative
- Barium (Ba): 557 +/- 335 ppm
- Chromium (Cr): Non-Detect/Negative
- Antimony (Sb): Non-Detect/Negative
- Selenium (Se): Non-Detect/Negative
- Zinc (Zn): 155 +/- 27 ppm
- Tin (Sn): Non-Detect/Negative
- Copper (Cu): Non-Detect/Negative
- Nickel (Ni): Non-Detect/Negative
- Iron (Fe): Non-Detect/Negative
- Vanadium (V): Non-Detect/Negative
- Titanium (Ti): Non-Detect/Negative
- Molybdenum (Mo): Non-Detect/Negative
- Cobalt (Co): Non-Detect/Negative
- Magnesium (Mn): Non-Detect/Negative
To see more stainless steel items that Lead Safe Mama, LLC has tested and reported on, click HERE.
As always, please let me know if you have any questions. Thank you for reading and for sharing our work.
Tamara Rubin
Owner — Lead Safe Mama, LLC
#LeadSafeMama
*Amazon links are affiliate links. If you purchase something after clicking on one of our affiliate links, we may receive a small percentage of what you spend at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting our advocacy work in this way.
Do you know when you plan to post the cup and color that tested high for lead? We use these daily so I am anxious to see what color isn’t safe
Received 2 Greenish Yeti’s very similar to this pink one pictured / tested for Christmas 12/25/18. Wanted to check here before we started using them 01/03/19. Glad this Pink one tested ND for Lead and other elements of concern! But, now wondering which Color did not Test as ND for Lead. 🙁
Hi Christine,
I hate “guessing” on something like this, since I have only tested two examples…BUT that said if they are EXACTLY the same as the pink one in every way (including the packaging), then there is a good chance the green one is likely also Lead-free (in accessible components.)
Tamara
My son wants to buy one in dark blue. What are the chances that the color wraps have lead? In the past have those elements of water bottles tested positive? even if not this brand?
A New Yeti in blue is likely lead-free in the exterior coating. Just make sure you don’t buy a knock-off product, buy direct from the manufacturer or from a reputable store.
T
Thanks!!!
HL Tamara❣
Thank you for all you do I know it’s important to be safe in the products we buy and use; especially when in affects our overall health, but $200.00 for (1)SSTumbler What about people who are on a low income budget
gain, thank for all you do
I am not recommending this product and I don’t consider it a safer choice. It is just an item sent in by a reader for testing. Most of the items on the website are items sent in for testing by readers. The only water bottles I recommend are known Lead-free bottles; Hydroflask and LifeFactory:
https://tamararubin.com/2023/01/more-lead-safe-mama-lead-free-favorites-water-bottles-i-have-purchased-for-my-family/
I use a yellow Yeti coffee mug, and green Yeti water bottle, no tumbler. I can’t see a sealing dot; it just has the imprinted logo on the bottom. How would I know if the bottles are safe, and these colors are safe? I think yellow is a suspect color, right? I hope I didn’t waste my money! They look so well made. And these are so popular!
Also wondering which yeti color tested high in lead… I use these daily
Please post which color is unsafe!
“I have one other similar tumbler (in a different color) that was positive for a high level of Lead – and will be posting about that shortly as well.”
Where was info posted? I’m new here and would really like to knoew what color of a similar tumbler tested positive. Were you talking about a different brand maybe? Please respond! thanks 😉
We’re not sure yet if it is a counterfeit and are trying to figure it out!
Tamara
Are there any updates on the Yeti ramblers? My kids drink from these- I am positive I have Yeti and not counterfeit.
I’m also looking for an update on the one that did test positive.
Thank you!
Hello, we are and all have been patiently awaiting for what seems like 2 years now? About this other colored Yeti. If you have said that you will be posting about it, please actually do so..
Hi Leia,
With my lawsuit, my kids and my health issues – yes – that is correct. I am about two years behind in posting.
Tamara
hi- are these kids Yeti drink canisters positive for lead?
It will not allow me to attach a photo here, but I have confirmation from YETI that the Rambler Jr bottles are lead free.
