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It's 2025 now... what's the Hide's thoughts on the current state of coolers and cooler manufacturers?

LuckyDuck

LuckyDuck

Old Salt
Full Member
Minuteman
    • Nov 4, 2020
    2,876
    9,420
    Pennsylvania
    #1
    @LeftyJason pointed out that this had been discussed a number of years ago with the thread: https://www.snipershide.com/shooting/threads/best-cooler.7016533/

    Reckon that enough time has elapsed we can revisit the conversation with data/products relevant to 2025 now...

    So what say you- who's the king of ice retaining performance, what companies are worth your hard earned money? Do you have a longterm review of any that fits in the conversation? If so- this thread is for you.

    Let's hear it.

    -LD
     
    #3
    A good point that was brought up in that thread is that most of the people buying these "keeps ice for 7+ days" don't actually need that much cooler and it's actually a negative for their use case.

    For say just need to keep something cold for a day or two, these big rotomolded coolers are not the best solution for a couple reasons. First they are expensive and pretty heavy, but perhaps worse is you lose a ton of interior space with the extra thick insulated sides. The same is true for a lot of the soft side coolers where you might find a cooler that on the outside is the size of a carry on bag, but it can barely hold a 6 pack of beer and some ice on the inside with 2-3" thick walls.

    I think the most frequent complaint I hear from people that have bought them (that are not obviously using them in the field/boat for multiple days) is that how little interior space there is for the overall size/weight of the cooler. It's another one of those "Everyone was so worried about if they could, they didn't think about if they should" situations. People were so amazed by the super long ability to keep stuff cold they didn't realize that what looks like a giant cooler doesn't have nearly as much interior space as you think.

    The cups can be the same way, some of them do such a good job of keeping stuff hot and cold, that I've seen people use them for frozen drinks where the drink literally refreezes and separates. That or complain they put hot stuff in them but can't drink it for a couple hours, or have to pour it into another cup to drink it.
     
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    #5
    Ric O'shay said:
    I am so looking forward to the inevitible duck "what is yer favorite bbq sauce" thread!! Or mabey Mayo? Or best root beer!!
    Click to expand...
    Mayo is an absolutely vile condiment and should not exist in the modern world. It's like slapping paste on bread and has the same texture. Fight me on this (but remember this isn't the Pit).

    BBQ sauce- that's easy if we're talking grocery store brands. On the cheaper side, I find nothing wrong with "Sweet Baby Rays" and on the slightly more pricey side my old favorite is "Stubb's". But again, this isn't the Pit, this here is a civil discussion on cooler brands.

    -LD
     
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    #6
    Waco Kid said:
    Lifetime. Cheaper than Yeti by a good bit and will keep ice as long as you reasonably would need it to. Made in USA and supposedly bear proof.
    Click to expand...
    I've just started to become acquainted with the Lifetime brand and didn't realize they made coolers until this afternoon to be honest. But I have a few folding tables and chairs under that brandname. All seem to be of decent to good quality but I don't know much about them. The 2 or 3 videos I saw this afternoon mentioning them seemed to perform quite well with the coolers under their name though.

    -LD
     
    #7
    My 35qt yeti spent about 95% of it's time strapped down on the front deck of my Hewe's Tailfisher.
    It was less expensive than buying a front casting platform and performed double duty. A regular cooler would collapse under 200# of weight on top.
    It's been sitting on my garage floor since June or July off 2021. I sold the boat in September of that year and the yeti has become a home for spiders.

    Too damn heavy and too small internally for general use.
     
    #8
    Mike Casselton said:
    My 35qt yeti spent about 95% of it's time strapped down on the front deck of my Hewe's Tailfisher.
    It was less expensive than buying a front casting platform and performed double duty. A regular cooler would collapse under 200# of weight on top.
    It's been sitting on my garage floor since June or July off 2021. I sold the boat in September of that year and the yeti has become a home for spiders.

    Too damn heavy and too small internally for general use.
    Click to expand...
    I had to look up what a Hewes Tailfisher is- just as an aside, that's one beautiful boat you own sir.

    Also appreciate you sharing your experience as well.

    -LD
     
    #9
    Waco Kid said:
    Lifetime. Cheaper than Yeti by a good bit and will keep ice as long as you reasonably would need it to. Made in USA and supposedly bear proof.
    Click to expand...
    Their coolers are made in Ogden Utah (about 7 miles from my work). Some of their tables and chairs are made overseas but the coolers are here. Coworker used to work in their tool room making stuff.
     
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    #10
    1738730951930.png

    1738730966728.png


    On the topic- here's the Bison soft coolers I have...12/24 XD models... they work very well (at least for my purposes).

    If I were to wager a complaint- it wouldn't be on there insulating capabilities but the "ears" they have that snap to the body of the bas and the kinda 'dinky' shoulder straps...

    1738731221556.png


    A minor complaint for sure but worth mentioning/showing. As @hlee here previously mentioned in another thread- many folks aren't hauling their rotomold coolers across God's country (and they're right in that). So I do tend to prefer the lighter/more giving soft style coolers myself. Just works out better for me & my uses.

    -LD
     
    #13
    i have a Pelican 20qt elite cooler. Being relatively small, it is handy for lunch, snacks, and drinks when i go out in the woods for the day.

    It seems tough as nails!
    In fact, its so tough that i think i need to add a Nightforce sticker to it.
     
    #15
    Waco Kid said:
    Lifetime. Cheaper than Yeti by a good bit and will keep ice as long as you reasonably would need it to. Made in USA and supposedly bear proof.
    Click to expand...
    I am 3 hunting seasons in with my Lifetime coolers. Zero complaints. My wife got me a yeti for my birthday last year and it has not left the garage. Its smaller and heavier and doesnt do any better of a job
     
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    #16
    As someone that spent 22 years in Florida dealing with hurricanes... the ole Coleman works fine if you keep your damn hands out of the thing every 3 minutes. The fancy people had the white Igloos though. They were the envy of beer drinkers everywhere.
     
    #17
    If you want heavy duty coolers like the yeti style or brute or whatever especially if you want jumbo ones For packing your quarters elk hunting and have a long drive back home across the country look at commercial kitchen supply venders or catering venders you’ll thank me later
     
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