Question on Coolers

[Guest TankerHC]

So I am up at Sportsmans Warehouse this morning and I see a 38 quart Cooler and the price is $369. I see these other coolers that are IIrC 150 qt for over 500 dollars. I will say I know little about coolers. But when I went back and researched expensive coolers I find this as the reason to pay $500 for a 150 qt cooler.

 

"This Hunting Cooler from XXXXXX was designed to be a fully ready outdoor cooler. This Hunting Ice Box is perfect for long excursions, where you need a cooler that will carry all you need and bring back all you get."

 

I can do that with my $70 Coleman 168 qt cooler. 

 

Then...

 

 

 " XXXXXX Coolers were designed to be a truly rugged piece of equipment for extreme hunting enthusiasts who want to get away for the weekend or longer. The XXXXX 150qt Cooler offers the perfect balance of durability and performance that is expected in an affordable, premium cooler. XXXXXXX Coolers use a unique latching system that has been Certified Bear Resistant by the IGBC testing protocols when combined with two shackle padlocks. You will see why XXXXXX Coolers are the "Outdoor Everything Cooler" and a must for any serious camper. A molded-in stainless steel pin allows a smooth open and close, and resists rusting or breakage."

 

Again, I can do all that with a Coleman. I just threw away a coleman that I had for 15 years, which would have stll been usable. That coleman has been camping in the Appalachians, the Rockies, and on the Winchester Battlefield where you have to walk for miles through the woods. Its been beaten, thrown off the backs of trucks, kicked around and I guarantee that lid has been opened and closed 10,000 times, its been used for a chair, and a stool for me to paint, and still was not in unusable shape.

 

why is it I get the feeling this is the "you should buy a Kirby" of the great outdoors? I showed the Kirby salesman, my $100 Panasonic did everything his did (That I needed to do).

 

What makes a Cooler that holds half the capacity of a $60 Cooler worth $500? When they talk camping, they have to mean "camping" because no mountaneer is carrying that thing up the side of Barr Camp Trail on Pikes Peak or up the Twin Sisters. 

 

Not saying no one should buy one or anything like that. Just curious as to why anyone would spend 500 bucks on when a 60 dollar cooler can match their claims?

Edited October 6, 2013 by TankerHC

[Dolomite_supafly]

There is only on thing those high priced coolers can do that the Coleman can't, keeping up with the Johnson's. There are a lot of products that are high priced just so someone can brag about how much they spent.

[itchytriggerfinger]

If it weren't for winning a 50qt Yeti cooler I wouldn't have one.  However, I can honestly say the Yeti cooler hands down is more sturdy and keeps ice longer than any Igloo or Coleman I've ever had.  I use it in my micro skiff not only for drinks but also as my poling platform where I stand on it for hours at a time.  There is no way I could do that with one of my blue Igloo cubes.  We also do three and four day camping trips and it's the only cooler that still has ice at the end of the trip.  If you take cross section of a Coleman cooler and a Yeti cooler they are pretty much the same.  Foam sandwiched between plastic.  It's just that the Yeti, Orca, and others use a much thicker plastic and 3-4 times the width of foam.  It's simply more insulation.

 

Would I go out and buy one today?  No.  But then I don't have to because I have one :pleased:

[frankmako]

the high dollar coolers have just a little more plastic and foam than the coolers that most buy.  many mango seasons ago when i lived in miami i had the best that money could buy for my boat.  but i also had a coleman cooler on the boat that did the same as the big dollar ones.  would i do it all over again?  no, the coleman type fits my needs and i like the price. 

[2.ooohhh]

I have a small yeti and a large coleman. For longer canoe trips I often pack the yeti with things I want towards the end of the trip freezing what I can and occasionally adding dry ice to keep the temp even lower. I'm in and out of the large coleman getting drinks/bait/food for the first few days and slowly it's ice all melts away and it gets lighter and lighter. By the time it's ice is gone so are the drinks and food that was in it and now it's just a storage box. The little yeti often hasn't been opened up until this point so it has an unfair advantage but there it is 6 or 7 days into the trip and i can pull out unspoiled milk and fresh steaks.

 

With dry ice it's also good for ice cream on weekend trips, nothing wigs out boaters on the river quite the same way as floating by quietly in a canoe eating an ice cream cone miles from the nearest put in or dock.

 

 

I looked at just getting one larger yeti but no way I'm lugging a 50 lbs when empty cooler around for any distance after the ice melts.

Edited October 7, 2013 by 2.ooohhh

[JWC]

A buddy of mine paid more for his cooler than I did for my four wheeler. Really. Lol. Edited October 7, 2013 by JWC

[Chris]

I wouldn't pay that much for a cooler but the Yeti's are muuuuch better at keeping things colder for longer. I've seen Yeti's side by side w/ Coleman coolers on long trips and after a day or so all the ice in the Coleman had melted... The Yeti still had ice after five days. Worth the money? Not to me, but if you really want ice in your drink on a long excursion, they are hard to beat.

[JWC]

They're pretty cool. Edited October 8, 2013 by JWC

[rugerla1]

I know they are GREAT coolers, but if I ever spent that kind of money on one (if I ever had the money to spend on one) I'd have a GPS tracker on that S.O.B. in case it came up missing. I'll just stick with my Coleman's, but the Yeti's are nice to dream about. Come to think of it, food never lasts long enough around me to need to keep it that long :lol:

[Dustbuster]

". XXXXXXX Coolers use a unique latching system that has been Certified Bear Resistant by the IGBC testing protocols when combined with two shackle padlocks. You will see why XXXXXX Coolers are the "Outdoor Everything Cooler" and a must for any serious camper. "

 

Bear resistant, not bear proof. meh, BS rating.they just don't understand bears are Master lock pickers and a force to be dealt with when it comes to entry and breaching.after all bears and raccoons are sappers at heart. :pleased: on w the tasty chewy coleman 168 qt 2 body cooler!

[Guest TankerHC]

I happened to be back in the area yesterday and stopped back in. Decided to take a look at the other coolers and compare. They have an igloo sportman 152 qt cooler. It also has stainless steel hinges. Maybe a quarter to a half inch thinner but still thick walled. Has wheels and a separate opening to reach in without opening the lid. Other than the stainless steel hinges the only other claim to fame I saw was that it will keep ice for 5 days. $129. To me at least that might seem reasonable.

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[Fourtyfive]

I have a stainless Coleman , Icey Tek's and Yeti's. The IT and Yeti both are about the same construction wise and both do much better than the Coleman.

[Guest Keal G Seo]

500 bucks? Do just as well getting a small deepfreeze and a DC to AC converter for the back of the truck and spend less if you buy used.

[Fourtyfive]

My IT was $150 8 years ago , I got my Yeti for free.

[wareagle]

I prefer Engel. They are more bear resistant and keep ice longer than Yeti. ;)

Seriously, I currently have an Engel, and have used yeti for years. The quality is much better than Coleman, rubbermaid and Igloo.

To me, it is like comparing an AK to an AR. The AR is so much better.

[nightrunner]

To me, it is like comparing an AK to an AR. The AR is so much better.

Not really a fair comparison as base model and mid grade rifles of either side cost about the same now

[10-Ring]

If I were using a cooler day in and day out I think the Yeti would be a good investment.  If I were using a cooler every single weekend I think that the Coleman would be fine.