RTIC Ultra Light Hard Coolers

I am still shocked nobody fills this market with a hard cooler that doesn’t weigh a ton. Similar to the Coleman Xtremes (can’t find them anymore)

Does anyone have experience with these RTIC Ultra Light Hard Coolers? They look intriguing.

First I have heard of them, and I would have bought one last year when I was looking. I wound up with an igloo, and have not found any reason to bad mouth it yet. Looks very similar in construction and features. I paid $159.99 each at Scheels for mine.

IMX 70 Qt Cooler

EDIT… I forgot, there is one thing on the igloo that I hate. It has the rubber feet on it. Impossible for it to slide into the back of the truck or across the floor of the boat. I hate that, but they all have them in my search.

I will be looking at them. It’s about time someone tried to come up with something in between. My yeti is nice but having a cooler take up that much space and be that heavy to hold that little of stuff is ridiculous.

BTW… Coleman Xtreme coolers are available online, if you are into that, but the one I have that had 2 summers of use and a monthly trip to the grocery store the latch broke, and the cable that hold the lid from opening too far and breaking the hinge broke. The quality seems to have suffered in an effort to maintain a price point and still claim 5 days of ice retention.

jbg1219 wrote:

BTW… Coleman Xtreme coolers are available online, if you are into that, but the one I have that had 2 summers of use and a monthly trip to the grocery store the latch broke, and the cable that hold the lid from opening too far and breaking the hinge broke. The quality seems to have suffered in an effort to maintain a price point and still claim 5 days of ice retention.

Interesting, I have had my Xtreme for years of not so nice use summer and winter and it has held up great. Other than it is a pain in the butt to open it has been nothing but great.

I have a regular RTIC hard sided cooler that I’m pleased with. It is quite heavy though and is relegated to use in the hot truck bed while outside working or to fill with beverages and ice on trips where I don’t want to replenish ice. It’s the smaller model with a handle that goes over the top.

I have the RTIC backpack cooler that fits probably 18-20 beverages in it and is easy to carry. This is the go-to for the tritoon when it’s just a few of us and we throw in sandwiches.

I’d be curious to see real life reviews for these lighter weight version of the RTIC’s as well. I am a person who hates having guests with 6 different little coolers rattling around the tritoon or my wife needing to pack countless little cold bags for the kids’ food, drinks, food, etc on trips. This may fill the big cooler need without being crazy heavy.

lindyrig79 wrote:

I am still shocked nobody fills this market with a hard cooler that doesn’t weigh a ton. Similar to the Coleman Xtremes (can’t find them anymore)
Does anyone have experience with these RTIC Ultra Light Hard Coolers? They look intriguing.

If I had to buy a RTIC hard cooler again, that’s exactly what I’d get.

I have the 55 quart regular hard side RTIC and it’s awesome for ice retention especially when it has to sit in the sun or for long trips. However… the weight and size of the cooler keep me from using it as often as I’d like.

So I’d absolutely buy the Ultra Light version if I had to buy again.

I have 2 of the RTIC soft coolers in different sizes as well. These coolers are what I use about 90% of the time. Cold retention is very good, fill them with ice and they will last a 3 day weekend as long as they don’t sit in the sun the whole time.

I lent my largest RTIC soft cooler to a friend and he took it to the BWCA as their main food cooler. With everything going into the cooler frozen and with dry ice, it lasted 7 days and there was still solid dry ice left. As long as you aren’t opening these coolers all the time, the insulation value is ver good.

buckybadger wrote:

I have a regular RTIC hard sided cooler that I’m pleased with. It is quite heavy though and is relegated to use in the hot truck bed while outside working or to fill with beverages and ice on trips where I don’t want to replenish ice. It’s the smaller model with a handle that goes over the top.

I have the RTIC backpack cooler that fits probably 18-20 beverages in it and is easy to carry. This is the go-to for the tritoon when it’s just a few of us and we throw in sandwiches.

I’d be curious to see real life reviews for these lighter weight version of the RTIC’s as well. I am a person who hates having guests with 6 different little coolers rattling around the tritoon or my wife needing to pack countless little cold bags for the kids’ food, drinks, food, etc on trips. This may fill the big cooler need without being crazy heavy.

Be careful, with one big cooler you’ll end up for 14 different foo fuu drinks from your guests that suck that’ll sit in your fridge till you’re tired of looking at them . No one ever leaves the Busch light in there haha.

isu22andy wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>buckybadger wrote:</div>
I have a regular RTIC hard sided cooler that I’m pleased with. It is quite heavy though and is relegated to use in the hot truck bed while outside working or to fill with beverages and ice on trips where I don’t want to replenish ice. It’s the smaller model with a handle that goes over the top.

