COOLERS

I only use coolers in AK and for short trips....so the "keep ice for 10 days" idea doesn't apply.

So far, though, the Yeti is the only one that has a secure enough closure that it will keep the mud out and the food in when it falls off the 4wheeler on the trail in to the cabin. Other high-end brands would probably do the same, but that's the best feature in my view. Makes it worth the $$.

I have a Yeti 65 and got to say it is a awesome cooler. We got it because we leave our camper in storage at the campground that we go to and have to bring in all our food for a weekend trip. We usually get set up Friday night and the once the fridge get turned on it won't be cold enough for use until Saturday morning/afternoon. With the Yeti, during this 16-20 hour time period, none of the ice has even melted, our food is cold and never wet! I also like the fact that I can easily secure the cooler to the camper by using a cable lock and also secure the lid by a separate lock to keep the teenagers from helping themselves to my beer in the middle of the night once it is switched over for that use for the rest of the weekend.

As for bears...don't have to worry about those, but that lock that I use for the teenagers will keep the big furry ones out too! ;)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgwejaTNZmI

Have a YETI 45 Ice Blue and been very happy with it.

Yup!

If you are opening the cooler often and/or adding 12 packs of warm beer every day, I agree the Yeti or other expensive coolers won't seem to work much better than a cheap one. The beer and hot air will melt the ice.

PegLW wrote:

nevadanick wrote:
Close the lid

Wish that helped! We used our Yeti for three months inside our air conditioned trailer and we had to replace or add ice at a minimum twice a week. We opened it maybe once a day. The Yeti has not impressed us at all.

No one can judge Yeti coolers based on your statement. What size Yeti are you referring to? How long do you actually expect a cooler to hold ice? Regardless of what you have, its not a freezer so the ice WILL MELT.

As an owner of a Yeti 65, living in FL, there is not a cooler better than a Yeti (or those designed like a Yeti). It does hold ice longer, no question about it. Its more durable than traditional coolers. Plus, it has a cool name. Whether or not its worth the cost is up to you.

It is more expensive than a Yeti, but I'm looking at buying a Dometic chest refrigerator when I start my camping season. Instead of being a cooler, it is a true refrigerator and can go down to below freezing, and runs on 12 volts or 120.

The advantage of an active refrigerator/freezer is that you can freeze ice packs in it and rotate them out with your other coolers to keep everything at the ideal temperature for as long as you want, without having to worry about ice.

So I was in Sams Club today and looked at the Igloo Sportsman cooler.
Its a 55 qt Yeti look a like for $199. Looked good.

Got home and youtubed some reviews. Held ice almost identically to the Yeti in a side by side.

BUT the tester found a bubble/delamination on one wall and there are pinholes on the bottom where they inject the insulation. Took it back to Sams and he said every cooler there had a bubble on a wall.

So no Igloo for me.

No Yeti either as I aint gettin off $400 for a cooler.

We use Yeti 35 & 45 and love them. Did some work and bartered for the 45. All involved were happy, so the next year we did it again and I bartered for the 35. We like them so much that this year the DW & I did a road trip through IL, OH, PA and finally NY before returning home to MO and wanted a smaller cooler, so we bought a Roadie 20 for the trip. Didn't want to spend the money, but was/is well worth it. No regrets what so ever.

Big Katuna wrote:

nevadanick wrote:
Close the lid

That indeed is a huge factor. Neither a Yeti or cheap cooler can keep ice if the lid is opened and closed 30 times a day.

I mentioned we were scalloping a few weeks ago. Several families and the kids cooler with the water bottles and soft drinks in it was burning through ice because the kids were in it constantly and often didn't push it fully closed.

Adults were yelling "CLOSE THE COOLER" every five minutes.

Good to know I'm not alone;)