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A cooler worth considering

1K views 24 replies 9 participants last post by  Bob Riebe 
#1 ·
I have a big yeti cooler for long trips and it does what I bought it for. But I also have a niche for a smaller 20 to 25 quart cooler. I replaced my old 25 quart cheapo cooler with an igloo bmx 25 quart cooler. $70 at target and some outdoor stores. Very nice. Igloo blue ice maxcold packs are a good substitute for ice if you're able to refreeze the packs every few days. Great cooler so far. I just keep mine in the car and it doesn't get banged around so it should last a while.

During summer I kept it in the trunk of my car all the time and just refroze some of the ice packs every day. Very handy to have.

I like having a middle ground between the cheapo coolers that don't stay cold and the premium coolers. The bmx is lighter than a yeti 20 too.
 
#2 ·
I had 8 of the Igloo 2 pound "large"maxcold blue ice packs in the bmx 25 since early Monday morning. It's Saturday now and two of the packs were still frozen solid and the cooler interior was about 45 degrees F. I'm impressed. That's way better than the $25 model I've been using for similar trips. Two thumbs up.

I had enough space in the cooler for drinks and food with the 8 ice packs, but it looks like I should start using 6 packs instead to get even more room for stuff in the cooler. It should do fine. Outside temps were cool, not 90F hot, so I'll still keep the 8 packs for summer use.

Cooler was pre-chilled before packing it Monday morning.
 
#3 ·
We bought 2 midsized from ALDI's last year. One was a small Yeti look alike.

The other was a slightly larger powered unit. 12vdc or 110v AC. It got mauled by a bear, top was seperated from base by a good 30 feet. Top (where the fan and electronics are) was filled with mud.


So I hosed it out, took it apart, finished cleaning, wiped blades, everything inside is absolutely soaked. So I bagged the small parts taped to outside of cooler, and stashed it in the Jeep to dry for 3 weeks.


Reassembled, and be danged if it did not run, both 12v and 110.


Learned my lesson.
A I knew those hot dogs were going bad Plus there was a pound of bacon in paper. Irresistible to bear.
B under the trailer is not secure enough. Not sure inside the jeep would have been.
C My dog who barks about everything apparently has a deal with bears. Not a whimper.


Prices on both were very reasonable.
 
#4 ·
I have two, do not know name but I think one is an Igloo of the old school plastic type opening approx. 20x12x10.
No drain hole but I have not done enough traveling to need the large one for a bit . (I have a much bigger one but lost the **** drain hole plut)
I also have two of the old small ones that are good for a six pack and have screw in ice packs in the lid, all I have really need for a few years.


NOW, I want to get a good mid-sized one big enough for three or four six packs and a bag of ice.
Yeti is good , I know that , what are the alternatives that cost a bit less but are decidedly better than that old school ones from twenty years ago.?
My old school one was good enough that when we went to Canada I put a small bag of ice in it and two days later, undisturbed, it was less than half melted.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Bob,

You may want to look at the bmx 52 quart model. I have the 25 quart in white. I'm really digging this cooler because it's great performance at a fair price. Not as tough as a yeti, but not as heavy either. If you're not banging it around much, it should be plenty durable.

And I do use the blue ice packs. Much better than fooling around with ice unless you're on a long trip and have no means to refreeze the packs. Also, real ice is generally considered better for beverages while packs are better for food.

https://www.igloocoolers.com/collections/bmx-hard-coolers

I have a yeti and this igloo and the igloo will get a lot more frequent use. The yeti is a great no compromises cooler for very long trips. I usually use my big yeti with ice because I'm traveling.

The yeti 20 roadie is quite heavy, about 15 pounds empty. Add 10 pounds of ice and you're lugging some serious mass. My yeti tundra 65 weighs about 50 pounds when I've got ice in it. Add several pounds for food and drinks and you've got a big ol hunk a hunk a stuff to wrestle into and out of a car.

Also see this video on coolers under a hundred bucks.

 
#6 ·
We have a Yeti "soft" cooler with a zippered top opening that is difficult to load and unload. I use old school Gott and Coleman coolers and increase their efficiency by covering top and sides with old blankets and rug runners. Makes a big difference in the summer. When I wear out the hinges I'll think about a Yeti or Yeti clone. I've seen apparently well made clones at Walmart and Gander Outdoors but wonder about availability of replacement latches and hinges down the road.
 
