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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
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    Yeti vs other super-heavily-insulated coolers

    Anyone here have a Yeti cooler, or any of the comparable heavily-insulated ones? Costco occasionally has the Pelican ones, Igloo now has something similar too. Wondering how you like it, and if you think it was worth the $.

    Considering making use of the REI 20%-off-full-price coupon on one of these.
    http://www.rei.com/c/coolers?pagesiz...oolers&rx=true
    Quote Originally Posted by powder11 View Post
    if you have to resort to taking advice from the nitwits on this forum, then you're doomed.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    WA
    Posts
    2,524
    I've been impressed with Yeti in the past. Wildlife-proof is a handy feature, if only it were possible to convince the entire family to close the damn latch every time.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
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    Big Sky/Moonlight Basin
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    14,364
    I used a Yeti cooler on a Smith River trip. Food was still cold after 5 days. I would say do it
    "Zee damn fat skis are ruining zee piste !" -Oscar Schevlin

    "Hike up your skirt and grow a dick you fucking crybaby" -what Bunion said to Harry at the top of The Headwaters

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
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    Somewhere else
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    5,668
    I have a yeti and have been using it for years. I like it.

    Food stays cold a long time... Much of the ice is often melted by the last day but the water is still cold and so is the food and beer. The ice would last longer if I wasn't always opening the lid for a beer.

    A few cooler tips (sorry if you already know all of this):
    1. Buy a bigger cooler than you think you need and fill the extra space with more ice.
    2. Use at least 1 large block of ice because it takes longer to melt. I just make blocks in my deep freeze with a small rubbermaid with a lid (to keep the condensation from the freezer walls).
    3. This is a cause for debate that results in more obscenities than you'd think for such an innocuous subject, but I never drain my cooler. That water is cold and of you let it out, you allow warm air to surround you ice and food instead of cold water.
    4. Get a vacuum sealer and put your meat in then to keep the water off them, and they can be pre-frozen to add as extra ice blocks.
    5. Keep a white towel draped over the cooler and keep it damp with river water. The subs energy is now used to evaporate that water and not hear up your cooler.

    On my river trips with those practices and my yeti cooler, I still have cold food and beer and my friends do not.



    Sent from my SGH-I717D using TGR Forums
    Goal: ski in the 2018/19 season

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    CHS
    Posts
    1,146
    I have a Yeti - works awesome and still has ice afer several days. The padlock feature is handy for locking it (football games, bike race and such). Have the cable and locking piece and keep it in the back of p-up.

    Normally, I would go with the "buy one size larger than you think you need" but these are HEAVY and it sure doesnt seem that size vs. weight is linear.
    Quote Originally Posted by john c View Post
    Most of us are trying to have fun, not be Luke Skywalker and blow up the fucking death star, save the galaxy, and be the coolest Jedi at the next movie premier.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Posts
    6,097
    Quote Originally Posted by givethepigeye View Post
    I have a Yeti - works awesome and still has ice afer several days. The padlock feature is handy for locking it (football games, bike race and such). Have the cable and locking piece and keep it in the back of p-up.

    Normally, I would go with the "buy one size larger than you think you need" but these are HEAVY and it sure doesnt seem that size vs. weight is linear.
    I'm sure the Yetis are nice, but for that price I'd just buy an actual propane refrigerator:
    http://www.bensdiscountsupply.com/se...nufacturer=103

    The Coleman Xtreme are solid for the price (<$40):
    http://www.kmart.com/coleman-52-quar...W014013110001P

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Idaho
    Posts
    10,949
    Have had a Yeti for about four years in my raft. Many multi day trips in south Idaho in the summer. Many friends have them too. All the Yeti cooler people enjoy cold beer on the last day while others sometimes don't. We all bought in before there were many options for super coolers. Starting to plan an upsize in rafts so I'll need a bigger cooler for the frame. Either going to buy another bigger Yeti or a Canyon if it does well when I try it out. For a 125 the Canyon is $150 less. Hoping it keeps things cold like the Yeti.

    http://canyoncoolers.com/index.php?m...products_id=94

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    Cascades
    Posts
    666
    Have had a yeti for 5+ years of abuse and it's still going strong. Don't expect it to be the end-all, but cold for 4-6 days. Cooler management is key.

