Cooler Advice

[LynnF]

Going to buy a new cooler for camping. What's the best one out there? Are the ones that plug into your cig lighter any good?

[bcubed]

Yeti's are probably the best out there. Nothing fancy, just hold ice forever and are indestructible

[reevesr1]

But it might be cheaper to buy a used honda generator and a nice refrigerator than a big Yeti!

 

 

[Tungsten]

The 12 volt ones are only good while your motor is running.They'll just drain your battery otherwise.

 

regular cooler, fill with frozen bottles and your good.yetis and the like are for extended trips where you have to keep meat and such.

 

the thicker the cooler the better but then you need a hugh one just to get enough room.

[dutchie]

X 2 on the yeti's ,

 

i'v had a few coolers over the years , some good and some not so good , i got a yeti and it's the best cooler i have seen yet ,

 

it is pricey for sure , and heavy , but it will keep your stuff longer and your drinks cold , a block of ice will stay for a week , and if you plan on doing lots of camping , it is bear proof

 

you can also get a nice foam seat for the top and it's solid , extra chair while camping

 

[Hawgstoppah]

back when I used to do extended 5 day or more trips I used the larger coleman 5 day coolers. My ice blocks were just starting to unfreeze at the end of a week if I was careful with how much I opened them and how I packed them (the meat coolers where ALL frozen product, etc). As others have said I'd imagine anything with thick walls will do the trick.

[Simpson]

back when I used to do extended 5 day or more trips I used the larger coleman 5 day coolers. My ice blocks were just starting to unfreeze at the end of a week if I was careful with how much I opened them and how I packed them (the meat coolers where ALL frozen product, etc). As others have said I'd imagine anything with thick walls will do the trick.

 

 

X2 all the way. I use 4L plastic milk jugs for the ice. Nice for spare drinking water.

 

I have been Interested in the yeti however

 

 

[Tungsten]

X 2 on the yeti's ,

 

i'v had a few coolers over the years , some good and some not so good , i got a yeti and it's the best cooler i have seen yet ,

 

it is pricey for sure , and heavy , but it will keep your stuff longer and your drinks cold , a block of ice will stay for a week , and if you plan on doing lots of camping , it is bear proof

 

you can also get a nice foam seat for the top and it's solid , extra chair while camping

 

Bear proof!! lol good one.

[bigalcal]

Get one for food and one for beverages. Icepacks, frozen waterfilled bottles (for nice cold water on the river) in one so it's semi-dry and you don't have floating bacon and a bigger one haha with ice cubes etc for your beverages.

If you can, freeze food items for the later days. That helps to keep everything cool as well.

 

I use this one. I also used it as a "suitcase" for my trip to Costa Rica. I have had it for over 10 years and I camp a LOT!!

 

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Coleman174-...ch-All+Products

 

If, by chance, you stop by the "Cutty Hut".....I usually have 2 big coolers full of ice for beverages. I might have some room for disco's!!

[bcubed]

Bear proof!! lol good one.

 

 

Yeah, bear proof...

http://www.yeticoolers.com/pages/Grizzly-Proof.html

 

 

 

[dutchie]

Yeah, bear proof...

http://www.yeticoolers.com/pages/Grizzly-Proof.html

 

 

i'd call that bear proof in my books , neat seeing all them little holes at the very end , teeth marks ,

 

i have the 50 L model , has a great drain plug on one end , any water will drain all on it's on so you don't even have to tilt it over , another plus to the yeti is the easy straps to open and close it , nice sliding tray on the top ,

 

if your out for a few days in a row on the river floating , i'll just add ice cubes about 6 inch's on the bottom , throw in the drinks , and they are way colder then coming out of a fridge or pop machine , will give you a killer brain freeze that hurts like hell if suck it back to fast

[Tungsten]

Yeah, bear proof...

http://www.yeticoolers.com/pages/Grizzly-Proof.html

 

 

I didn't notice the locks,seams to make a difference.I didn't see the bear trying to crush it which they normally do.

