Had a big trip and the Yeti 75 we bought wasn't enough space so we picked up a Coleman Xtreme(rear wheels) that had more useable volume and was on sale for about 100 bucks Canadian. Everything was frozen and both coolers pre chilled. Both were in the same cool/dark spot and care was taken to limit opening closing. The Coleman absolutly destroyed the Yeti. I was in disbelief and we had no intentions of comparing but the Yeti's performance was dismal. When we got back I returned the Yeti and the staff taking the return said I wasn't alone in my experience. Yes the Yeti is durable(no denying) but save your money.
Well you didn’t test the grandfather of roll mold coolers, ICEY-TEK. They were the first roll mold cooler ever made. Yeti got its start by buying ICEY-TEK and rebranding them with their name on the coolers. They did that for about a year until they had the money to have their on molds made. We love our Icey-tec
Already new Cabelas would absolutely ROCK this challenge from the beginning. But still impressive is Life Time for just being little over a hundred dollars hung in there like champ.
Me too! There is a lot of interest in that one as well. Unfortunately, I couldn't do them all, but I hope to do a follow up with some of the ones I missed the first time around. Thanks for watching!
@@theoutdoorempire I have that one and I like it, got it on clearance a little after thanksgiving for $45. I’m just curious how it stacks up against the competition in your testing. Looking forward to seeing it on a follow up video in the future.
Great question, and no I didn't say it in the video. I actually didn't record the specific temp of each cooler each day. I just recorded a 1 or a 0 (yes/no) as to A) whether the lid measured at a temp below 50F and B) whether the hot dog was 40F or lower. Anecdotally, I recall the coldest coolers measuring between 30-35F on the lid for several days until they hit the heat curve when it shot up. Although even after the ice melted they'd hold at or below 35F for another day or so. The underperforming coolers were usually around 45F +/- on the lid the whole time, then shot up to 60+ within a few hours of losing all their ice.
True, most people don't need that. There are a lot of backcountry hunters out West here who will be off the grid for a couple weeks that take full advantage of it.
With so many different sizes, I knew I couldn't rule that variable out, so I tried to get them all at about the same level proportionally. Can't win them all!
@@theoutdoorempire Then judge them proportionally......the spreadsheet should account for volume of ice added by weight vs the time. This test could have been done with garbage bags with different amounts of ice and I could tell you that more ice will mean it takes longer to melt.
Wow that was quite informative and definitely a few surprises. Thanks very much. A tip for people using coolers take bottles of water freeze them solid and put them in instead of ice. It will keep order drinks and food cool for longer and you can also drink the bottles of water . You will find using bottles of water will increase the length of time of your cooler anywhere between 25 to 50%. My top cooler tip.
Totally agree as i ve tested this extensively in very hot weather. I would like to add to that a couple of tips. Frozen bottles always on top. When melted can be placed in the bottom and new frozen ones on top. If you have to have ice for any reason, then, place water-tight food or drink conainers at the bottom and the ice (in a bag with holes) on top, at a height that would prevent the water from the melted ice to come to contact with the ice cubes. This way 1. the cool water will maintain the containers (food or drinks) cooler since they are submerged in liquid, 2. the remaining ice cubes will last longer since the do not contact the water and 3. the overall temp of the box will be lowerr since less air is in the box. It also helps to have a full box with pre frozen things where possible.
I know your intent was to conduct this test in "Real World" conditions but your also need to ensure each cooler has equal exposure to direct sunlight instead of some in the sunlight and others in the shade. Heating up the outside in direct sunlight has profound effect on ice retention.
Indeed, I did pay very close attention to that. It's not all shown in the video, but each cooler had about 95% shade throughout the day with the remainder as filtered sunlight at some point in the day. They sat under trees right next to each other with a fence and house to the south, a fence to the west, and a house to the east. About as even as one can find without going indoors.
It was about as fair as one can expect. I have the Lifetime as I didn’t want to drive to another city to get the yeti so I got TGIF one. Says American made
@@theoutdoorempire The test does favor the ones that get shade in the later part of the day when the ground s hot and so is the air. So the result will vary, the only way to truly test it would be to run the test multiple times with positional changes on each run, and average the results. Also length of time the lid is opened will effect them, and time of day opened will change the results. So again a average of multiple tests is needed. It still good information, but if outside you should run it multiple times with the shift in location for runs. Yes, I know it sucks to spend a month to et data for a 30 minute video. Also a more spread sheet approach make s comparing the data you collected easier to see, and please add the price point at testing. I think most of us like the idea of best for long term, best length for the price, those of us on budget really like that one. If I only need ice for 4 days, and this one will do it for 35 dollars, its a good buy. If this one also will make my 4 days but costs 400+dollars why buy it?
Its not a perfect test. Better would be to have them all in a line perpendicular to the suns path but who has that kinda space with nothing to block the light. Also could do an indoor test or under patio shaded test but either way this only confirms other tests. Like we knew the cabelas would do well already and or ive seen a lot showing its effectiveness and personally tested. Its very good but ofc the best the the yeti v series and qoolbox. Im not sure which of those the king of the coolers 😂😮
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Thanks for doing this. That was alot of money just to help others see what is the best. Probably go with Rtic for price, if I can't find a deal on a Cabella's. Bass Pro outlet had some with scatches and dents priced worth buying. If I spent $400 on something to keep stuff cold it better have a way to cool itself.
Thanks for this comparison. I have a couple of Lifetime coolers that I bought at wally world about 5 years ago for 99 each. For a hundred bucks I've never been disappointed. All the meats go in completely frozen and we've still had semi frozen meat after a week of high 80's. One thing I found that helps id pack the meat as you plan to eat it - first day on top last day on bottom. We use the second one for drinks, condiments, etc. Flapping the lid constant we only get about 3-4 days out of it before doing an Ice run but I usually need more beer and bait by then anyway!
Great tips! I just did the same thing at a family reunion. One cooler for food and meat we only opened once a day or so at dinner time and one cooler for drinks that was flopping open all day long. The first one never needed more ice but the latter did.
I just assumed YETI would outperform everyone. When they 1st came out they were far and above the best coolers. Thankfully their performance got their competition to start improving their coolers.
For sure! They're still probably the market leader because they're so big, but the competition is fierce now and there are so many cooler companies working to outperform the others in one way or another.
For me it’s the RTIC 65. It keeps ice for 7 days and of all the rotomolded coolers this is the cheapest at $197. Plus it comes in the tan color which matches my ATV.
Until I saw your ice challenge I was torn between buying the Coho 55 and the Lifetime 55, which were at a similar price point. In your video, I was impressed with how the blow molded Lifetime kept up with the some of the top rotomolded coolers such as Yeti and RTIC, while outperforming the Coho 55. Needless to say I chose the Lifetime. Thanks!