#8 ·
Interesting video. That Igloo 25 qt does look like a nice cooler for day trip outings and so forth.

I still use the old school coolers as most of the time I only need to keep things cool for maybe 10 hours, and usually less.

Almost all of that use is from home and back so I freeze empty pop bottles, half gallon and gallon milk jugs and use according to the size of the cooler. The solid ice lasts much longer than bags of loose cubes.
 
#10 · (Edited)
Good point about cooler only used for a few hours. No need to spend much on one. I use the bmx for some trips and i keep it in the trunk of my car during warm weather so its always there and ready. I use it like a permanent refrigerator in my car. A 50+ ounce jug of water. Some sandwiches without condiments so they keep for days. Very handy when I'm out and about. Lots better and cheaper than stopping at subway or other restaurant.

Heck its 25 degrees today and i just had lunch near a destination. Cooler keeps stuff from freezing too. Ive been bringing the coolee inside on cold nights lately. I'm thinking it may be a year round feature in my car.
 
#11 ·
I have a nice Yeti but I have found that the Ozark trail stuff that Walmart sells is much better and about a third cheaper.

Deaconllb
 
#12 ·
What strikes me as odd is that when I visit the Texas coast and Florida coast I often see pickup trucks that belong to people in the building and outdoor trades, like paving and landscaping. A lot of these guys aren't making the big bucks. The trucks often look like they've got twenty years of honest wear on them. There are Walmarts close by. And there are a bunch of other makers of rotomolded coolers comparable to the yetis. But the brand I most often see is yeti, followed by the big coolers that I think are igloo polar models.

My theory on this is that yeti has tremendous market penetration compared to otter, rtic, Engel, and the others. (I've never seen any of those brands sold anywhere) And igloo polar is a great value for the money. The yetis I see in the work trucks are almost always worn and are locked in the bed with a cable or other locking mechanism.

My point is that the yetis are a lot more popular than I would expect them to be.

As a matter of firm policy I never buy anything from Walmart that I expect to be durable. I got burned too many times buying junk from them.
 
#14 ·
I never seriously considered one of these yeti soft sided coolers. Very expensive! But I was curious about them and got a chance to look at one at a store. I thought it was too hard to open and close. It is supposedly leak proof, which is a distinctive feature, but ease of opening and closing, ( and not costing an arm, a leg, and a ball) are important considerations.
 
#21 ·
I have one of those soft side Yeti's, bought it before all of the knock off's came out, so I've had it for about 7, 8 years or so and still good as new. They are awesome and the top does break in and it get a lot easier to open. It is probably my favorite cooler, works very well, can get a lot in them, essentially spill proof and they clean so easily. I take it as my carry-on when we go on vacation so we have a great cooler to use. Works awesome! I don't know how the knock offs are but that is one that I give two thumbs up for...
 
#15 ·
My late wife was given a Yeti hot an cool cup from our grandson and I took it on a trip when I was on the road hauling Harleys for our son it kept coffee hot about 3 hours, I was in wal mart some weeks later and saw the same looking cup for 9 dollars instead of the 35 for the Yeti, Ozark trail brand so I bought it not wonting to keep using the wife Yeti as it was hers and her gift. I found that the Ozark trail kept coffee hot for 4 hours and the lid opening that you drink from could be rotated to close off drinking hole thus almost spill proof. something else I have found is their Ozark Trail small led flashlight 250 looms is also a great well built flashlight which I have 5 of, much better than the tack light you see on those tv commercials for 19.95. Now I am not a great fan of Wal mart but some times they do have some great buys.

Deaconllb
 
#16 ·
The wife order our travel mugs from someplace - look like the Yeti mugs, but about one third the price. They have a stopper to swing down and close the drink hole. Darn things are almost as good as a thermos at keeping coffee hot if you keep them closed.

I personally don't believe any of the Yeti products are worth the price. Yes, they may be better than most of the copies, but not 2 or 3 times as good, as the price would indicate!
 
