Coolers

[protoolman]

Just saw Yeti coolers dropped the NRA foundation and it got me to thinking. A couple years back several of our members here conducted exhaustive research into drink cooler stainless mugs and proved most were the same regardless of price. What do you all say about the new super duper coolers? I see WalMart has their own brand now at about 1\2 the price of the big names. Anybody comparing a couple of brands? Is a 4" wall with styrofoam inside all the same?

 

[Pat-inCO]

I have a somewhat smaller one I've had for many years. I was not very
happy with it until a gal friend and I made a multi-day excursion over the
West half of the state. First day the cooler was half full of water when we
got to the first over-night. SO, I decided to fill it with ice over night. Funniest
thing, the second day there was hardly any melt in the bottom. Third day
was the same.

My conclusion, for what it's worth, is that if you "temper" your cooler for
a half day (night?) before you leave, the ice will do a far better job for you.

 

[eveled]

Do the same with the travel mugs and thermos bottles. Fill with hot or cold dump it out then add you beverage. So I can see it help on a cooler too.

I just can't see me spending that kind of money on a cooler. I'd be afraid to leave it in my truck or campsite.

 

[#1rugerman]

I grew up along the gulf coast, spent many days on the water, first pre cool your ice chest along with what you are going to put in it, next use large blocks of ice, open it as little as possible and for as short a time as possible. If possible carry two ice chests, one for drinks and food that you will be opening a lot and one with a few drinks and lots of big ice to cool your catch and keep a few drinks cold for the ride home.

 

[Mobuck]

I'm looking for a new cooler but it won't be a YETI. Not in my price range or "need" level. I/we only use coolers a few times per year but I'm going back to NM this fall and it takes a better & bigger cooler than I have for 1/2 an elk. Saw one @ Wallie yesterday with SS hinges and stout handles that is topping my list so far.

 

[Dave P.]

Here's a link you might find useful about coolers.
Test is not real new but still valid.
https://expeditionportal.com/the-big-chill-overland-journals-cooler-test/

One more link
https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/topics/camping-and-hiking/best-cooler

Dave

 

[ChiefMuzz]

The Yeti ones were "worth" the price when they first came out. Yes they are better than every other cooler that existed then. However the need for something that can keep ice in it for 7+ days isn't a necessity for everyone. But it is a necessity for some, and there is your price differential. However once they came out other companies took their design, sent it to China and replicated it. Thus the rash of others, Ozark Trail, RTIC, etc. Now years later the design is nothing special, the market is flooded with the same design and the price has dropped. Yeti is still charging the same, but that's for the brand. As it stands I probably wouldn't buy the Wal-Mart one, mainly because there are still "reasonably" priced versions out there with actual Customer Services and warranties, which you will not get from Wal Mart.

 

[krw]

Try the Coleman 5 day Extreme. A bargain compared to a Yeti. Also a trick I learned from my younger yrs. ice down 4-5 beer, when you take 1 out replace it with 1. Your ice will last lots longer.

 

[jollymon]

When they came out they were king and I think that their was two others in that game but they were only in the commercial market and didn't market to the recreation market . Now that market has blown up I can think of six
off the top of my head , Rtic was so close to Yeti that Yeti sued them. Rtic had to make a few changes but won .
And there half the price , they all work as advertised holding ice as long as you pre chill them .
But what Yeti did was shameful , I've never bought any of there stuff but I've got a bunch of mugs and a bucket
that were gifts and one cooler I got in a trade , but I've a need for a 20qt. cooler and almost ordered one then
this all came out , So they won't see any money from me or my family , We are all NRA members and have long memories .

 

[Rick Courtright]

Try the Coleman 5 day Extreme. A bargain compared to a Yeti. Also a trick I learned from my younger yrs. ice down 4-5 beer, when you take 1 out replace it with 1. Your ice will last lots longer.

Hi,

I bought a Coleman marine cooler last Fall, which is supposedly part of the Extreme series. Even paid a little extra and ordered it straight from Coleman to ensure I wasn't getting some "quality trimmed to make a price" lookalike at Wally's. The only way I'll recommend it is if you can get REAL block ice (which is scarce as hen's teeth around here.) With cubes, it won't go 48 hours, in the house, in winter (when I keep the house like a cave, t-stat seldom over 60.) With 10 lb blocks, it's quite usable in shirt sleeve weather. It hasn't been to the desert in summer yet.

