I'll add my two cents and it is pretty simple. IF you store a Ice chest in your garage for over a couple of weeks buy the cheap ones.
IF you never take the cooler out of the truck or whatever, then they are worth the money. I use one damn near every day except in the freezing cold winter and if you have it cooled down and put cold stuff in it, Ice will last a long time (even with semi frequent opening) and I'm not sure that unless you run over it you can tear one up.
I think it falls in the category of a tool. If you need it and use it, wonderful purchase, worth the money.
If it stays on the shelf in the garage most days of the year, a much cheaper cooler will work just fine for you.

If you really want to be "free" of ice and keep things cold, look into the ARB Fridge Freezer. Of course you need 12VDC power..

http://www.arb.com.au/products/fridges-camping-accessories/arb-fridge-freezers/

Available on Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/ARB-10800472-Fridge-Freezer-Quart/dp/B002Q1INDM

Have a few friends that use these on our offroad/Jeep trips. They work great. Keeps stuff cold and "dry".

If you're gonna spend $400++ on a "cooler", why not spend $800+ on an "offroad" refrigerator? ;-)

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They are great coolers but they aren't super awesome. If you don't drain the water out every day you won't get anywhere close to 7 days of ice. If you forget to drain it you might get two.

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I disagree with that (although my cooler is a pelican). I loaded it up on Thursday with beer and ice and went to the deer lease Friday afternoon. In and out of it all weekend and haven't drained a drop. Still has a bunch of ice in it this afternoon.

So the 80 or so other Yeti threads weren't enough to answer this question for you?

(I have a Yeti 45 and a Pelican 65)

Sounds like most of you need to drink your beer faster if you have to keep it cold for days on end....

Maybe mine was broken then. Of course having it in the bed of the truck for 7 days of 100+ you can't expect it to last. But if I drained the water in the evening and the ice lasted much longer. If I didn't drain it was all gone by the end of day two. Did that experiment twice a week, every week for two years.

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4.) do you live in an area with a stable bear population?

• If yes, and you have the money, fill that sucker full of honey and laugh at all the bear fail

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Awesome

I have a variety of coolers. My first yeti was a 45 that i primarily used it as a polling platform on my boat. As everyone said these things are freakin tough and comes with a price tag. I also have a yeti roadie- Plain and simple do not buy it not worth it your better off buying something cheaper. I have a pelican 95 as well. The pelican's in my opinion are awesome and built just as tough if not as tough as the yetis. I really like the pelicans and favor them more but i think a lot has to do with the marketing behind yeti which makes them supreme.

Good all around beer cooler I have a polar soft shell. These are really nice for quick weekend trips and retain ice for about 2 days no problem.

All in all if yeti is what you want just get one but would recommend getting the 65qt at the minimum. especially if you hunt or fish.

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Maybe mine was broken then. Of course having it in the bed of the truck for 7 days of 100+ you can't expect it to last. But if I drained the water in the evening and the ice lasted much longer. If I didn't drain it was all gone by the end of day two. Did that experiment twice a week, every week for two years.

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Mine must be way smarter than yours...... I pack in a weeks worth of food and drink for elk hunting trip. Gotta keep everything nice and cold for the drive up and then have it keep everything from freezing solid when temps dip down to 12 degrees.