what brand of cooler is best to keep your drinks cold

[Tabasco]

I'm an avid hunter/camper and go off grid for several days, I use a Pelican ProGear Elite Wheeled Cooler. It is heavy empty so you can imagine when full...the wheels sure do help. I do agree what others say that if you're in it quite often the ice will melt faster than stated and that goes for all the high dollar coolers. Tip: fill other used plastic containers with water (i.e. Milk jug or water bottles) and freeze several to put in the chest, this will help keep ice much much longer. After 7 days these frozen containers were still at least half frozen. Keeps the melted water in the chest super cold as well which in turn keeps your drinks cold!

[snakebitten]

Considering how much I pay in fuel to crisscross this amazing country, the cost of ice is invisible to me.

Having said that, a Yeti may or may not be "worth" the premium. But it's hard to be disappointed with its performance.

I'm an Iced tea drinker. The Yeti is for the ice part of my beverage.

And the Yeti cup keeps the ice all day. The combo guarantees me ICEd tea for 3 days for about $3 bucks in ice.

I can't complain

[Jakieboy]

Slow-Moon you hit the nail on the head!! The price of these high-end coolers is out of sight compared to the performance they offer in the real world. Most of the "Common-Place" commercial coolers will work fine for 3-4 days, even in hot climates,, with a proper charge of ice or similar "freezer packs". That's if you camp with no power hookups. If you have power, even a 15-amp, 120 VAC hookup, consider a Coleman or Koolatron plug-in, portable fridge. Just make sure you keep it out of site o bears: not in your tent, and not in view of anyone who can see inside your TV or RV.

[Erichkathy]

Originally Posted by 48fan

I have been researching a new cooler for our drinks because our fridge is on the small side I have a Rubbermaid 3 day cooler was wondering if any one had a cooler that really last as long or close to what manufactures state I was wanting real world results not the manufactures hype of fill it up with ice and drinks a never open it and you will get 9 days out of your ice that's not real world when we go camping we use our cooler in it several times throughout the day to get something to drink just don't want to buy something thst I will regret later thanks for the help

Buy a pelican cooler we have one it will keep anything cold ours stays at about 33 to 35 degrees for eight day with three bags of ice.

[48fan]

I really love this site thanks for all the help and advice it is greatly appreciated

[Semperfi24]

Never used it as a "cooler", we plug it in (12v in the truck while driving) and using the 110 outside the trailer when we are camped. So for us it is a refrigerator. But we have been using it for 6 years (even before we had the rv tent camping). And its on sale for $79. Just bought a second one. We use it just for drinks


https://www.walmart.com/ip/Coleman-4...ilver/21156022


Now if you don't have power, and legitimately need something to make your ice last the longest, that is a completely different conversation.

[actadh]

Originally Posted by pjnlorrie

The choices in really good coolers continues to expand. For me there is a limit to what I will spend on an insulated box. We just "tested" one of Coleman's line of coolers for the second time, the Xtreme Marine 6 day series. These have thicker walls (more insulation) than typical coolers. The difference in thickness is obvious, however, the walls are not as thick as a Pelican or Yeti. On the plus side, it does not weigh 50 lbs empty or cost a weeks wages. First time we used it for a month (7/2014) from FL to Utah. Carried it in the back of the FJ when traveling (read 80F environment), it spent 4 days on the Green river in a canoe, and the rest of the time in camp with temps often 90+. Bottom line, these things work! We only bought ice 5 times during the trip. This past July we repeated our Green River canoe trip but stayed out for 5 days. We started with 20 lbs of block ice and 5 lbs of cubed. After finishing all of our perishable food on day four we still had ice and put a dozen or so cans of warm soda in to chill. The next afternoon back at camp there was still ice.
Coleman only recently (2014) debuted this line. What you will find in stores is their Xtreme Series 5 coolers. Series 6 can be ordered directly from Coleman.

We always use marine coolers and have the Coleman 5 series mentioned here. Lasts all day with the sun beating down while out on Lake Erie, which is our litmus test. We also carry an small marine Igloo 9 can cooler purchased from Ollie's a few years ago. This is a great bait cooler when in the jon boat. When not fishing, they are our outside coolers for camping.

[Erichkathy]

You are right the pelican cooler is pricey but i was only going to buy one so I paid the price it will keep the stuff at about 33 degrees for about eight days or so. Hope I helped u out. Eric

[B and B]

Originally Posted by Wobbles

I am waiting for RTIC to go on sale again, then purchase a 45qt cooler and keep it hidden in the bed of the truck under the cover.

My plan is to fill that with ice only and continue using my Coleman cooler for drinks. I think it will pay for itself in under two seasons versus my time, gas and ridiculous ice prices.

Edit: I normally have to make two trips to the store for ice when we go camping...

Does anybody see a flaw in that plan?

Drinking too many cold wobbly pops!!!

[Erichkathy]

I use my pelican and have also hid it under my cover just fits, now I leave it at out sight.

[Summit1]

We just bought a Yeti 45 last week to use on what (it is hoped) will be our first "real" camping trip. That is, after we pick up the new V-Lite later today.

