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Best inexpensive cooler or best Yeti knockoff?

I have one from TSC, it was on sale so I bought it, very happy with it. I know the Coleman 5 day isn't rotomolded but damn they work well.
 
Another vote for Ozark! I have Ozarks, best friend has Pelican, Boss has Yeti. Not a bit of difference in any of them.
 
I have a yeti an ozark trail and recently got a cold bastard. The ozark is my least favorite. Mostly because of the latches. I had one break as soon as I got it. It seems there were issues with the first run of these when they came out. Got replacement parts and fixed it but the design is overly complicated with too many breakable parts. That said the cooler has worked well and is one of the better deals.

Take a look at the cold bastard coolers. The company was started by a so cal desert race group. I got the 25 quart for a trail cooler. I have only used it twice but so far so good.
 
Ozark here. Take a flashlight and check for warped lids before you buy. I had to try 3 before I found one that sealed.
 
I like the tie down system on the RTICs. I had an ozark trail that worked well, but if I remember right the tie down was through the lid which meant unstrapping to open. The RTIC goes through the base so the lid will open. I don't like that I can't pul the pins on the rtic to replace the latches that I can tell. My wife's pup chewed off the handles of the latch and now it's a bit tougher to operate.
 
I remember the Ozark thread.

I hunted one down for what seemed like months a few years ago. It's still the best cooler I own, but it NOTHING like my buddy's yeti. AND I precool everything in a big walk in cooler. Maybe my seal isnt good, but it's latched shut.

My vote: Not ozark.
 
Pelican 30 and 140? here, work great. Got them at cost of materials:flipoff2:
 
I swear my small Ozark Trail doesn't keep ice for shit when we're at the lake. It stays in the house, we put cold stuff in it before we add ice and I have to drain all the water out of it 4 or 5hrs later when we get home. Now, everything stays cold and maybe its because my stepdaughter constantly opens the lid, but Im just not impressed

My neighbor has a new RTIC and it seems to keep ice for a few days while he's at the beach, lake, etc.
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smracing said:
Ozark here. Take a flashlight and check for warped lids before you buy. I had to try 3 before I found one that sealed.
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Just checked mine in the closet and sure as shit I can see light. Well damn now I know why it doesnt keep ice at all.

Now how do I fix it?
 
HillbillyDeluxe said:
I swear my small Ozark Trail doesn't keep ice for shit when we're at the lake. It stays in the house, we put cold stuff in it before we add ice and I have to drain all the water out of it 4 or 5hrs later when we get home. Now, everything stays cold and maybe its because my stepdaughter constantly opens the lid, but Im just not impressed

My neighbor has a new RTIC and it seems to keep ice for a few days while he's at the beach, lake, etc.
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Yea I noticed the same thing. I went camping Wednesday to Saturday and brought an ozark, a pelican, and a yeti, all full of cold beer or pop then filled to the brim with ice and the only cooler with ice by the time I got back on Saturday was the yeti.. and it was even the go to cooler to rob ice from when everyone was making drinks.
 
get the fuck outa here with rtic. i just looked them up, cheap my ass.

fucking rich bastards.
 
Camp once a month with my brothers and family, we have a little bit of everything, yeti, rtic, pelican ozark and coleman. Best cooler I've ever had was coleman from walmart that I bought like 20 years ago. Literally wore the bottom off of it sliding it around and threw it out when it would leak the water out. It would hold ice for 7+ days. As in I could fill it with beer and ice on friday, drink all the beer out of it over the weekend and still have ice in it next friday when it was time to reload it. I bought the new version of it and it only holds ice for 4 days about the same as our yeti, rtic, pelican, and ozark ones do.

Find a latch style you like and a price you like and go with that. The Ozark and RTIC ones are a better exterior shape (square) than my akward pelican is. But the pelican is perfect for a rig that you would make a fixed cooler mount as it can be contained without strapping over the lid.

I'm watching yard sales for old colemans from walmart. Gray bottom bucket with a white lid. I'd pay $75 bucks for one if anyone has one that holds water.
 
Lil said:
I'm getting that for a guy we all CIMMINS



THANK YOU:laughing:
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HlAUue1.jpg
 
Ended up picking up a Lifetime 55qt from WallyWorld for $100. One of my friends has this one and a Yeti and he recommended one as it holds ice longer than his Yeti. Plus the latch and drain are superior to the yeti.

Loaded ​​​​it up with lots of beer and two bags of ice and one block for a mild wheeling and camping trip Sat. Opened it many beers of times Sat and Sunday and once a day or so since then. It's been in my garage since Monday evening after sitting in the back of the truck under the canopy all day Sunday and Monday. Still has some ice cubes and the block is going strong. Pretty happy with it for $100!

https://www.lifetime.com/coolers
 
just ordered a Lifetime from walmart... well see once i receive it. fuck standing in line just to get in.
 