Our last trip to the desert, my buddy built a "Yeti Killer" cooler trying to figure out what you get for $300 besides an empty feeling in your hip pocket where your wallet used to live. Starting with one of those heavy styrofoam boxes they use to ship food on dry ice, and putting it in a 3/8" plywood box, I think he had $20 or so involved using various scrap materials lying about the garage. He started with 20 lbs of ice, and on the fourth day there was about 2" of water in the bottom. Temps were a consistent 45-70 deg F from night to day for those four days. It really had that "I made it myself, betcha couldn't tell" kind of charm, but also worked like one!

Best cooler I ever had was an old J.C. Higgins aluminum one from Sears, from late-50s or so, given to me by my next door neighbor when I was in college. It needed a new seal for the lid, which was easy to make with hardware store weather stripping. We took it on a dove hunting trip to the desert, bought a 20 block of ice when we got where we were going, added beer and and a full bag (1 lb?) of rock salt, then closed it up and tried to keep it shaded during a day which reached at least 105 deg F. At the end of the day, we put the guns away, opened the cooler, and pulled out cans of SLUSHY beer. Not bad! Even though the salt played heck with the steel hinges.

I made the mistake of loaning that cooler to a guy who had a reputation of sending any borrowed items back showing evidence of misuse. Dunno how he did it, but he put a dent in it that broke the seal and we never could get it right again. That was truly a loss...

Rick C

 

[Kevin]

I’ve been looking at coolers recently. We are going to Colorado this summer for vacation. There is also the made in USA aspect. Orca makes a cooler made in here, so does Pelican and some others. On the Yeti thread in the political section someone mentioned Cordovan coolers, they are made in Idaho and actually look really good on paper.

Interestingly enough, some yeti coolers are made here and some in the Philippines and some in China.

I just would not buy an expensive cooler made overseas. But that is just me...

But the whole idea of keeping ice below 32 degrees for 10 days is hard. It depends on how often you open the cooler, or is it in the sun or shade? Is it inside an RV or in the back of an open pickup? Is it pre chilled as mentioned above? In a test it would be easy to monitor, but in real life, everyone in different.

 

[jollymon]

Back when I lived in Alaska in the early 80's I got my hands on a styrofoam cooler about 3" thick , was 3' long and 2' wide
I made a plywood box for it and it would keep ice forever , kept in my truck bed, beer and food going out , fish or meat coming back , I gave it a buddy when I left.

 

[vito]

RTIC has pledged to donate to the NRA-ILA for every cooler purchased. They are openly a friend of the NRA and gun owners, unlike Yeti. I don't even need a cooler but I am thinking of buying a RTIC as a protest against Yeti.

 

[cas6969]

YETI is back peddling a little, saying they did but they didn't.


I believe Pelican has made a similar gesture to donate. RTIC has been a sponsor of USPSA matches I've shot in.

 

[blackhawknj]

Several re-enactors I know have built coolers using Styrofoam inside a wooden box so they look "period".
They work fine.

 

[protoolman]

I have a Coleman Extreme that I bought unused from a rummage sale. I took it to Grand Lake Oklahoma from Montana and returned with paddlefish in it. Had to drain off a bit of water but the ice kept 3 days. I'm sure it's not up to the super coolers but it's OK.

 

[jollymon]

I just found a another company called Cordova Cooler in Boise ID. the owner is a former Crab fishermen in Alaska .
Was on Deadliest Catch for 4 season and had to retire due to a spinal injury now hes in the cooler business .
Made in Boise ID. USA and is openly pro NRA

 

[CraigC]

Sometimes a cheap, disposable plastic cooler works fine. Of course, that's when you have easy access to more ice and/or a couple days is plenty. When the lid warps from sun exposure or the latches and hinges break, you just buy a new one. Sometimes you need ice to last for several days and a higher level of ruggedness is a good thing. Which is why I bought my Pelican. We have a Yeti soft cooler for road trips that works infinitely better than the cheap soft coolers we tried before.

Why do coolers have to be disposable?