RTIC VS. YETI HARD COOLERS

Lunch Box said:
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.
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I bought a wheeled Pelican cooler because they are USA made. Yetis are not. My Pelican holds ice well, but like all of these rotomolded coolers, it’s heavy as F. Here’s a guide to American-made coolers: https://americangearguide.com/american-made-directory/coolers-made-in-usa/
 
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Roverine said:
I bought a wheeled Pelican cooler because they are USA made. Yetis are not. My Pelican holds ice well, but like all of these rotomolded coolers, it’s heavy as F. Here’s a guide to American-made coolers: https://americangearguide.com/american-made-directory/coolers-made-in-usa/
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I like the Pelican; I would have bought one when my need was there, but I did buy an Engel cooler though which was available through Cabela/Bass Pro. The above article doesn't list Engel, which is supposedly made in Garland Texas, Nashville Tennessee, and/or Streetsboro Ohio. There is a lot of controversy on this, below is an on-line list of popular coolers NOT made in USA. The fall down on the article is that they don't list "where" these brands are made. Lists like this can be deceiving in that even though some are made in USA, their parent company can be from somewhere else.

Though I'm a "buy USA made" advocate, quality isn't necessarily the same for all brands. You have to research for the best fit for you.

Here are some of the major coolers brands that supposedly aren’t made in the USA. This isn’t a full list as there are so many cooler brands out there, but this is a selection of some of the best and well known cooler brands.

  • YETI Coolres
  • RTIC Coolers
  • Engel Coolers
  • Canyon Coolers
  • K2 Coolers
  • Siberian Coolers
  • Icer Coolers
  • Techniice Coolers
  • nICE Coolers
  • Driftsun Coolers
  • Patriot Coolers
  • Custom Cooler Store Coolers
  • Polar Bear Soft Sided Coolers
  • IceMule Coolers
  • FatBoy Coolers
 
Canyon Trekker said:
I like the Pelican; I would have bought one when my need was there, but I did buy an Engel cooler though which was available through Cabela/Bass Pro. The above article doesn't list Engel, which is supposedly made in Garland Texas, Nashville Tennessee, and/or Streetsboro Ohio. There is a lot of controversy on this, below is an on-line list of popular coolers NOT made in USA. The fall down on the article is that they don't list "where" these brands are made. Lists like this can be deceiving in that even though some are made in USA, their parent company can be from somewhere else.

Though I'm a "buy USA made" advocate, quality isn't necessarily the same for all brands. You have to research for the best fit for you.

Here are some of the major coolers brands that supposedly aren’t made in the USA. This isn’t a full list as there are so many cooler brands out there, but this is a selection of some of the best and well known cooler brands.

  • YETI Coolres
  • RTIC Coolers
  • Engel Coolers
  • Canyon Coolers
  • K2 Coolers
  • Siberian Coolers
  • Icer Coolers
  • Techniice Coolers
  • nICE Coolers
  • Driftsun Coolers
  • Patriot Coolers
  • Custom Cooler Store Coolers
  • Polar Bear Soft Sided Coolers
  • IceMule Coolers
  • FatBoy Coolers
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I too prefer USA, some things you have to sacrifice otherwise I would probably have to go without undies!!
 
I have some Yeti hard side coolers and they all get used heavily. All were purchased via my buddy at a local dealer that gets 1/3 off, or via my REI discounts. If I was paying full price, I’d look elsewhere, maybe Engel (which is basically the same price). Anyway.
The key to any of the “high end” coolers is to pre chill them, and when you can pre freeze items that go into them. That said, I (and my family and friends) are hard on coolers, so having one that’s quality and tough is key.
All that to say, there are many great coolers out there. If you wanna get froggy, jump into an Orion or Sovaro cooler! Ha
 
Any thoughts on the Anker product? I like that it has a removable backup battery and Costco Next had a deal on this with a spare battery for $1K. The batteries are 299WH each and you can connect to a 100W solar panel to recharge them.

From the product page: Pack full two days of meals for weekend adventures with up to 27 hours of freshness (tested with an ambient temperature of 77°F (25°C)) at 39°F (4°C) when the battery is fully charged.

