Coolers
 

Need a better cooler. Don't want to spend YETI money. Anyone have any real world experience with the RTIC's? Or another brand that will hold ice for a weekend in the nice 100 degree Ga summers?

My buddy just started bringing an RTIC soft cooler and it does the job for weekend trips to cottage and kayaking and it has held up fine in mid to high 90s. No experience with it for extended camping type trips though.

I have a 75 QT Pelican. It keeps ice forever, built way tougher than Yeti, but it is really heavy.

RTIC looks like straight up copy of yeti, could even be made at the same factory.

I am by no means a fanboy nor do I have a dog in this fight, but what makes the pelican way tougher than the yeti? From what I have seen, the yetis are pretty serious. Not that it couldn't be as tough, but way tougher??

I'm just speaking in internet hyperbole. The stainless hardware, solid handles, solid latches, lifetime warranty on every part i think set the pelican ahead. I think mines the 65 not 75 qt too.

FYI, you need grow a beard and a wear a flannel shirt to own a yeti.😎

Rumor mill is the original dudes who started Yeti sold 80% of the company to an investment firm our of New York. Same dudes went to Houston and in some way have their hands in RTIC....which is probably why RTIC is in the middle of being sued by Yeti....

I was about to pull the trigger on an RTIC soft cooler back in May until I read that it was "expected to ship" in August...

We haul all of our equipment in Pelican cases on the plane to include our Nog's and trust me, those cases get thrown EVERYWHERE and are exposed to some of the crappiest conditions Earth can introduce....

Haven't broken one pair of $7k nog's yet :cool:

Not to mention Pelican cases were the only cases known to keep bugs (IE Camel spiders) out in Iraqcrapistan

We have an RTIC Roadie that we've been very happy with This summer it has held ice all day despite sitting in a closed up car in the Texas summer. I also just picked up a Canyon Outfitter 55, but haven't had a chance to use it. Reviews are great and happy with the build quality.

I was looking at the RTICs, seem to have good reviews for half the price of the YETI's and Pelicans. Didn't see the Canyon Outfitter, Ill check those out too.

If you are like me and just need a cooler that can keep ice for 2 days over a long hot weekend to keep the sodas cold, check out Polar Bear Coolers. I hate hard coolers for beer hauling and shoulder straps are way better than handles in my book. I have an AO and a Polar Bear and be sure you spend the extra 20$ or so for the Polar Bear.

For those that love softies:

http://www.outdoorgearlab.com/Soft-Cooler-Reviews

Thought it was brothers that split and one kept Yeti and other started RTIC. Was thinking Christmas at their house must be awkward with the whole lawsuit and all.

Nah just looked it up....Private Equity Firm Cortec Group out of New York bought them...

Unfortunately fancy coolers are a waste of money to keep beer cold unless you only drink 1 or 2 beers a day . The way they work depends on the lid staying closed .

Not a total waste....your beard grows faster if you own one....its science

I just use my wal-mart special and it works fine. The trick for keeping stuff cold all weekend (at least this is what I do) is get a block of dry ice (also from wal-mart) and put it on a bed of ice at the bottom of the cooler, then pour some more ice, dump all your drinks in, and then more ice.

I've had it last for 4 of 5 days before. The only problem is if you leave the cooler on the boat overnight, when you get there the next morning all the ice is frozen pretty solid and you have to break it up before you can have that first beer for breakfast...

Oh man your so right I totally over looked that aspect hahaha

Maybe I'm just jealous I cant justify spending that kind of money on a cooler .

^ I agree...my wife and I were on the verge of grabbing one in the Spring and I'm glad we didn't....now..if RTIC is still a company a few months from now I'm thinking pretty hard about picking up one of their soft sided coolers....we use those WAY more than hard sided ones....just wish RTIC put Velcro and Molle on the sides like Yeti....you know, so I can be Tacticool with my cooler...

OK let me see if I can shed a different light on this. First off from all the videos I have seen the igloo extreme cooler seems to be the best bang for your buck. If I was on a budget and I wanted a yeti like cooler that's what I would shoot for.

Now with that said. Here are a few of my observations that make the high-end coolers worth it for me. I think all coolers are equal on day one whether you have a total piece of crap or a $500 yeti. Where you start to notice the difference is on day two and so on the cheaper coolers will give you pretty much melted water with a few chunks of ice while a high-end cooler will still be good to go for one more day of use

So if you're camping or don't like to refresh your cooler each and every day then a yeti or a higher end style cooler is what you need.

I have also noticed it takes a few days for your cooler to reach it's maximum potential.
Example we get to the lake on Friday night the first thing I do is take room temperature beers and add ice to my cooler. By the morning the ice is pretty melted and the cooler needs to be drained and new ice added . Now it's a completely different story on day two of beers are already cold this cooler has been killed and the melting factor is very little . The cooler seems to consume less and less ice as the days go by. Until you reach a point of normal melting.

So if every time you go out on the boat it's for two or more days a high end cooler will have its advantages, and you should IMO go for it. But if it's just for the day each time save your Money.

I agree^^^^

My wife bought me a Yeti softside for my birthday, it was the hopper 20 for $300 I ended up taking it back and ordered the RTIC 30 softpack for $125

The RTIC looks like it's better built, it has an easier lid, 2" of foam. I won't get till next month, but I don't mind waiting.

Pre-cooling your goodies is key to making that fist ice pack last much longer. Frozen water bottles or Gatorade saves room, last a long time, keep stuff you don't want soaked dry, and are drinkable as they melt.

If you need ice for more than a couple days drop a block of dry ice into the mix.

I invested in a good cooler for longer trips to eliminate the hassle of chasing ice. Well worth it even if you only need ice for 2 days. If you are only a day guy it really does not matter. Yeti is overpriced but the design of the hopper is superior in my opinion especially for drinks...I like the zipper.

I was recently in the same position. I have a buddy who is a dealer for RTIC and even he's on backorder. Demand us so high right now that they can't keep up. I don't see them going anywhere for a while. I did end up going with a Yeti Tundra 65 for a couple of reason. First, the backorder and the fact I needed it for a weekend camping trip and couldn't wait 2 months. Second, it was at a local hardware store that was a dealer, so I could write the purchase off as a business expense for "maintenance items" and my CPA wouldn't know the difference. And finally, the hype. Everyone I work with has a Yeti and all of them swear by how great they are.

With all of that being said, had I known then what I know now, I would've picked the RTIC. I haven't been super impressed with the way the Yeti holds ice, even when I precooled it with a sacrificial bag of ice and the drinks were already cold. It won't hold ice for more than about 36 hours with the way we use it. Also, the 65 isn't really a 65 qt capacity, it's closer to about 55. The RTIC is a true 65 qt capacity. For $400 I expected a lot more, and now that I know, my next high end cooler will be an RTIC.

I have about 6 coolers ranging from 40qt through 120qt. The Coleman Ultimate Extreme is probably the best bang for the buck but the insulation is quite thick so it does not hold as much as other coolers similarly sized on the outside. Coleman uses the term "extreme" on lots of coolers so you need to pay careful attention to get the right one.

This one keeps ice longest of all my coolers:
https://www.amazon.com/Coleman-Ultim...timate+extreme

I also use this one for stuff that can get warm like drinks and fruit:
https://www.amazon.com/Coleman-6201A...timate+extreme

The first one can keep ice for 4 days if you put a layer of dry ice on the bottom, the second one is good for 2-3 days.

The whole 2 month back order issue with RTIC is a non-starter for me.