Hi Tamara,
Do you know if Kids Stainless Steel bottles from Target are lead free? Examples are Zak! , Zulu and Ello brands. I am just curious because my kids love Target bottles
Zak often has Lead in their products.If they are insulated and not hydro flask they probably have lead.
Is the paint yeti uses for decals lead free?
Hi Tamara,
Do you think all of the colors in yeti or hydro flasks are lead free? Or would you steer clear of certain colors?
Thank you!
Holly
Hydro flask – yes. Yeti, I don’t know.
T
Hi Tamara,
Any update on the testing of the yeti in the other color? Was it counterfeit finally? There is a model intended for children and just wanted to make sure they are safe : RAMBLER® JR
12 OZ KIDS WATER BOTTLE
Thank you
I just happened on your site today through an article. Funny thing ..when reading about Bindle bottle bottom lead spot, I searched Yeti because just last week the metal bottom popped off my big red water cup. Now I’m wondering if it has lead.
Hi! Here are full test results for a Yeti – although I cannot guarantee that these test results apply to all colors:
https://tamararubin.com/2018/12/pink-yeti-rambler-20-oz-tumbler-lead-free-in-all-accessible-components/
Do you feel the Yeti is safe to be used with hot drinks? I know you said in your Stanley post that it isn’t an intended use of that one but my husband uses his Yeti tumbler daily for his hot tea & coffee…
No – please read the stainless overview post for context and for links to some of the science:
https://tamararubin.com/2022/08/why-do-some-stainless-steel-cookware-items-have-a-prop-65-warning-isnt-stainless-steel-non-toxic/
Tamara
Hi Tamara!
I know you’re busy but was wondering if there’s any updates on Yeti testing — specifically the Kid’s tumblers that others have asked about as well?
Thanks 🙂
They have lead
Hi!
What about the Costco stainless steel water bottles thermal flask they contain lead?
Is Hydro flask the best to use for kids?
Thanks
They also have Lead.
Natalie, I have an email from Yeti saying they are 100% lead free.
Tamara do you have the results? I inquired with Yeti a few years ago and they told me that no parts of the kid rambler contained lead.
I have a 2020 email from Yeti stating that they are 100% lead free.
Please send that to me.
Yes, they also said that to me as well. I have it in an email from them. Hmmm… is it the button made of lead sandwich between the two stainless steel layers or are you finding lead in other components…?
How would you like to receive a screenshot of email? I have tried sending it to you a few years ago.
Testing@leadSafeMama.com
I asked if they contained any amount of lead- answer was no.
Hi there, we have the red, purple and blue yeti Rambler Jrs labeled for kids. Did you find lead in these?
Can we have the posting for other colors of Yeti? I have one similar Yeti mug (the only difference is the color). I want to know if the Yeti bottles with other colors are lead-free.
Here’s how the testing generally works: https://tamararubin.com/2019/08/can-i-send-in-one-of-my-dishes-or-other-items-to-test-for-lead-yes-maybe-but-read-this-first-thanks/
I just bought my husband two yetis for father’s day, based off of this article, and now reading the comments, I see otherwise. Can we at least know where the lead is? Is it the sealing dot, is it the paint? So those of us that own these can either have some peace of mind, on whether it’s in just the sealing dot or not.
It’s in the sealing dot. If the bottom cap comes off you should toss or ask for the company to replace it. A reader just shared with me recently that her bottom cap came off and exposed Lead.
Tamara
I just re-read the article and I think it’s pretty clear – that I suspected they have Lead under the bottom cap, which we just recently confirmed (summer 2023). The water bottles I recommend as the best Lead-free choices are Hydroflask and LifeFactory – both of those (purchased new today) are Lead-free: https://tamararubin.com/2023/01/more-lead-safe-mama-lead-free-favorites-water-bottles-i-have-purchased-for-my-family/
Yeti says they are 100% lead free. I have inquired multiple times over the past three years. I have specifically asked about a leaded sealing dot. Tamara, do you personally have results from a leaded sealing dot?
please read the article and specifically read the headline “Lead free in accessible components” – and the article specifically mentions that i did not do destructive testing (i never do destructive testing of thins sent in by readers.) The only stainless bottle that i have said is 100% lead free based on ongoing repeated testing is post-2017 hydroflasks.
