Forget the great anchor debate, let's debate best coolers.

Larry, you're the Mark Twain of TF.....I really enjoy your posts.

Has anybody converted a yeti into a drivable yet? Ala. cruzincooler.com ?

I was gifted an Engel, which I feel is a quality cooler, especially the build. The ice holding for the Engel is the same as my Yeti as far as I can tell. For the money the best ice holding is the Coleman Xtreme 5 Marine. They perform almost as well as my expensive coolers but are at least 1/3 the price, build quality is just not as good but repair parts are available.
As for keeping things cold longer, big blocks of ice last longer, with frozen jugs of water working best for me. I can use the water in the jugs for drinking water in a pinch and I can by gallons of drinking water at the store that is safe/ sealed then freeze them at home.

ghost said:

Has anybody converted a yeti into a drivable yet? Ala. cruzincooler.com ?

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I resemble that remark ! I think.
But good idea. I can see the duct tape, old washer for beer, Yeti Tote for seat, ....

I have been very satisfied with our present storage facility for ice. You can go for weeks at a time and still not run out of ice. However, if we need ice for more cold storage, dry ice in the 112 quart cooler lasts a very long time.

N4712 said:

Another good ice chest company is Frigid Rigid. I've seen these coolers hold ice for days too.
Frigid Rigid - Ice Chests, Coolers, Refrigerated, Marine, Solar Refrigerator, Freezer, Coffin Box

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My dingy is a Rigid Boat made by Frigid Rigid. It is exceptional. The seat is a Frigid Rigid cooler with a pad and backrest. I haven't used it as a cooler yet but can tell you it is exceptionally well made. It is the only fiberglass cooler of all the high end that I know of. Ask me in the summer and hopefully I will have some use as a cooler.

nautibeaver said:

Would you say those softies are worth the 300-350$. Been looking at them for a bit for wife's back of car.


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We have only used ours a couple times . We got it for Christmas . We like it a lot but I don't think we would have spent that kind of money on either of the Yeti's we have . They were both very nice gifts from our kids. The soft cooler is built as rugged as the hard cooler . But if something was to happen to either one I would probably bone up and get another . They both keep ice longer than anything I've ever owned .

We are more the soft cooler type, as our primary use is to load in the dinghy and take to the beach. Secondary use is for trips to Costco/Sams to stock up on meats and frozen goods. I'd recommend two to look at that we have been very happy with.

The one we use the most is this Arctic Zone Ultra, that we found on a seasonal deal at Costco. For use at the beach the "table top" feature is great, as is the little hatch that allows you to grab a drink without opening the whole lid (very handy in the car too). Plenty of storage on the sides for coozies, lotion, etc. Well constructed, it has taken a real beating over the past three years. Buy "Ice Cold Ultra Cooler 50 Can Arctic Zone Table Top Lid Blue Black Folds Flat California Innovations NEW" online

We haven't conducted an ice holding contest yet, but the Norchill coolers are terrific values and very well made; a lot of people think they are the best soft sided units, pre-Yeti at least. Great company to do business with, we have a cheap depth finder from their Hawkeye sister on our dinghy, and their glasses cleaner wipes are great too.

Large Soft Coolers - Marine Coolers

Codger2 said:

However, if we need ice for more cold storage, dry ice in the 112 quart cooler lasts a very long time.

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In the spring of 2010, my brother and I went on an 8-day fishing trip through the California Delta. I only had a small Norcold fridge at the time and needed to use a large cooler for the week's food.

I had pre-cooked most of the meals in the week before the trip and froze them in plastic bags. We set up our 3-partitioned 165 qt Igloo cooler with 4 large 12"x12"x2" dry ice squares, 3 frozen one gallon water jugs and lots of food sorted and stacked in order of use to minimize digging. All dry ice was wrapped in newspaper and placed on wood to avoid damage to the cooler. Our goal was to keep everything frozen for as long as possible, hoping to last the entire eight days with little or no refrigerator use.

One section without dry ice served as a refrigerator so items there would not freeze. It worked pretty well, except for the cantaloupe. It didn't freeze, but when we ate it, something seemed wrong but we couldn't put our finger on it right away. Finally it dawned on us...the cantaloupe was carbonated by the dry ice! It was an interesting experience. I need to try that again with a rum-spiked watermelon!!

All food remained frozen through Day 6, and cold through Day 8. The 3 one-gallon frozen water jugs still contained approx. ½ ice at the end of the trip. The dry ice cost about $40.

Do the soft sided coolers sweat? My Igloo hard side does get drippy.

No experience with them sweating. I'm sure that a good hard side out performs a good soft side in ice retention. But the softs are so much easier to maneuver and store as well as on toes and shins. Also we much prefer Nu Ice and similar products vs using real ice. Everything in the cooler stays dry that way and it takes longer to melt.

http://ridicooler.yeticoolers.com/?...il&utm_term=0_7f74f9160c-41f4d2b55a-306610729

I'm sure it has nothing to do with the day.


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caltexflanc said:

No experience with them sweating. I'm sure that a good hard side out performs a good soft side in ice retention. But the softs are so much easier to maneuver and store as well as on toes and shins. Also we much prefer Nu Ice and similar products vs using real ice. Everything in the cooler stays dry that way and it takes longer to melt.

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In what way is the Nu Ice better than frozen water bottles? I've looked at that but my option is free, still keeps everything dry and I can drink it. Does it really stay cold longer?

Yeti does it again.

Got a Yeti rambler tumbler cup (30oz). Will be a lot less dishes, as the cup/mug holds ice for ever. Don't see myself using any other glass.

