[Old406Kid]

I just saw these in Billings.

https://www.facebook.com/permafrost...zBeWpthhgOgx_U0vA2QgX3MtnmyWDuKspswamEtkCJlJA

They appear to be well designed and built and are less than most brands, the 75 qt. model is $279.00.

 

[Steelheader69]

Thankfully with the amount of rotomolded cooler companies coming out the prices should drop.

 

[Steelheader69]

Come to find out there's a company n near me in Graham selling a similar product in same range. I messaged them for more info.

 

[IveofIone]

It's good news that competition is finally bringing some reality to the cooler market. I have watched so many Youtube videos where much cheaper coolers actually outperform the highly touted, over rated and overly expensive Yeti models. I suppose like other products that achieve cult status people buy them on hear-say alone assuming because they cost the most they are the best. Wrong. There is no substitute for actual research.

 

[veilside180sx]

Most cost effective around here is the Englund Marine Pescado brand. A 110 qt at the boat shows is usually around $250.

 

[Montana1422 (Roger Craft)]

Buy a Coleman Xtreme. Save your money. Don't open the lid every ten minutes and you will be surprised at how long your ice will last. The expensive coolers are in the same category as $900 fly rods. Looks great at the brag fest.

 

[Steelheader69]

Buy a Coleman Xtreme. Save your money. Don't open the lid every ten minutes and you will be surprised at how long your ice will last. The expensive coolers are in the same category as $900 fly rods. Looks great at the brag fest.

All these years I still just use Igloo coolers. My extreme cold versions, properly pre chilled, perform flawlessly and I can buy almost 3 165 qt igloos at Costco for the price of one Yeti 65.

 

[Freestone]

What really cracks me up are the $200 lunch ones. I eat my lunch within 4-6 hours of putting it in there, not 4-6 days!

 

[Guest]

I'll admit that I have a medium-sized Pelican cooler. It was (mostly) a gift--as in, my parents didn't know what to get me for ecksmas, so they gave me money with the suggestion that one of those might be what I buy with it.

There are definitely nice things about it. With the padlock hasp, and the sturdiness, it could double as a safe, for one. It does seem to have better insulating than the less expensive ones--not sure how much better, or if it is placebo. The build and design seems extremely well done, and I doubt it will ever be damaged from normal abuse. I can't see the hinges or clasps ever wearing out.

Plus, it has four cup holders and a bottle opener. The bottle opener sucks, tho, it wouldn't open my Pappy Van Winkles...I had to pull the stopper by hand.

 

[IveofIone]

Here's a cooler hack for a Coleman 52 qt Extreme. For the money these are very good coolers providing you don't need bear proof or intend to camp in the desert mid summer. At $34 you can buy 10 of these for the price of one 55 qt Yeti. Jes' sayin'-not making comparisons. The Coleman is not perfect and has what I would consider a fatal flaw right out of the box-the lid has 4 cup holders in it! That is 4 places amounting to several square inches where there is no insulation. How dumb is that? The insulation being compromised in each corner is the equivalent of the lid being cracked slightly open at all times-it flies in the face of reason. But there is a simple fix. I cut out 4 styrofoam pucks just a hair bigger than the cup holders and pressed them in with some glue. They have been in there for years and return the lid to the integrity it had before Coleman dummied up and poked holes in the insulation.

On the 18th of this month I loaded up my Crusin' Casa with food and the cooler chest with two gallons of frozen water in it. I drove to Spokane then out to Coffeepot for 3 days, back home then over to Coville for groceries still with ice in the chest then went back to Spokane for a day and eventually home again. Today was the 13th day and I still had ice in the bottles. Of course it ain't summer either but I was pretty impressed that it could last that long.

So I decided I could do even better and with a roll of Reflectix hanging around I set out to build an insulated cover for the cooler. I have built Reflectix inserts for all of the windows in my travel trailer and they make a huge difference in both heat and cold. For the cooler I built a lid that attaches to the cooler's lid and opens and closes along with it. I am screwing it to the lid with 4 screws but it could also be installed with double sided carpet tape.

I simply cut a piece a little larger than the lid and the exact same shape and stapled a 3'' skirt of the same material all around. It fits well and will keep the cold in and the heat out. Once it was stapled together I put it on the cooler and taped over all of the seams with 3M metallic tape. That made for a nice lid that things won't roll off of like they did before. The tape is really aggressive and should hold things together nicely. Next I will cover the entire cooler with Reflectix-bottom included. I'm fairly certain that the life of the ice will be extended by at least another full day. Not a bad deal for $32 and a roll of Reflectix!

