Yeti…..honest opinion.

When I get back up to the cabin I will run a test.
5lb bag of ice in each cooler, set it direct sunlight.
I will first fill them with cold hose water for a few minutes so they all start equally.

Yeti
Coleman
Basic Styrofoam

Stand by –

There are a ton of videos on YouTube comparing dozens of different brands and how long they hold ice

I got nothin to do and all day to do it.

I really don’t think you can go wrong with any one of the big “bear proof” coolers. The question is what will you do with it? I use two pelicans because they are mnade in the USA and I got excellent deals on them. One stays in the truck one stays in the boat for multi-day trips. They do not get moved back and forth, too heavy. They don’t come to other events unless they’re going to stay in the truck.

For a day out, a soft sided cooler or an “old school” coleman/ igloo is fine.

Remember with the big coolers, if you don’t pre-chill them they won’t retain what they advertise. AND- this one is important- opening them 24 times a day to grab beers destroys their ice retention time as well. They are best used for longer-term ice and food storage, to be opened sparingly.

Have a Scheels brand 75 qt. Works great for $199
Prechilled for our food and opened 3 times each day it holds ice from Thursday around noon til Monday am when we head home from Canada. I empty about 1 coffee cup of water on Monday.
Yeti is nice too but overpriced. I also have an Ozark trail soft cooler that works really well, especially if I pre chill it.

Kudos to Yeti for getting so many middle aged men so passionate about where they keep their beer cold.

I have the Yeti Roadie and love it for my applications. Usually just ice and beer for the weekend so it works great for me. If there is a downfall when loaded with beer and ice it is very heavy. We usually place in shade and leave for the day. Now the Yeti Tumbler is a must have in my book. Keeps your drink cold for the entire day….

No reason to even look at Yeti when you have Grizzly. I have been very happy with all my Grizzly products.

2 former employees of Yeti started Rtic which is essentially the same thing, just cheaper.
I have a Cabelas 100qt roto cooler and it works great, it has wheels too so its nice to move around when loaded up.
I have several Ozark Trail soft side coolers too and they are very good considering the price.
I dont know a single person who has actually purchased a Yeti cooler. THey were either gifts or prizes.

Have an Orca 65, Big Frig 48, Yeti Hopper 18 soft side that was a prize. The zipper is very stiff on Yeti, but doesn’t leak and it is light. All work very well. I have been looking at a 20 qt hard size and am considering a CaterGator. Attractively priced and reviews decently enough for me. I really only need a weekend out of it. Just another option to consider.

I use two of these in the bottom of my coolers. I have the bigger size. Very good investment in my opinion. Stays frozen longer than ice jugs. They will actually refreeze the melted ice water from on top.

Red Eye wrote:

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I use two of these in the bottom of my coolers. I have the bigger size. Very good investment in my opinion. Stays frozen longer than ice jugs. They will actually refreeze the melted ice water from on top.

I have those as well! Absolutely love them. The purple ones are the coldest, its an interesting technology and they stay cold for a very long time.

The one complaint about my RTIC soft cooler is the zipper. It’s nearly impossible to open/close, you actually need two hands to do it. They provide some lube to make it a bit easier, but it’s still a bear.

We’re to the point now that we just close the top and don’t even zip it up. We’re only out in the boat for a few hours at a time so not a big deal.

CaptainMusky wrote:

I have those as well! Absolutely love them. The purple ones are the coldest, its an interesting technology and they stay cold for a very long time.

Antifreeze?

tswoboda wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>CaptainMusky wrote:</div>
I have those as well! Absolutely love them. The purple ones are the coldest, its an interesting technology and they stay cold for a very long time.

Antifreeze?

I dont recall exactly what it is, but when I was researching them before buying I saw it was like a plant based product that actually gets colder when exposed to something warmer. Seemed strange, but I can attest that they work very very well. A week in canada in June a couple summers ago and they were still froze at the end of the week when the ice was melting. It freezes at a much lower temperature so that is how it stays cold for so long. Just make sure your freezer is below 5 degrees.

