Hunting & Fishing HD Coolers

[BALLISTIC]

I need a new cooler for hunting this year as my old one is pretty beat. I have never owned a cooler that cost more than $100, so this is new for me. I am looking for a cooler that will outlast the standard Coleman and Igloo ones. I am looking at ~100 Qt. sizes, as this will be for truck/camp usage, and it won't be moved often. The top two I am interested in is the Brute 100 Qt and the Pelican 95 Qt, as they are both Made in USA, and nearly the same price, ~$400 each. The Pelican weighs 10lbs more, so I would think it has better/more insulation and hardware than the Brute. I think the wider size of the Brute would be better for access, as I don't see a need to have much depth. Although the square shape is most likely better for maintaining temperature. Either way it's a tossup for me, so what say you?

 

[KNIGHT11B4]

I own several Igloo Yukon coolers, they are light years from your standard cooler. I know Ill draw fire from the fans by saying this but they blow a Yeti out of the water.

They are worth every penny and live up to the challenge. Super well thought out, well built, and keeps ice a looooong time.

Yukon

★ ★ Igloo® Take-on Yukon? Challenge ★ ★

Let me know if I can answer any questions.

 

[crawdad1]

I hate to admit it but there is a reason everyone compares their cooler to yetis.

 

[RedBull6]

Everyone compares to the Yeti because of their marketing and they were the first known HD cooler. I am a multiple Yeti owner. But there are too many similar performance coolers at a lower price point nowadays. I keep looking at the big Pelican at Costco......

 

[crawdad1]

I liked the pelican but the bulkiness kept me from getting one, wanted it to fit in back floorboard of the truck

 

[Rthur]

We have used a canyon 210 qt for years. Very well built and has done everything we have asked of it.
Check them out.


R

 

[Jig Stick]

Ive loaded up my Yeti 125 with 50lbs of ice and 240 lbs of fresh caught king salmon when I was out fishing two weeks ago on Lake Ontario. Cooled the fish down nice and fast, and kept them cold for 5hrs while I drove back to Pittsburgh. Handles are nice and sturdy. 5 days later my cooler still had a giant solid block of ice covering the entire bottom 3 inches of the cooler. It really is a beast. Ive beat on this cooler on my boat and during hunting season, and it takes everything I can throw at it. I looked at the BruteBox, Pelicans, Igloos, FrigidRigid, ORCAs, K2, blah blah blah…But when it comes down to it, all get compared to the Yeti. its the standard. And the Yetis come in a larger variety of sizes to fit you needs. And their dimensions seemed to work out better for me….ie fitting on my boat and on my hitch hauler.

 

[Trevor300wsm]

I have the pelican and I like it. Its the only HD cooler ive ever owned so its hard for me to compare it against another brand. I went with Pelican over the Yeti because I did not like the handles or the lid latches on the yeti. The Pelican is better built in my opinion.

 

[rrflyer]

Buddy got a pelican and traded out his yeti.

They're nice but the drain plug sweats like crazy.... So it's a NoGo for me.

 

[Sixfivesavage]

Buddy got a pelican and traded out his yeti.

They're nice but the drain plug sweats like crazy.... So it's a NoGo for me.

The pelican does or the yetti?

 

[Cranedaddy]

I have a pelican for work and comparing it to my coworker's yeti coolers I like the pelican much better. It will keep ice about 1\2 to 1 day longer than the regular ones and even when the ice melts it will keep drinks cold for another day.

 

[rrflyer]

The pelican does or the yetti?

Pelican

My yeti broke but they shipped me a new one no questions.

 

[terrell35744]

I like my pelican 45qt and 95qt they work well keeping food cool and are built well. Before I had the pelican I used an Igloo ultra marine 35QT that I added a gasket, latches and filled the lid with Great Stuff low expansion foam. With those mods it worked much better and was about $50 with the extras HAHa.

 

[PowerstrokeOBX]

HD Coolers

Everyone compares to the Yeti because of their marketing and they were the first known HD cooler. I am a multiple Yeti owner. But there are too many similar performance coolers at a lower price point nowadays. I keep looking at the big Pelican at Costco......

This^ is truth. I even own 6 yetis from the 45 to the 250s. The 200+ are 0 fun to lift when loaded down. I have Orca and Igloos HD cooler. I like them all.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Dtarget]

Have owned several Brute and Pelican. Pelican is better built unit and keeps ice longer. You cannot beat the price of the Pelicans at Costco ($300 for 95qt and $250 for 65qt). My only gripe about the Pelican is the latches give me the impression that they will break. Not too concerned as it comes with warranty and purchased from Costco but seems like a poor design. The Pelicans also lack a decent place to grab lid to open the cooler. You can use the latches but it seems like repeated use will break the latches. I made a paracord handle through the steel padlock bracket to use as handle. I have had failures with Brute latches as well. They are held onto the cooler with a 1/8" rod so the holes in the rubber latch can easily pull around/tear.