 

[Mark Walker]

Used the Igloo Sportsman 55 for the last few years. In an equal conditions, side by side comparison with Donna's brother's Yeti, the Igloo with reflective cover held ice longer than the Yeti.
Under $200 from Sam's Club.
Cover; $16.........http://www.popupgizmos.com/cooler cover page.htm

 

[IveofIone]

That doesn't surprise me Mark, I have looked at numerous head to head videos on Youtube that feature all of the popular high end coolers. Surprisingly the Yeti's always seem to finish about mid pack. The perception is better than the reality but the price of perception is pretty damned high.

Lifetime has a new 55 qt model that is being sold by Walmart for $97. This looks as good or better than most of the Yeti me-too clones but at a fraction of the price. The reviews for this thing are off the charts positive and after looking it over closely and using the latches I was quite impressed. I believe it is also USA made but am not 100% certain. At any rate, it has to be the best $100 cooler available right now and if the reviews are valid it is better than most of the $300 coolers. Given that all of these new coolers contain less than a hundred dollars worth of materials and the rest of the cost is just hype finding something that is fairly priced is almost a duty.

The cover you gave us the link to is certainly a great idea and worth more than it cost with ice at around $2+ a bag. My design is going to be a little more complex but the cover will not have to be removed to access the cooler. Since Reflectix is not only reflective but incorporates a dead air space as well having it surround the entire unit including the bottom should make for even better ice retention.

Years ago when we were spending a week at Kelly Creek every year we would ice up at Orofino or Pierce on the way to Kelly Forks. We had the conventional steel cooler chest back then which weren't all that great. As soon as we made camp we put those chests in the shade and covered them with old sleeping bags that we soaked in the river. We kept the bags wet the entire time and still had ice left at the end although damned little. So keeping any kind of light or heat off of the outside of the coolers makes a huge difference.

 

[Old406Kid]

That doesn't surprise me Mark, I have looked at numerous head to head videos on Youtube that feature all of the popular high end coolers. Surprisingly the Yeti's always seem to finish about mid pack. The perception is better than the reality but the price of perception is pretty damned high.

Lifetime has a new 55 qt model that is being sold by Walmart for $97. This looks as good or better than most of the Yeti me-too clones but at a fraction of the price. The reviews for this thing are off the charts positive and after looking it over closely and using the latches I was quite impressed. I believe it is also USA made but am not 100% certain. At any rate, it has to be the best $100 cooler available right now and if the reviews are valid it is better than most of the $300 coolers. Given that all of these new coolers contain less than a hundred dollars worth of materials and the rest of the cost is just hype finding something that is fairly priced is almost a duty.

It's made in Clearfield, UT and is certified Grizzly Bear Resistant.

There's also some other related videos on youtube.

 

[Steelheader69]

That's always been a major flaw all these years. People just toss ice in a cooler and get angry because it doesn't hold ice. We always prepped the coolers, kept them out of sun, and out of hot inside areas.

I bought this about a year ago. It's the Ozark Trails 25 qt. Thankfully I read reviews and did my own quality control at the store. A lot of their coolers don't fit snug. I paid $100 just as a boat cooler. Pre chilled and then filled with ice lasted 5 days in 85 degree heat in my drift boat. A lot cheaper than the high end models.

I was given a Yeti 65 because of my volunteer work. Pre chilled and it performs well. It holds up for days without changing ice. I think biggest problem most people encounter is they try to cram everything into one big cooler. I try to stage smaller coolers by days. Then never open certain ones until the days I need them. Like someone mentioned, the opening and closing really kills life of the chill. I mostly use my Yeti 65 as a personal cooler or just one that holds dairy in bigger camps.

 

[Mark Walker]

That doesn't surprise me Mark, I have looked at numerous head to head videos on Youtube that feature all of the popular high end coolers. Surprisingly the Yeti's always seem to finish about mid pack. The perception is better than the reality but the price of perception is pretty damned high.

Lifetime has a new 55 qt model that is being sold by Walmart for $97. This looks as good or better than most of the Yeti me-too clones but at a fraction of the price. The reviews for this thing are off the charts positive and after looking it over closely and using the latches I was quite impressed. I believe it is also USA made but am not 100% certain. At any rate, it has to be the best $100 cooler available right now and if the reviews are valid it is better than most of the $300 coolers. Given that all of these new coolers contain less than a hundred dollars worth of materials and the rest of the cost is just hype finding something that is fairly priced is almost a duty.