There is no lead in food contact elements as long as the bottom seal is not compromised and there is no lead in the paint as long as it is not a knock off. The text of this article is clear if you read the whole article and i have not updated it since originally published. We just confirmed the Lead in the sealing dot this summer & i have not yet updated the article or written a follow up article with that information given we just found out.
Thanks for the reply. I’ve read the article many times over the past few years and have been following for a long time. My question is more raising the point that you personally did not test this sealing dot in the Yeti bottle that became exposed. I completely understand why you recommend Hydroflask. At the same time, if you’ve not personally tested a broken Yeti, then you can’t say for sure that it contains lead?
If you look at their website they state that their products can expose you to lead sadly
Is the high chromium on the outside (pink) part of the Yeti bottle unsafe? “Chromium (Cr): 82,000 +/- 1,000 ppm.” Even if there is no internal lead sealing dot, isn’t that chromium reading enough to not want to use it? Is chromium, by chance, is more inert than lead, and therefore it is not a concern?
Chromium is a primary ingredient in stainless steel. Read this for context:
https://tamararubin.com/2022/08/why-do-some-stainless-steel-cookware-items-have-a-prop-65-warning-isnt-stainless-steel-non-toxic/
And read this for context:
https://tamararubin.com/2018/07/asktamara-what-is-stainless-steel/
T
Thank you for your hard work.
“I did not hear from readers who reported instances where the bottom cap of insulated stainless steel products from this brand (Yeti) came off until 2023.”
Maybe that means Yeti bottom caps rarely pops off, if ever.
“In 2023, we confirmed that there is a leaded sealing dot under the bottom cap on insulated stainless steel products from this brand.”
How do you know? You only mention that some reader had their Yeti bottom fall off, and most importantly, no mention of actually testing and verifying there’s lead. Isn’t that high up in inportance? The best you could conjure up is that there are SIMILARLY constructed bottles with the bottom falling off thus exposing the leaded dot, therefore you infer that Yeti must have that leaded dot. That is weak evidence. You owe it to your followers to actually test it with an XRF machine instead of relying on inferences and calling your method science-based.
It’s crazy that is your update on this particular and very popular brand in 6 years, then of course, you take this opportunity to go on and hawk your beloved Hydroflask brand.
I never make statements like this without confirming with testing. We have confirmed with independent testing. Personally I think Hydro Flask is an asshole of a company because they never recalled their old leaded products and didn’t thank me for helping them resolve that problem with their products – but they are the only consistently Lead-free brand. Take it or leave it. I have tested something in the range of 100,000 items – there is not time in the day for me to do full write ups for every single item I have tested. I have acutely Lead-poisoned / disabled kids to raise. Have a nice day.
Yeah, no one is expecting you to do a full write-up of all the 100,000+ items you’ve tested. That would be ridiculous, but if it’s a company worth nearly 4 billion, I would think it would take precedent over a trinket from 1938.
Also plenty of your readers have asked about Yeti over the years with no legit response. Your 2018 write up on the pink Yeti states no lead components, but you’re not sure if it has a leaded dot because you don’t do destructive testing, then you say you tested it but have not published the findings, then you say it must have a leaded dot because it’s similar in construction to other bottles you’ve tested that have shown to have lead. Now we’re here in the year 2023-24, there was a Yeti that finally had its bottom cap pop off thus exposing the leaded dot (but you have not even tested it).
I dont know what’s going on with you and Yeti, but it has been comical.
My focus is not on products. My focus in on helping families prevent Lead poisoning. The Yetis have Lead under the bottom cap. That’s all people need to know about that to make an informed decision.
Kati, a quick search of your own, straight out of the horses mouth, would indicate that Yeti admits to using a lead sealing dot in their cups – they state this plainly in the FAQ on their website.
My concern with Yeti products is dishwasher use, which they are marked for. How sealed is the bottom, if I run a cup through the dishwasher will the water then seep out with contaminated lead water? Have you tried soaking a sealed bottom for 24 hours then testing the water to ensure it contains no lead?