CaptainMusky wrote:

It freezes at a much lower temperature so that is how it stays cold for so long. Just make sure your freezer is below 5 degrees.

So kinda like antifreeze? Or windshield washer fluid? Or saltwater? Or vodka?

Just had a eureka moment on how to sneak extra booze across the border

tswoboda wrote:

So kinda like antifreeze? Or windshield washer fluid? Or saltwater? Or vodka?

Just had a eureka moment on how to sneak extra booze across the border

Yeah, I guess so, but this is supposed to be non-toxic. I dont think you would be able to get antifreeze to freeze in a freezer unless you somehow diluted to a ratio much less effective for automotive use. Vodka, good luck getting that to freeze LOL. Washer fluid perhaps if you got the “summer” blend, but you would be bitching if you refilled your car with it come January. LOL

CaptainMusky wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>tswoboda wrote:</div>
So kinda like antifreeze? Or windshield washer fluid? Or saltwater? Or vodka?

Just had a eureka moment on how to sneak extra booze across the border

Yeah, I guess so, but this is supposed to be non-toxic. I dont think you would be able to get antifreeze to freeze in a freezer unless you somehow diluted to a ratio much less effective for automotive use. Vodka, good luck getting that to freeze LOL. Washer fluid perhaps if you got the “summer” blend, but you would be bitching if you refilled your car with it come January. LOL

Haha just playing devils advocate.

My parents’ vodka used to freeze when I was in high school

tswoboda wrote:

Kudos to Yeti for getting so many middle aged men so passionate about where they keep their beer cold.

are people really “pre-chilling” their roto mold coolers before using them? I could maybe see fitting a 20 qt cooler in my chest freezer, but no way in hell a 40+ qt cooler would fit in my chest freezer, even if I emptied the thing.

Gitchi Gummi wrote:

I could maybe see fitting a 20 qt cooler in my chest freezer, but no way in hell a 40+ qt cooler would fit in my chest freezer, even if I emptied the thing.

You can just put ice in it to pre-chill it.

Ralph Wiggum wrote:

You can just put ice in it to pre-chill it.

ahhhh, that makes sense!

I pre fill with plain old cold hose water. Fill it to the top, close the lid and let it sit while I load the vehicle.

Gitchi Gummi wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Ralph Wiggum wrote:</div>
You can just put ice in it to pre-chill it.

ahhhh, that makes sense!

I have a well and the water is 50 to 60 degrees. I start by filling it with well water, then drain and fill with ice with the sole intention of draining it when that is melted and filling with block ice, ice packs and some cube ice. Typically my roto cooler is used only to store ice or ice packs so I am not opening it often just to take ice out to put in smaller coolers.
On long trips I have used a small block of dry ice before and that is amazing, but not easy to find.

All that? Just go buy a $50 junk chest freezer and toss it in there for a few hours.

Dutchboy wrote:

All that? Just go buy a $50 junk chest freezer and toss it in there for a few hours.

I dont have the space for that. I already have an upright freezer and a garage fridge and too many toys in my garage I have to park my truck outside.
In all honesty, I ONLY do that when I am going on my Canada trip where we are camping on an island for a week.

Dutchboy wrote:

All that? Just go buy a $50 junk chest freezer and toss it in there for a few hours.

I got me one of those, I freeze up a few 2 liter pop bottles for my blocks of ice in there.
Works good.

I never go on long trips with mine, I’m a weekender guy on a pontoon and we open that cooler a100 times a day.

4th of July we went thru 175lbs of ice

Sounds like your next purchase should be a commercial ice machine.

Eelpoutguy wrote:

4th of July we went thru 175lbs of ice

Yeah but 100# of it went blended into margaritas and 50# poured over cocktails that’s a good #’s weekend

Let’s just say we got er dun!