Good choice! And I'm glad it was helpful. I definitely like the price of both of those too, but that Lifetime does have an edge on the Coho, I do believe.
the Coho is the only one that fits under my Tonneau cover. The Lifetime, Orion, RTIC, etc. all exceed the 16.00 inch maximum of my Ridgeline. The Yeti Tundra 45 will also fit, but at twice the price….
I have bought a 55qt lifetime 4 years ago and still use this damn thing everyday at work…it’s a great ice chest and stronger than shit, sitting in the bed of my pickup rain or shine
I bought the COHO from Costco, ($110) at close to 1/2 the price of the lifetime, I could not justify the addition price for 1 additional day of keeping the ice cold. Now I do realize that you get an additional 10 qts of storage, so that's good, but for $220 you could buy two Coho's and have 110 qts, and each would be easier to carry, but you would need the additional space for them. I'm going to try using frozen water bottles and also igloo ice blocks instead of ice to see if I get an extended time beyond 6 days. As a rule, I don't go anywhere that I need cooled that long before I can buy ice to top up, so I guess you can get crazy with these longer time frames. Also, if one opens the lid 5 times a day, compared with keeping the lid closed, what does this do to the cool longevity?
Bought the Coleman Marine Xtreme for a trip to Florida ~4 years ago. It has been a fantastic cooler for ~$50 bucks. Holds ice for days in the summer heat
I have a Yeti and a Lifetime 55. The Lifetime is every bit as good and 1/3 the price. Its a no brainer unless youre just one of those that like to brag about owning a Yeti
Story idea: Does an ice maker, used in combination with an efficient cooler, use less electricity than an equal size 12v refrigerator? 12v refrigerators very costly and require expensive power systems to support the continuous draw. It's possible that a cooler ice maker combo may be more efficient by cost comparison. As well as having ice on hand for drinks is a bonus. It would be an interesting experiment. Keep up the good work. Cheers!
I have the Coleman and Igloo that were eliminated early, but I also have an Rtic 65. It works well, but it is heavy and wide, which makes it difficult to carry when loaded.
Feel pretty good about that Orca i just bought on a whim cause I heard they were good compared to Yeti. Plus I've always had an aversion to a lot of fellas with Yeti coolers and didn't want to be seen as on of those Yeti sticker guys 😂. Also the fact that I love an underdog.
I suppose it's all relative, but temps were in the 90s to low 100s when I did that test. It does cool off to the 60s or so at night here in Idaho though.
I hope you can do a test where they are all in the sunlight all day. When you're out on a boat with little to no shade or you're out in the field where there is no shade, it can have a huge impact on a coolers performance. Especialy on a blacktop.
@@Oxibase Not on a work barge... Not on a road construction crew... Not when you are in Florida when it got hot enough in 2023 to melt the souls of my boots.
I have 2 Rtic coolers, a 65 and 45. The 65 I’ve had for just over 3 years and it has been outside the entire time. In the height of summer, I get a good 7 days to keep drinks cold. Very happy with it. It is the perfect way to get more room in the fridge.
Shade always helps but the winners got no more of it than any others. Every cooler got the same amount of sunlight each day and it wasn't much. Remember, these were out there for 10 days and this video was only 20 minutes long. And the Earth rotates so the sunlight moves. 😉
I paid 39 bucks for my Coleman Extreme, and 65 bucks for my 55 quart Lifetime cooler, both on sale at the end of the year a few years back (Lifetime is 129 today), and they both keep ice for a week when only opened once a day. The Coleman was the best deal ever.
Great video! It would be interesting to see this same test done in a climate controlled environment. Eliminating any variables such as how much direct sunlight each cooler gets. Cooler colour could also be a factor as they would absorb solar radiation differently.
Nah, I don't want to see how long I can store ice in a cooler in a way you don't use a cooler. I have a Sears deep freezer for that. I'd much rather see them used as they are found in the wild. Opened and dug through breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, and dinner. That way you know what you're looking at on the trip.
Good video I think the tiebreaker could’ve been broken by price could’ve given some points and broke in the tiebreaker like that. Also, I think leaking cooler should’ve been disqualified. I feel like the reason there was ice in the cooler that long was due to the fact that it was unable to retain the water.
Thanks for the feedback! The Cabela's is $35 less than the Orion but besides ice retention there's a bunch of other stuff I like better about the Orion so it's my preferred. I just published another video about the best rotomolded coolers you could check out that goes into all that. As far as leakers go, OtterBox just discontinued hard coolers so they're out of the running anyway. The Cabela's, Engel, and an Igloo were also leaking a bit for the first day but that was user error, not a defect.
Great test. I think it would be cool if there was a way to factor in price, maybe a cost per day calculation to see if the extra money is worth it. Also a bonus point for Made in the USA would have been nice, although I think most are made here.
Ya those are both interesting factors, but for this ice retention test I only wanted to look at that, ice retention. I'm working on another video where I take I to account things like price and where made so keep an eye out for that.
@@theoutdoorempire Excited to see it, but I know I'm not the only one who wanted to know which one was the best retention at a "reasonable" price point. I was hoping to see that after spending 20 minutes on this video.
To me it’s how long the cooler holds up to the test of time warranty and parts availability. Spending $500 on a cooler is not practical for a lot of people but if it lasts and performs well for 20 -30 years it’s worth it. Most people 2-3 days and $150 is fine.
Love my Canyon cooler. The fact that its an even shaped cooler with no weird angles or handles makes it easy to pack or store is a +. Their amazing warranty was the defining factor for me.
Your test is flawed. 40 lbs of ice per cooler might fill up some coolers but in others might be partially filled. Right off the bat your test is meaningless. Coolers need to be filled to the top to determine their best performance. For example 40 lbs of ice will last much longer in a 54 qt cooler than a 100 qt cooler. Duh, right? One would get the wrong idea that a cheaper 54 qt cooler holds ice better than a rotomolded 100 qt. See what I mean? Also coolers need to be prechilled. Coolers that are heavier and have more mass will melt more ice vs a lighter cooler with less mass as it tries to get down to temperature. It's possible that the best coolers in your test were eliminated early because of this. I think your test should be labeled as "what happens when you don't prechill your cooler and don't fill it to the top".
I would really like to see this same test done on wheeled coolers. Us older folks need wheels to lighten the loads we carry. That Orion 65 weighs 36 pounds empty. When loaded it would be too heavy for me to carry.
Indeed, I love a good wheeled cooler too. While I didn't call them out specifically, there are several wheeled coolers in this video. I also did another video specifically about the Best Coolers with Wheels. And I'm working on a round 2 ice challenge with more wheeled options.
@@theoutdoorempire I was at Cabela's today looking at coolers because they did so well in your tests. Their coolers have two holes near the bottom and a sticker saying they are for the optional dolly. The dolly picture looked interesting but the sales person could not find any information on it.
