Need help deciding what new cooler to get. I need it for multipurpose uses (meat resting, foods, lots of beer, etc).
Something that can hold up well on an 8 hour drive to my hunting cabin and a long weekend of drinking at the pool.

Yeti 65QT - $350
Magellan 75QT - $250
Rtic 65QT - $250
Bison 50QT (Aggie Owned) - $330

I am on the Bison Prostaff. They are actually made in America. If that's important to you, buy Bison

Be careful with resting meat. I have seen a yeti and rtic warp inside with hot crawfish and brisket. I use a towel in the bottom of my rtic 65 for brisket and have no issue.

Lifetime 65qt $150
Ozark trail 73qt $184
There's usually someone on craigslist selling the Chinese import rotomolded coolers cheap
Buy a new pair of costas with the money you saved and it comes with a cool sticker for your new cooler

Also I'd recommend a cheap/igloo marine 48qt for brisket purposes. Too much empty space in a 65qt for brisket/ribs.

Also don't forget the 120qt for game/beverages for big crowds. Then you got your beer purse for short trips/byo situations. And if you fish of course you'll want a cheaper 65ish you don't mind getting stanky for the day's catch. Really I'm just having a hard time with this "one cooler for everything" concept mentioned in the op

There are some really good youtube demos and trials of different brands of coolers. They set them out in the sun with ice and measure the internal temp and how long they hold ice, they look at the weight of the cooler, how easy/hard to transport etc.

Probably worth your time to watch a few of those if you are trying to get a cooler that will need to last that long with perishables inside.

I got my cooler mortgage through USAA, they have pretty good rates on that sort of thing.

Dallasag517 said:

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There are some really good youtube demos and trials of different brands of coolers. They set them out in the sun with ice and measure the internal temp and how long they hold ice, they look at the weight of the cooler, how easy/hard to transport etc.

Probably worth your time to watch a few of those if you are trying to get a cooler that will need to last that long with perishables inside.

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Save an assload of money and get a Coleman Extreme.

Thats a good one. But I've seen some vids where they actually put them outside filled with ice and time lapse the vid and show how the ice holds up after several hours etc.

Cooler pro staff.

JFC people

This one is for a budget buy comparison

Go to Rtic store in Houston and buy whatever size you need in the back of the store. Scratch and dent. No issue with function and quite a bit cheaper.

Where is that shop?

ldg397 said:

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Go to Rtic store in Houston and buy whatever size you need in the back of the store. Scratch and dent. No issue with function and quite a bit cheaper.

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I live in Cypress and have done this many times. Much better pricing and selection before they moved into the fancy new "showroom". The old office space - they would roll in a truck on Tuesdays with all the scratch and dent stuff.

I picked up several 45 qt "logo overruns/imperfections" that were new - just issues with the logos.
Paid $70 to $80 each. (great gifts at that price...) Also got a "scratch and dent" 65 qt for $110 that looked brand new. Been using all of them for a few years - bouncing around in the back of my truck....

Stopped by a few times recently - haven't seen any scratch and dent stuff like they previously had....

Dallasag517 said:

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Where is that shop?

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Located at 20510 Hempstead Rd, Houston, TX 77065

290 and Huffmeister - between "old Hempstead highway" and 290 in the industrial park
(281) 990-6767

Igloo Sportsman

I guess it varies but the scratch and dent stuff is way in the back. There is a big wall of stuff and you have to go around that and there just all stacked crazy back there. Good prices and look just like you had them for about 6 months.

The oven in your house is very well insulated and works great for resting BBQ assuming you are not already using it for something else. If you want a cooler for resting BBQ i would consider getting a cheap one for the meat otherwise your beer is going to smell and taste of brisket.

rootube said:

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The oven in your house is very well insulated and works great for resting BBQ assuming you are not already using it for something else. If you want a cooler for resting BBQ i would consider getting a cheap one for the meat otherwise your beer is going to smell and taste of brisket.

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My beer is gonna smell and taste lIke brisket....now tell me the downside

Sota coolers! Aggie owned and one a veteran. 100% American made. I love mine. Worth the premium in my opinion.

https://www.sotacoolers.com/

1. Never buy a cooler. Come Christmas your clients will give you so many you are giving them away.

2. Yeti still works the best for me

3. ****ty Coleman $29 for resting meat.

I own a ton of the fancy coolers because we get them as giveaways for clients. They are great for throwing on the back of the pickup with ice and water for work on Monday, and still having cold drinks on Friday.

I probably wouldn't use one to rest meat and they make terrible poolside beer coolers. Also they are heavy as hell and miserable to move since they don't slide. The lids are tough to open if you are going in and out of them. I would get some good Igloos for those uses.

Buy the Igloo. That $300 you just saved can buy you an ice maker.

JeremiahJohnson said:

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I am on the Bison Prostaff. They are actually made in America. If that's important to you, buy Bison

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Aggie owned too, from what I understand.

How many people are available to help carry this cooler?

Have you considered a built-in cooler? It costed 4,000 dollars, but now my F-150 has a 400 quart R-70 cooler welded up behind the cab.*






None of that is true

Money no object?....Here's one that doesn't need any ice...

ARB Fridge Freezer

Buddy has one - uses is on weekend camping trips. works like a champ. Runs on either 12V DC or 120V AC.

Rovr

I see the market for $400 small ice chests is still strong like bull.

I love my Bison.

Igloo 120 quart

59.99 at Sams.

I really like my Legend 75qt for $289. You can probably find a coupon code to bring them down even more. I have a Yeti 75 and RTIC65 as well and like the Legend best of them all

I don't know what they are like, yet, but I ordered one from liviri.com, to try as a shipping cooler. (Vacuum insulated coolers, meant for commercial use, with +5 and +32 insertable cold packs.)

As I know 0F cold packs are a thing, I do have a request in, to ask why they don't have a 0F pack, available. If there isn't a reason, we will try swapping out the fluid.

We use a few of the better grade igloo "coffin" coolers - they bigger difference, is pre-chilling the cooler in the freezer - and the rotomolded, whether Polar, Engel or Yeti do take that better.

A frozen cooler, loaded with ice cream in the freezer, and out of the wind, will hold ice cream for 3 hours or so.