[gentlemang]

I have a coleman Extreme. It works pretty good. Need to use a fair amount of ice packs. The ice block made from a milk jug definately helps how long they last.

My parents had one of the coleman classics that Rickr mentioned for about 20 years. that is still one of the better ones in my experience. Now available in Stainless steel.

Greg

 

[reevesr1]

All kidding aside, I've heard the Yeti's are great, I just cant bring myself to spend that much money on a cooler. I have a Coleman Extreme and an Igloo (can't think of the model, it is similar to the extreme, cost a bit more). In truth, I like the Extreme better. I have had stuff in it for up to a week (which is the longest I've camped). Key is to keep it sealed! My kids will just close the lid, and on these coolers you have to push it down a bit. We do use ice packs, but really I've found the best way to extend is to chill it the night before you leave. I dump in the contents of my ice maker the night before I pack. This chills the insulating material. The next day, I'll dump the ice out (and there will be some water), pack it up with a couple of ice packs and the new contents of my ice maker. Good to go for a week.

[bigalcal]

What I particularily like about the stainless steel Coleman is that the walls are thin. The interior size is almost the same as the exterior. Walls are maybe an inch thick. They may be a bit thicker now after a layer of stickers!!

 

Another thing I like about my cooler is that I won it!!

 

 

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/5/Sp...t.jsp?locale=en

[bcubed]

I didn't notice the locks,seams to make a difference.I didn't see the bear trying to crush it which they normally do.

 

Ask and you will receive

 

 

Crush attempt at 30 seconds

[Tungsten]

haha ok ok its "zoo" bear proof.still not worth the dollars.

[LynnF]

All kidding aside, I've heard the Yeti's are great, I just cant bring myself to spend that much money on a cooler. I have a Coleman Extreme and an Igloo (can't think of the model, it is similar to the extreme, cost a bit more). In truth, I like the Extreme better. I have had stuff in it for up to a week (which is the longest I've camped). Key is to keep it sealed! My kids will just close the lid, and on these coolers you have to push it down a bit. We do use ice packs, but really I've found the best way to extend is to chill it the night before you leave. I dump in the contents of my ice maker the night before I pack. This chills the insulating material. The next day, I'll dump the ice out (and there will be some water), pack it up with a couple of ice packs and the new contents of my ice maker. Good to go for a week.

 

this is a GREAT idea (chilling it overnight!) I'm gonna do that for sure.

 

Thanks for all the advice....I'd love a Yeti...but....I'm being real when I say I likely won't spend the $$ on one this year.

[reevesr1]

this is a GREAT idea (chilling it overnight!)

 

Amazing what a man can learn when he reads instructions. Not that I have a lot of practice in it, as befitting my gender, but it seemed to work in this case.

[dutchie]

Rickr

All kidding aside, I've heard the Yeti's are great, I just cant bring myself to spend that much money on a cooler.

 

 

all the money you make tex , it shouldn't even cross your mind , your not taking it with you when your time is done ,

 

sit back and think about this Rick , them fancy plastic rods and reels cost more then that yeti cooler , the cooler will be around forever , can't say that about them flyrods or reels you use , plus they can break , not this yeti , you'll never regret buying one after you'v had it ,

[alan2]

You can buy a lot of ice for that extra $200 the cooler costs. About 75-100 bags/blocks of ice.

 

And those grizzlies in the video weren't really hungry. They don't usually give up in 1 minute. More like 3 days.

[Pipestoneflyguy]

I have one of the costco $100 12 volt units

 

It does kill the truck battery surprisingly quick when the truck isn't running (takes about 4 hours to drain batt to won't start level) - that said it is awesome for grocery runs onto the city and road trips - the fact that there is no ice makes for a quick and easy clean up too - we do use it quite a bit, just not for camping - other thing is it is great for keeping things hot that need to be hot (just reverse the plug)- we make our contributions to family xmas dinner at home and they show up ready to eat 2 hours of driving away, good for pot-lucks and family picnics too.

 

couple regular old colemans for extended camping work great.

[Guest Wrecker]

You can't beat a Coleman 5 day extreme, unless you need something "bearproof". LOL!

