Opinions on coolers

Sawfish

Very Active Member
Jun 9, 2011
760
127
Peoples Republik of Kalifornia
Unfortunately, many of the old time outdoor product brands have changed hands, and things are not what they used to be. Replacement latches and hinges that were once over the counter free replacements, are now sold online for a modest price, plus immodest shipping and handling fees. In the realm of high priced coolers, I am a hands down Pelican fan because of their lifetime guarantee. I have a number of different Pelican cases and lights, and they stand behind their products 100%. More importantly, they were here yesterday and will be here tomorrow. Check out the warranty provisions and parts replacement policies before making your final decision. You will probably be surprised.
 

Slugz

Veteran member
Oct 12, 2014
3,664
2,341
55
Casper, Wyoming
Mid priced coolers, properly taken care of here for us. Coleman, Gott marine grade. When the hinges/straps break I replace with homemade leather ones.

Don't really understand the allure of the 500$ cooler.
 

buckbull

Veteran member
Jun 20, 2011
2,167
1,353
I think it's just a prestige thing like people who have to have brand xxxx label on their clothes. "Keeping up with the Jones".
That might be so for most of their sales but if a guy used a cooler for his job and used it everyday I could see spending the money on a good cooler. There is no doubt they are built to withstand more abuse than their cheaper competition.
 

Finsandtines

Very Active Member
Jun 16, 2015
586
177
Florida
I think it's just a prestige thing like people who have to have brand xxxx label on their clothes. "Keeping up with the Jones".
I will agree to disagree there...I am wearing a $14 pair of redhead shorts and a free grays taxidermy shirt. On top of my yeti sits a $3 styrofoam cooler. Each item has its purpose. I only keep up with myself, I don't hang out any Jones'. After buying the yeti 50, I now have cold goods in it for days and it will serve me well on Christmas Day with the expected high temp of 85°. ☀
 

mgorm16640

Member
Jan 8, 2016
54
1
Worland WY
I'm looking to buy a cooler, in your experience and opinion i'm looking at Yeti, pellican and Grizzly, from what i read the pellican is made in the US and has better ratings but the articles and ratings some times are bias.
please let me know of your experience.
thank you
Do yourself a favor look at RTIC coolers. Best cooler for the money. Every bit as good as a Yeti, but at half the cost. We have to of their bigger ones and love them. Only down side is that they make your cooler after you order it so it takes a few months to get it.
 

tim

Veteran member
Jun 4, 2011
2,423
1,072
north idaho
my wife has some rtic things. she likes them.


brown elk, plowed on the 24th, 25th, 26th and 27th. buried the truck this morning. high centered the plow. little shoveling and out I came.
 

Mule3006Elk

Active Member
Jul 3, 2013
264
82
I have 2 110 QT Igloo coolers that work great in Mid October. They don't work so great in 90 degree temps on a camping trip. Work well enough but definitely need to add ice after a few days which is a pain when the nearest store is 1+ hour. I have a Yeti 45 that we use on our road trips, works great, perfect size for our SUV, never had to add ice, serves the purpose well. I have a Cabelas 65 QT that I use for camping, works great, very impressed with ice retention. You do get what you pay for. Yeti is great. Cabelas is great but the handles do take up extra space (only draw back). Igloo coolers are my least favorite but when the temps drops they are my go to b/c they are lighter and hold plenty of game meat.
 

shootbrownelk

Veteran member
Apr 11, 2011
1,535
196
Wyoming
my wife has some rtic things. she likes them.


brown elk, plowed on the 24th, 25th, 26th and 27th. buried the truck this morning. high centered the plow. little shoveling and out I came.
Tim, I got my Tundra stuck while trying to retrieve my wife's CRV.
 

NVBird'n'Big

Veteran member
May 27, 2011
1,138
0
Reno, NV
Just a heads up the RTIC coolers are 30% right now for a Super Bowl sale. Just picked up the 65 for $140 with free shipping. I've been looking to jump on a roto cooler and this was too good a deal to pass up.
 

Fink

Veteran member
Apr 7, 2011
1,961
204
West Side, MoMo
Just a heads up the RTIC coolers are 30% right now for a Super Bowl sale. Just picked up the 65 for $140 with free shipping. I've been looking to jump on a roto cooler and this was too good a deal to pass up.
Dang it.... I just ordered one. $140 tyd is tough to beat.
 

buckbull

Veteran member
Jun 20, 2011
2,167
1,353
They were sold out of the 65quart so bought a 45qt. too good of a deal to pass up.
 

zpooch

Very Active Member
Aug 11, 2016
531
88
Wyoming
Also the RTIC website is only sold out of the white 65. They have the Mojave Tan and Ocean Blue in stock it looks like.
 

tristan1127

New Member
Dec 8, 2016
13
0
I decided to try something different. We went on Craigslist and found a 2015 model chest freezer that had a bad motor. They wanted thirty bucks and we gave them 20. We will use that as a large cooler and when we get out west, we will buy some dry ice. It has a drain so we are good there. Figure it is well insulated and will do just fine in the cool fall temps. It is the color white so it will reflect sunlight but in this case we will keep it in the shade at our house rental and put it in the back of the truck when we go home hopefully packed with meat. It can hold any food we want to take with us also and has a lock on the door so staying at a hotel on the way home should be a theft deterrent.
 

buckbull

Veteran member
Jun 20, 2011
2,167
1,353
I decided to try something different. We went on Craigslist and found a 2015 model chest freezer that had a bad motor. They wanted thirty bucks and we gave them 20. We will use that as a large cooler and when we get out west, we will buy some dry ice. It has a drain so we are good there. Figure it is well insulated and will do just fine in the cool fall temps. It is the color white so it will reflect sunlight but in this case we will keep it in the shade at our house rental and put it in the back of the truck when we go home hopefully packed with meat. It can hold any food we want to take with us also and has a lock on the door so staying at a hotel on the way home should be a theft deterrent.
That will work. I unintentionally did the same thing a few years ago. We took a working chest freezer and generator with us. By the time we got to our destination the compressor on the freezer locked up due to all the bouncing it did in the trailer. We just loaded it with 2 bricks of dry ice and it worked extremely well.