RTIC VS. YETI HARD COOLERS

[Lunch Box 🥩🍔]

I am looking for those with experience with both of these hard cooler brands. Looking for plus or minus comparisons. Obviously one is price, but is the more expensive one really worth the extra money. I have heard performance is really close, if not equal. I am looking at the wheeled version. Help me make an informed decision please.

 

[Gotbeer]

I have both and do not see any real difference. I paid for the RTIC and won the Yeti in a raffle. I would never pay for a Yeti. Way overpriced. There are other very similar hard coolers. Wally world has them. The key to any cooler is don't empty the water out unless adding more ice or contents. Air space is a killer in a cooler.

 

[NightForceFan]

I have several of both as well as Orca. Honestly, they are all similar. Have bought more Yetis just because they have the really large ones (350L). The 58L Orca is in my truck for daily usage and it has performed well. Can't go wrong with any of those 3 brands in my opinion.

 

[Blade420Play⚔️]

I am looking for those with experience with both of these hard cooler brands. Looking for plus or minus comparisons. Obviously one is price, but is the more expensive one really worth the extra money. I have heard performance is really close, if not equal. I am looking at the wheeled version. Help me make an informed decision please.

I have neither but I did buy a 72 quart igloo rugged cooler from Walmart for $120. If you use it properly it'll have ice for 2-3 days in 90° weather. But that is pre-cooling it the day before putting stuff in it. Pre-chilling water/sodas/beers before putting them in. And keeping it out of direct sun. Wouldn't hurt to freeze any water bottles intended for your trip as they are ice/drinking water in one near package
I just can't justify the price of yeti anything

 

[wools64]

Not to throw a wrench into your search but might I suggest Lifetime? Lifetime 55 quart cooler $109 Yeti 45 $300 you will see they are very similar and I have had both and used both. Will never own a Yeti again and ice usage was pretty identical.

LIfetime has a 45Q 55Q 65Q 77Q and a massive 115Q

 

[Silver-Bolt]

I have used both and can't really tell any difference in performance. I ended up buying the one that Costco sells in the store and it is equal to the other two and way less money. Been using it for a year now and it has held up great. It fits below the bed rails so if you have a bedcover it clears.

 

[TX03RUBI]

Rtic lightweight wheeled cooler won’t hold ice near as well as a Yeti Tundra. The standard Rtic (tundra knockoffs) hold ice just as well. I’m not a yeti fan boy, but when it comes to soft coolers I wouldn’t even consider Rtic. They’re trash. Had several fail quickly on me, and so have many of the people I work woth. We all keep coolers constantly due to the nature of our business. I bought my first Yeti hard cooler 15 years ago for work, and have come full circle. I’m back in my Yeti hard cooler after about 5 years of trying various other high end coolers both soft and hard.

 

[Canyon Trekker]

I am looking for those with experience with both of these hard cooler brands. Looking for plus or minus comparisons. Obviously one is price, but is the more expensive one really worth the extra money. I have heard performance is really close, if not equal. I am looking at the wheeled version. Help me make an informed decision please.

I found a couple You Tube videos on this comparison, looks like the RTIC is slightly less quality than the Yeti, but much cheaper. Another brand to consider for comparison is the Pelican.

RTIC

rtic vs yeti cooler - Search Videos

www.bing.com

Pelican

 

[MrFancypants]

I have been underwhelmed by the performance of my Yeti Roadie. The best thing about it is the size and the matching cooler pack that fits inside perfectly, but I have never achieved their claims of ice retention time.

All the injection molded coolers are going to have similar performance. You're really paying for the brand name and appearance more than anything else. I will say Yeti uses nicer plastic.

Can't beat Costco's return policy...

 

[gmoon]

I love out Yeti. We have had it for almost 10 years and its been great.

We did two weeks in Baja racing with a cooler that Pelican sent us to test. While I love pelican, I though the overall outer dimensions where massive, compared to the internal volume -- mostly because it has these big, built in molded handles unlike the rope handles of the yeti.

I also find the Yeti to be pretty indestructible. We did accidentally plow into the Pelican with the Race Truck during a pit stop. It ended being just find, but the plastic seems to scratch & gouge much easier than my yeti.

 

[TX Crawler]

But that is pre-cooling it the day before putting stuff in it. Pre-chilling water/sodas/beers before putting them in. And keeping it out of direct sun. Wouldn't hurt to freeze any water bottles intended for your trip as they are ice/drinking water in one near package

And, limit how much you open it.

 

[Modman]

I am looking for those with experience with both of these hard cooler brands. Looking for plus or minus comparisons. Obviously one is price, but is the more expensive one really worth the extra money. I have heard performance is really close, if not equal. I am looking at the wheeled version. Help me make an informed decision please.

