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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
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    you see a tie dye disc in there?
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    Best Cooler for few days?

    Yep, searched and did not come up with much.

    I need a cooler to hold ice. Camping sucks in the summer when I have to drive to town every day or two just to pick up some ice. Is Yeti really the best choice? Orca, Pelican? What else says the tribe? What are you using and why?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
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    A camper with a fridge is the best camping cooler.
    "fuck off you asshat gaper shit for brains fucktard wanker." - Jesus Christ
    "She was tossing her bean salad with the vigor of a Drunken Pop princess so I walked out of the corner and said.... "need a hand?"" - Odin
    "everybody's got their hooks into you, fuck em....forge on motherfuckers, drag all those bitches across the goal line with you." - (not so) ill-advised strategy

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
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    Planning an exit
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    5,930
    Any of the plastic roto molded coolers would be fine. I have a Yeti and and RTIC and the Yeti might keep ice a little better but either gets the job done. I'm sure the others are fine and most likely they're all made in the same couple of factories anyway.

    Also, Danno is correct. There is a satisfaction in not having to deal with ice but even with a fridge you still may need a cooler.

    Also, abraham is correct. Search function JONG.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
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    Bellevue
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    7,431

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
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    you see a tie dye disc in there?
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    thanks Ab, I knew there was a thread on here, always is, I cant make search work for me.

    got the camper fridge covered but its full of all the food. I eat good while camping.

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  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    SLC burbs
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    4,186
    Quote Originally Posted by concretejungle View Post
    Any of the plastic roto molded coolers would be fine. I have a Yeti and and RTIC and the Yeti might keep ice a little better but either gets the job done. I'm sure the others are fine and most likely they're all made in the same couple of factories anyway.

    Also, Danno is correct. There is a satisfaction in not having to deal with ice but even with a fridge you still may need a cooler.

    Also, abraham is correct. Search function JONG.
    Got an RTIC 45 for my bday to supplement a Grizzly 60 I could barely get in the truck by myself when fully loaded. Now the beers and food can live separately. Both do a fine job at keeping shit cold for days as long as I'm not in and out constantly.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    May 2009
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    inpdx
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    20,197
    i'm constantly seeing RTIC ads in my instagram feed, seems like they're 30% off usually.
    and since it's been proven in court they ripped off Yeti pretty well, it seems like a bit of a deal...

    https://www.rticcoolers.com/shop/coo.../RTIC-65-White

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Your Mom's House
    Posts
    8,298
    Buy whatever rotomold cooler comes in red, or at least matches your flatbrim and lifted Toyota, and then don't open it.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Posts
    10,903
    Don’t forget to put whatever cooler you buy’s sticker on your roof box or back window of your 4Runner.

    I prefer the Orca whale tail myself. Great looking sticker.


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  10. #10
    Join Date
    Mar 2019
    Posts
    2,100
    Ice blocks FTW if you don't wanna buy a Yeti.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Park City
    Posts
    5,013
    Yes, settled water ice blocks. Rafting stores usually sell it or make it yourself. Lasts 7 days on a 100 degree float trip.


    Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums
    I rip the groomed on tele gear

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
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    Ogden
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    9,103
    Quote Originally Posted by adrenalated View Post
    and then don't open it.
    This is the secret. I buy cheap coolers and then yell at people who open it without a plan. And god forbid you don't push it all the way closed, I've made kids swim in from a quarter mile out to show them what they've done.

  13. #13
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    May 2009
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    inpdx
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    Quote Originally Posted by detrusor View Post
    make it yourself
    gallon milk jugs hold up for a few refreezing cycles before developing a hole here or there

    using a container helps limit water in the bottom of the cooler for food storage; it will sweat of course, but generally limits flooding

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
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    idaho panhandle!
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    9,951
    Quote Originally Posted by hawkgt View Post
    Yep, searched and did not come up with much.

    I need a cooler to hold ice. Camping sucks in the summer when I have to drive to town every day or two just to pick up some ice. Is Yeti really the best choice? Orca, Pelican? What else says the tribe? What are you using and why?
    My reply in the cooler thread.
    https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/...-coolers/page7

    I’m not a fan of the Rotomold coolers due to lack of storage and weight for a comparable cooler like the one in the link. I may have a blonde cunt hair less ice than a rotomold but nothing substantial. I use frozen gallon jugs of water for ice in the food cooler and frozen 16oz water bottles and cubed ice in the drink cooler. I’ve had plenty of ice left over after 5-7 day trips.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Sep 2018
    Posts
    6,643
    Ok fine, I'll contribute to the doubled up thread. My cooler quiver:

    From small to large:

    Polar Bear H20 soft sided 12 can cooler. Retail is $140, paid about $80. Bomber. Slightly hard to get into. Waterproof but zipper doesn't keep water in. Great for day trips.

    Coleman Extreme 28 quart hard sided cooler. Retail $40 paid $20. About twice as big as the Polar Bear. Good for hauling overnight food to hotel kinda thing. It's a fine good quality cooler. Nothing special. Good capacity to size ratio.

    Yeti Hopper 30 soft cooler. Retail $240 paid 180. This is the one we abuse - every trip, beach, biking, hauling beer, cookouts, everything. Still looks brand new. I'd buy this again.

    Coleman Extreme 50 and 60 hard coolers. I think they retail for like $70 - I got them from some guy who hadn't used them for not very much cash. I'm using them instead of roto right now - better size to capacity, much lighter, and I don't beat up coolers too bad, generally. Having 2 different ones is nice - you can separate stuff out, say drinks and food. Hold ice just about as long as a roto - maybe not quite as well. But still very well.

