ice chest and cooler thoughts?

[Houndoc]

Seems surprising if this hasn't been covered before, so if it has someone just point me to it.

But, what "extreme" ice chests are really worth the money?

We need either a couple mid-size or one large cooler for our weeks at Lake Powell. Not having to buy block of ice each every day would be nice, but I also know you can buy a lot of ice for what some coolers cost.

 

[glockman]

I just bought a Lifetime 66 quart scratch and dent at their store for $96 I think. We've used it a few times now and it's a nice unit. All the reviews I've seen and read rate it really similarly to the Yeti and other higher end coolers.

 

[Kevin B.]

I can't find it now, but I read an article that compared a couple of the more expensive Yeti type coolers with a basic Coleman Marine and none of them performed better enough to warrant the extra cost, IMO.

 

[jeeper]

Yep, many videos showing the Ozark Trail and Lifetime performing a well as a Yeti.

 

[Hickey]

Can't go wrong with the Ozark Trails. I've had mine for 5 years and it's been great. They are cheap enough that you don't feel bad about abusing them.

 

[RockChucker]

I’ve been happy with my Ozark trail. Works great. I often will freeze water bottles and drink them as they thaw rather than blocks of ice.

 

[Hickey]

I’ve been happy with my Ozark trail. Works great. I often will freeze water bottles and drink them as they thaw rather than blocks of ice.

We like doing that as well. We'll even buy those 1 gallon square water jugs and freeze those before a trip. They stay frozen longer than the little bottles and the square shape is more efficient.

 

[Tonkaman]

I’ve only used super cheapo coolers or Yeti coolers, so not much input on midrange. I will say I absolutely love my Yeti for lake Powell trips. It lives on the deck of a houseboat all week and dramatically reduced how much Ice we buy.

 

[skippy]

I also have a yeti we take on boating trips. We freeze bread pans full of water and line the bottom of the cooler with them and then fill with goodies and then dump crushed ice on top of that. Lasts 3-4 days if you keep the cooler in the shade.

 

[nnnnnate]

I bought my yeti before there were a ton of knock offs and ended up buying a second small one for day/overnight trips. When I won a fridge in a raffle I sold the bigger yeti and now regret it because the fridge drains my battery too much and too fast. Because of what Hickey has said about them I've told anyone that has asked to buy an ozark trail. With walmart selling lifetime I'd probably get whatever of those I could find.

 

[stockblock]

I've got an old school Coleman cooler and a large Yeti. I spray foamed the lid on the Coleman which has allowed me to net 2 to 3 days out of my ice, apposed to my Yeti which nets me 3 to 4 days in the shade. However, I hate having to haul my yeti around due to the weight and size of the unit so I typically take the Coleman and sacrifice the additional day. Also, the Yeti is so damn big and consumes so much trunk space I only take it when we drive the truck.

 

[Hickey]

I bought a cheap electric fridge on Amazon back in October and I've used it now on two trips. It's Bluetooth and has battery protection and it's significantly smaller than my 52 quart Ozark. It fits well in the back of our Grand Cherokee and you can still open the lid all the way. I didn't run my Cherokee for several days in a row on the last trip and it still started up fine while the fridge was still running and keeping my beer cold.

Obviously, you need a power source to run these, but both trips were over a week long and no ice was ever needed. We're thinking about grabbing a second one to use as a freezer.

Alpicool LGCF45 Portable Refrigerator 12 Volt Car Freezer 48 Quart Mini Fridge Freezer (-4℉~68℉) for Truck, RV, Vehicle, Travel, Outdoor, Home -12/24V DC and 110-240V AC https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08MF2YS7G/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_MV3T6RW9BSGREYM15B7F?psc=1

 

[Kevin B.]

My cheap fridge ran for four days on a pair of deep cycle batteries and was still running when we got back to it. I dunno what the alternator situation is on @Houndoc's boat but a fridge is SUCH an improvement over a cooler with ice. If there's a way to top off batteries, it's absolutely the way to go.

 

[Shawn]

I have a few Yetis and a very large Cabelas cooler. I must say, the cabelas cooler is really good, it's similar to the yeti and works very well. My only grip with it is the side handles are molded in and stick out way too much.

 

[Rot Box]

For the $100 price tag I would not recommend this Igloo cooler. Plenty rugged but it doesn’t keep ice as long as I would have thought. Maybe it’s normal for a cooler or maybe I expected more… either way I wish I would have bought the Ozark or Yeti.

 

[ID Bronco]

I have an older Igloo rotomolded cooler I got at Sam's like 5-6 years ago and it is awesome. It is on par with Yeti. It was more money back then $200ish but other than being way too heavy it does a great job and has held up well.

 

[Tonkaman]

I have taken my ARB fridge down to Powell a few times as well. I can plug it in to 12v power on the houseboat patio. It really struggled to keep up with high temperatures. I prefer to take my yeti anymore.