Keeps the ice and Diet Pepsi cool while we focus on our food bounty.


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We bought a Yeti for our trip up the ICW last summer. It kept ice for 2-3 days in the 90-95 deg heat of July and August.

I bought a Yeti Tundra 50 earlier this summer.
I am NOT overly impressed with its performance. I complained to their cust service after I performed a leak test to try to troubleshoot the poor performance. The gasket leaked badly on all sides.
So they sent me a new gasket (after 2 weeks as they were on backorder.. Does that tell you something?).
The new gasket seals but I am still not impressed especially for a $350+ cooler.

I have 3 yetis on board. All have performed well. One trick for me is to put a sacrificial bag in each cooler the night before I load them. I also try to have things like beer and cold drinks already chilled before going into cooler. Once done we're good for three days or so if we don't open them a lot. We bring extra ice for the beer yeti...

kelbylinn said:

I have 3 yetis on board. All have performed well. One trick for me is to put a sacrificial bag in each cooler the night before I load them. I also try to have things like beer and cold drinks already chilled before going into cooler. Once done we're good for three days or so if we don't open them a lot. We bring extra ice for the beer yeti...

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Similar

My yeti performs well as far as keeping ice etc I have the small roadie20 and the handle on it is horrible to me but the ability to hold ice is great


if I keep it in the shade it will have ice in it 4 days later in 90 degrees if even a little sun hits it cut that to 2 days

I have a soft sided cooler I really like but it not only sweats, it leaks. Use with caution.

We've been in situations where we had to use a cooler as back up refrigeration. I highly recommend dry ice and completely filling the space- like filling any space at the top with a towel. Others already recommended pre chilling the cooler and whatever you'll be putting in it.

I'm disappointed to see the comments on the yeti. Guess I'll stick with my igloos.

I am amazed at how much they are getting for yeti's. I saw a yeti coozie for beer cans in west marine the other day. $40+ for a coozie. LOL

I have 2 places where the PO put a couple of 100 qt. coolers on the boat. I was thinking of going to walmart at buying a couple of their 5 day coolers.

A Yetti bottle opener for $10?? Guess that's why they call it a "beverage entry tool." Good lord people can be gullible.

I've got a Coleman 52 Qt Xtreme cooler that does great if I keep it out of the sun. I also throw a beach towel over the top to improve the insulation. At under $40, it's been a great cooler. I know there's no way to get 10 times the performance in a Yeti at 10 times the price and significantly less storage volume.

I'm always impressed by the high price, heavy weight and low volume of the Yeti and Yeti-wannabes.

I concur with all PG said. Pre-cool, keep full...even with a towel and dry ice when practical. Block ice or frozen 1 gallon water bottles are my second choice, then cube ice. The frozen bottles really help extend the life of cubed ice.

I spent 8 days on the water with my brother in 2010 and documented it here.

http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s36/great-sturgeon-excursion-4697.html

We used dry ice and frozen 1-gal water bottles and kept the 165 Qt Igloo cooler down below in the fwd stateroom. Here's an excerpt regarding the cooler and dry ice:

I had pre-cooked most of the meals in the week before the trip and froze them in plastic bags. We set up our 165 qt food cooler with 4 large 12"x12"x2" dry ice squares, 3 frozen one gallon water jugs and lots of food partitioned and stacked in order of use to minimize digging. Our goal was to keep everything frozen for as long as possible, hoping to last the entire eight days with little or no refrigerator use.


Summary-
Cooler results: All food remained frozen through Day 6, and cold through Day 8. The 3 one-gallon frozen water jugs still contained approx. ½ ice at the end of the trip.

Let me preface my comments with an admission: I am a cheapskate. Big time cheapskate.

That being said I would have a VERY hard time laying out $400-$500 for a cooler, no matter what brand it is or what color it is.

I have two coolers that I have used for years and have been very pleased with both. The smaller of the two is a Coleman Extreme and it is the one I use most often. On a recent 4-day event it kept 2 bags of ice for the whole 4 days. At the end of the 4 days there was about the equivalent of 3/4 of a bag of ice left, the rest was melted.

The other is also a Coleman and it's a large ~130qt cooler. We don't use it often, preferring the smaller Extreme because we don't often need to large capacity. When we have used the big one it's been secured on the stern of the boat, often in 90*-95*+ temps and it has kept food cold easily for 4-5 days. When we use that large one we freeze as much of the food as we can plus some gallon jugs of water.

From my cheapskate vantage point, I could buy a helluva lot of bags of ice for the $400-$500 I won't spend on a Yeti or any other cooler.

When they come out with logo wear for a cooler, you know your're getting screwed.

Yeti Men's Billboard Logo Short Sleeve T-shirt | Academy

How does an old guy manhandle (get on board) a 52-quart cooler full of frozen liquid?

markpierce said:

How does an old guy manhandle (get on board) a 52-quart cooler full of frozen liquid?

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You need a friend. Two old men can do it.

Block ice. That's what I like. Like the snow cone stands use. A couple of blocks beneath the cubed ice, water and drinks can last a long time in an Igloo.


1983 Present 42 Sundeck
Twin Lehman 135's

The nice part of the dry ice and frozen gallon water bottles is that everything stays dry and frozen (bottom stuff) or cold (top stuff) for many days. Just don't add cantaloupe like I did. I ended the trip with a carbonated melon.

It took a while but once I figured out what was different about that melon, I started to enjoy it.

We have a 75 yeti . A soft sided yeti and two tumblers , they were all gifts from the kids . The soft cooler sweats a bunch , the 75 does pretty good but the tumblers are the best . It's all overpriced and I would not go out and buy one. But very nice gifts