@@rksando1 Ya I remember seeing that too. I think I figured out last year that they actually quit making the dolly. Too bad, but I think there are some third party wheel solutions on Amazon.
There's definitely some truth to that. Though that Coleman Xtreme Marine is one of the cheapest I tested and it did just as well as coolers that cost 5x as much.
One thing that I have found with my Yeti 48 is that if I follow the manufacturers suggested instructions on best practices, I have zero water inside for 4-5 days. Precool and use their ice packs in conjunction with regular ice. They also say that dry ice can be used in their hard coolers as well.
Awesome video!! In extreme 110’ + heat here in so cal I’ve found the roto molded coolers suffer and eventually warp and lose the sealing power, the pelican elite/ otterbox venture injected molds have held up a tad bit better but just goes to show you every cooler has its purpose!
Have a venture 65 in my truck bed 3 years or so in SoCal it’s perfectly fine. Light blue on the handles are a bit faded. I had a pelican in truck bed and eventually the top did get a bit of a bulge but did keep working. Latches eventually go damaged. OtterBox latches best there are. Don’t make them anymore though.
Would love to really have something to do about weight in your analysis. Some of these coolers are so heavy. It takes two people to lift them. You might try Rugged Road in your analysis.
Noted on Rugged Road and yes, most are quite heavy. I've got that in my spreadsheet and I think on our website but didn't squeeze it into this video. Thanks for watching!
I purchased most of them and maybe a quarter to a third of them were given to me as samples to try out by companies. No sponsors, no strings attached, and no promises of content or anything like that. I still have most of them. I have a lot of ideas for other cooler videos I wanna do!
Lost my old timer Coleman that wat awesome for bwca trips😔 Nice to see your numbers on the blog. I have "borrowed" the Lifetime for an entire year of sub freezing to 100° off the grid use for 3, and it was good. Camping, the latches delt with raccoons fine. May buy one now for the odd camping trip seeing how they stack up.
Love the video. However, you said you added the extra ice to the larger coolers so they were full. That probably played a factor in the ice retention/amount of ice present in the results.
Indeed. I knew I was dealing with apples and oranges with different sizes, but my intention was also to try and quantify how big of a difference size makes in ice retention. For example, the Cordova 48 qt cooler went for 6 days, about a day shorter than most of the ~60 quart rotomolded coolers. Adding more ice to the larger ones was an effort to fill every cooler with ice roughly the same proportionally (about 80% full regardless of size). Not perfect, but made sense to me at the time.
I have a yeti tundra and it retains ice and cold temps pretty good. Went camping 2 weeks ago and still had nice cold drinks in it when I emptied it out. I really think it depends on where they are as in sun/shade. I was a good mix of both. And it’s basically gonna come down to what someone likes. I’m not saying yeti is the best or any other brand is the best. Get what you like and run with it. Great comparison.
I don’t think the otter box would have held I’ve as long if it didn’t leak. Not saying it’s a bad cooler it just wasn’t a fair test because of the leak.
I own an otterbox 45qt, it is a beast, beat all my buddies coolers over the long weekend camping. But like you said, it's super annoying because it's almost like they don't want part of the cooler market anymore
Sorry yall,but the best one is not mentioned here,the moose jaw is way better than any of them,I can assure u on that,just bought the 55 qt moose jaw ice fort with big rugged wheels, it's everything a yetty want to be at half the coast,put 40 lbs of ice in sat on front porch in direct sun,in fl,lasted 7 days,sirously pluse stood it up on its ass with water in it and not a drop came out,it's that good ....
Love my Kong coolers! I own a 50qt and 70qt and did a ton of research before buying them. They are packed with cool design features like the internal divider slots and shelf for the cutting boards, also the kickstand for the handles to turn the cutting boards into a table. The gorilla bottle opener is cool and the rubber “krush” guards are a nice safeguard to prevent the little ones from smashing their fingers. I also like the notch in the back of the lid that allows you to open the cooler while it’s against the wall. The Kongs are a-lot more than just awesome ice retention. I sold my two overpriced and overhyped Yeti’s after buying my Kong coolers.
Oh man, another one I need to add to the list! So many good coolers out there. I'll have to try do another test once I replenish my cooler budget, haha. 😂
Probably that Coleman Xtreme Marine. You gotta get the Marine one (white) though. It's pretty darn cheap and held ice as long as YETI and other big brands. But if you want a bear proof cooler that's pretty cheap, probably that Xspec.
Kinda neat but also not actually that helpful. In my mind there are 3 variables that were not controlled and likely had a great affect on the out come. 1) these coolers are all different sizes/hold different amounts of ice. This could have been controlled by only comparing coolers of the same size or maybe even using the same amount of ice in each cooler. To no surprise, the cooler that started with the most ice ended with the most ice. 2) these coolers are all different colors, this will have an effect on the internal temperature. All coolers tested should have been white. 3) the coolers should have been rotated around the yard in a fixed schedule so they all experienced the same amount of sun light/heat exposure and noted the cloud/overcast for each day. I feel that the only thing you proved is that if you want to keep stuff cold for a long time get a bigger cooler, not which brand you should get.
I appreciate your input! And indeed there are many variables, too many to test in one environment. And also, impossible to get the same size, color, etc from different manufacturers. We weren't going for a lab-controlled experiment since none of us actually use coolers in a controlled lab environment. The idea here was to demonstrate how each of these coolers performed in and of themselves in the heat of summer as if you're out camping. And out of the lot, which held on the longest. If you just look at, say, the Orca 58 or the Canyon 55, or the RTIC 65, you'll have a pretty good idea of what you can expect. Indeed bigger coolers generally do better. But you also saw a few smaller ones go longer and a few larger ones bow out earlier. As far as the shade/sun exposure goes, I answer in more detail in about a dozen other comments, but basically they all were about as even as you could hope for. Remember, this video is only 20 minutes long and these coolers were out there for 10 days!
Those that are whining and complaining about cooler color, cooler capacity, cooler ice volume, shade, sun, thermometer used, blah blah blah .... do your own test, and post your video on youtube so we can all pick apart your "imperfect" methods. Please do it. Good grief..... Anyway .... i own the Igloo BMX i think its called. It's that grey one with the blue rubber tie downs. It works perfect for my needs. I was surprised it lasted only 5 days in your test. Thanks for the effort. Looking forward to a future test.
Ya eventually I decided there were too many variables to try and control in one test so I just went about it how I thought made sense for how I really use coolers. And regardless of the comparison it gives a decent picture of how each individual cooler performs on its own.
Actually the test is wrong. 99% of those boxes will be used in a sunny environment, not taking direct UV radiation into consideration and how it affects the cooling temperature
@@theoutdoorempire No doubt! I find myself going for the blue and white marine igloo and the 150 quart marine igloo more often than not due to weight. The 270 gets used offshore. Carrying the damned Rotos around is a chore.