#19 ·
When I was shopping for a great cooler for super long road trips, I looked at all of the available models in video reviews, but the only ones I could find locally were yeti. I really needed to be able to see the cooler and decide whether it was the right size and had good components. From the reviews, I figured that the tundra 45 model was the best for me, but when I actually saw one, it was too small. I got the tundra 65 instead.

The other consideration was a very reliable drain plug because I don't want water all over the inside of my car. Everything about the yeti was satisfactory.

Had there been other brands around for me to check out, I may have bought one of the others. But being able to check it out was important to me. I think a lot of people must think the same way, and are willing to pay the extra $100 simply because it was available.

I can say that I would not be as happy with the igloo bmx 52 quart as I am with the yeti for long trips. The yeti is a tank, and it's performance is outstanding.

If the Walmart's around here stocked the ozarks, there's a good chance I would have bought one of those.

I will say that when I was shopping for the smaller cooler, I did look at the yeti roadie, and there was no way I was going to pay two hundred bucks for a heavy little cooler like that. I consider the igloo bmx 25 Superior for my needs.

I like that the availability of high end coolers has created a niche for lower cost high performance coolers. They may not be as durable, but they've definitely got a place.
 
#17 ·
I was at TJ Maxx and saw some containers, not cups or glasses but about that big around that had tags saying 18 hrs cold, 12 hrs warm.
13 bucks each but you had to unscrew the stopper to open and that is a pain while driving.
I will keep those in mind but check out some other stuff.
I wish TJ had coolers, their prices are pretty good but I have noticed in such stuff they have less of the very top line stuff discounted and more and more of the mid to low level stuff at prices lower , but not by much than other places with similar stuff.
 
#20 ·
Basically, this thread is about tailoring the selection of a cooler to one's needs.

Two of my coolers are old, cheap coolers that aren't much good except for what I use them for. One I use in my boat to keep dead fish cool, the other I throw in the bed of my pickup to carry dead grouse, keeping them cool in the early season and keeping them contained so feathers don't blow all over while I'm driving during cool weather.

Can't imagine spending $300 on a cooler for either of those purposes! Now, if I had to transport meat or fish for 2 days on the trip home my requirements would be totally different and the $300 would be money well spent.
 
#22 ·
Thanks for clearing up my understanding of the soft sided cooler. I figured there had to be a good reason for their popularity.

One other thing about this thread is that we can all be grateful for the utility of the good old low cost coolers from Coleman and the like. They're real work horse coolers, and most people don't need anything else.
 
#23 ·
just me
i don't see how i'd ever get 100 bucks worth of use
from a cooler.
a whole lot of folks in my area have yeti and other high
dollar coolers, but i think it's more for status than anything
else. that, and they open them 2 or 3 dozen times a day,
mostly retrieving beers. fwiw i have an igloo 48 quart cooler
i keep at the outpost that i use only for bringing cut up
deer and such home and gets washed out and carried back
for the next time. i used it on Nov. 2nd to bring a deer
carcass back and it was all cold for 2 days after sitting in
the house until i could bone out the quarters. that said,
it didn't get opened at all except to put some ice in out
of the freezer when i first got back, and when i opened
it there was still ice left. keeping a cooler closed as much
as possible is the key to keeping it cold.
i'll also add that any nicks or cuts or breaks of any kind
in the inner or outer plastic is a detriment to keeping the
contents cold. i've used coolers for fishing, and some have
had holes poked on the inside by catfish flopping around and
making small holes with their fins. those coolers didn't seem
to work as well even after patching whatever holes were made.
i have another that got chewed on the corner by a varmint
during the wee hours, and it's been patched with epoxy but
doesn't hold the cold as well as when new
 
#24 ·
It is important to gauge a cooler by the value it provides. My small cooler was begging for an upgrade because it wasn't working well. It was ok for one day jaunts, but could not handle longer trips. My big yeti is for very long trips and it's as valuable to me as a refrigerator. It's a great tool, and after spending the big bucks on it, i have no regrets because it does exactly what I need done.

There is a lot to the idea that people buy yeti as a kind of status symbol, or as a premium product where they figure that after you buy a yeti, you've got a great cooler and won't want anything else for a long time. That is the brand a lot of people aspire to own, and what they compare other brands to. You see a lot of that in the Internet reviews.
 
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