Are Yeti coolers worth the $$?

[JayJay]

Anyone with a Yeti 65 in a 2-door? Thinking about borrowing one for a trip.

Will you have room left for luggage, recovery gear, tool roll, air compressor, girlfriend's cosmetics. etc?

Later,
Johnny

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[S2k Chris]

ALSO, I am fortunate enough to live near an ice house that sells clear, hard, blocks of ice. He was using cheaper retail store blocks that were not clear. FWIW, quality ice and a second cooler for beer did the trick!

You don’t need to waste time going out and getting blocks of ice. Buy a couple gallons of water from the grocery and freeze those. Big block of ice, and as it thaws you can drink it.

 

[Amaruq]

Will you have room left for luggage, recovery gear, tool roll, air compressor, girlfriend's cosmetics. etc?

Later,
Johnny

From the specs, it looks like it’ll fit either parallel to the front seats easily, or along either side and only take up under half the 4.5’ width of the cargo. Powertank mounts up high on the roll bar
And I pack light in an osprey 40.
But maybe my measurement visualization is off.

 

[Rodeoflyer]

I got one of these. It’s sparkly and works real good.

 

[Oldbear]

I too have one of the Lifetime coolers from Wallyworld. I’d looked at Yeti, but choked on the price. Stumbled across the Lifetime for less than 1/3 the cost and gave it a try. It has been absolutely excellent and I’d highly recommend. With ANY, the trick is to “pre cool” both the box AND the contents before taking off on a trip. I stick a couple freezer block in the day before and cool my adult beverages and soft drinks in the fridge. when Getting loaded, I remove the freezer blocks, but in my cool drinks, etc. and use small water bottles that have been frozen for my “ice”. Works great and when the ice starts to melt you have cold drinking water..

 

[Amaruq]

Borrowing a Yeti 65 for my trip. Here it is in the back of a 2-door.

 

[BernMason]

To update- took RTIC 110 on 10-day backcountry trip between black hills and front range.

Process - following recommendations from another who posted, pre-cooled cooler for 24 hours.
When loading - used divider, essentially kept one section covered almost completely in loose ice. This section had cans/beverages/the like. Using combination of packs/bags of ice, bigger section was used for food/etc..

Weight - empty cooler is able to be moved/carried by 1 person. It is cumbersome and awkward but I did it. Weighed what felt like 50 lbs empty. Loaded, 2 person carry. Handles work well.

Performance - kept drinks cold, food good to go. Absoluely shocked it worked as well as it did. One note, loose ice got down to nitty-gritty toward end. Next trip I will be getting block ice for both pre cool and trip and some more ice packs. More than likely will be getting another divider and using center section as ice compartment and use outer 2 sections for food and a drink area, using ice packs to cool. Feel this will work a bit better than what I did.

Jeep - Fit in 2 door JLUR with myself, 2 passengers, and an old man of a black lab + gear.

Overall - I paid like $350 for essentially a coffin that can keep a ton of shit cold for a long time.
Is a 110 practical in all situations- no.
Did it suit extended day overland in backcountry- yes.
Does it fit in Jeep- yes.

Main takeaway is RTIC performed as advertised with the process I described. I was impressed and the cooler doubled as a seat for 2 people and a table at times. We used the divider as a cutting board and found out later it was designed to do that. I will probably get a smaller, soft cooler for more practical use scenarios. Recommend RTIC to anyone who has a couple hundred burning hole in pocket who wants a cooler that will perform.

 

[KCSgtMaj]

Yea or Nay? I'm thinking about getting one for a fishing trip next month. Or possibly a competitor like Pelican or Orca. Do they really retain ice better than a cheap-o Coleman?

No

 

[OminousSkitter]

No

Finally! I got a real answer to this question after 5 years!

 

[Fonzilla85]

Don’t look at the time it took, rather rejoice about the knowledge that this quality answer has given you.

 

[jadmt]

My Yeti Tundra 50 will hold ice for a long time but it weighs a ton and by the time you fill it with ice there is not a lot of room left over...my ARB 50 beats it all heck and no ice needed so actually have a real 50 liters of capacity. We will sometimes just bring the Yeti full of ice for mixed drinks...the secret to keeping ice for 5 or 6 days is always keeping the lid latched and don't open it unless you need to get something.....short opens too...

 

[wibornz]

I have a Yeti cooler. It never goes with me in the Jeep. Never ever. Just spend the money on a fridge.

Why I have a fridge in the Jeep. Keeps my food and drinks cold with out the hassle of ice.

 

[DaltonGang]

My Yeti Tundra 50 will hold ice for a long time but it weighs a ton and by the time you fill it with ice there is not a lot of room left over...my ARB 50 beats it all heck and no ice needed so actually have a real 50 liters of capacity. We will sometimes just bring the Yeti full of ice for mixed drinks...the secret to keeping ice for 5 or 6 days is always keeping the lid latched and don't open it unless you need to get something.....short opens too...

The ARB 50 cooler is over $1,000, and needs a power source.
A 10+ day trip in the wilderness might not be the best place for the ARB, unless you want to constantly run your Jeep or have a generator hooked up to it.
It seems any newer, inexpensive(around $100+-) cooler will do a good job, with the right prep work and a couple of blocks of dry ice.

 

[wibornz]

The ARB 50 cooler is over $1,000, and needs a power source.
A 10+ day trip in the wilderness might not be the best place for the ARB, unless you want to constantly run your Jeep or have a generator hooked up to it.
It seems any newer, inexpensive(around $100+-) cooler will do a good job, with the right prep work and a couple of blocks of dry ice.

I have ran my ARB fridge for months on end from the Jeep stock battery. Think like six plus months straight. My ARB fridge will run for 3 days without starting the Jeep.

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