You should do this test again with the top 5 or 10 coolers, (all the same size) but get them all in (white) instead of colored coolers. Then see who comes out on top.
That would be interesting, though I've seen some other tests like that which suggest color has relatively little impact if the insulation is good. Perhaps hours of difference but not really days. But I'm not opposed if I can swing it!
Flawed methodology. You put 10 lbs solid block of ice in each one and then measure the time until the water hits 45 degrees with an immersion thermometer.. Of course a bigger cooler with more ice will stay colder longer.
Great fun ! Only brands missing were KONG and TITAN. Larger coolers are always going to out perform smaller ones 'cause of more ice. Not fair to compare small, medium and large in the same test.
My son worked on the Lifetime cooler line here in the USA. They pay well with great benefits. Because they are much cheaper than Yeti, and are local to me, I picked one up. Great cooler. Great review. A lot of work, but great results.
I have Yeti cooler that was gave to us as a gift. I pack it for weekly trips and by day four the ice is melted. And that’s sitting in an air conditioned room. I have never been impressed with it.
That's a bummer. I'm pretty sure under regular use when being opened a lot none of these coolers would do quite as well as they did in this ice challenge.
Watch the sequel with MORE coolers (38), more ice, and a NEW winner!! 👉 ua-cam.com/video/TiIP6JLu9Jc/v-deo.html
The best chest is the one with beer.
🍻
Real funny tuff guy
Not if it’s warm beer 😂
@@ATLJonathan Warm beer is better than no beer.
@@josephconsuegra6420 let’s see a video of you drinking a 12 pack of warm beer then bet you won’t do it.
The cost to buy all these coolers, least we can do is like and subscribe
Appreciate it, thank you!
You can return them...
A good idea for comparison videos like this is a price to performance chart. Its nice to see which competitors are overcharging and underperforming
I love this. Will definitely incorporate that into the next one.
I agree as price. Be nice to see which cost's more.
@@lendowe4948 For now you can see pricing info on the written review on our website. outdoorempire.com/best-coolers-ice-retention/
Had a big trip and the Yeti 75 we bought wasn't enough space so we picked up a Coleman Xtreme(rear wheels) that had more useable volume and was on sale for about 100 bucks Canadian. Everything was frozen and both coolers pre chilled. Both were in the same cool/dark spot and care was taken to limit opening closing. The Coleman absolutly destroyed the Yeti. I was in disbelief and we had no intentions of comparing but the Yeti's performance was dismal. When we got back I returned the Yeti and the staff taking the return said I wasn't alone in my experience. Yes the Yeti is durable(no denying) but save your money.
Wow interesting! Thanks for sharing.
I have Orca coolers and I love them. Glad to see they held up till the final 4.
Top dogs for sure!
Have you ever tested Thermik? We had one before we went to a portable fridge and absolutely loved it
No I have not, thanks for sharing. Yet another brand to add to my wish list!
Bless you for your dedication to finding the best cooler out there. You've made my decision so much easier. Thank you!
Well thank you for watching, much obliged!
Can you made a test with popsicles, ice pop, bolis, hielitos, marcianos whatever you call them please?
Interesting idea thank you. Do you sell them or something? How long do you want them to stay frozen?
I just bought a yeti, glad to see it made it as long as it did.
It's not just a pretty face. 😜
Well you didn’t test the grandfather of roll mold coolers, ICEY-TEK. They were the first roll mold cooler ever made. Yeti got its start by buying ICEY-TEK and rebranding them with their name on the coolers. They did that for about a year until they had the money to have their on molds made. We love our Icey-tec
So I've heard. Just received an Icey-Tek today. Stay tuned!
Can you compare small personal coolers, like the ones you carry with one hand? Would be nice to know which of those type of cooler insulates the best.
Good idea, I'll see what I can do.
Thank you so very much that challenge really helped me make my decision 👍
Glad I could help
Already new Cabelas would absolutely ROCK this challenge from the beginning. But still impressive is Life Time for just being little over a hundred dollars hung in there like champ.
Yep the Lifetime is great for ice and the price!
Wish you would’ve added the Ozark Trail roto-molded cooler from Walmart.
Me too! There is a lot of interest in that one as well. Unfortunately, I couldn't do them all, but I hope to do a follow up with some of the ones I missed the first time around. Thanks for watching!
@@theoutdoorempire I have that one and I like it, got it on clearance a little after thanksgiving for $45. I’m just curious how it stacks up against the competition in your testing. Looking forward to seeing it on a follow up video in the future.
Hopefully you were sponsored for these coolers. This seems to be a few grand for all of these coolers.
Ya it was a spendy venture. A few of them were given to us as samples, but we bought most of them at retail price. Definitely not sponsored.
Late to the game, but would love to know your thoughts on other coolers. We are interested in the Brumate 55qt which claims 7 days of ice retention.
Ya I wanna try out a Brumate too. Working on putting together another round!
Orion coolers and orca and OtterBox coolers are cool. Go out and get your today!!!
You heard the man...
RecTec Cooler is my choice..Out performs my Yeti’s by far..
Good to know!
Don’t sleep on the big bopper 💪😂
Sound advice.
Test a lifetime one I have one and it is really good
They are good and I actually did have one in this test. It went 7 days, right up there with YETI, RTIC, and the like.
I would love to see this but in the direct sunlight. My cooler stays in my truck bed getting blasted all day. Great comparison though!
Great point! And thanks for watching.
Great test and well done!
Glad you liked it! Thank you!
Amazing review test video ever!!!!
Very kind of you thanks!
What was the avg temp over the course of the experiment? Did you say that? could help
Great question, and no I didn't say it in the video. I actually didn't record the specific temp of each cooler each day. I just recorded a 1 or a 0 (yes/no) as to A) whether the lid measured at a temp below 50F and B) whether the hot dog was 40F or lower. Anecdotally, I recall the coldest coolers measuring between 30-35F on the lid for several days until they hit the heat curve when it shot up. Although even after the ice melted they'd hold at or below 35F for another day or so. The underperforming coolers were usually around 45F +/- on the lid the whole time, then shot up to 60+ within a few hours of losing all their ice.
The best for me is the Coleman. Price and ice for four days .
Hard to beat that bang for the buck.
Sick video
Glad you enjoyed!
Are you going to sell any now that youre done?
Maybe. Or I might just sell my fridge.
I always wonder who cooler really needs to stay cold for 10 days. How do they not need a beer run?
True, most people don't need that. There are a lot of backcountry hunters out West here who will be off the grid for a couple weeks that take full advantage of it.
Some of these coolers started with twice as much ice - of course they scored better
With so many different sizes, I knew I couldn't rule that variable out, so I tried to get them all at about the same level proportionally. Can't win them all!
@@theoutdoorempire Then judge them proportionally......the spreadsheet should account for volume of ice added by weight vs the time. This test could have been done with garbage bags with different amounts of ice and I could tell you that more ice will mean it takes longer to melt.