[Gaffer]

You can buy a lot of ice for that extra $200 the cooler costs. About 75-100 bags/blocks of ice.

 

And those grizzlies in the video weren't really hungry. They don't usually give up in 1 minute. More like 3 days.

 

Ice recently went up to $3 a bag or more in Calgary, so that is only 65 bags of ice for the additional $200. I dont know about anyone else but I easliy go through 100+ bags of ice in a summer.

 

A Yeti keeps ice way better than any other cooler I've seen, so if it saves me 30 bags of ice, it pays for itself in a couple of seasons.

 

Just a thought.

 

A

 

[reevesr1]

The only time the Yeti saves you in ice consumption over the extreme 5 is long term storage. So for the sake of argument, lets say I use 1/2 more ice with a Yeti (and I think that is an exaggeration, but it's a starting position) when Im camping. So if I use 20 bags a summer camping (which is also a stretch), the Yeti saves me 10 bags. I could run through the math for you, but if I assume I invest my $200 cost savings (and it is likely more like a $300 cost savings), then the yeti pays for itself in a "cool" 12 years at $3 ice. If I assume 7% interest, the answer is it never pays for itself. If I assume a $250 price difference, it never pays for itself.

 

So, if you are camping a BUNCH, or just don't like changing ice and have a lot of cash lying around, or are a guide and using is it all day every day (and I'm assuming you never change the ice because if you do, you are defeating any savings), or just like cool white coolers with a nice seat, then the Yeti is for you. If not, then I would submit I don't see it.

 

Plagiarized this from another fishing site:

 

 

"I have been seeing Yeti coolers on every fishing show there is it seems. I have searched and searched but could not find a lot of reviews. All the reviews I seen said almost the same thing word for word. It will be the last cooler you will buy.

 

So I bought one. I got the Tundra 110. The cushion for the lid was $135. I think that is pricey for a cushion. The cooler was $449. It seams very well built. I like the seal and the latch. Now for the real test, does it really keep ice longer?

 

I have a Coleman 100 Marine Xtreme. Coleman says it will keep ice for 5 days @ 90. Yeti doesn’t say how long it can keep ice. They just say longer. I put both cooler in my shop. Let them sit over night. Temp had been down in the 40’s. I put 35lbs of ice in each. I did not open either for 6 days. We had lows in the 30’s and highs between 55 and 75. On the 6th day both still had ice. The Coleman had about an inch floating and the Yeti had about 3 inches. On the seventh day the Coleman had completely melted and the Yeti had about an inch I removed the ice from the Yeti and drained the water. There was about 6 lbs of ice left.

 

I tried to be completely fair. Both cooler sat side by side from a day before until the end of the test. All the ice was kept in the same freezer. I used the same amount of ice in both coolers. The Yeti is very well made. The drain will not break but screws completely out. I can see it getting lost. I don’t see the hinge breaking. The Coleman 100qt with cushions was $215.98 compared to the Yeti 110qt at $584.98. That is 2.7 times as much. I have had the Coleman for a few years. I have had to replace the hinge($4.95) and have replaced the drain($3.39). The drain still worked but the retainer broke and figured I would lose it. The Yeti doesn’t have a retainer.

 

My conclusion so far; The Yeti did keep ice longer like it claimed. Just not much longer, maybe 18 hours. If you are going to use the cooler often for many years I would say it is worth it. They are built heavy duty. That comes at a price, this one with cushion weighs 40lbs. I was disappointed with the results. Once I get some more ice stocked up I will fill it full and see just how long it will keep ice. So far I don't regret the purchase, I am just not as sure about it as I was."

 

I bolded the pertinent statement. 18 hrs out of 6 days or 12.5% more "ice time". For around 2.5x the cost. If I was a bit younger I would say "bitch, please."

 

Edit: As I'm maybe in the market for a cooler myself, I did a bit more research. Here is another review I found. 5 coolers, 8 days with a 6 pack of pepsi (probably should have used beer for a more accurate test, but close enough).