View Full Version : Yeti - RTIC- Pelican - or other... new cooler time



Relentless85
09-27-2017, 08:18 PM
I am wanting to invest in a new cooler. Now all of my buddies have yeti coolers and they seem to work great. However, I’m not looking to spend yeti money. There are a lot of other Roto molded coolers out on the market now and I am wondering if any of you have experience with the other brands like RTIC, Pelican, orca or others. I’m looking for something that will keep ice, drinks ect cold for a long period of time...a lot longer than my old igloo, Coleman and rubbermade coolers that were bought at Walmart.

Dustin
09-27-2017, 08:57 PM
Bought my mother a RTIC 30oz tumbler for her work. She loves it!

She once forgot it in her car one night and the next morning it still had a lot of ice. It's crazy how those things hold temperature.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B019D9HESO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Jeepnokc
09-28-2017, 06:08 AM
Here are a few reviews. Looking at google...there are reviews to back up any one of them as the best. My gut is that they are all pretty similar. I bought a Yeti because I was in Florida and needed to ship fish home and didn't have time to go shopping. It was the only nicer ones the store had. It has worked great.

https://bestcooler.reviews/orca-vs-yeti-coolers-debate/
https://bestcooler.reviews/pelican-vs-yeti-coolers/

Filthy
09-28-2017, 09:14 AM
I have a few different sizes of a few different brands. I've got a 82 gallon yeti that I use for fishing trips, a few smaller sixed ones for camping etc... for fishing trips, and then the kids have a few of their colored ones for just soda etc.... But I also have two pelicans that I use for tailgatiing/4th of july...cokes/beers etc... I personally prefer the Pelicans. They seem to keep ice a touch longer, and I like the latches in how they close better than the yetis. I'm not a fanboy for either one, but i truly believe Yeti was first to market, so they have name recognition...but there are others out there that have the same/better quality, for a slightly better price.

whatitis
09-28-2017, 09:24 AM
I've got this (only available at sam's) but for the price I don't think it can be beat. I really like the huge drain plug because it let's the water out crazy fast. I also bought some cooler shock and they work really well too.

https://www.samsclub.com/sams/igloo-55qt-sportsman-cooler/prod10150470.ip?xid=plp1903-spor:product:1:5

http://www.coolershock.com/

Anonymous.
09-28-2017, 09:38 AM
There is hundreds of tests/comparisons on youtube showing the coolers going head-to-head. None of them look too official, but from what I have seen by browsing around, the Yeti is the most expensive, and the one that underperforms the others. Again I am just going off of watching videos and reading, but it seems bang for buck, RTIC brand is the best deal for long-term storage and pricepoint.

Bullbear
09-28-2017, 10:00 AM
I have a yeti and an Ozark trail from Sams that looks like the yeti.. I really don't notice a difference in performance and the Ozark one is soooo much cheaper.

BBatesokc
09-28-2017, 10:01 AM
Totally depends on your needs. I have several coolers and my $50 cooler performs as well as my $400 Yeti. I need a cooler that keeps items cold for 3-10 hours - that's it. Most any cooler on the market fits the bill. However, of you do backcountry camping or hunting, I could see the need for a higher end cooler. That said, Yeti is WAY overpriced considering you can buy a competing brand much cheaper and get the same or better results. I buy used - so I didn't pay retail.

My favorite cooler is my ryobi swamp cooler. It literally has a air conditioner built in that works off rechargeable batteries. Works really really well on the patio, at a work site, in a fishing boat or cabin. Love it for its purpose.

Relentless85
09-28-2017, 01:14 PM
I am leaning towards the RTIC brand. I know there was a lawsuit filed from yeti to RTIC because the older models of the RTIC brand coolers had too many silmilar features compared to the yeti. So now RTIC has redesigned some features of their coolers to differinenate them from yeti.

I really want one that has wheels. Pelican has a cooler with wheels however the price is high. Some of the wheel kits that I have seen for yetis or RTIC are expensive also.

SSEiYah
09-28-2017, 05:09 PM
Academy sells some Yeti-Knockoffs which seem to be fairly comparable to Yeti. When I was in the market a 45QT yeti was $350 and the knockoff was $150. Very similar design.

http://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/meadowcraft-premium-45-qt-rotomolded-cooler#repChildCatid=4329204
http://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/nice-premium-45-qt-rotomolded-cooler#repChildCatid=4276926