SLOWPOKE693 said:
Ozark trail Yeti knockoffs are awesome and I highly recommend one. I keep one full of ice & drinks in the back seat of my service truck all summer in Texas and one small bag of ice will last me the day. In fact it usually has some ice left over from the day before that hasent melted when i toss in the new bag in the morning.

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I've got the same one. It stays in the back of the truck in the sun all day. 7lb ice bag still has some left the next morning. For $21 you really cant beat these. I bought all the ones walmart had in stock the next day after buying the first one :laughing:
 
RusM said:
Ended up picking up a Lifetime 55qt from WallyWorld for $100. One of my friends has this one and a Yeti and he recommended one as it holds ice longer than his Yeti. Plus the latch and drain are superior to the yeti.

Loaded ​​​​it up with lots of beer and two bags of ice and one block for a mild wheeling and camping trip Sat. Opened it many beers of times Sat and Sunday and once a day or so since then. It's been in my garage since Monday evening after sitting in the back of the truck under the canopy all day Sunday and Monday. Still has some ice cubes and the block is going strong. Pretty happy with it for $100!

https://www.lifetime.com/coolers
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I got one of those recently and I love it so far, especially for the price! My experience has mirrored yours. Did you pre-chill it for this trip? One thing I was told is to pre-chill it with some freezer packs or something for 12-24 hours prior to use, and it gets even better results.
 
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Ghetto Fab. said:
Most all the rotomolded coolers perform the same. Major differences are things like hinges, latches, drains, or price. So get whatever fits your budget. There is simply no way a yeti will keep usable ice one more day over an rtic or ozark trail cooler.

Better yet, save your money and just buy a portable fridge. It's a game changer. My wife was pissed I bought one(a cheap one at that), but she loves it now! No more soggy food you throw away at the end of a trip, no more digging through ice, and we can use it as another fridge/freezer at home if we need.

Kevin
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Truth
 
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grapehead said:
I got one of those recently and I love it so far, especially for the price! My experience has mirrored yours. Did you pre-chill it for this trip? One thing I was told is to pre-chill it with some freezer packs or something for 12-24 hours prior to use, and it gets even better results.
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Nope, everything was straight of the fridge though. I've situation as of this morning.

IMG_20200806_100139.jpg
 
TatonkaII said:
Anyone got tips on how to reseal?
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I started to look into it, but I saw a shiny object or something caught my attention and I completely forgot.

but there's a number on a sticker on my cooler for warranty, so I'm going to call and see what I can figure out
 
Just bought and used the Rtic 45 last week. Put ice in it Saturday morning and it held ice till great till Friday. I did use some smaller coolers to keep a 6 pack in so I wasn't opening it all the time. Take 6 out and put 6 in. Of course beer wasn't the only thing kept in it :flipoff2:

I'm very pleased with the investment.
 
I love my canyon cooler, probably going to buy another one. If you want something cheap, you could look at Pure Outdoors.
 
I've finally accepted that it's time to buy one of these rotomolded gucci coolers after camping this weekend. My beer cooler which is old enough to be made in the USA didn't even keep ice on Friday from noon to 10pm when I set up camp. My Igloo which I keep food in had all melted by around noon on Saturday
 
I bought my first Rtic without telling my wife. I got a huge lecture on how stupid it was to spend that much, etc. A couple of weeks later, we went from Phoenix to San Diego. She was used to having to buy ice in Yuma. She froze everything, and threw it in the Rtic. Stopped in Yuma, no ice needed. Got to San Diego, and were there for three days, before she gave up and started pulling stuff out to thaw.
Fast Forward to last year, I needed a cooler for my jeep. She told me I better get an Rtic or Yeti, because they are the only coolers that are worth anything.
 
Az Scooter said:
I bought my first Rtic without telling my wife. I got a huge lecture on how stupid it was to spend that much, etc. A couple of weeks later, we went from Phoenix to San Diego. She was used to having to buy ice in Yuma. She froze everything, and threw it in the Rtic. Stopped in Yuma, no ice needed. Got to San Diego, and were there for three days, before she gave up and started pulling stuff out to thaw.
Fast Forward to last year, I needed a cooler for my jeep. She told me I better get an Rtic or Yeti, because they are the only coolers that are worth anything.
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I had a similar conversation with a friend who told me not having to buy a $3 bag of ice every day really opens up your eyes to the long term savings that come with a nicer cooler. When you're camping in remote places it's not an option anyways
 
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