    Coleman Marine 120 hard cooler. Pre Coleman Extreme but same general idea. Retail at the time was around $150, now I think you can find them for around $80. Pretty strong, though not as good as a roto. Way lighter. If a good roto will hold ice for 5-6 days, this probably does 4-5. I've abused it over many years and it's still functioning just fine, - though the white gets pretty dirty. I would not get a roto cooler of this size unless it was sitting on a boat and would never move. So heavy.

    Hope that helps in some way.

    Post Your Cooler Quivers!

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
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    10,903
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    And I have an old Igloo cooler out back full of spiderwebs


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  17. #17
    Join Date
    Nov 2016
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    SEA>DEN>Spokanistan
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    2,965
    Quote Originally Posted by beece View Post

    Yeti Hopper 30 soft cooler. Retail $240 paid 180. This is the one we abuse - every trip, beach, biking, hauling beer, cookouts, everything. Still looks brand new. I'd buy this again.
    This cooler absolutely slays!! Completely underrated. Use it on every trip. So practical and packs very easily in the rig!

  18. #18
    Join Date
    May 2002
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    33,440
    Quote Originally Posted by mcphee View Post
    Ice blocks FTW if you don't wanna buy a Yeti.
    Dry ice wrapped in towels in the bottom. Will do 12 days at burning man (72 quart Colemans). I do two coolers, one for the first five days; the second one gets opened on day six and has been sealed at the lid seam with duct tape. All the ice will be one solid block with food in it when you open that cooler.

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Posts
    19,201
    This ^^

    Dry ice in the bottom, wrapped in brown paper. Entire cooler wrapped internally with refectex, massive nasty messages in sharpie about the penalties of opening, blocks to add after 7 days.

    I'm good for 2 weeks.

    Note this: I emptied a cooler that melted out this first week of June, from last August, and I still had blocks of ice, chucks as big as 2 water bottles, that I used to water my colombines almost a year later.

    Wrap your inside cooler with relfextix. Use dry ice, blocks and I can keep shit frozen for months.

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
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    Your Mom's House
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    8,298
    Quote Originally Posted by MakersTeleMark View Post
    I can keep shit frozen for months
    Why would you freeze shit?






    I guess it doesn't smell when frozen, but still

  21. #21
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    CO
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    2,206
    Quote Originally Posted by adrenalated View Post
    Why would you freeze shit?






    I guess it doesn't smell when frozen, but still
    Revenge dog poop under door handles, served cold.

  22. #22
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Idaho
    Posts
    10,953
    Verdict is in and most roto coolers hold ices for a long time if you don't open them. Cordova, Canyon, Igloo, Pelican, RTIC, Yeti, Orca, Orion, etc. They all do about as well. Orion is the most $ with Yeti close. Down from there. Figure out how much you want to hold and the out side dimensions you want to have to fit where it will travel. Be careful of the cooler name number. Some are accurate in quart capacity, some are not (Yeti). If you'll be camping where you need them to be bear proof certified, I know Yeti and Orion have the stamp. I'm not sure of others.

    Before a trip, pre-cool the cooler with some ice for a day. Dump that ice, load frozen gal jugs of water (ice water later in your trip is nice) or dry ice in the bottom, your provisions, and then chip ice on top unless you don't want to deal with the melt water later. Try to open the cooler only in the cool morning or after the sun goes down. If you do open during the day, make it quick. If the cooler will be in the sun, cover it with something. If you can, a wet white towel works great if you can keep it wet.

    Soft coolers...Yetis win here. They are the burliest and the zipper is the best. The Hopper 2 is easier to open and close than the original Hopper. Yetis are more expensive but in my opinion, worth it. On hard coolers, not so much.

    I've always got a hook up on Yetis so thats what I have-125, 120, 65, 35, Hopper 2 30. Plus, their dimensions fit my boats.

    If you want more storage capacity for weight, buy a cheap cooler and follow the cooler etiquette rules and you'll keep ice for five days.

  23. #23
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Location
    Aspen
    Posts
    3,058
    If you only want a few days, get a Coleman Extreme and manage your ice/openings well - . The weight on a decent sized roto is no joke - we have a Yeti Tundra 65 and the thing is 30lbs empty. Coleman Extreme 70 is about 12lbs and measures true to size unlike the Yetis.

    We got the Yeti for car camping and desert trips; got a good deal on it and took the plunge to have a non-nonsense solution after years of using small, shit day coolers. I'm more inclined towards the size/weight/ease of the Coleman as long as you're intentional and capable of managing it with good ice, few openings and maybe adding some covering, sealing assists or other hacks for longer retention.

  24. #24
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Posts
    12,609
    Got some RTICs a few years ago. They are fine. 45L for the beer, then a 20L for some fud. Really, for most people, these things are overkill, but whatever. I've had/have multiple cheap colemans over the years that probably get more use.

    We order from a few different meal delivery services that come with ice packs, dry ice, and various forms of insulated bags and I store them in a freezer chest in the garage that would otherwise sit 1/2 empty. So whenever I'm headed out, I just throw the dry ice and ice packs in and go. Never buy ice anymore unless it is for cocktails.

  25. #25
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    shadow of HS butte
    Posts
    6,397
    if anyone has hookups with yeti shoot me a PM.

    it will live in the back of my work truck, in the sun all day. it’s hot here

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