Have never owned a "high end" cooler, but the Yeti (like the Rtic) coolers are said to be among the best, and are claimed to be "bear proof". We also have a couple of (small and medium sized) Coleman and a powered Koolatron coolers. One thing that Yeti reminds users is to cool off the cooler in advance with some ice (or similar)... something we (and likely most folks) never take the time to do.

Several of the peepz from the local DU chapter claim the Yeti is one of the best out there, and will "hold the cold" for a week, if you do things right. Our chapter has raffled/auctioned a few of the Roadie coolers at past events and plans to do more of them in the future. People buy tickets and/or bid like crazy on them.

[Larry123]

Just FYI , We was going to buy a cooler for our son in law that is a Trooper so he could take it with him on duty. He wanted a yeti ! Started to research them & found out they have changed their warranty to almost nothing compared to others. We got him an RTIC & he loves it.

[debit]

Here is a picture of three cooler covers that we use to keep the sun off the coolers. The aluminum is heating duct insulation (from Lowes) and the tape is ordinary duck tape. The cover really does work well, when we remote boat camp.
....................
Ram2500 diesel/FR251RKS
and 24 foot fishing vessel

[Jakieboy]

In response to the message from Summit 1 that the Yeti coolers are "bear-proof". Trust me. Nothing is bear proof. The closest thing to bear-proof I have ever seen are the dumpsters in Yellowstone and Grand Teton NP's that are equipped with rather complicated solid-steel latches on their covers. As we used to say in New England, "It takes more than an ounce of brains to figure them out."


Bears know what looks like a cooler, and they have known for decades how to break into vehicles where coolers are visible. Our last trip to Sequoia NP in CA, we saw several vehicles that had been broken into by bears, including a Chevy Suburban that had the entire tailgate ripped off and the interior totally destroyed by bears in search of food. There were 2 or 3 empty coolers lying alongside the Suburban, with lots of paper and plastic wrappers that had contained frozen food at one point in time. All of the vehicles that had been broken into showed signs of bears scratching at door handles, but all had suffered broken windows or tailgates as a result of the bears' determination.


If you must leave your vehicle in an area where you know bears are active, make sure you do what you can to disguise the appearance of food containers like coolers, and keep all windows sealed tight to prevent the smell of food from escaping. Toiletries like toothpaste should also be secured and hidden.

[mogman]

We carry a $35.00 grocery store cooler and a $99.00 ice maker. Never run out of fresh ice and the cooler stays cold.

[W5CI]

I have the RTIC 45 qt and a Large ice maker to refill after a few days of heavy use. Good as a YETI for a lot less

[lazyjj]

Originally Posted by Jakie-Boy

In response to the message from Summit 1 that the Yeti coolers are "bear-proof". Trust me. Nothing is bear proof. The closest thing to bear-proof I have ever seen are the dumpsters in Yellowstone and Grand Teton NP's that are equipped with rather complicated solid-steel latches on their covers. As we used to say in New England, "It takes more than an ounce of brains to figure them out."


Bears know what looks like a cooler, and they have known for decades how to break into vehicles where coolers are visible. Our last trip to Sequoia NP in CA, we saw several vehicles that had been broken into by bears, including a Chevy Suburban that had the entire tailgate ripped off and the interior totally destroyed by bears in search of food. There were 2 or 3 empty coolers lying alongside the Suburban, with lots of paper and plastic wrappers that had contained frozen food at one point in time. All of the vehicles that had been broken into showed signs of bears scratching at door handles, but all had suffered broken windows or tailgates as a result of the bears' determination.


If you must leave your vehicle in an area where you know bears are active, make sure you do what you can to disguise the appearance of food containers like coolers, and keep all windows sealed tight to prevent the smell of food from escaping. Toiletries like toothpaste should also be secured and hidden.

Come on now I saw the television commercial of these things being bear tested. I own 3 of these and surely they are not false advertising LOL!

[Jakieboy]

Originally Posted by lazyjj

Come on now I saw the television commercial of these things being bear tested. I own 3 of these and surely they are not false advertising LOL!

I suspect your reply is somewhat "tongue in cheek". Please stay safe, and do not ever - - - - ever - - - minimize the resourcefulness, the strength, and the determination of a Mama Bear in search of food for her cub.

[rsdata]

any cooler will do as long as you have a $99 ice machine and electric... bought mine about 3 years ago and is one of the first things I plug in at camp... it makes about 6-8 pounds a day ( we don't tend to it at night)... downside it needs re-filled with water and ice taken out about every 90 minutes, but mine chugs away 24-7 for usually a week or 2 at a time

https://www.amazon.com/RCA-Igloo-ICE...ice+cube+maker

[Gumpster808]

Originally Posted by rsdata

any cooler will do as long as you have a $99 ice machine and electric... bought mine about 3 years ago and is one of the first things I plug in at camp... it makes about 6-8 pounds a day ( we don't tend to it at night)... downside it needs re-filled with water and ice taken out about every 90 minutes, but mine chugs away 24-7 for usually a week or 2 at a time

https://www.amazon.com/RCA-Igloo-ICE...ice+cube+maker

Have the same one and works great. Ice is damp though so if you take out and put in freezer it will need banged around to get smaller chunks.

Following this so we can pick up a powered one for outside. Mamma likes her vodka cold but not watered down with ice [emoji16]. Normally keep it in the freezer at home but nice to have some things outside and chilled to minimize in and out of camper.