Yeti cooler 45 or 50

is it worth the extra pennies

I want something versatile compact but enough room for the cold ones I rarely go on camping or to the beach

comments or experience with yeti coolers

 

I have experience with yeti, rtic, and coleman coolers. Honestly the coleman xtreme 5 day stack up pretty well with the high end coolers. As long as you put block ice instead of cubed ice, and make sure the initial temp of the coolers is not hot when putting ice in, all coolers last the amount of time they say they do. Coleman xtremes are also $50-$100 (1/4+ as much as a yeti) and if you rarely go camping or to the beach it would be more cost effective for a coleman. I got 2 coleman xtreme marine 70s for $49 each and are amazing. Unless you want to pay for the brand and the yeti sticker for your truck I'd go with coleman or an rtic (1/2 price of yeti) if you want the yeti style cooler.

 

Do you plan on keeping it in the bed of the truck? Do you have a tonneau cover? The yeti 45 and 65 will fit under a tonneau and depending on the cover a 50 will not...it's taller. I have an Undercover classic and the 65 fits perfect. Im sure the RTICs are nice but I didn't feel like waiting 2+ months for it to ship.

 

Thanks for the info, And got the tundra 45

 

I used to think the high end coolers were good, just not worth the money. I may have to revise my opinion. I have a couple of the Coleman Extreme coolers that are supposed to keep ice for 5 days. Maybe they will in 70 degree weather which is about the temp I see all of these coolers tested. We camped 5 nights, 6 days the week before the 4th. Temps were in the mid to upper 90's during the day. The coolers were kept in the shade. I went through over 200 lbs of ice for the week. It's not just the expense of the ice, but the time, trouble and gas money spent making runs to the store for more ice.

There are some options now that are a little less expensive. I'm not ready to pull the trigger on one yet, but am researching them carefully.

 

Did you use cubed ice or block ice? Block ice last me the whole 5 days in New Mexico heat. Cubed does not

 

X2 on the Coleman Xtreme.

I bought the 36 Qt model below and used it on a 5 day remote fishing trip in late June/early July of this year. I pre cooled it the night before leaving and then packed it the next morning with only a block (in the event I needed more, I could have driven about an hour to refill). Temps were in mid 80's during the day and 50's at night and I still had over 1/2 of the block remaining on day 5. I kept it in the shade, but it was opened multiple times throughout the day. I didn't drain the water as that was still quite cold. Not bad for a fraction of the price & weight of the "high end" coolers.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy the 58 Qt version for a similar trip with more people than just myself.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Coleman-Xtreme-Marine-Pro-Coolers/1969868.uts?searchPath=/browse.cmd?categoryId=734095080&CQ_search=coleman+xtreme&CQ_st=b

 

If you're just wanting to keep some brew cold for a day at the beach or an overnight camping trip, almost any cooler will work, if you're spending an extended amount of time in the bush on a hunting trip or something and you have to keep food cold for a week, or you're concerned about a bear tearing it in half while you're sheep hunting up a mountain, then the alpha coolers might be worth it.

 

Block ice isn't commonly available around here. I've made my own by freezing water in milk jugs or 2 liter coke bottles in the past. I've found that a bag of ice left in the bag is the next best option. I put that in the bottom of the coolers, filled them with food and drinks and used loose ice to fill in the empty spaces.

 

Yeah I use old juice jugs as they are square and won't leak water everywhere once melted. Also can drink the water if needed.

Yup that is a good point about the bear proof. If you need bear proof go with one of the higher end ones

 

When camping/wheeling I have trouble keeping beeer in my Coleman. Lucky if it makes it into the second day