roto-molded coolers

00BUCK

Active Member
Feb 23, 2011
290
177
NorCal
I have a combo hunt coming up and been thinking about the advantages of these coolers. Many options out there, cables, orion, pelican, igloo sportsman, yeti and others. Found tons of ice challenges on y-tube. What is your brand of choice. Lets compare coolers in the 55qt range.
 

Colorado Cowboy

Super Moderator
Jun 8, 2011
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Dolores, Colorado
I have 55 qt Coleman Extreme that really does a great job. I put about 5" of water in the bottom of it and put it in my chest freezer. I then have a layer of solid ice about 5" thick on the bottom. In June we went fishing for a week and filled it with beer, bottled water and sodas. Lasted for 9 days without adding any ice to it. The Extremes do a great job, especially for the money, a hell of a lot less that a YetiI also have a 125qt in my pontoon boat that does equally well.
 
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wa-hunter

Active Member
Apr 24, 2014
235
7
I have 55 qt Coleman Extreme that really does a great job. I put about 5" of water in the bottom of it and put it in my chest freezer. I then have a layer of solid ice about 5" thick on the bottom. In June we went fishing for a week and filled it with beer, bottled water and sodas. Lasted for 9 days without adding any ice to it. The Extremes do a great job, especially for the money, a hell of a lot less that a YetiI also have a 125qt in my pontoon boat that does equally well.
i think for the money these coolers are great!!! they hold ice for a very long time in my experience. don't see the point of spending the money on a yeti unless you needed one to be bear proof.
 

tdcour

Veteran member
Feb 28, 2013
1,100
26
Central Kansas
I have some of the cheaper ones, a yeti, and a grizzly. Honestly, if you are in and out of them, there isn't a difference between them. If you are filling with ice and leaving them closed, I do see the more expensive ones keep ice longer. Work paid for the expensive coolers or I wouldn't every use any of them to be honest.

I will say that they definitely are tougher. I've beat my expensive ones up pretty good without ever having to worry about it.
 
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buckbull

Veteran member
Jun 20, 2011
2,124
1,293
The coleman extremes are great. My only gripe is the hinges pretty much suck. Easy enough to replace with stainless hinges off Amazon. I did buy a couple RTIC coolers off of Amazon when they were having a great sale on them. Ended up not costing that much more than a coleman extreme. Build quality and durability is certainly better on the RTIC when compared to the coleman extremes. I'd never pay Yeti prices.
 

mcseal2

Veteran member
Mar 1, 2011
1,172
195
midwest
I have a Yeti 65 that I have no complaints about other than the price in your size range. I have a Magellan 25qt I use a lot more, it's a handy size and does great. On hunting trips we put the Magellan in the truck or UTV, load it each morning from the Yeti 65.

Around the ranch plus on hunting and fishing trips I'm hard on coolers. It seems that somebody always had to sit on the lid of the big cheaper ones I had like Igloo or Coleman 120 or 150qt coolers and once the lid bends they are useless. I just ordered a Grizzly 165 to use hauling meat hunting and to hold beer and water at bigger events. I priced all of them and it seemed like the best price vs size to me. I looked at the K2 scratch and dent coolers hard too, but they only went to 120qt. In your size range a K2 50qt is $230. A Grizzly 60 is $250, a Rtic 65 is $240. Based on looking at the big ones a few days ago those are likely the cheaper brands but might be best to do your own checking. Just looked up Magellan, their 50 is $170. I'd probably go that route for the money I like my 25 enough if you have an Academy sports close.
 

Rich M

Very Active Member
Oct 16, 2012
758
566
I saw a test where they did a slosh test and several of the roto-molded coolers had water come out of the seams - indicating a poor seal. Something to consider I guess.

Looking at getting a new Coleman Xtreme here - 70 quart. Already have 120, 60, and 28 quart versions. I really like the Igloo ice cube variety for fishing but don't think they have a 5-day version.
 

Fink

Veteran member
Apr 7, 2011
1,961
204
West Side, MoMo
I bought an Rtic 65 when they went on sale a few months back. It'll keep ice for a LONG time.. It's great when it's in the boat, works as a really nice seat, and keeps your beverages chilly. It's the worst when you load it up with food, drink and ice for the weekend, and you are barely man enough to get it in the back of your truck. And I mean barely....
 

Fink

Veteran member
Apr 7, 2011
1,961
204
West Side, MoMo
Side note.... I thought roto-molded coolers were ridiculous, and would never pay for one... Probably still wouldnt pay full price for one. But, after looking at the 10-12 Colemans and what not in my basement, with all their lids torn off, all beat up, with their designated ratchet straps, so the lids dont blow off driving down the highway.... I bought the Rtic.
They are strong, and probably nearly indestructible. But ugh, they are heavy.
 

buckbull

Veteran member
Jun 20, 2011
2,124
1,293
I bought an Rtic 65 when they went on sale a few months back. It'll keep ice for a LONG time.. It's great when it's in the boat, works as a really nice seat, and keeps your beverages chilly. It's the worst when you load it up with food, drink and ice for the weekend, and you are barely man enough to get it in the back of your truck. And I mean barely....
Yeah, takes 2 men and a boy to load my 45quart cooler when full. I now try to load the cooler while it sits in the back of my truck.
 

mcseal2

Veteran member
Mar 1, 2011
1,172
195
midwest
The Grizzly 165 loaded with ice and meat will be quite a load to get on the truck. I'm going to experiment with a little farm boy ingenuity. I have a flatbed on the truck I'll take to Wyoming with steel sideboards and a 2x10 board on the back for a "tailgate" to keep stuff from sliding off. Before the trip I'm going to see if I can use the board on the back as a ramp and attach a small come along to the headache rack on the flatbed. If that works one of us can steady the cooler as the other one winches it on when loaded. I want to try it at home to see if the board is stout enough or if I need a better ramp. I might not ever take the cooler off the truck, I might just leave it locked to the flatbed. I might want to set it in the shade though and figure it might be more than 2 of us want to lift to get it on the flatbed loaded.
 

Celtic Clamper

New Member
Jan 28, 2016
24
5
Central California
My family is very outdoorsy. We hunt, we fish, we camp, we boat, ride quads, road trip, and overland. We have found that we slightly prefer to eat out of ice chests rather than an electric fridge. And that a roto-molded ice chest lasted just slightly longer in real life use. Just as tdcour said above, if left closed with ice, a roto-molded chest will win hands down. But real world for my family says to save your money and spend it on ice. They can be locked and are bear proof, but in the real world we found that using a cheaper chest we ran out of supplies about equal with ice.
 

dirtclod Az.

Veteran member
Jan 26, 2018
1,637
444
Arizona
I don't buy expensive coolers.Coleman and Igloo,but I do insulate them.
In the Az. heat I wrap them in packing blanket when transporting.
And in extreme cold Keep em' off the ground and wrapped also.
Went to the Kiabab one year and left the cooler outside on the ground.
Woke up the next morning and everything was frozen inside.
Sodas, Beer,Steaks and eggs all frozen solid.9 times out of 10 when trying
to chisel food out a cooler with a big Bowie knife it all get's punctured,especially the BEER! 🔥 :cool: