Yeti Coolers

Are they worth the hefty price tag? Are there any comparable to Yeti, that are cheaper..
Just bought a pop-up with a small fridge, started looking for a nice cooler and almost fell over when I saw the Yeti price tag, if they're worth it then I don't mind paying...

I have 2 yeti coolers (given to me as gifts) and will say that they are nice and work well depending on how you use them. If you are using it as a beer/drink cooler and are opening it several times/hr, they are no better than any other wal-mart cooler. In fact due to the weight of them, I would say worse than a cheaper cooler. If you are using them for long term cooling and only open them once or twice a day, they will hold ice and keep food cold for 4-5 days if not longer. Personally, I do not think they are worth the money unless you are a hunter/camper or fisherman that is away from refrigeration for long periods of time. There are other brands out there such as RTIC, but I have not ever used them to give a comparison.

LSUNick is spot on. Yeti's highest and best use is for long term cooling with infrequent openings.

Yeti coolers are smaller than the listed size. Most heavy duty coolers are the same. So if you want your 45qt cooler to hold a true 45qt's look elsewhere. Apparently Pelican case makes coolers that are true to size, but HEAVY like their 45qt is 10lbs heavier than the yeti 65qt.

For some reason when I think of these heavy duty coolers I envision being on an elk hunt (or something similar) and having to keep the elk you harvested on day 1 cold until the end of the trip

For what it's worth if I NEEDED a heavy duty cooler I'd get an Rtic

Like the others have said:

I really doubt a nice Coleman or Igloo can't do what you are wanting for 1/10th of the price

For the average person, they are probably useless.

My mother in law has one. She is a sales person with a company that sells food to high end restaurants. She always has samples with her. Mostly cheeses, but it could be meats and any other assortment of things. She will occasionally have to make a small delivery to a customer as well when the truck cant make it.

She keeps the cooler in the back of her car, and loads it up with ice packs. Because the cooler is so good, she can visit her restaurants all day and leave the cooler in the hot car in the middle of summer with no ill effect on the samples. The ice packs keep the cooler very cold for a few days.

They do their job, but I don't see myself needing a $350 cooler.

I bit the bullet and picked up a Yeti Tundra 45...yes it was expensive. $350 and you won't find them cheaper shopping around. They're somewhat of a fair trade item. So what do you get for that much coin??

1. Keeps ice for between 4-5 days in a real world setting. Longer I am told if you use the Yeti ice packs. I bought an ice pack; haven't used it yet though.

2. Built like a Kohler cast iron sink. It is big, heavy, and ready for the long-hard haul.

3. Leakproof and easy to drain

Yeti gear is popular up here with the Ocoee River crowd. It will keep anything you wish cold for days. Period. In addition, if you travel a lot and need to keep whatever necessary cold when driving, Yeti is your go-to cooler. We often find ourselves at markets which have spectacular meats, cheeses, seafood, etc. With the Yeti, I am guaranteed my $250.00 of meat will be just fine by the time I return home days later. It is also great if you need to travel for extended periods of time with medications requiring refrigeration.

Not unlike a razor or brush in some aspects.

A $125 Boker, $150 Ralf Aust, or $200 Thiers-Issard can surely shave as well as a $500 Zowada.
Seems the $10 Razorock Plissoft is doing as good a job for some guys as the $300 Simpson brushes.

So why buy the Zowada and Simpson?? Because you can and KNOW they will afford you great service. They're extremely well built and a joy to own.

Yeti must be doing something right...lately their coolers are becoming somewhat less-easy to find on the shelves. When I got mine at a VERY large Bass Pro store..it was one of two they had in stock in that size. Didn't have a bumper crop of other sizes either if I recall.

Waiting for the clone(s), which are coming.

Do have the koozie and must say, top-notch in build and use.


AA

Oh...one other thing-
Yeti hats are very, very, cool!!

There are several coolers out there that are as good or better than yeti without calling your bank for a loan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHp6k2Wae3s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-TE4RnqT0U

IMO, theyre not worth the money. Theyre really nice coolers but IMO, they arent any better than a $100 Coleman.

I bought a Vibe a few months back. Actually has more/better features than the yeti. Unfortunately, they are out of stock direct, through ebay/amazon.

My review:

https://youtu.be/D3Qnygv58BA

The website:

http://vibekayaks.com/collections/coolers

The 45 qt I got was $189 shipped.

I've got three Yeti coolers that I use to pack food and drinks on long trips in mid summer. I have never seen a cooler that will do what the Yeti coolers do. Ice lasts for days. In the shade a week is not uncommon.

Kept $100+ worth of meat in my Yeti for 24 hours in the back of the truck yesterday/today with only about 2-3 lbs. of ice. Was still cold with ice inside and all the meat was nice and chilly. The copies may work as well-may not. For the extra dollars I'll go with the proven gear.

I will give you my two cents with a recent example.

My wife bought me a Yeti as a Christmas present a number of years ago. I told her we should take it back since it was so expensive. She insisted we keep it and I used it on a fishing trip to Canada. When I came back home (FL then) all the fish was still frozen.

However, a recent experience showed me how good the Yeti is.

My wife and I made a trip to FL. I ended up going fishing and we caught over 50 catfish. We filleted the catfish, froze the, and placed them in my Yeti with dry ice. We had too many fillets and I borrowed a Coleman from my brother-in-law. I put dry ice in that one too. We then made our journey back to AZ. Two days later the dry ice in the Coleman evaporated and the fish began to thaw. In the Yeti there still was dry ice and everything was frozen solid. I put a lot of dry ice in the Coleman (5 lbs) and put 2 lbs in the Yeti. 1 1/2 days later we arrived home. The Coleman required 2 1/2 times as much ice in contrast to the Yeti.

Is the Yeti worth it? You bet. My only regret is that I did not buy another one. Before my next trip, I will buy another Yeti.

Brianskeet said:

I've got three Yeti coolers that I use to pack food and drinks on long trips in mid summer. I have never seen a cooler that will do what the Yeti coolers do. Ice lasts for days. In the shade a week is not uncommon.

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We also have three Yeti coolers (Tundra 35, Tundra 45, and Roadie). Our daughter played travel soccer, so we needed something for weekend trips. She now plays college soccer, and they remain part of our travel gear. The Yeti Ice is also incredible for keeping items frozen or very cold. The drink ware is also excellent. Yes, all of it is expensive...until you put a price on performance. Once you do it's extremely cost effective. I've had dozens of coolers over the years and nothing else has ever come close. I've never met anyone who owns one complain about their performance. Folks that don't own one are quick to say they aren't worth it. Of course, those are the same folks that don't understand anyone buying a Big Green Egg either

They are worth it, if you need to keep food for a few days or longer. Any coolers thst can go this are priced similar. You pay for what you get.

I figure that I would have to buy 200 bags of ice annually to balance the expense of a high dollar cooler. For me it just isnt practical.

AnotherChef said:

I figure that I would have to buy 200 bags of ice annually to balance the expense of a high dollar cooler. For me it just isnt practical.

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I can see the logic. Were I just toting drinks and such around for an afternoon, I concur; a Yeti is no bargain and...yeah probably somewhat impractical. However, when I have 30 lbs. of Angus Brisket, 15 lbs. of St. Louis ribs, and 5 lbs. each of NY Strips and Filet Mignons (as I will often do when making a trip to the city) and have no other means of refrigeration for 2-3-4 days, I'll say the Yeti is worth every dollar. Plus I truly like the hat!!

That I will agree with, except the part about the hat....

Acmemfg said:

I can see the logic. Were I just toting drinks and such around for an afternoon, I concur; a Yeti is no bargain and...yeah probably somewhat impractical. However, when I have 30 lbs. of Angus Brisket, 15 lbs. of St. Louis ribs, and 5 lbs. each of NY Strips and Filet Mignons (as I will often do when making a trip to the city) and have no other means of refrigeration for 2-3-4 days, I'll say the Yeti is worth every dollar. Plus I truly like the hat!!

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Acmemfg said:

Oh...one other thing-
Yeti hats are very, very, cool!!

View attachment 659405

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I love their hats but they won't fit me. I have a Yeti head.