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I know this has been beat to death (coolers)

5,916 Views | 47 Replies | Last: 1 yr ago by texags08
91AggieLawyer
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...but bottom line, do you pay the premium for a Yeti or Orca (in the 40-45 size) or go with an RTIC? I like the Orca and Made in US stuff, so I'd probably go that over Yeti, but the price of the RTIC is tempting. At the end of the day, while I won't be using it as much as some (probably 1-3x a month) but want it to last and perform when I do use it, I still want the best one I can get for the long haul.

ETA: application will be PRIMARILY inside vehicle for trips, taken out at hotels, and to take to parties. Outdoor use somewhat limited.
Nagler
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I've got a hard side RTIC and a soft side and I like them both.

We go to the beach house and I'll fill up the hardside with beer and ice and try to keep it closed as much as possible just opening to load the soft side. It will hold ice all weekend.

Soft side has the zipper go out but was within the warranty window and they replaced the cooler.
malenurse
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tandy miller
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91AggieLawyer said:

...but bottom line, do you pay the premium for a Yeti or Orca (in the 40-45 size) or go with an RTIC? I like the Orca and Made in US stuff, so I'd probably go that over Yeti, but the price of the RTIC is tempting. At the end of the day, while I won't be using it as much as some (probably 1-3x a month) but want it to last and perform when I do use it, I still want the best one I can get for the long haul.


I have a Yukon 45 qt from bucees. Use it daily. Keeps ice 3 days in the bed of my truck in direct sun. Can't speak to longevity but it seems well made. Also I can damn near get 2 for the price of the same size yeti.

Yeti seems to be more about status symbol that actual performance
FJB
aftershock
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91AggieLawyer said:

...but bottom line, do you pay the premium for a Yeti or Orca (in the 40-45 size) or go with an RTIC? I like the Orca and Made in US stuff, so I'd probably go that over Yeti, but the price of the RTIC is tempting. At the end of the day, while I won't be using it as much as some (probably 1-3x a month) but want it to last and perform when I do use it, I still want the best one I can get for the long haul.


I don't know that any of those three products (or most of the other brands out there), are really all that different from each other. I'm not all that tough on a cooler, and I have used several brands all seemed to do what I needed. I have an RTIC 65 and it works well. I will say, that for things like kids ballgames and beach trips, the weight of that cooler and it not having wheels does result in me grabbing my Igloo (that is light and does have wheels) more often than the RTIC. My dad has a Yukon and it has wheels, and I kinda wish I would have gone that route.
Hoyt Ag
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I have some Engel coolers from when I bought my boat that have been amazing coolers. The one I keep in my truck is a Viking and it is amazing.
RockwallAg
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I've had all three brands (Yeti, Orca, and RTIC). All performed about the same holding ice. The benefit of the Yeti in some cases can be the available accessories (oem and aftermarket).

The Yukon brand from Buc-ees or RTIC might be the way to go if you simply want a cooler and don't care about street cred
91AggieLawyer
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Nagler said:

I've got a hard side RTIC and a soft side and I like them both.

We go to the beach house and I'll fill up the hardside with beer and ice and try to keep it closed as much as possible just opening to load the soft side. It will hold ice all weekend.

Soft side has the zipper go out but was within the warranty window and they replaced the cooler.

I have 2 soft side RTICs from when they had to blow them out after Yeti sued them, but I've never liked them. I'm getting rid of them (one in almost new condition). They've worked fine although the zipper always hangs a little. Wish I had ordered the hard one but they may have all been sold by the time I placed my order, I don't remember.
ought1ag
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I have the following and like em all for different reasons. Listed smallest to largest

Bison - they used to be called Brute I think. Have had no problems getting replacement latches.
pro - perfect fit for our boat
con - wish it had a drain plug

Yeti - also had zero issues getting replacement latches
pro - perfect weekend size for me (case of beer, few waters, ice and couple links of sausage
con - the handle hangs down as far as the drain plug and gets wet sometimes.

Igloo Sportsman
pro - can hold a quartered deer and several gallon frozen jugs
con - its pretty heavy even when empty.

in a nutshell, they are all about the same and you will be happy with one if you have never owned one before.
texags08
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I would say MOST brands that have rotomolded coolers are more or less the same. Personally I have RTIC.