    Shorty_J's advice is good. And people will and have debated for hours on the drain/no-drain issue.

    I'd elaborate to...Blocks only, don't bother with chips.
    For long trips, freeze the beer. Buy 12 packs, empty the box and line it with a heavy duty trash bag. Put the beers back in, fill the bag with water, twist it shut, and duct tape the whole package a bunch of times both length and width wise. Doubles as a pseudo-block of ice, and if managed right, you have one 12 pack thawed at a time.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Posts
    795
    Quote Originally Posted by Spats View Post
    I'm sure the Yetis are nice, but for that price I'd just buy an actual propane refrigerator:
    http://www.bensdiscountsupply.com/se...nufacturer=103

    The Coleman Xtreme are solid for the price (<$40):
    http://www.kmart.com/coleman-52-quar...W014013110001P
    The Coleman 52 quart Xtreme cooler will revolutionize the way that you think about packing food and drinks, making it possible to take everything that you want, holding up to 82 half ounce cans. With this much room, you can easily put snacks, drinks and even food for meals in the same cooler, packing it all in with ice.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    On another tangent.
    Posts
    3,842
    Quote Originally Posted by Shorty_J View Post
    I have a yeti and have been using it for years. I like it.

    Food stays cold a long time... Much of the ice is often melted by the last day but the water is still cold and so is the food and beer. The ice would last longer if I wasn't always opening the lid for a beer.

    A few cooler tips (sorry if you already know all of this):
    1. Buy a bigger cooler than you think you need and fill the extra space with more ice.
    2. Use at least 1 large block of ice because it takes longer to melt. I just make blocks in my deep freeze with a small rubbermaid with a lid (to keep the condensation from the freezer walls).
    3. This is a cause for debate that results in more obscenities than you'd think for such an innocuous subject, but I never drain my cooler. That water is cold and of you let it out, you allow warm air to surround you ice and food instead of cold water.
    4. Get a vacuum sealer and put your meat in then to keep the water off them, and they can be pre-frozen to add as extra ice blocks.
    5. Keep a white towel draped over the cooler and keep it damp with river water. The subs energy is now used to evaporate that water and not hear up your cooler.

    On my river trips with those practices and my yeti cooler, I still have cold food and beer and my friends do not.

    Sent from my SGH-I717D using TGR Forums
    Another tip (if the option exists) is to put the cooler in a walk-in freezer for a few days with a few inches of water in the bottom. Ideally, less and then add a little more water each day. Load it at the last minute and include ice block or two. There's an outfit in Flagstaff that has a process like this and keep stuff cool for nearly three weeks on the Grand.
    Best regards, Terry
    (Direct Contact is best vs PMs)

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  11. #11
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
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    LV-426
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    21,084
    Think I'll stop by Sportsman's Warehouse and see what they've got in stock to compare them. Supposedly they carry a couple different brands. I want to see how heavy these coolers are, empty - and how big they are inside for a given size.

    I have a Coleman "extreme", which does a pretty good job of keeping ice. It's much better than the steel belted Coleman that mostly doesn't get used any more.
    Quote Originally Posted by powder11 View Post
    if you have to resort to taking advice from the nitwits on this forum, then you're doomed.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Ogden
    Posts
    9,080
    Quote Originally Posted by Alpinord View Post
    Another tip (if the option exists) is to put the cooler in a walk-in freezer for a few days with a few inches of water in the bottom. Ideally, less and then add a little more water each day. Load it at the last minute and include ice block or two. There's an outfit in Flagstaff that has a process like this and keep stuff cool for nearly three weeks on the Grand.
    This is the process I've heard.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
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    Somewhere else
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    Quote Originally Posted by TripleT View Post
    For long trips, freeze the beer. Buy 12 packs, empty the box and line it with a heavy duty trash bag. Put the beers back in, fill the bag with water, twist it shut, and duct tape the whole package a bunch of times both length and width wise. Doubles as a pseudo-block of ice, and if managed right, you have one 12 pack thawed at a time.
    Interesting idea! No problems with exploding beers while you freeze them?
    Goal: ski in the 2018/19 season