How much ice did you put in all of them
Filled them each approximately 80% full for their capacity with at least 40 lbs in each.
Wow that was quite informative and definitely a few surprises. Thanks very much. A tip for people using coolers take bottles of water freeze them solid and put them in instead of ice. It will keep order drinks and food cool for longer and you can also drink the bottles of water . You will find using bottles of water will increase the length of time of your cooler anywhere between 25 to 50%. My top cooler tip.
Love that tip! Thanks for sharing.
Totally agree as i ve tested this extensively in very hot weather. I would like to add to that a couple of tips. Frozen bottles always on top. When melted can be placed in the bottom and new frozen ones on top.
If you have to have ice for any reason, then, place water-tight food or drink conainers at the bottom and the ice (in a bag with holes) on top, at a height that would prevent the water from the melted ice to come to contact with the ice cubes.
This way
1. the cool water will maintain the containers (food or drinks) cooler since they are submerged in liquid,
2. the remaining ice cubes will last longer since the do not contact the water and
3. the overall temp of the box will be lowerr since less air is in the box.
It also helps to have a full box with pre frozen things where possible.
Totally impressed with the level of cost and effort this guy put into this test. Amazing. Just the editing alone is very much appreciated. Thanks!
Thanks so much for that! It was a lot of work but glad to do it.
So you really are just paying for the name with a yeti
They're great coolers, but you do pay a premium for the name.
Great video, only critique would be I would have loved to have seen a chart at the end with all the points and the price of each cooler.
Great feedback, thank you! I will keep that in mind for next time.
Price of coolers have went up dramatically. But they better than the 50$ cooler you use to get
I know your intent was to conduct this test in "Real World" conditions but your also need to ensure each cooler has equal exposure to direct sunlight instead of some in the sunlight and others in the shade. Heating up the outside in direct sunlight has profound effect on ice retention.
Indeed, I did pay very close attention to that. It's not all shown in the video, but each cooler had about 95% shade throughout the day with the remainder as filtered sunlight at some point in the day. They sat under trees right next to each other with a fence and house to the south, a fence to the west, and a house to the east. About as even as one can find without going indoors.
It was about as fair as one can expect. I have the Lifetime as I didn’t want to drive to another city to get the yeti so I got TGIF one. Says American made
@@theoutdoorempire The test does favor the ones that get shade in the later part of the day when the ground s hot and so is the air. So the result will vary, the only way to truly test it would be to run the test multiple times with positional changes on each run, and average the results. Also length of time the lid is opened will effect them, and time of day opened will change the results. So again a average of multiple tests is needed.
It still good information, but if outside you should run it multiple times with the shift in location for runs. Yes, I know it sucks to spend a month to et data for a 30 minute video. Also a more spread sheet approach make s comparing the data you collected easier to see, and please add the price point at testing.
I think most of us like the idea of best for long term, best length for the price, those of us on budget really like that one. If I only need ice for 4 days, and this one will do it for 35 dollars, its a good buy. If this one also will make my 4 days but costs 400+dollars why buy it?
Its not a perfect test. Better would be to have them all in a line perpendicular to the suns path but who has that kinda space with nothing to block the light. Also could do an indoor test or under patio shaded test but either way this only confirms other tests. Like we knew the cabelas would do well already and or ive seen a lot showing its effectiveness and personally tested. Its very good but ofc the best the the yeti v series and qoolbox. Im not sure which of those the king of the coolers 😂😮
Isn't it interesting the cooler that won, is also the cooler he conveniently has a coupon code for???
Orion Coolers gave us a coupon code! 😎 Enter code: DYMFJ9TET571 at checkout for an extra 5% off at jacksonkayak.com/outdoors/orion-coolers/coolers/. (This is NOT an affiliate link, just a little bonus for you!)
Thanks for doing this. That was alot of money just to help others see what is the best. Probably go with Rtic for price, if I can't find a deal on a Cabella's. Bass Pro outlet had some with scatches and dents priced worth buying. If I spent $400 on something to keep stuff cold it better have a way to cool itself.
It would be good if you would compare the setpower X50 at about $499 and how this compares.
Thanks for this comparison. I have a couple of Lifetime coolers that I bought at wally world about 5 years ago for 99 each. For a hundred bucks I've never been disappointed. All the meats go in completely frozen and we've still had semi frozen meat after a week of high 80's. One thing I found that helps id pack the meat as you plan to eat it - first day on top last day on bottom. We use the second one for drinks, condiments, etc. Flapping the lid constant we only get about 3-4 days out of it before doing an Ice run but I usually need more beer and bait by then anyway!
Great tips! I just did the same thing at a family reunion. One cooler for food and meat we only opened once a day or so at dinner time and one cooler for drinks that was flopping open all day long. The first one never needed more ice but the latter did.
I was thinking about buying a couple lifetimes after watching this. Didn't know they existed until I started doing some research!
I just assumed YETI would outperform everyone. When they 1st came out they were far and above the best coolers.
Thankfully their performance got their competition to start improving their coolers.
For sure! They're still probably the market leader because they're so big, but the competition is fierce now and there are so many cooler companies working to outperform the others in one way or another.
They were always overrated
@@whatscreenname Mine sat in the 105 degree sun for a whole 3 day weekend and kept everything cold.
@@mattcolver1 did it still have ice?
They were marketed as "the best" but actually were always overpriced. Yeti's $50 plastic bucket was peak.
For me it’s the RTIC 65. It keeps ice for 7 days and of all the rotomolded coolers this is the cheapest at $197. Plus it comes in the tan color which matches my ATV.
The RTIC is a great buy for sure!
I have the lifetime 65. Sams club for $170. Also a great buy.
Until I saw your ice challenge I was torn between buying the Coho 55 and the Lifetime 55, which were at a similar price point. In your video, I was impressed with how the blow molded Lifetime kept up with the some of the top rotomolded coolers such as Yeti and RTIC, while outperforming the Coho 55. Needless to say I chose the Lifetime. Thanks!
Good choice! And I'm glad it was helpful. I definitely like the price of both of those too, but that Lifetime does have an edge on the Coho, I do believe.
the Coho is the only one that fits under my Tonneau cover. The Lifetime, Orion, RTIC, etc. all exceed the 16.00 inch maximum of my Ridgeline. The Yeti Tundra 45 will also fit, but at twice the price….
I have bought a 55qt lifetime 4 years ago and still use this damn thing everyday at work…it’s a great ice chest and stronger than shit, sitting in the bed of my pickup rain or shine
I bought the COHO from Costco, ($110) at close to 1/2 the price of the lifetime, I could not justify the addition price for 1 additional day of keeping the ice cold. Now I do realize that you get an additional 10 qts of storage, so that's good, but for $220 you could buy two Coho's and have 110 qts, and each would be easier to carry, but you would need the additional space for them.
