Who makes the best cooler?

Mndsm said:

914Driver said:

Yeti - but as said, stupid expensive.

    

You ain't lying. I have a yeti field guide cert which gets me 40% off and I still bought a knockoff. Love their cups tho. Have like 5. 

I don't think you can call any of these a knockoff. Or if you do, you have to call Yeti a knockoff as well. Rotomold coolers have been around for a LONG time. Yeti just came in at the right time with the right marketing. 

The worst part about my yeti is that it is a yeti. And thus people think that I'm "that guy".

In reply to mtn :

Any time anyone sees a rotomold cooler, you're that guy. I'm that guy. We're all that guy 

Can you  put a cover around your cooler that keeps the cool in and heat out ?

like the silver bubble pack type stuff  that cheap hand carry "COLD" grocery bags use ?

In reply to californiamilleghia :

That has been tested in the past to decent report. Two things make a cooler do cooler stuff, insulation, and sealing. The big thing the roto boys have over the conventional igloo is basic engineering. They seal extremely well between the rubber seals used, fitment, and additional strap latches that keep the lid as dense as it can be kept. The second is insulation. Yeti has the thickest insulation of anyone on the market, outdoing pelican, orca, RTIC, and everyone else. They're stupid thick. AFAIK they also use the thickest roto plastic. This allows the yetis to keep hot out and cool it. You could easily build something equivalent as well. Yeti isn't anything new, vacuum sealed two layer drink holders have been around since the mylar lined thermoseseses. The big difference is marketing. Yeti has it in spades. 

We won a pretty big Yeti cooler at SWMBO’s Xmas party last year. We gave it to one of the kids as soon as we got home  - the big thing that turned me off? The handles. 

Seriously, they used rope “handles” with sliding plastic grips on a roughly 24”x18”x12” cooler. After carrying it from the party to our van with just a few smaller things from the party in it, I decided there’s no way I want to tote it around weighed down. The floppy handles & sliding grips made it impossible to keep the cooler from tilting, and provide zero control other than keeping it elevated. 

It may do a wonderful job keeping stuff cool, but I’d use our $20 wheeled Walmart cooler every time before I’d touch the Yeti. 

mtn said:

The worst part about my yeti is that it is a yeti. And thus people think that I'm "that guy".

LOL. I have a family member who's "that guy". He even has a Yeti hat. 

Tom_Spangler said:

mtn said:

The worst part about my yeti is that it is a yeti. And thus people think that I'm "that guy".

LOL. I have a family member who's "that guy". He even has a Yeti hat. 

I got some free swag with my cooler. Keychain and churchkey. Threw them on eBay, got a stupid amount of money for them. Like $15 each. 

https://www.coolersonsale.com/cooler-comparison/

Yeti is great marketing. I didnt know i needed a bearproof cooler. My current coolers are not bearproof! MADNESS! they must be replaced. 
 

i have 4 rtic coolers. 40 quart soft cooler, 20, 45 and 60 hard coolers.  They were all half the price of the yeti equivalent.  The 45 and 60 rarely get used but its nice when you need a good cooler. 

even empty, they are berkin heavy. Load up the 45 or 60 quart and i cant budge em. Gotta have them on wheels. 

i dont mind the rope and pipe handles. My back is pretty crummy so being able to have the pipe slide and ropes move helps me carry it without angrying up my back. 

I was using a coleman extreme 5 day cooler before. It was fine but also had picked up some holes and damage to the outside, pretty easily.  The rotomolds are very durable. 
 

To be perfectly honest, they were a waste of $.  I wanted a yeti but was absolutely never going to spend 400$ on a cooler, just out of principal.  But, as long as i dont sell them off, i'll never need another cooler.  meh. 

I have the Monoprice rotomolded cooler, and I agree with a lot of the criticism here. It's heavy, the handles suck, and the insulation is thick - great for keeping things cool, not so much for space efficiency. It also has rubber feet on the bottom, which keep it from sliding around in the back of the van, but also keep it from sliding in and out of the van. Overall I'm unimpressed, but I am considering building it a little cart so I can wheel it around. 

seems like most of the cold escapes  from bad seals and opening the top to  get a cold one , 

since opening it is the purpose of having one , how about  designing one with an isolated area for what you plan on using in the next 6 hours or so , and the other 2/3 rds of the lid does not get opened......

and a design question , do you keep the ice out of the cold water  to make the ice last longer .....

I have a small "Grizzly" 15 quart Yeti style for day use that I got for free with my bike rack.  Its fine.  Its bright red and I like that.

The best "cooler" I have ever used, far and away, is my ARB Elements 60 quart fridge.  Its worth every penny and then some, especially for longer trips.  I highly encourage anyone who does multi-day vehicle-based adventures or just likes ease and convenience to get one.  That plus a 120 watt folding solar setup and I can go indefinitely with no ice, and if I practice 1-in, 1-out with the beers, never need to suck down lukewarm suds.  

I'm curious to see if Harbor Freight would come out with a knockoff cooler. If it was a solid performer, that would be a bargain..

californiamilleghia said:

 

 do you keep the ice out of the cold water  to make the ice last longer .....

Don’t drain the melted-ice-water unless you’re replacing with ice. The water is colder than the air that would replace it if you were to drain it. 

dxman92 said:

I'm curious to see if Harbor Freight would come out with a knockoff cooler. If it was a solid performer, that would be a bargain..

If it's anything like the harbor freight cup, itll work awesome.