If we are talking soft sides there are only a couple that have above par quality that I have experienced. Yeti and Ice Mule. I'm sure there are others I haven't used with the same level of quality, but RTIC is definitely not one of them.
AKA the Command Center guy... 0E stacks member…
aggiesundevil4
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https://texags.com/forums/34/topics/3278937/1#discussion

Might help.
Ogre09
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Fat side up

With beans

200 acre minimum, but even that is questionable

Wait, what was the question?
kyledr04
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My rtic coolers have been good. Soft and roto.
memace
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I bought one from these guys https://m.facebook.com/pg/ddcoolers/posts/?ref=page_internal&mt_nav=0
Strangely enough accepts all the yeti replacement parts.
I've got a couple of yetis and an Rtic and I can't tell the difference other than maybe manufacturing finishes
Old Sarge
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91AggieLawyer said:

...but bottom line, do you pay the premium for a Yeti or Orca (in the 40-45 size) or go with an RTIC? I like the Orca and Made in US stuff, so I'd probably go that over Yeti, but the price of the RTIC is tempting. At the end of the day, while I won't be using it as much as some (probably 1-3x a month) but want it to last and perform when I do use it, I still want the best one I can get for the long haul.

ETA: application will be PRIMARILY inside vehicle for trips, taken out at hotels, and to take to parties. Outdoor use somewhat limited.
I have a Yeti 50, and the only reason is that I had a wife and kids that liked separation between the fish and food/drinks, and I needed to put a casting platform on my 16 ft. flats boat that I could stand on. If "really" neede for long term Ice storage, it can be removed for that.

I was looking at a purchase for needs just like yours, but with some rigidity for durability. I went with the Coleman Steel Belted. Thin walls, more storage for "stuff" and Ice, lighter, and could add in a bottle opener with no issues of pull out. Ridgid stainless handles and hinges for lugging. Coleman has discontinued, because the latch just plain sucks, however, since we are in it all the time, we just leave it unlatched unless we are actually toting it to keep from major spills. The footprint for what it is/does is small and great for inside vehicle use and taken out for hotels (our son plays showcase baseball and we are on the road a lot. If you catch the sales on Amazon, even though I have been told by Colemean directly it has been discontinued, you can find one for $130, but it may not be the color you want.
Green is the new RED.
aggiesundevil4
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I have yeti hard and soft, multiple RTIC soft, and this cater gator. I actually really like it and it's been great for the past 3 years since I got it. My RTIC soft lid glue fell apart after a few years and I had to trash it.
https://www.webstaurantstore.com/catergator-cg100spbw-beige-100-qt-mobile-rotomolded-extreme-outdoor-cooler-ice-chest/215CG100SPBW.html
DatTallArchitect
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Are you talking about this?
https://www.academy.com/p/coleman-reunion-54-qt-steel-belted-stainless-steel-cooler?campid=71700000049902338&adgroupid=58700004909386915&device=m&keyword=39700042451650851&Channel=ps&gclsrc=aw.ds&&ogmap=SEM|NBR|GOOG|DSA|m||IM|Non-Brand-DSA-Null-General|CatchAll||71700000049902338|58700004909386915
Lonestar_Ag09
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91AggieLawyer said:

...but bottom line, do you pay the premium for a Yeti or Orca (in the 40-45 size) or go with an RTIC? I like the Orca and Made in US stuff, so I'd probably go that over Yeti, but the price of the RTIC is tempting. At the end of the day, while I won't be using it as much as some (probably 1-3x a month) but want it to last and perform when I do use it, I still want the best one I can get for the long haul.

ETA: application will be PRIMARILY inside vehicle for trips, taken out at hotels, and to take to parties. Outdoor use somewhat limited.
Best thing ive ever purchased is the RTIC 52 ultra light. fully packed i can still carry it myself. It was just on sale for 179 and might still be

edit to add: Patiently waiting for an ultra light 75-110 size so i can maybe fit a deer or two in a cooler and still pick it up. We have a RTIC 65 that will hold a deer with enough ice to get it home but good lord is it hard to load in the bed of a Super Duty for a guy who is 5'10 and my dad who is 5'7"
JCA1
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I've been happy with the Magellan 45 qt. from Academy. Has rear wheels so easy to move around. No stupid telescoping handle to break either like several of my prior Igloos. The latches also double as the hinges so you can open from either side or take the lid off entirely.
EMY92
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I got an Rtic softside for long road trips.