I'm going to try using frozen water bottles and also igloo ice blocks instead of ice to see if I get an extended time beyond 6 days.
As a rule, I don't go anywhere that I need cooled that long before I can buy ice to top up, so I guess you can get crazy with these longer time frames.
Also, if one opens the lid 5 times a day, compared with keeping the lid closed, what does this do to the cool longevity?
@@raywalker4656 are lifetimes +$200??? I paid $125 for mine on sale at Wally World
Bought the Coleman Marine Xtreme for a trip to Florida ~4 years ago. It has been a fantastic cooler for ~$50 bucks. Holds ice for days in the summer heat
I have a Yeti and a Lifetime 55. The Lifetime is every bit as good and 1/3 the price. Its a no brainer unless youre just one of those that like to brag about owning a Yeti
Lifetimes do perform quite well in my experience as well.
Story idea: Does an ice maker, used in combination with an efficient cooler, use less electricity than an equal size 12v refrigerator? 12v refrigerators very costly and require expensive power systems to support the continuous draw. It's possible that a cooler ice maker combo may be more efficient by cost comparison. As well as having ice on hand for drinks is a bonus. It would be an interesting experiment. Keep up the good work. Cheers!
This is very close to an idea I have been mulling over for a video, with the twist of the ice maker. I love it! Thanks for sharing.
The Orca cooler designed and MADE in the USA, just in case you want to buy USA.
Indeed it is!
Bro only made this video since he promised his wife it was for a video
Somethin like that haha.
I have the Coleman and Igloo that were eliminated early, but I also have an Rtic 65. It works well, but it is heavy and wide, which makes it difficult to carry when loaded.
Yeah, the RTIC is heavy. And that's not to say the Coleman and Igloo are bad. They suit a lot, if not most, needs. Just depends on what you want.
Feel pretty good about that Orca i just bought on a whim cause I heard they were good compared to Yeti. Plus I've always had an aversion to a lot of fellas with Yeti coolers and didn't want to be seen as on of those Yeti sticker guys 😂. Also the fact that I love an underdog.
Haha, I hear you there! The Orca is a solid cooler for sure.
Orca are also made in the US. Yeti are made in China
I want to see those coolers tested in the heat
I suppose it's all relative, but temps were in the 90s to low 100s when I did that test. It does cool off to the 60s or so at night here in Idaho though.
I hope you can do a test where they are all in the sunlight all day.
When you're out on a boat with little to no shade or you're out in the field where there is no shade, it can have a huge impact on a coolers performance.
Especialy on a blacktop.
That would be interesting, I'll see what I can do.
There is plenty of shade on the boat. Just put the ice chest in one of the bedrooms or the kitchen.
Did you ever do this ?
@@Oxibase Not on a work barge...
Not on a road construction crew...
Not when you are in Florida when it got hot enough in 2023 to melt the souls of my boots.
@@bigrollin Plenty of jobs in Florida where there is NO shade and it gets hot enough to cook on the sidwalk and start melting tread on your boots.
Winners are under the tree
I have 2 Rtic coolers, a 65 and 45. The 65 I’ve had for just over 3 years and it has been outside the entire time. In the height of summer, I get a good 7 days to keep drinks cold. Very happy with it. It is the perfect way to get more room in the fridge.
Thanks for the info! That's awesome.
Wish i bought a coolman but instead bought a foolman 😢😢😢
You're not alone, my friend. 👊
good to know that if you keep your cooler under shade ie the tree those last ones are under they stay colder longer 😆
Shade always helps but the winners got no more of it than any others. Every cooler got the same amount of sunlight each day and it wasn't much. Remember, these were out there for 10 days and this video was only 20 minutes long. And the Earth rotates so the sunlight moves. 😉
I paid 39 bucks for my Coleman Extreme, and 65 bucks for my 55 quart Lifetime cooler, both on sale at the end of the year a few years back (Lifetime is 129 today), and they both keep ice for a week when only opened once a day. The Coleman was the best deal ever.
The Colemans definitely seem to be solid at ice retention and you can't really beat the price!
Great video! It would be interesting to see this same test done in a climate controlled environment. Eliminating any variables such as how much direct sunlight each cooler gets. Cooler colour could also be a factor as they would absorb solar radiation differently.
Ya I'm curious about that as well. Got some tests in mind.
Nah, I don't want to see how long I can store ice in a cooler in a way you don't use a cooler. I have a Sears deep freezer for that. I'd much rather see them used as they are found in the wild. Opened and dug through breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, and dinner. That way you know what you're looking at on the trip.
28 hot dogs sacrificed in the name of science...
May they rest in peace. 🌭🪦
Good video I think the tiebreaker could’ve been broken by price could’ve given some points and broke in the tiebreaker like that. Also, I think leaking cooler should’ve been disqualified. I feel like the reason there was ice in the cooler that long was due to the fact that it was unable to retain the water.
Thanks for the feedback! The Cabela's is $35 less than the Orion but besides ice retention there's a bunch of other stuff I like better about the Orion so it's my preferred. I just published another video about the best rotomolded coolers you could check out that goes into all that. As far as leakers go, OtterBox just discontinued hard coolers so they're out of the running anyway. The Cabela's, Engel, and an Igloo were also leaking a bit for the first day but that was user error, not a defect.
Great test. I think it would be cool if there was a way to factor in price, maybe a cost per day calculation to see if the extra money is worth it. Also a bonus point for Made in the USA would have been nice, although I think most are made here.
Ya those are both interesting factors, but for this ice retention test I only wanted to look at that, ice retention. I'm working on another video where I take I to account things like price and where made so keep an eye out for that.
@@theoutdoorempire Excited to see it, but I know I'm not the only one who wanted to know which one was the best retention at a "reasonable" price point. I was hoping to see that after spending 20 minutes on this video.
@@zachsowersfilmandphoto6659 I hear ya. I'll keep that in mind for future videos. Thanks for the feedback!
To me it’s how long the cooler holds up to the test of time warranty and parts availability.
Spending $500 on a cooler is not practical for a lot of people but if it lasts and performs well for 20 -30 years it’s worth it. Most people 2-3 days and $150 is fine.
Hahaha. About 10% of those coolers are made in the USA.
I never buy a cooler with a drain in it.
They all leak at some point
Not a bad way to go.
Love my Canyon cooler. The fact that its an even shaped cooler with no weird angles or handles makes it easy to pack or store is a +. Their amazing warranty was the defining factor for me.
I totally agree. I love how compact it is, much easier to pack in the car or truck than most others. And ya can't beat a lifetime warranty.
Your test is flawed. 40 lbs of ice per cooler might fill up some coolers but in others might be partially filled. Right off the bat your test is meaningless. Coolers need to be filled to the top to determine their best performance. For example 40 lbs of ice will last much longer in a 54 qt cooler than a 100 qt cooler. Duh, right? One would get the wrong idea that a cheaper 54 qt cooler holds ice better than a rotomolded 100 qt. See what I mean?