I have the RTIC backpack cooler that fits probably 18-20 beverages in it and is easy to carry. This is the go-to for the tritoon when it’s just a few of us and we throw in sandwiches.

I’d be curious to see real life reviews for these lighter weight version of the RTIC’s as well. I am a person who hates having guests with 6 different little coolers rattling around the tritoon or my wife needing to pack countless little cold bags for the kids’ food, drinks, food, etc on trips. This may fill the big cooler need without being crazy heavy.

Be careful, with one big cooler you’ll end up for 14 different foo fuu drinks from your guests that suck that’ll sit in your fridge till you’re tired of looking at them . No one ever leaves the Busch light in there haha.

The beer refrigerator in the garage is large. This is actually a perfect strategy to get a buffet style offering going. If the surplus of fu fu drinks gets too large, I simply input an “Earn a beer” strategy, much like the “Earn a buck” concept that WI has used in the past. One must consume one gross fu fu drink to be allowed to drink one of my beers from the beer refrigerator.

I have a 65qt rtic and the ultra light as well as a soft cooler. We use the ultra light way more just because of the weight difference. We’ve been happy with it and it seems comparable to the 65 as far as ice retention. It also comes with (or did) a divider that is an ice pack. That works pretty good too. I would buy another ultra light. Also a fan of the soft sided cooler like Grouse.

I wish RTIC would make one with wheels similar to Yeti. A buddy has the wheeled Yeti and it is a really nice option. On that same note, I believe that the RTIC coolers hold better than the yeti. Even a buddy has the Ozark rotomolded cooler that does better than our buddies yeti.

Seems like a fantastic business strategy by RTIC.

John Rasmussen wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>jbg1219 wrote:</div>
BTW… Coleman Xtreme coolers are available online, if you are into that, but the one I have that had 2 summers of use and a monthly trip to the grocery store the latch broke, and the cable that hold the lid from opening too far and breaking the hinge broke. The quality seems to have suffered in an effort to maintain a price point and still claim 5 days of ice retention.

Interesting, I have had my Xtreme for years of not so nice use summer and winter and it has held up great. Other than it is a pain in the butt to open it has been nothing but great.

Yes, Older X Treme (darker blue with white lid) is still holding strong as well. The newer one I have seems to be cheapened up.

One thing I don’t understand is why don’t more of the heavy coolers not come with wheels?

Rodwork wrote:

One thing I don’t understand is why don’t more of the heavy coolers not come with wheels?

My only experience with a wheeled cooler was a long time ago it was a cheap coleman but it seemed to take up so much space I didn’t care for it. Fast forward to these heavy big coolers and maybe it’s time to rethink it.

I have a Grey Coleman Xtreme and blue one both with wheels. (I think they are both 70 qt) I find the wheels more useful than the space I lose inside the cooler. They are molded into the cooler and don’t stick out. These coolers are off road beast. I drag them across rock and downstairs all the time. Put a strap across the cooler to hold my grill, chairs, towels, and I can walk the beach with everything and a beer in my hand without breaking a sweet. Buy a bigger cooler if you need the room. You only need help putting it into the truck with the wheels. Make sure it is one with a hard handle and not the rope handle or you will be running into you heels.

Another problem I have with some of the coolers is the latch. Specifically, the heavy rubber ones. They are so hard to latch my wife can’t open them. Making me beer bitc all weekend. I have seen they are making some better options.

I know what I want in a cooler. Just have been unable to find the right one that is still available and for a reasonable price.

I have the 52 qt ultra light RTIC and it is fricken amazing. I think I got it for something like $150 on sale last year and RTIC threw in a free wire basket and one of those middle dividers that is freezable. I absolutely love this cooler and have no regrets about it. For reference, this RTIC is roughly half the price of a yeti 45 qt.

Yeti doesn’t make a 52 qt, but even when comparing to yeti’s 45 qt that is 25 lbs, the RTIC 52 qt is significantly lighter at 21 lbs.

Believe it or not, I hauled that thing into the BWCA for a week last summer.

I got a Yeti Tundra Haul cooler with wheels last fall for a really killer price. I am eager to use it. Wheel it right onto the boat from the dock. They are so expensive at normal price, however.

I agree with others that I love my Coleman Extreme. I have 3 of them — two with wheels and are my go-to coolers for camping.