Ice coolers

Big dave

Big dave

Member
What brand of ice cooler are you folks using for ice retention? Are those 75qt. $500 cooler’s really that much better ?
Right now we’re using a 72qt. Igloo marine cooler (15 years old) and by the fourth day we’re looking for ice.
Not really interested in the battery power cooling systems at all.
Let’s talk about ice coolers.
Thanks Dave
Raven Dancer
 
The only thing I've found that reliably works for more than four days is to have two coolers. One with ice and food and drink that me and the kids get into multiple times a day, and one with just ice that we open only when we need some ice to re-supply the food and drink cooler. Of course, block ice lasts longer.

I DO have one of those expensive coolers (I use it as my "ice-only cooler") but really, I think that any decent cooler will do the trick. I think that if your opening and closing a cooler many, many times a day (like we do when we are boating and camping), no cooler is going to keep ice for a week.

Also, do you know the trick to start with a cold cooler? You can melt a lot of ice getting a cooler cold enough to keep ice unmelted for an extended period.
 
Iam cheap so would not spend 600 on a cooler. We were always looking for ice on our longer fishing trips. Well Susan got tired of that and spent god knows how much for a high end cooler. Big heavy and thick walled. Works great . keeps ice for 5 days and I do not mean you are down to some ice at day 5. You have most of your ice at day 5 and your fish are dam near frozen. This year I am going to stop using just ice and start freezing water jugs for the ice cooler.
 
..... no cooler is going to keep ice for a week
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My $600 120 quart Yeti does.....if properly managed. It transformed how we cruise. There are Chinese knock-offs for the Yeti too, at half the price, and I'd bet they do pretty well too. BTW, these heavy duty coolers make a great seat in the cockpit since they are virtually indestructible.

P.S. I freeze 4 one liter plastic jugs in the freezer (jugs are medical grade, I found re-purposed ones just split as the water freezes). They just fit, lining the bottom lying on their side. I add a bag of party ice too for drinks. The party ice is gone in a week, but there is still some ice in the jugs.
 
Here Is a good comparison.

This study is pretty much in line with what we have found thru the years. We do have one of the root molded thick insulation double gaskets coolers. They do the best job. Yeti is probably the top of the line. But there are some that are very close and a little less expensive.

Many of us have gone to the "Battery powered cooling systems" which are really very good, and there are some which cost less than a good ice chest. Also the cooler can be smaller, since there is no demand for lots of space to put that fast melting ice in.

There is another factor--and those who live and boat in the PNW may not realize, but many parts of the US (and World ) are tropical, and the ambient temperatures may be in the 90 to 100* vs and 60's of PNW. Also there is the "quality of the ice". This is how the ice is formed--are the blocks frozen in molds and solid, or are they made of crushed ice which is compressed into blocks. There is a significant difference in the time the lice lasts.
 
We use a Pelican cooler I bought like 10 years ago. It hold ice like nobody's business, but it's bulky. The outside dimensions are much larger than the interior. For that reason I don't recommend it. Ive abused it and busted the latches off. replacement parts were cheap from their website. Good company, just not much capacity for the size of it IMO.

Soon, when I finally replace this Pelican, I'll probably buy an RTIC. Basically an almost exact copy of the Yeti for a lot less. Yeti even sued RTIC for copyright infringement which was settled out of court.

None of them will hold ice for a week where I live like they claim, but if I can get a full weekend out of it without buying ice Im good with it.
 
smckean (Tosca)":1vvzwkf2 said:
..... no cooler is going to keep ice for a week
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My $600 120 quart Yeti does.....if properly managed. It transformed how we cruise. There are Chinese knock-offs for the Yeti too, at half the price, and I'd bet they do pretty well too.

P.S. I freeze 4 one liter plastic jugs in the freezer (jugs are medical grade, I found re-purposed ones just split as the water freezes). They just fit, lining the bottom lying on their side. I add a bag of party ice too for drinks. The party ice is gone in a week, but there is still some ice in the jugs.
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I feel that you improperly quoted me there, cutting off the caveat. I can tell you right now that 12 year old kids going in and out of a cooler all day and night for food and drinks do not "properly manage" a cooler. It's a miracle if they close it on occasion.
 
smckean (Tosca)":37b5bxb4 said:
....those who live and boat in the PNW may not realize....
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The OP lives in the PNW.....so the comments apply to him.
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Camping/Gunkholing in Shallow Bay on Sucia Island in July and August...you can melt some ice. It's warm and the sun is not all the interested in setting.
 
I have and Rtic and two Yeti. They keep ice in them over twice as long as a regular cooler. Bought the Rtic first and found out it was made in China and not Texas. Bought the two Yeti after finding out they were made in America. Buy American in you can. China doesn't have America's interest at heart.
 
johnr":ri74ppki said:
I feel that you improperly quoted me there, cutting off the caveat.
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You're right! Sorry about that. You prefaced the part I quoted with:

I think that if your opening and closing a cooler many, many times a day....
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The thought "...I get a week of ice..." just popped into my head. I replied without thinking :oops:. Mea Culpa.
 
forrest":38if7q68 said:
I have and Rtic and two Yeti. They keep ice in them over twice as long as a regular cooler. Bought the Rtic first and found out it was made in China and not Texas. Bought the two Yeti after finding out they were made in America. Buy American in you can. China doesn't have America's interest at heart.
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I agree with you and don't mind spending more for products manufactured in the USA. I don't even buy a pair of shoes anymore unless its made in the US. Unfortunately for Yeti, most of their products are made in the Phillipines and China. They've used clever marketing and omitted origin stickers on their products to try and gloss over their overseas manufacturing. We have some Yeti products, and my favorite is their stainless steel 12 oz. soda can koozie. It will hold a beer cold for hours in the Florida heat, which is pretty remarkable. They make a great product and certainly are at a price point that American manufacturing seems possible. They're higher priced than their competitors which actually are made in the US. :lol:
 
I have two 20-qt RTIC coolers. I find that the smaller space leads to better efficiency and the weight is more manageable compared to a 40 to 45-qt. This allows me to take one ashore in the tender or move them around in the cockpit for use as seats. I added snap on cushions for this purpose and they work out great!
 
PaulNBriannaLynn":19p9m4y7 said:
... I agree with you and don't mind spending more for products manufactured in the USA. I don't even buy a pair of shoes anymore unless its made in the US. ...
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Just do your due diligence when looking for things that are "Made in the USA".

A Toyota Corolla has more US made content than a Ford F-150.

All Toyota Sienna minivans in North America are made in Indiana.
 
Are the RTIC coolers the really lite ones I see on facebook ads? There is one that pops up in ads that is really lite and half the price of a yeti and floats. Loving the yeti but dam its heavy.
 
starcrafttom":2kvuikhw said:
Are the RTIC coolers the really lite ones I see on facebook ads? There is one that pops up in ads that is really lite and half the price of a yeti and floats. Loving the yeti but dam its heavy.
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I don't think so, the ones I checked out at the Ace hardware seemed about the same weight as the equivalent Yeti. They may have new options, I havent been paying attention.

The Pelican coolers are extremely heavy and have rubber feet so moving them around is impossible without lifting.
 
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