Also coolers need to be prechilled. Coolers that are heavier and have more mass will melt more ice vs a lighter cooler with less mass as it tries to get down to temperature. It's possible that the best coolers in your test were eliminated early because of this.
I think your test should be labeled as "what happens when you don't prechill your cooler and don't fill it to the top".
Fantastic feedback. Now I know the title of my next video!
I would really like to see this same test done on wheeled coolers. Us older folks need wheels to lighten the loads we carry. That Orion 65 weighs 36 pounds empty. When loaded it would be too heavy for me to carry.
Indeed, I love a good wheeled cooler too. While I didn't call them out specifically, there are several wheeled coolers in this video. I also did another video specifically about the Best Coolers with Wheels. And I'm working on a round 2 ice challenge with more wheeled options.
@@theoutdoorempire I was at Cabela's today looking at coolers because they did so well in your tests. Their coolers have two holes near the bottom and a sticker saying they are for the optional dolly. The dolly picture looked interesting but the sales person could not find any information on it.
@@rksando1 Ya I remember seeing that too. I think I figured out last year that they actually quit making the dolly. Too bad, but I think there are some third party wheel solutions on Amazon.
Next time just only do 40 pounds in each one because it’s not fair for the other ones
The ROVR 60q is the best cooler I’ve ever owned for holding temp in high heat. Works amazing for resting pork shoulders over night.
That's very interesting. I haven't done a heat holding test, but I like that idea. Thanks for commenting!
The end should be you get for what you’ve paid for
There's definitely some truth to that. Though that Coleman Xtreme Marine is one of the cheapest I tested and it did just as well as coolers that cost 5x as much.
Should have bought a KONG and saved doing all this.🤣
Can't stop, won't stop. 🤣
Thank you for your video from Greece….
TECHNI ICE Signature Series
is The BEST cooler!!!! ❄️❄️❄️
I got none and I'm gonna test it soon. Cheers from the USA!
One thing that I have found with my Yeti 48 is that if I follow the manufacturers suggested instructions on best practices, I have zero water inside for 4-5 days. Precool and use their ice packs in conjunction with regular ice. They also say that dry ice can be used in their hard coolers as well.
Nice! I like the combination approach to the ice. Sounds like you've got it dialed in.
If you didn’t try the the MALUNA, you missed out…!
Well daggum! There's another one to put on my next time list.
Awesome video!! In extreme 110’ + heat here in so cal I’ve found the roto molded coolers suffer and eventually warp and lose the sealing power, the pelican elite/ otterbox venture injected molds have held up a tad bit better but just goes to show you every cooler has its purpose!
Great observation! I've heard that more and more lately about the warping. Thanks for watching!
Otterbox in my opinion is the best all around cooler.
Have a venture 65 in my truck bed 3 years or so in SoCal it’s perfectly fine. Light blue on the handles are a bit faded. I had a pelican in truck bed and eventually the top did get a bit of a bulge but did keep working. Latches eventually go damaged. OtterBox latches best there are. Don’t make them anymore though.
I’d keep it in the shade
Any opinion on the CaterGator coolers? Half the price of a yeti and claiming excellent performance.
Haven't tried it yet, but hope to soon.
I have the cabelas and the lifetime. I finally made some good decisions in my life. 😂
🤣🤣 As you can see I just made a lot of bad decisions before I figured out which ones were good.
Would love to really have something to do about weight in your analysis. Some of these coolers are so heavy. It takes two people to lift them. You might try Rugged Road in your analysis.
Noted on Rugged Road and yes, most are quite heavy. I've got that in my spreadsheet and I think on our website but didn't squeeze it into this video. Thanks for watching!
Another one to add would be the "Maluna" cooler.
👍
Yup Maluna rocks. Have the 22 and 50
Very helpful, thank you! Where did you get all the ice chests? Then what did you do with them after?
I purchased most of them and maybe a quarter to a third of them were given to me as samples to try out by companies. No sponsors, no strings attached, and no promises of content or anything like that. I still have most of them. I have a lot of ideas for other cooler videos I wanna do!
Lost my old timer Coleman that wat awesome for bwca trips😔 Nice to see your numbers on the blog. I have "borrowed" the Lifetime for an entire year of sub freezing to 100° off the grid use for 3, and it was good. Camping, the latches delt with raccoons fine. May buy one now for the odd camping trip seeing how they stack up.
Great experience!
Which one should I buy, Plano Frost 32QT or Stanley 30 qt, Stanley is 1kg heavier.
Daggum, those are two I haven't used yet. Sorry man, I don't have an answer for you yet.
Love the video. However, you said you added the extra ice to the larger coolers so they were full. That probably played a factor in the ice retention/amount of ice present in the results.
Indeed. I knew I was dealing with apples and oranges with different sizes, but my intention was also to try and quantify how big of a difference size makes in ice retention. For example, the Cordova 48 qt cooler went for 6 days, about a day shorter than most of the ~60 quart rotomolded coolers. Adding more ice to the larger ones was an effort to fill every cooler with ice roughly the same proportionally (about 80% full regardless of size). Not perfect, but made sense to me at the time.
I have a yeti tundra and it retains ice and cold temps pretty good. Went camping 2 weeks ago and still had nice cold drinks in it when I emptied it out. I really think it depends on where they are as in sun/shade. I was a good mix of both. And it’s basically gonna come down to what someone likes. I’m not saying yeti is the best or any other brand is the best. Get what you like and run with it. Great comparison.
You're right on about that. At the end of the day most all of these are decent and it comes down to personal preference.
I appreciate the effort. I found this channel looking for a wheeled 150-160qt cooler.
That's great and thanks for watching! I haven't tested any really big coolers like that yet, but I like the idea.
You should check out the Aussie made Evakool fiberglass ice boxes. Nothing else comes close in performance.
Very interesting. Do they sell them in the US? Never seen em yet.
I feel like the Otterbox coolers have never gotten their proper due. Incredible products.
Ya they're pretty solid. Unfortunately it seems unclear if OtterBox will keep making them or not.
That ice would've been gone 2 days faster if it wasn't leaking. If that ice was in water like the rest it would be gone
I have an Otterbox Venture 25 and I love it. Just got back from Teton NP where I only had to fill it with ice twice over 7 days
I don’t think the otter box would have held I’ve as long if it didn’t leak. Not saying it’s a bad cooler it just wasn’t a fair test because of the leak.