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    Cascades
    Posts
    666
    Not really. The water that surrounds and freezes around it kind of counteracts the expansion from freezing beer. But it is important you package the thing well. Duct tape is your friend.
    If you're really worried, Google "freezing beer rafting" and people have gone to great lengths to figure out which beers work best. I don't even bother, I've had great luck with it from PBR to DIPAs.
    I've lost far more beer to being over anxious and stabbing cans while trying to extract them from a still frozen block.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Posts
    19,147
    I swear by Yeti - many many years of use and abuse. But, a buddy just picked up the pelican at Costco for a Salmon trip. I'm curious to see how it will fair. Usually their stuff is really solid, and I didn't know they branched out into coolers.
    Is it radix panax notoginseng? - splat
    This is like hanging yourself but the rope breaks. - DTM
    Dude Listen to mtm. He's a marriage counselor at burning man. - subtle plague

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    写道
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    13,428
    Anyone ever try Grizzly coolers or heard any feedback on them?
    Daniel Ortega eats here.

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    the Low Sierra
    Posts
    17,810
    cooler management...

    I have a few 1 gallon wide mouth plastic food jars that I keep in the freezer for cooler use - no mess when they melt, and you can easily fill them with ice cubes or snow if available

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
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    写道
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    ^^^Freeze them at least seven (7) days in advance. Also, keep a wet towel on the inside over everything. Also, also cover entire cooler with a blanket when it's not in use, even in shade.

    So Grizzly has a factory-direct sale on a few seconds. The 75Q chest is selling for $100 off the regular $419 price. But with the $40 flat rate shipping cost and Kalifornia tax, it came out to almost $400. Fuck that shit!

    Ended up buying an Evakool 63Q (Model E060) chest on sale and with free shipping. Even with Kalifornia tax, still just under $300.
    Daniel Ortega eats here.

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    Somewhere else
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    5,668
    If I were to buy another, and I do want one but it's not in the budget right now, I'd probably go with the Canyon. I like the design and it has crazy thick walls.
    Goal: ski in the 2018/19 season

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    SW CO
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    5,582
    Quote Originally Posted by MakersTeleMark View Post
    a buddy just picked up the pelican at Costco for a Salmon trip. I'm curious to see how it will fair. Usually their stuff is really solid, and I didn't know they branched out into coolers.
    Yeah, I'm thinking about buying my dad that same one (Pelican 65) from Costco for his birthday. Any idea how well it works? Price is much closer to my budget than the Yeti equivalent...
    "Alpine rock and steep, deep powder are what I seek, and I will always find solace there." - Bean Bowers

    photos

  21. #21
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Portland by way of Bozeman
    Posts
    4,279
    Yeti. Do it. Sure, they are expensive, but it will likely be one of the last coolers you'll ever buy because it will probably outlast you.

  22. #22
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    idaho panhandle!
    Posts
    9,929
    I have several Coleman Marine coolers. A few buddies have Yetis. The Coleman has performed just as well and even better than one of the Yetis at keeping products cold. Even our ice test proved the Coleman was just as good as the Yeti. Buddies were pissed they got duped into shelling out big money for a cooler that works no better than one a third or more of the price. People love to think that the Yeti is better because they forked out so much cash for them, suckers.

  23. #23
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Colorado
    Posts
    2,785
    Bump. Who knew K2 made coolers? Even their logo looks like a K2 logo. Funny.

    http://www.k2-coolers.com/

  24. #24
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Fraggle Rock, CO
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    Just used my Coleman xtreme cooler for a 5 day (car camping) hiking trip in the San Juans. It performed flawlessly keeping everything cold for the whole trip. Another guy had a Yeti and, while it was certainly burly, it didn't seem to me to be several times better as the price would suggest.
    Brandine: Now Cletus, if I catch you with pig lipstick on your collar one more time you ain't gonna be allowed to sleep in the barn no more!
    Cletus: Duly noted.

  25. #25
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Posts
    7,909
    You guys are high if you think spending hundreds of dollars on a cooler is worth it.

    20 dollar supermarket cooler and being smart about using it (like the tips in this thread - block ice, wet towels, cover from sun) and my food lasts just as long. Anyone who argues otherwise is better off staying home with a refrigerator that require zero thought and effort.

    If you do spend a shitton of money on this shiny cooler, just don't be more of a tool and put Yeti stickers all over your car. Seems to be the rage in Jackson...
    Live Free or Die

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