Worth the Money?

[timstalltaletav]

I have a feeling asking this question might incite a response like asking if you should wrap ribs or smoke a brisket fat cap up or down....  But...

What are the thoughts on Yeti equipment?  Because of some large business related purchases I have about $900 of Cabelas points to use on something.  I recently bought the better half a Yeti tumbler for a gift and to be honest I never thought I'd spend $40 on a cup, but the thing is amazing.  It honestly lives up to the hype.  She's left it on the deck in direct sunlight and it holds ice all day long.

I already have about 10 coolers so if I buy another one I might end up quartered and packed in the cooler myself.  I'm curious to hear other's opinions not just on the Yeti but also any competitor's products.  I looked at the Cabelas models and I like them.  I believe there's another company that has very similar products too.

BTW - I'm just looking for opinions on the hard side coolers at this point. 

 

[b-one]

I think the stuff is over priced. If you really think you need a cooler to hold a chill that long and your not really put anything go for it,I would just hate to damage such an expensive cooler say someone sits to close to a campfire on your cooler or something else kids do.

 

[timstalltaletav]

I think the stuff is over priced. If you really think you need a cooler to hold a chill that long and your not really put anything go for it,I would just hate to damage such an expensive cooler say someone sits to close to a campfire on your cooler or something else kids do.

Or like what recently happened to a friend of mine... he had two of them. Took his camper to the beach, put the coolers outside his camper and went to bed. He and his family woke up with no beer/drinks, no food, and no coolers. They were stolen. About $1000 down the drain.

I guess that's why the actually make a bracket so you can lock them in the bed of your truck.

 

[dirtsailor2003]

Rtic coolers are the exact same thing for considerably less.

 

[mowin]

Rtic coolers are the exact same thing for considerably less.

Thanks for the info. Ive been thinking off one of these high end coolers. Like the price of these.

 

[dirtsailor2003]

I have several friends that have the Rtic's and they perform just as good as the yeti. Keep in mind to get the best performance in either brand you need to place ice in them 2-3 days in advance to prime them.

 

[rogerwilco]

Any of the high-end roto-molded coolers are really only at an advantage if one happens to require the features that set them apart from much less expensive products. If you are going camping and truly need a cooler to keep food intended to be used on days five-eight, for instance, they are worth the cost because they insulate very well over an extended period: the food will still be cold. Also, they are very durable: the hinges won't break at an inopportune time while in the outback and the plastic won't split because the loaded cooler was placed roughly on rock-strewn ground. They handle bears well.

  Most all of the advantages evaporate when the cooler is simply used as a kind of ice-bucket with a lid, used to keep the days beer cold as people constantly open the cooler and remove a beverage: almost any cooler can work well in this situation. It just may well be that extreme durability, along with the ability to keep the contents cold over a lengthy period of time just isn't worth it to someone who will haul it out to the deck and only for the duration of the party.

 

[gary s]

Just a thought,  If you have points you may look at getting something else you want, Meat stuffer, grinder etc, Wally Word has an Ozark Trail brand that is about the same as Yeti . I have several of the tumblers and just as good for $9 bucks

I have a friend who has both the Yeti ans Ozark did a side by side test he said they were the same.  Ozark Trail (bigger one) about $200 bucks

Gary 

 

[dward51]

Walmart has a Yeti clone under the Ozark Trail brand and even their biggest one is under $200.  Yeti is way overpriced and now that other companies are marketing the same thing (Rtic, Ozark Trail, Orca, etc....) for much less money, I think their market share is about to fall considerably.  About the only reason I can think of to buy Yeti now is branding and to me the Yeti label is not worth spending 4 times the money.

 

[gary s]

I thought I just said that?

Gary

 

[3montes]

There is a You Tube video of a comparison test of coolers ice holding ability. Yeti was one them along with a Coleman Extreme and several others. They filled each with ice and put a six pack of soda in each one. Kept them all indoors at room temp in the same area. Opened each one only once a day to document the how much ice was being lost. The Coleman Extreme was the winner.

 

[jcbigler]

I'd like to see that same test with the coolers sitting outside in 100 degree temps.

I don't think the Yetis are inherently better, just want to see which performs better in an outdoor high temp situation.

 

[meskc]

Here is a good video comparing several of the high end coolers.

 

[h8that4u]

I just got the RTIC 65, it was a gift from the BIL. I just field tested the cooler and was very impressed. It held 6-6 packs of the coke bottles and 30 lbs of ice, lasted 4 days with it setting in the back of the truck in 90-97 degree heat all day. Once the first round of ice melted I got a 5 lb chunk of Dry Ice to set in the cooler with 20 lbs of ice and that lasted 8 days and on the 10th day the water was still cold enough to keep the cokes drinkable. 

 

[smokesontuesday]

I bought a Yeti 20 ounce tumbler yesterday at my local smoking shop but only because they were 50% off. It's a nice cup but I don't think it's $30 nice. It does keep drinks cold for hours, even without ice. I poured a 20 oz bottle of Mt. Dew out of the vending machine in it several hours ago (6 maybe?) and it's still as cold as it went in with no ice.

 

[joel11230]

We took a 30 oz yeti and a 30 oz ozark trail (from Walmart, filled them both up with ice. They sat out in our shop all day then inside a pickup the rest of the day and through the night with the windows up ( and temperature here in southwest Kansas is between omg and wtf!). Both cups were new. The next morning the yeti's cup had no ice but the water was cold. The ozark trail still had ice. $40 bucks vs $9.74.

 

[jcbigler]

Yep, I've got an Ozark trail 30oz tumbler that I have been using for a few weeks now. I will often push my slushee from Sonic into the tumbler when I get to work. It stays cold and frozen all day. The only probably I have is that the ice doesn't melt fast enough to actually drink it at the rate that I want to. 

 

[b-one]

We took a 30 oz yeti and a 30 oz ozark trail (from Walmart, filled them both up with ice. They sat out in our shop all day then inside a pickup the rest of the day and through the night with the windows up ( and temperature here in southwest Kansas is between omg and wtf!). Both cups were new. The next morning the yeti's cup had no ice but the water was cold. The ozark trail still had ice. $40 bucks vs $9.74.

"between omg and wtf" now that's a great line!:biggrin

 

[joel11230]

"between omg and wtf" now that's a great line!:biggrin

Yea it's been really hot. Floating anywhere between 98, 99 up to 108