Great cooler

[Uplander]

Last year on a hunting trip to Maine in October a member of our group had a new "YETTI" cooler. He had been out there beyond electric power for about two weeks and his cooler still had about 90% of the original ice cubes in bags frozen solid. I was impressed. The cost of the thing was up there $$$$!!!! BUT this thing seemed worth it.
I camp with a Travel Trailer and have no need for a cooler that good but if you are in need of a fantastic cooler look into one of these. Cabelas is on possible source.

Happy Camping!!!

[BubbaChris]

If you aren't going to spend the big buck and need more time for special trips, there are other options.

A big step up is to go primarily with block ice. You can use an ice pick to break it up some, but a big block will last much longer than the same weight in cubes.

The serious freezer tool is dry ice (just wrap it in paper before putting it in, and always use gloves). This is what we used for meats and other high-priority foods during a week long houseboat trip on Lake Powell. For the first few days you had to transition that night's dinner into a regular cooler to thaw (and help that cooler stay colder).

You can also improve the performance of collapsible coolers with a layer of foam at the bottom. And I've made improvised chill boxes by sandwiching bubble-wrap between layers of cardboard. I made one to keep an oversized cake cool by having a two stage box, with the upper box holding dry ice and venting into the lower one.

[Timtation]

Mostly but not totally tongue in cheek.
I have a camper with a refrigerator, I have a boat with a refrigerator. On board both as well as my smaller boats I have coolers. My coolers are stocked with water, snacks/sandwiches and adult beverages. My goal is to return to either the camper or boat and pass by a location to replenish ice and adult beverages within less than an 18 hour period. Any cooler that is not totally Styrofoam will meet this objective. I have several in several sizes just in case friends are along.:W

[westend]

Lots of good information and ideas in this thread.

I wonder if they super-chilled the ice back in the day. I remember crossing half the country with my parents using one of those old steel coolers and the food always seemed to remain cold.

Ahhh, memories of having an ice-cold Coke in those small bottles.

[Big_Katuna]

Here is the test I watched. CLICKY

You can skip to the last few minutes.

Looked like the Coleman Xtreme had about as much ice in it as the Yeti at day eight.

I would worry about the $300-$400 coolers getting stolen.

I get that if you are hunting or camping remotely, having to drive 39 miles for ice is problematic.

[Bumpyroad]

flguppie wrote:
Clicky

Coleman isn't bad and for 1/3 the price

http://www.campinglife.com/camping-gear/ice-chest-shootout/

that camping life cooler report used the same inadequacies that consumer reports does. they did not compare the Yeti Knockoffs for 1/2 the price to a yeti. they compared $39.00 specials vs $400 ones.
bumpy

[carringb]

I have both the Coleman Extreme and a couple Yetis. Sorry, the Colemans are not "close". I've gone 12 days before the ice melted in the Yeti while rafting the Grand Canyon, with highs over 120F and lows maybe in the 80s on the cool nights.

If you only need a weekend or car camping cooler, then yes the Coleman Extreme will work. But its still not a Yeti.

[majorgator]

I think a lot of it depends on what kind of ice you put in it. Down here in FL, on almost every corner, you see one of those ice vending machines. You can get a ton of ice real fast and much cheaper from there...but...that ice sucks. We no longer use those machines for that reason. The ice from them is barely frozen (especially on a busy day), and it melts really fast. Traditional bagged ice is the way to go. The last time we used the machine ice, we had frozen foods in the cooler. 4 hours later, when we unpacked the cooler, the frozen foods were all thawed.

Another thing is that I think coolers like Yeti's really outperform standard cheaper coolers in really hot conditions. When you're dealing with consistent 90+ degree temps like we have here, they're still keeping ice when others can't keep up. Less than 80 degrees and there's probably not much difference between all the coolers.

IMHO, of course. And like I said before, those coolers are most definitely not worth what they cost. I wouldn't own one if it weren't for having gotten it for free. But yes, great cooler and superior construction. Plus, they send you a free bottle opener.

[ReferDog]

The colman just don't keep it at food temp at 80 to 90, maybe in the fall at 50 days

[campinia]

I had a Yeti 45 for about one year. I did not feel that it was worth the money that I spent on it, so, I sold it on Craigslist and got most of my money back. They are built well, I will say that much. However, I have a Coleman Extreme that kept ice just as long when using side by side and opening them about the same every day. I even "prechilled" the Yeti over night before I added cold and frozen food, and it still did not impress me. I could get about 3 days worth of substantial cooling from both coolers in 80-90 degree summer temps and then I felt like I needed more ice. My biggest complaint is that they are much heavier, but then, that is why they are much stronger. So, I think if you need a cooler that will stand up to alot of abuse, or to be used as a standing platform like fisherman use if for, then, get a Yeti type. Otherwise, I think that the 5 or 7 day Coleman and Igloo coolers will keep ice for about as long, at least in my experience.

[Majja13]

I have an old Gott I took over from my mom and dad that has 3 screw in freezer packs. The cooler is huge I always pre cool it and then put in a ice block the last thing that goes in is the ice packs. While up camping I just rotate the ice packs in the freezer one at a time over night and usually still have ice left when I get home.

[Doug33]

Bumpyroad wrote:
I have found lots of replacement parts for various coolers at the Bass Pro Shops, in the camping area.
bumpy

I can't wait for the Bass Pro Shops to open up next year in Atlantic City. The cloest outlet now is way down in Maryland.

[oughtsix]

I keep a case of bottled water in my freezer to use in my coolers. It lasts longer than regular ice cubes. When it does melt we have refreshing cool bottled water to drink which I would have brought along anyway.

[rockhillmanor]

hddecker wrote:

rockhillmanor wrote:
My parents would always add a layer of newspaper to the top of the stuff inside the cooler. Never gave much thought to it as a kid.

I tried it this year and puting a layer of newspaper on top DOES increase the time your food will stay cold.

Stuff will stay frozen longer if you wrap it in newspaper. I use about five pages per and have had steak that was still frozen on day 4.

Newspaper makes for good insulation, my grand parents homestead house still has the newspaper on the walls. The house is 111 years old and I think the newspaper is going to out last the wood.

X2 and thanks for the tip about actually wrapping each item with newspaper also.

I bought my grandparent's summer home when they died.

I was changing out the trim and found newspaper stuffed in there for insulation. I pulled it out and found a full page ad for cars...A brand new Lincoln Continental was a whopping $500.00! :C

[Bumpyroad]

I have found lots of replacement parts for various coolers at the Bass Pro Shops, in the camping area.
bumpy