Alternatives to Yeti products

I had a great aunt die late last year and she had a metal Coleman still in the box. It was old enough that the cardboard had browned and was starting to get brittle. I tried to get it for myself and had rank pulled on me from my parents. So they gave me a flip top Igloo of similar age. Aunt Wee was somewhat of a hoarder of useful things having survived the Great Depression.

 

I have a Shiti..

 

Hell yes bro!, pass one thru the screen! by the way what's that white stuff piled up in the background?

 

That was in Maine back at the end of March. Sugarloaf

 

I'll buy someone's yeti cooler...

 

+1 for Orca. Made in USA and lifetime warranty.

 

I was in Wally World this morning and decided to have a look at the chests they offered. These two are close to what the Yeti and RTIC are, but...not quite there. For the price I’d say that they are better than on par for the money.

 

On last Wednesday, May 2nd, I carried my Yeti 45 and RTIC 45 to the local gas station. I purchased two large bags of ice and poured one into each cooler. They have been sealed and unopened until last night, May 4th, when I looked inside because curiousity was getting the best of me. They looked to be nearly identical as for remaining ice. Today I will drain the water and measure which has the most. But I think it’s a draw.

 

I've got the Igloo Sportsman 20 and 55. Both are excellent coolers and much cheaper than the Yeti's.

The 20 is $99 and the 55 runs $170 at Sam's Club. I wouldn't buy them anywhere but there because all the other places want to sell them at a much higher price.

 

Both coolers were garage kept with the lids open for two days. Wednesday, the 2nd, morning around 9am both coolers had a large bag of ice poured into them. They were then garage kept with the lids sealed. They were only opened briefly the night of May 4th and immediately closed again. At 2pm on May 5th the ice melt was drained out and measured. 4 days and 5 hours.

Lead up. The RTIC has two drain plugs. Here’s both of them with condensation. All plugs have condensation but it looks like the Yeti’s covers more area than the RTIC.




Here is the single Yeti drain.


Now the ice melt challenge. Up first is the RTIC with 7qts worth.


The Yeti has 6.5qts. To me it is a draw. I did not use enough ice nor wait long enough or maybe waited too long or possibly needed to expose to more heat....or or. Two bags will be used next time and maybe 5 days wait time.

 

I've bought this a couple months ago and use it alongside Yeti coolers. Works just as well, a good bit cheaper. RTIC also supports 2A.

The only downside is that you don't get to say you own a Yeti or whatever.



I still prefer Yeti tumblers though, not gonna lie.......

 

I have two RTIC's, a 20 and a 45. They can be found on sale for the price of the similar Igloos listed above. Outdoor industry tests show that they'll keep ice as long or longer than YETI. Same tests found Engel to hold the longest, but I paid half as much for the RTICs. Here's the link to their most recent test https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/topics/camping-and-hiking/best-cooler?specs=n&n=5&sort_field=#compare

 

+1 RTIC.
65 Quart.

 

Rtic is half the price of yeti (and as good or better)..Recently came across some Pelican coolers though I don't have a pelican cooler I can attest my pelican dry boxes hold up exceptionally well in a whitewater river environment and would question ANY other brands durability vs a pelican....

 

ORCA coolers are better. I used to sell Yeti back in the day and people thought they were made in USA, which surprise, they arent. However, ORCA is made in the USA and they have a lifetime warranty. I actually have one of their Tumblers for drinking coffee and this thing has made it through two deployments at sea and keeps my drinks nice and hot or cold.

 

My next cooler will be an ORCA. I have quite a few Yeti products, but I'm looking for a small 20 quart next.

 

Was hanging out in Fort Collins today and stopped in the OtterBox store (they're headquartered there). They happened to be having a good sale on their outdoors products and I picked up a Venture 45 cooler. First "premium" cooler, so I'm excited to try it out.

 

Give us some feedback once it’s been used well.

 

I had a Yeti 75 that was brand new and leaked. I traded it for a 65 and it leaks. My Rtic 45 is the shit! Once you open and close it you have to wait a couple minutes to get the lid open due to the vacuum...meaning it does not leak.

 

Ever heard of kodi coolers? HEB sells them.