Yeti…..honest opinion.

I recently bought a Lifetime Cooler from
Cabela’s. I think it’s a 65 at so far bigger than the roadie you are considering getting. Cabelas only seems to carry the model I bought and the only reason I bought it there was that I had a bunch of points to burn up and needed a new cooler. Over the 4th of July weekend I filled it on Friday afternoon with about 3 cases of cold drinks between beer, soda, and a few waters and put 20 pounds of ice in. We tried to keep it in the shade as much as possible but it was 95 degrees out and sat in the sun some of the time. When I got home on Sunday it still had some ice in it however most all of the beers seemed to be gone.

I see looking on eBay that lifetime has a similar model to a roadie that they rate at 28 qt compared to the 20 qt yeti at a far lower price. Depending on the seller, possibly less than $100. If the bigger size does not automatically disqualify it I would consider looking into that. It is a hard side with latches and a nice carry handle like the roadie.

Thank you but a lack of a built in drain makes it a no go. Otherwise if there is a place I could look at it I might do that.

I long for the days when the choice was between Igloo, Coleman, and Rubbermaid. Today, there choices are endless. As this thread (and all of the Youtube test videos) has proven, everytime claims theirs is the best and keeps ice longer. It’s enough to make your head spin.

A lot more people are starting to talk about the electric coolers either running off of the car or boat battery or hooked up to one of those Jackery battery things. This is the route a lot of the boondock camping type people are taking. They often can’t just run down to the store for more ice. They can go from refrigerator temps to freezer temps.

I may go this route for some situations, but it’s nice not to worry about juice sometimes too.

I got a Fatboy cooler, price was good, holds ice in bear camp a very long time.
Eagle river WI. where they are located.

I took the included Fatboy sticker and renamed my boat Fatboy

I bought the Lifetime 55, with a drain, put 20lbs of ice in it on a Sunday night, Saturday still had about 10 lbs in it when I got back From Algoma.

My wife has the Yeti, I have the Walmart knockoff. They both keep ice equally as long,which is a long time,but I could buy 4 or 5 from Walmart to equal one Yeti.

I have the old roadie 20 and the new roadie 24 – love them both. I sold my 45 because it was too heavy for the small size and I never used it (replaced with engle 123). Roadies seem to be the limit of rotomolded cooler that one person can carry around a bunch. I’m glad they took the drain off such a small cooler with the 24, but I’ll always use the 20 for minnows as it’s easy to drain some water with the plug and add fresh water. The 24’s handle is better, and the added height makes it a better seat. The 24 latches are much faster and easier at the expense of being more prone to accidentally bumping open. I also learned the hard way that there is a very specialized male/female screw in the hinge that can loosen and fall out – if you have a 24 I’d put some loctite on those 2 hinge screws.

I have no beef with other coolers except that so many are bulkier with weird angles or bottle openers or whatnot on them that are sharp or waste space when packing.

Dutchboy wrote:

Thank you but a lack of a built in drain makes it a no go. Otherwise if there is a place I could look at it I might do that.

Good eye, I hadn’t noticed that it didn’t have a drain. Several friends have a roadie and I hadn’t noticed that they did have a drain on them but that is definitely a nice feature.

tindall wrote:

I have the old roadie 20 and the new roadie 24 – love them both.

One note for @Dutchboy and others who might play in bear country. The new roadie 24 lost the ability to lock it down aka bear proof it. Buddy and I loved the new dimensions but a no go for our Rainy trips.

Bearcat89 wrote:

They are very nice. I have 2. But I switched over to Grizzly. Made in Iowa, better warranty, and cheaper. Not much cheaper, but cheaper usually save 50 to 100 bucks. The yeti is from Indonesia or some crap, and has a really crappy couple year warranty. The Grizzly is lifetime. And again made in USA. I have 4 big grizzlys and 1 smaller 1. I use it daily

Best post here, keywords being MADE IN THE USA!!!!

I have a pelican 70Qt cooler that is made in the US and has been a great product.

I have a roadie 20 that we received for a gift and after using it, I would never buy one. For the amount of times you open it and use it, ice retention is just as good as a $20 cooler.

Now we do have a 65 qt orca that we always use that I really like, during the summer I keep in the back of the pickup with water, juice boxes, and brews, comes in handy

Is this legit?

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I think it’s fake. Yesterday I saw a fake Yeti ad on bookface – too good to be true and a not the real website.

They’re good quality but they aren’t unique. You can find the same or better quality with other makes for a similar price.

Dutchboy wrote:

I’m looking at a Roadie are they pretty decent at holding ice? All I ever hear about is the price. How about the quality? Do they hold up? Do they hold ice longer?

What it really comes down to is do you really need the advantages of the super coolers like the yeti or the rtic? And are the trade-offs worth it to you?

I go to a cabin every year in the Canadian subarctic. The only ice you get is the ice you bring with you. So for me the invention of the super cooler was absolutely a game changer and I have two of them.

Yes they hold ice longer if they are pre-chilled. There is no doubt about that in my mind.

Yes they are more durable. The real advantage that is kind of lost on most people is that these coolers were designed to be highly bear resistant. A major deal if you are in bear country.

Now for the downsides. They are very heavy and for each cubic foot of size they take up their capacity is much smaller than other coolers. To have a true hundred leaders of internal capacity you need a much larger heavier cooler than you needed before with just one of the standard Coleman or igloo coolers.

The bottom line is that in my opinion the only reason to only super coolers is for those that go off the grid and have no access to ice for days at a time. Otherwise you can get by better and cheaper with other coolers and you will have more capacity and less weight given the same size cooler.

I have an rtic cooler and an Igloo sportsman extreme series which is basically a knockoff of a yeti. Both are excellent coolers.

Grouse

Update: My RTIC was being lifted up into the rafters with Gatorades where I was doing some work in the lumberyard loft today culling boards and sorting. Long story short…the new kid they hired in the yard struggles with the forklift and it fell a good 15+’ along with some cedar it was on.

It has what I’d consider a “rash” or “scuff” the size of a golf ball that was hard to find for the only damage. The durability of it is amazing.

I’m with the others in that if it’s a cooler that rides in the back seat of your truck with a few beverages or lunch… you’re wasting money going with anything beyond a standard cooler.

I won a Yeti with the metal handle. 24? I realized that every other cooler I had was broken in some way (6 of them). I don’t have kids playing with them either.
I got a couple of RTICs and am happy with them. Hopefully I am set for a while.

buckybadger wrote:

I’m with the others in that if it’s a cooler that rides in the back seat of your truck with a few beverages or lunch… you’re wasting money going with anything beyond a standard cooler.

Totally agree. If you don’t need long-term ice retention or extreme durability then having a super cooler like a yeti is actually less functional. It’s heavier and it has a smaller capacity for the footprint. It would actually be better in my opinion to go with a different cooler that has higher capacity and doesn’t weigh so much.

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>buckybadger wrote:</div>
I’m with the others in that if it’s a cooler that rides in the back seat of your truck with a few beverages or lunch… you’re wasting money going with anything beyond a standard cooler.

Totally agree. If you don’t need long-term ice retention or extreme durability then having a super cooler like a yeti is actually less functional. It’s heavier and it has a smaller capacity for the footprint. It would actually be better in my opinion to go with a different cooler that has higher capacity and doesn’t weigh so much.

Interesting since other than fitting behind my console between the seats I never said how it was being used.