I own an otterbox 45qt, it is a beast, beat all my buddies coolers over the long weekend camping. But like you said, it's super annoying because it's almost like they don't want part of the cooler market anymore
Sorry yall,but the best one is not mentioned here,the moose jaw is way better than any of them,I can assure u on that,just bought the 55 qt moose jaw ice fort with big rugged wheels, it's everything a yetty want to be at half the coast,put 40 lbs of ice in sat on front porch in direct sun,in fl,lasted 7 days,sirously pluse stood it up on its ass with water in it and not a drop came out,it's that good ....
Nice! I just got a Moosejaw and will include them on the next round.
You’re missing the #1 cooler on the market for keeping ice the longest…the Kong cooler.
So I've heard! I hope to put that to the test later on.
@@theoutdoorempire The rotomold company that used to make Yeti before they went overseas, are the ones who make the Kong coolers now.
Very interesting! I was unawares.
Love my Kong coolers! I own a 50qt and 70qt and did a ton of research before buying them. They are packed with cool design features like the internal divider slots and shelf for the cutting boards, also the kickstand for the handles to turn the cutting boards into a table. The gorilla bottle opener is cool and the rubber “krush” guards are a nice safeguard to prevent the little ones from smashing their fingers. I also like the notch in the back of the lid that allows you to open the cooler while it’s against the wall. The Kongs are a-lot more than just awesome ice retention. I sold my two overpriced and overhyped Yeti’s after buying my Kong coolers.
Why didn’t you try the Techni Ice Signature Series Icebox 60L as it holds the record for holding ice?
Oh man, another one I need to add to the list! So many good coolers out there. I'll have to try do another test once I replenish my cooler budget, haha. 😂
What would be the best bang-for-the-buck (value) out of all of them?
Probably that Coleman Xtreme Marine. You gotta get the Marine one (white) though. It's pretty darn cheap and held ice as long as YETI and other big brands. But if you want a bear proof cooler that's pretty cheap, probably that Xspec.
Kinda neat but also not actually that helpful. In my mind there are 3 variables that were not controlled and likely had a great affect on the out come. 1) these coolers are all different sizes/hold different amounts of ice. This could have been controlled by only comparing coolers of the same size or maybe even using the same amount of ice in each cooler. To no surprise, the cooler that started with the most ice ended with the most ice. 2) these coolers are all different colors, this will have an effect on the internal temperature. All coolers tested should have been white. 3) the coolers should have been rotated around the yard in a fixed schedule so they all experienced the same amount of sun light/heat exposure and noted the cloud/overcast for each day. I feel that the only thing you proved is that if you want to keep stuff cold for a long time get a bigger cooler, not which brand you should get.
I appreciate your input! And indeed there are many variables, too many to test in one environment. And also, impossible to get the same size, color, etc from different manufacturers. We weren't going for a lab-controlled experiment since none of us actually use coolers in a controlled lab environment. The idea here was to demonstrate how each of these coolers performed in and of themselves in the heat of summer as if you're out camping. And out of the lot, which held on the longest. If you just look at, say, the Orca 58 or the Canyon 55, or the RTIC 65, you'll have a pretty good idea of what you can expect. Indeed bigger coolers generally do better. But you also saw a few smaller ones go longer and a few larger ones bow out earlier. As far as the shade/sun exposure goes, I answer in more detail in about a dozen other comments, but basically they all were about as even as you could hope for. Remember, this video is only 20 minutes long and these coolers were out there for 10 days!
Those that are whining and complaining about cooler color, cooler capacity, cooler ice volume, shade, sun, thermometer used, blah blah blah .... do your own test, and post your video on youtube so we can all pick apart your "imperfect" methods. Please do it. Good grief..... Anyway .... i own the Igloo BMX i think its called. It's that grey one with the blue rubber tie downs. It works perfect for my needs. I was surprised it lasted only 5 days in your test. Thanks for the effort. Looking forward to a future test.
Ya eventually I decided there were too many variables to try and control in one test so I just went about it how I thought made sense for how I really use coolers. And regardless of the comparison it gives a decent picture of how each individual cooler performs on its own.
Actually the test is wrong. 99% of those boxes will be used in a sunny environment, not taking direct UV radiation into consideration and how it affects the cooling temperature
Indeed, that would be a great factor to test.
Quite an expensive test!! Nice work. My shed is starting to look like that and I haven’t run any tests. Lol
Ya it wasn't cheap, but at least I'm prepared for a major power outage I guess, haha!
@@theoutdoorempire No doubt! I find myself going for the blue and white marine igloo and the 150 quart marine igloo more often than not due to weight. The 270 gets used offshore. Carrying the damned Rotos around is a chore.
I’m sure Orion coolers are of great quality. But for 500 dollars for a cooler??!! Might as well buy a generator and a small fridge. 😂
The Orion Core 65 is $335. A bit less than a Yeti and a bit more than a Cabela's. Pretty decent price for the class.
You should do this test again with the top 5 or 10 coolers, (all the same size) but get them all in (white) instead of colored coolers. Then see who comes out on top.
That would be interesting, though I've seen some other tests like that which suggest color has relatively little impact if the insulation is good. Perhaps hours of difference but not really days. But I'm not opposed if I can swing it!
Flawed methodology. You put 10 lbs solid block of ice in each one and then measure the time until the water hits 45 degrees with an immersion thermometer.. Of course a bigger cooler with more ice will stay colder longer.
As flawed as the guy who did it! 🙋♂️😂 You're idea is good too.
Great fun ! Only brands missing were KONG and TITAN. Larger coolers are always going to out perform smaller ones 'cause of more ice. Not fair to compare small, medium and large in the same test.
There are definitely more brands I'd like to test next time, and if I could get the same size in all of them it'd certainly be a closer comparison.
Wow -- thanks so much for your reply ! Please keep the videos coming.
@@JamesGreenbaum Will do my darndest!
I've got a 25, 50, and 75 from Kong. Their shelf/cutting boards + being made in the US did it for me.
@@skiptrace4034 Nice! Were the cutting boards included or is that an add-on accessory?
My son worked on the Lifetime cooler line here in the USA. They pay well with great benefits. Because they are much cheaper than Yeti, and are local to me, I picked one up. Great cooler.
Great review. A lot of work, but great results.
Wow that's awesome to hear about Lifetime. Thanks for sharing!
Made in the USA is all I needed to hear.
I wonder if the Pelican larger size will perform better, as the 70qt and higher are rotomolded vs injection molded.
I assume it would. Though the pelican 45 and 50 I tested were about average for their size among the ones I tested.
That Orion or Cabelas is on my wish list, now!
They're good ones for sure.
Look at Maluna too
I have Yeti cooler that was gave to us as a gift. I pack it for weekly trips and by day four the ice is melted. And that’s sitting in an air conditioned room. I have never been impressed with it.
That's a bummer. I'm pretty sure under regular use when being opened a lot none of these coolers would do quite as well as they did in this ice challenge.
Love to see Oyster performance cooler!
I just discovered this cooler myself and I'll try and get a hold of one. Seems they are in short supply but we'll see.