The cover you gave us the link to is certainly a great idea and worth more than it cost with ice at around $2+ a bag. My design is going to be a little more complex but the cover will not have to be removed to access the cooler. Since Reflectix is not only reflective but incorporates a dead air space as well having it surround the entire unit including the bottom should make for even better ice retention.

Years ago when we were spending a week at Kelly Creek every year we would ice up at Orofino or Pierce on the way to Kelly Forks. We had the conventional steel cooler chest back then which weren't all that great. As soon as we made camp we put those chests in the shade and covered them with old sleeping bags that we soaked in the river. We kept the bags wet the entire time and still had ice left at the end although damned little. So keeping any kind of light or heat off of the outside of the coolers makes a huge difference.

I'll be picking one of these up for a second.
Thanks, Ive!

 

[Steelheader69]

Seeing price of Lifetime, I wish I'd have waited LOL.

 

[Freestone]

@IveofIone have you seen any tests comparing the Lifetime to cheaper 5 day coolers like the Coleman Extreme? The thing I hate about all these fancy new expensive coolers is the weight. They are so heavy empty that, with a bad back, I can't imagine picking them up full. My 52 qt Coleman Extreme weighs ~8 pounds empty vs. ~24 pounds for the Lifetime. Ones with wheels are cute but wheels don't help me lift it into the car. I am in the market for an additional cooler this year and while that Lifetime seems like a great deal, I wonder if the performance is worth the weight.

 

[IveofIone]

Sue, I'm not sure the weight penalty is worth the extra time the heavy coolers give you. For strong young folks with no issues another 10 # probably doesn't make a hell of a lot of difference but for a guy in his 80th year it certainly does. I was in town for X-rays on Wed and a torn rotator cuff is the likely culprit. I go back for an MRI next week but the bottom line is it hurts like hell to lift anything right now. So as cool as the Lifetime is at such a favorable price I'll have to stick with my Coleman Extreme and just make do.

In your case I would not recommend the Lifetime or any other heavy cooler when the Extreme does such a good job at a fraction of the cost. Just plug the holes in the lid with some type of closed cell foam, buy one of those covers that Mark suggested or buy a roll of Reflectix and some tape and make your own. You will probably end up with something that is 85-90% as good as the heavy ones for less than 10% of the cost. And it will be so much easier to move around and lift.

The Coleman is hard to open because it uses a friction closer system. You need to wax the contact areas and/or use some form of lubricant on them. I am inventing a system for mine where I can simply twist something that will wedge the halves open. It won't be bear proof but it will be sore shoulder proof.

These modern cheap coolers like the Extreme are vastly superior to the old metal sided ones we used for years. They are much lighter and keep their cool longer plus the price has dropped so that there is little excuse to keep using the old metal ones. I store paint brushes, rollers and drop cloths in mine...

 

[Jim Wallace]

Thanks for the tips! I'm glad that Ive pointed out the cupholders in the Coleman Extreme lids as being insulation leaks. I'm going to plug mine for sure.
I may not apply Reflectix, though, since the white lid is very reflective. The dark blue sides aren't heat reflective, though, and I believe that Coleman should make the entire outside of their coolers white. I still might end up covering the lid and sides with reflectix,, or getting one of those ready made covers. So far, I've had ice last in it for 5 days, but that was in moderate temps, with cool nights.
I think that keeping the cooler in the shade and avoiding baking it inside your rig on a hot day helps. I like the idea of covering the cooler with a water soaked sleeping bag for the evaporation chilling. I throw wet towels over any fish I retain in my kayak, since I don't carry a large cooler in it.

 

[IveofIone]

An update for my 52 Qt Coleman Extreme. I took it in my shop today and did some brainstorming on how to open the damned thing without using two hands or getting a hernia. I wanted it to open easily with no effort and least of all any strain. In about an hour I had developed 4 solutions to the problem with each one being better than the previous one. The 4th one was a real winner. I built a cantilever arm with a small cam block on it that would lift the lid when the arm was depressed. The arm pivots on a block attached to the cooler body and the whole thing with screws weighs just under 4 ounces. Press the arm down 2'' and it lifts the lid 1/4'' and it pops right open. It can literally be done with just one finger and hardly any pressure at all. Certainly not bearproof but the lid went from being one of the hardest to open to being easier to open than any of the high end coolers.

Another good use for Baltic birch plywood-the woodworker's answer to 6061-T6.