I have a Yeti only because I could get for no money out of pocket at Cabela's. For my usage (3-4 days) I don't see a huge difference vs. the nicer quality Igloos and Colemans I've used previously. Not to justify the price in any event. Possibly going for a longer period without access to ice refills and the benefits will start to show... I also have the Dometic electric fridge too so my use case has changed quite a bit. I freeze water bottles which helps a lot with the non-powered coolers.

 

[Tex_Hunter]

My opinion is skewed somewhat as I've never paid full retail for any Yeti product I own. A few years ago I had a coworker/good friend who's spouse worked at Yeti and was able to snag a few hard coolers using their friends/family discount (Tundra 45 and 60 and one of the Roadie coolers with the metal carry handle)... only one I've bought at retail was a soft cooler that I essentially only paid 50% out of pocket for due to having a sizeable REI dividend/member coupon. For the three hard coolers I ended up out of pocket barely more than what the Tundra 60 would have cost me at full retail.

With all that disclaiming aside, I love my Yetis and wouldnt consider another brand, I would maybe just own fewer if I'd paid full price. I've kept a long weekend worth of perishable food ice cold out in West Texas for a shooting competition where ambient temps were 115+ during the day, and barely lost 1/2 of the ice we put in before leaving. I've traveled cross country in the middle of the summer from TX to CA with a couple season's worth of venison that was still rock hard frozen when I got to CA 3 days later (only added ice was a ~5lbs chunk of dry ice in the top of each cooler), coolers were in the bed of my truck, temps well above 100 the whole way (under my hard roll up cover that turns the bed into an oven under direct sunlight no less). I've taken coolers out for a week or more at a time under less harsh conditions and still throw out solid ice when I empty the cooler on return.

I've broken more cooler hinges than I care to admit on cheaper Coleman/Big Box store coolers by accidentally shutting ice in the lid or some other careless mistake, now when a close one of my Yetis and hear that "crunch" I just count it as $35 saved on what would have likely broken one of my cheaper coolers . The only non-Yeti cooler I have is a big 90qt Coleman, strictly used for transporting quartered out deer from the ranch to processor when I take a group of guys hunting, the internal space on even my Tundra 60 isnt really great for holding more than 1 medium sized deer or maybe 2 smaller does broken down.

 

[Canyon Trekker]

Its under "Ford Tremor Community". I moved it because a general discussion about cooler performance isn't really related to the vehicle we drive, even though, yes we do use them in our trucks... No big deal if you really want there, let me know and I'll move it back.

View attachment 164770

Thanks for your vigilance in keeping the forum streamlined. I personally thought this was a good thread for trucks since many of us are always searching for truck accessories to use while off-roading. Some coolers simply don't fit under the tonneau covers and people have experience with this that they can contribute. Just my thoughts.

 

[Modman]

Thanks for your vigilance in keeping the forum streamlined. I personally thought this was a good thread for trucks since many of us are always searching for truck accessories to use while off-roading. Some coolers simply don't fit under the tonneau covers and people have experience with this that they can contribute. Just my thoughts.

No issue, I moved it back. Appreciate your thoughts!

 

[Blade420Play⚔️]

This is the one I have for reference. Didn't even know it was an "overland" cooler

 

[Sccritterkiller]

For hard sided cooler if you aren't trying to keep ice for week don't waste your money on yeti, ect...Just go to Walmart and get what ever is cheapest. Yeti's are worth the money but very few folks are doing things that require a yeti.

Soft coolers...its hard to beat a yeti..I am still rocking the OG hopper...Looks like hammered shit but works fine.

 

[ShockGobble]

I personally own both in various sizes. One of my RTIC coolers warped after being in the sun and it doesn't have a tight seal anymore so the ice melts fast. In general, the YETI coolers are higher quality. If you aren't going to be using them all the time then it probably doesn't matter but if you use and abuse it then I'd recommend buying a YETI over an RTIC.

 

[blumhagen]

I am done with conventional coolers. I recently bought an electric cooler and I don’t plan on going back. No more dealing with ice. Has 2 sides so I have a fridge and a freezer. Even has a battery.

 

[TX03RUBI]

I have been underwhelmed by the performance of my Yeti Roadie. The best thing about it is the size and the matching cooler pack that fits inside perfectly, but I have never achieved their claims of ice retention time.

All the injection molded coolers are going to have similar performance. You're really paying for the brand name and appearance more than anything else. I will say Yeti uses nicer plastic.

Can't beat Costco's return policy...

The Roadie sucks. I’ve got one. The problem is it doesn’t hold enough ice to be able to melt a little and still have any ice left. The 45 holds temp a LOT better. The 65 smokes the 45 yet again.