I do not like the drain plug on the Brute coolers at all. They get stuck closed then blow out when draining (better not hang it over the edge of a boat while draining) and the cap acts as a diffuser and sprays water all over. The Pelicans have external thread that are compatible with a standard water hose (but only one drain). A pelican will drain faster than a Brute.

Pelicans have rigid handles vs rope on Brute. Doesn't matter to me much either way because it is not like you pick these up. Pelicans have larger/better tie down options.

The feet on Pelicans look to be glued on vs bolted like the Brute. Sometime it is nice to remove the feet if dragging around in bed of truck etc.

The shapes of the coolers are pretty different as well. Pelicans go up in height while Brutes get bigger in all dimensions. Pelicans do tend to be larger for their capacity than other options.

Top to bottom: 50qt Brute, 75qt Brute, 65qt Pelican, 95qt Pelican

 

[Dtarget]

I own several Igloo Yukon coolers, they are light years from your standard cooler. I know Ill draw fire from the fans by saying this but they blow a Yeti out of the water.

They are worth every penny and live up to the challenge. Super well thought out, well built, and keeps ice a looooong time.

Yukon

★ ★ Igloo® Take-on Yukon? Challenge ★ ★

Let me know if I can answer any questions.

Lots of nice features. I like the reversible feet. Neighbor just bought the Sportmans version and its a nice unit. Price was good at $200 for a 55qt

 

[diverdon]

One poster above recommended the Igloo Yukon. I have one and it is tough and seems bear proof. However I can not recommend it as mine keeps ice no better than a standard cooler. Also I would like to point out that the molded in handles take up a lot of space.

I froze a gallon milk jug of water in my freezer (which is set to zero degrees F) and put it into my empty Igloo Yukon in a 72 deg airconditioned room. Twenty four hours later the ice in the jug was 3/4 melted.

 

[flounderv2]

Ive been looking at HD coolers for a while now. My biggest complaint is that for a cooler of that size and weight, there are no wheels and appropriate handles for rolling them around. Dumbest decision ever for every single cooler maker to make something that large and then make it the biggest pain in the ass as possible to move around.

 

[Dtarget]

A furniture dolly works well for moving around on hard surfaces.

The key to getting them most out of the cooler is to make sure it is cool before heading out. Even filling it will water before ice will help suck the heat out of it.

 

[flounderv2]

A furniture dolly works well for moving around on hard surfaces.

The key to getting them most out of the cooler is to make sure it is cool before heading out. Even filling it will water before ice will help suck the heat out of it.

Im sure there are a ton of things that work well. The point is that coolers are not typically stationary pieces of equipment and by design they are meant to be portable. So why in the world would you make such a large heavy cooler with zero thought of how its going to be used. Thats just stupid and the reason I wont buy any of them until someone opens their eyes. If im heading out with a truck full of gear, why should I feel the need to pack a fricken furniture dolly for my cooler!!!!

 

[KNIGHT11B4]

Lots of nice features. I like the reversible feet. Neighbor just bought the Sportmans version and its a nice unit. Price was good at $200 for a 55qt

Your test is less than substantial. Try the same thing with a yeti or other cooler and you will get the same result. A more accurate test would be to get 2 coolers with very similar internal capacity. Keep them both in the s same room until they are the same temp then fill with ice completely.

Putting a giant ice cube in the middle of the best cooler in the world and you will still see melting. Having a huge cooler for small items is pointless.

 

[KNIGHT11B4]

Ive been looking at HD coolers for a while now. My biggest complaint is that for a cooler of that size and weight, there are no wheels and appropriate handles for rolling them around. Dumbest decision ever for every single cooler maker to make something that large and then make it the biggest pain in the ass as possible to move around.

The igloo Yukon has models with great wheels.

 

[flounderv2]

The igloo Yukon has models with great wheels.

Yeah but not on their large models.

 

[Jig Stick]

They are all good coolers. For me, Yeti was the right choice. None of the other manufactures make a cooler with the capacity and footprint that I needed. They were either too large externally, too small internally, too long or wide, etc. The 125 YETI fit the exact dimensions that I needed for it to be used on my charter boat. It acts as a cooler and another seat. All of the HD coolers will keep ice longer than you probably will even need it to. You can buy yourself a YETI and not look back…or buy another brand and keep thinking to yourself "I wonder if the YETI would have been better". lol. Just for resale value, I think YETI is a good decision. People know the name and are comfortable spending the $$$ on it. They know its a quality product. When I walk the docks at the harbors, their are 10 YETI coolers for every 1 of another brand…fwiw

 

[KNIGHT11B4]

Yeah but not on their large models.

Ah yea... wish they did.

 

[DetroitRearView]

I have 3 Pelican 95's and they are terrific for keeping game/food/ice

 

[Wyfox]

Igloo is on Promotive

 

[jdh4376]

I have 2 yeti coolers ,and have used the 65 qt all day every day for 3 years now ,and could not be more satisfied .