It doesn't perform any better than a $15 to $20 hard sided Igloo and has the same capacity. It's also much harder to grab something out of. I can reach back and grab a water bottle from the Igloo, getting the Rtic zipper undone with one hand is tough.
Nagler
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Quote:

I can reach back and grab a water bottle from the Igloo

ought1ag
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SMM48
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The Kodi At30 has served us well from HEB.
EMY92
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Nagler said:

Quote:

I can reach back and grab a water bottle from the Igloo


OK, you got me, it may be a Gatorade if my blood sugar is getting a little low or a Diet Dr Pepper.

I don't drink anything harder than Diet DP.
bam02
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EMY92 said:

I got an Rtic softside for long road trips.

It doesn't perform any better than a $15 to $20 hard sided Igloo and has the same capacity. It's also much harder to grab something out of. I can reach back and grab a water bottle from the Igloo, getting the Rtic zipper undone with one hand is tough.


If you're accessing it frequently for drinks then no it won't work any better than a cheap cooler.
Buck Turgidson
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https://texags.com/forums/34/topics/2762242

Not sure if these guys are still in business, but I love mine. Hard to find maroon roto-molded coolers.

Frankly, I think all roto-molded coolers are similar for durability and ice retention.
shiftyandquick
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I put Yeti sticker on my RTIC. It's working better now.
Charlie Murphy
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Depends if you really need to keep ice for days. The yeti etc. are heavy and bulky vs a cheapie Coleman. Freezer packs are cheap and can do the job for a few hours if that's all you need.
bdgol07
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RTIC has a lightweight version that has done me and my family well
Old Sarge
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Yes, but that is a stainless one and much higher than the steel belted ones painted red, green, or a few other colors. Check Amazon. The price fluxes from week to week, so time it and you should get at least one color (of about 3 regularly) that should hit the $150 price point. Red seems to have the most consistency with this, and is what I went with. Mounted the Coleman bottle opener on the front (ordered separately) and put a tilt activated cooler light on the inside of the lid, which is very handy in the dark. It is our travel cooler and "party cooler".

The footprint is no larger than an all plastic regular type cooler, with just a little more weight. Most coolers with that footprint and capacity don't even have a true hold down latch either. Again, we don't even use the latch on the steel belted unless we are transporting it and that is just for spills. I can say it does hold ice longer than the all plastic version we have in a similar size, but that's it. It is no rubber latched roto molded long term if you don't open it cooler. We do keep it in a AC environment for the night before using it and it helps with ice retention once put into use, which is open/close/open/close etc.
Green is the new RED.
jtp01
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Personally I don't mind paying for quality. But I cannot bring myself to pay for Yeti branded stuff unless it's a gift.

I've been given several tumblers that are great and a hard sided roadie cooler. It's fantastic for being on the road. I'm actually on a work trip now and it is loaded with bottles of water and ice to the top. I load this cooler like this every trip and usually only have to add ice once per week which is great.
91AggieLawyer
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Just ordered the RTIC since it was on sale. I sold one of the soft coolers and have a pending sale on the other. I know the RTIC brand in general gets a lot of love on here and I really couldn't find much of anything wrong with the hard side one. I was, honestly, leaning toward the Orca but given the price and the fact that almost all the reviews said that, at least inside 3-4 days, there wasn't much difference in the top few brands, it didn't make sense to pay a hundred plus more. Now I have to figure out where to put it when not in use!

Thanks for the input from everyone! Hopefully this thread can get referenced and help others.
Lonestar_Ag09
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Did you get the light weight version?
91AggieLawyer
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Lonestar_Ag09 said:

Did you get the light weight version?

No. I didn't see many reviews on that and didn't figure I needed it specifically. I don't know if there is a big difference light/regular but my goal is to keep stuff as cold as possible. I figured regular would have a better chance of that.
TH36
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I bought a 120 quart LifeTime cooler from Walmart and it has been outstanding. I got that size for $250. I left ice in it for 6 days just to see how it did and it stayed frozen. I see Amazon sells them too. I will buy more when I need other coolers simply because of their service. My first one was missing a part I didn't notice till I got home with it after buying it. Emailed them and they got right back to me then had the part shipped to me a couple days later.
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