 
AppStateDDS said:
I have some Yeti hard side coolers and they all get used heavily. All were purchased via my buddy at a local dealer that gets 1/3 off, or via my REI discounts. If I was paying full price, I’d look elsewhere, maybe Engel (which is basically the same price). Anyway.
The key to any of the “high end” coolers is to pre chill them, and when you can pre freeze items that go into them. That said, I (and my family and friends) are hard on coolers, so having one that’s quality and tough is key.
All that to say, there are many great coolers out there. If you wanna get froggy, jump into an Orion or Sovaro cooler! Ha
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Another Yeti fan here, we probably have at least 10 of them in all shapes and sizes and use them often. Some I have purchased but most we have either won in raffles or have been gifts for sponsoring Ducks Unlimited. I have no complaints about any of them.
 
DTX2023Tremor said:
Any thoughts on the Anker product? I like that it has a removable backup battery and Costco Next had a deal on this with a spare battery for $1K. The batteries are 299WH each and you can connect to a 100W solar panel to recharge them.

From the product page: Pack full two days of meals for weekend adventures with up to 27 hours of freshness (tested with an ambient temperature of 77°F (25°C)) at 39°F (4°C) when the battery is fully charged.

Click to expand...
@DTX2023Tremor, these seem awesome and I have yet to go the electric cooler route. I was reading about this today and am very interested to hear feedback on this brand as well.
 
I've had success with the Arctic cooler. It will definitely help keep your undies on Lunch 🤪

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I know opinions are like ***holes and everybody's got one, but I have a pelican 50qt and it's been incredible. Held ice for a long time even with opening it consistently. It's made in the USA, too. My biggest gripe is that it's pretty bulky. The size of the top makes it more bulky than its competitors of equal size.

Check out orca coolers. They're made in USA, too. A friend of mine has a 40qt and used it this weekend. Had ice from Thursday night until Wednesday morning. Truck sat in the truck bed sun in mid 80 heat (I know that's not bad for a Texas boy) and handled quite a bit of jostling around while off road.

Personally, I think yetis are just the trendy brand. The one who was lucky enough to make it "big" in the rotomolded cooler industry when it blew up
 
In 2011 I bought a large yeti cooler after seeing an add on a fishing show. I remember I never saw one in a store. I called the company as they barely had a website and ordered the largest cooler they made back then. When calling I could hear people working in the background and a person immediately answered them phone. I got the small company made in USA vibe back then. I still use this cooler it’s been awesome. Were they made in USA at one time?
 
I have several Yeti's and a couple other of the name brands, all seem to be good and about the same other than price. But last year I won a Bison Cooler off the Snap-On truck, and it is by far the best cooler I have! It's hands down better than any of my other's. I will be looking at the Bison brand when I purchase more for now on. They get overlooked for some reason.
 
Since I get several Yeti discount codes every year I tend to buy Yeti...BELOW retail even with the shipping costs.
Since the whole "Made in the USA" thing popped up here's the reality. Yeti has a production source inside the USA. Most all the smaller coolers are imported with the larger ones are made inside the USA. It's been said you can call Yeti to get the smaller ones from the USA source.
I'm not a Yeti soft cooler fan at all. It's got several small production points that can be easily fixed to make them a better soft cooler. I had an RTIC that I modded with a liner that would hold ice for 2-3 days during use.
Hard coolers : I have a RTIC 65, Yeti 45, Yeti 125, and a Yeti 210. All work great for my uses. I tend to tell people buy the size bigger than you think you need. A little more space doesn't hurt you.

I like the Pelican line but they are a tad oversized on the outside construction. Can't really speak for any other brand.

If I didn't get the Yeti discount codes I'd be the guy trying to find better (as good) and cheaper. I'm going to get a Yeti 105 at some point. :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO: 💰 💰
 
I have a Yeti 45 and a Roadie and both do well. I also have 3 Rtic soft siders. Each continues to serve their purpose for me. However, the drawback to all of them is still needing ice when in remote areas.

As a result, I’m on my first roadtrip with my new IceCo VL45 ProS. First impression is that I love it! I still have some decisions to work through for powering it when not driving but it is great so far.
 
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