Hard cooler brand recommendations

I have otterbox 45 does well. Patriot coolers hold ice well. I also have a yeti 65 that holds ice the best

 

100w solar panel, charge controller and a battery. Fridge/solar setups can be pretty cheap to setup and have the potential to last quite a long time

 

RTIC

 

Igloo all day. Affordable, parts available, tough as nails.

 

I'm pretty happy with my Orion, plus the blue matches my Tundra

 

I have a 20qt Big Frig that I use at work, so far I’m a fan. It’s big enough to hold a couple days worth of food, keeps ice or Yeti ice blocks cold for an entire round trip for me. Robust handle, drain, pressure release valve, cutting board, and a basket tray. Also has built in bottle openers.

Thus far it’s held up well to a more or less 4+ day per week routine of getting banged around in RR crew vans, locomotives, and my own truck.

 

Rtic hard coolers are essentially the same quality as yeti. Not the case with their soft coolers. The yeti soft cooler blows the rtic out of the water. Zipper quality and material.

 

I love the cam latches on my Orion. They’re so much better than the other coolers.

 

That cooler is sweet and all, but is that a Gundam I spy?

 

Let's say yes. It came with the truck lol

 

Another vote for Ozark Trail from Walmart. Wife bought it out of necessity during a recent trip and we have been very pleasantly surprised. We have the 26 qt and it is super sturdy, has a good carry handle, and a drain. I don’t have any experience with the expensive cooler brands, so can’t really compare directly, but when packed well the Ozark cooler will get the job done for sure.

https://www.walmart.com/browse/spor...lers/4125_546956_4128_2487866_2559937_2950724

 

Pelican. One of the few still made in the USA and with a Lifetime Warranty.

Ours get a lot of use and have been great. Buddies also have Yetis, and have been happy with them.

 

Just for water? Dude,don't even buy ice. Just freeze a few of your water bottles.

 

We got an Igloo Mission 72 this year and have enjoyed it. Have gone 4 days with it keeping things nice and chilly with frozen water bottles for ice.

Built in bottle opener and drain.

They have a 50qt available for $149 at DSG.

 

So.. going camping with my brother, he always has some craptastic cheap old Igloo cooler that keeps ice for about 20 minutes in the Utah desert in summer. For Christmas last year I wanted to get him a better cooler but didn't want to spend RTIC (what I have) or YETI prices. I did some research and bought him the Walmart Lifetime cooler.

Walmart screwed up and sent me two. I contacted them to return one, and they said to keep it. So now I have a Lifetime 55-quart cooler. We have used it a few times, mostly just to keep drinks cold in the backyard on a summer day during a BBQ or something. I've been really surprised with how good the quality is, and how long it keeps ice..icey. I haven't used it for extended periods in the desert, yet, but my brother says it can keep ice for 3 days with regular opening and closing. Not bad at all for $110.

 

I got the 25qt on sale at Costco and it works great. Does a good job of staying sealed.

I long-term borrowed my sister's Otterbox 45 before I bought an Asplenora fridge, and that thing worked almost a little too well. It would still have ice after four days, sitting inside my black truck in 100+ degree weather.

 

Yeah i got a killer deal on it at best buy of all places only dislike is its bulky.

 

I picked up a RTIC 52Qt Ultra-Light cooler for $150. They go on sale every now and then. I have zero complaints. It comes with a basket and a divider that doubles as an icepack.

 

Do they come in red?

 

Keep in mind that white doesn't draw heat like dark colors.

 

Almost bought one of these today:

going to have a looksee at what wallyworld has. Academy also had a magellan brand of rubber sealed hard coolers that were nice, going to compare those to the rtic.

 

I knew I wanted our next cooler to have wheels so I shopped around and found this guy at Walmart and it checked all the boxes including made in USA. Couldn't be happier with it.

Lifetime 55 Quart High Performance Cooler with Wheels (91072) https://www.walmart.com/ip/767219216

 

RTIC

 

Glad you like yours. I’ve been underwhelmed. Have a 45 qt and 65qt. (I believe. Had them for years). They fit nicely across the back of the truck bed (side to side) but they don’t stay cold very long. I pre-chill / use blocks of ice / bags of ice / the freezer blocks or some combination. Never get more than a few days of cold during the summer.

 

The Lifetime Rotoform coolers are pretty great for the price. I have a Lifetime and a 65qt RTIC and they're comparable with one another. I've beat the hell out of that RTIC and it shows no signs of stopping. I think now that the rotiform technology is so prevalent you can't really go wrong with any major, reputable rotiform cooler.

 

Between work and outdoors play, I use to go thru the cheap lunch boxes like they gave them away for free. 5 years ago I decided to finally grab a small Pelican on sale. It gets used daily and has been so solid. If it does break, I’ll send it in for the Lifetime warranty. Should’ve just bit the bullet long before!

 

Add this to your new cooler and get the best of both worlds.
https://wildlyweakcoolers.com/collections/stickers/products/brand-plate