Oh my some of the top end jobs are expensive

Are their alternatives with relatively good performance that won’t cost half a paycheck?

50-60 quarts size. Ice retention is its primary task.

I’m not posting this in GD. #Yetilife I’ll shoot my self

I have a “roadie” Yeti and a Magellan Rotomolded yeti style.

A friends got the identical size yeti as my knock off.

His yeti is more efficient, it stays colder, longer in hot summer Florida days. I pre-chill my coolers for best results and the Magellan doesn’t seem to compete.

If I could do it over, I’d get the RTIC over the Magellan. The Magellan holds ice as well as any basic, POS Coleman.

The smaller the cooler the better it’s performance.

Yeti burned some bridges with the NRA a couple of years ago.   If you are a big 2nd amendment supporter then you might want to look elsewhere.   Ref:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/nation-now/2018/04/24/nra-yeti-blow-up-video-protest-national-rifle/547001002/

Anyway,  I have a 35 quart Pelican and I have been very happy with it.   I leave it in the back of my SUV and keep some water and food in it through the summer and winter.   In the summer, I throw 4 liters of ice into it in the morning and it can keep things cold for four days if I don’t swap it out.   My preference is to swap it each morning but it doesn’t always happen.   In the winter I throw 4 liters of room temp water in it and it keeps stuff from freezing for a few days.    I know the Pelicans aren’t cheap but it was been worth every penny in my opinion.

2Hut8

If all you're looking for is ice retention I recommend the Coleman extreme series.  You can get them for under $50 bucks at Walmart.  I got two of them ten years ago as a wedding gift and they're still going strong today.  They're not designed for an expedition across Antarctica but they hold ice just as well as a $400 cooler.  There are quite a few youtube videos comparing ice retention of the extreme line vs yeti style coolers and the coleman's hold their own.

$42 at Walmart

Fan of rtic.

Got all mine on sale.

They are heavy so not really good for camping unless you can drive to the spot

Have Rtic 65 and 45 qt coolers. Picked them up on sale for under 1/2 what yeti wants.  They have fairly frequent sales just be patient and wait for one.

I do not know if they are as good or as durable as a Yeti, but they seem to more than adequate for weekend warrior family camping, fishing, and hunting trips.

I have three of the Ozark Trail rotomolded coolers.  Two identical coolers around 60qt size and one smaller one.  The two big coolers were on sale for almost 50% off when I got them.  I like them.  They hold ice a long time.  Maybe Yeti is better but I bought two coolers for LESS than the price of ONE Yeti.

Thanks gang!

I’m in no rush so I’ll keep my eyes open for deals and do some more research

Arfcom does it again

If ruggedness is mandatory then yeti copycats are good. Do your research to figure out which copycats are good.

If you don't need the rugged then igloo marine or Coleman extreme are great at ice retention without breaking the bank like the rugged options. Make no mistake,  the igloo & Coleman aren't simply going to fall apart bc they're tossed around a little,  they're still good coolers. They just may not hold up to being unrestrained in the back of a rock crawler or on a fishing boat on 20 ft seas. I have an igloo marine that's probably 20 yrs old and still holding on.

I have several of the Ozark trail and Coleman extreme.
The ozark blows away the Coleman, but it is heavy and hell loaded.

Igloo marine are good.  Replace the plastic hinges and latches with the stainless steel ones they offer and the thing will last forever.

I would also recommend the Ozark Trail high performance coolers.  We have one of the 73 qt one and use it for family vacations at the beach and camping.  Another family that goes with us to the beach has a similar sized Rtic cooler they take with them.  The OT cooler performs just as well as the RTIC.  We leave them by the back door, outside, for all the "drinks" the whole week.  The RTIC needs ice at the same rate the OT cooler does with similar use.  The nice thing is the OT cooler is MUCH cheaper.  The only draw back I can say about the OT cooler is that it is heavier than the RTIC.  Also, you have to make sure you tighten the drainplug when you get it.  OT does this to allow for easier closing of the lid because of pressure it says.  Many people complain that the cooler leaks when they first get it but they haven't tightened the drain all the way.  Good luck with your search.

The Ozark Trail and some Coleman coolers are currently being clearanced out at Walmarts. Keep your eyes peeled and also keep an eye on the Walmart clearance thread in GD.

I’ve also got an Ozark cooler.

A block of ice kept it cool through almost all of Scout summer camp.

Thank y’all again for the info

Purchased the Lifetime 55 for $103 delivered from Walmart

For what it's worth, check your local Wal-Mart if you are considering an Ozark Trail rotomolded cooler.  I saw a bunch of the 73 qt coolers on closeout today.  Regularly around $184 and they were on closeout for $120.

In my area the Ozark Trail 73qt is down to $45, 60qt roller $49 and some colors of the 26qt at $20. Grabbed a Roller and 26qt today, the roller is a beast !!

Sportsman's guide has a great one I picked mine up cheap when they just started selling them so I got mine dirt cheap!

I put 10lbs of ice in this cooler no salt or water added and left it in my patrol vehicle for a 9 hour shift down in Big Bend National park! Temperature outside was 110+ degrees sure in the back of my vehicle it was really warm as the AC does not really get there. Also had a few hours I did not drive so yes the vehicle did get really hot!

Every day I'd go home have a lot of water and some ice but everything in the cooler was cold! Great cooler and a hell of a lot cheaper then that Yete over priced shit!

Dang.  My local Walmarts are all still full price for everything bigger than the 26qt.

I line an old 35q igloo or coleman with 1/2 inch foil faced insulation. in moderate weather 7 -  .5 l  bottles will still be partially frozen 5 days later, in 100+ weather it will last 3 days if I keep it out of direct sun.
I have many, they make good dry goods boxes as they are all the same size and not too heavy when full.

The number of 1 star reviews these get on the Walmart website really turn me off.

Compared to the number of good reviews, the lower number of negative reviews isn't much.

One of the biggest complaints is the weight. Well, all rotomolded coolers are heavy. So, I ignore any that complain about weight.

A lot of people think that there is a huge difference between a super insulated cooler and a non super insulated cooler....and there really isn't a huge difference. Yes the super insulated cooler will hold ice longer but it's not a refrigerator. It's not going to get colder. Ice will melt in all coolers. Super insulated coolers will give you another day or two before they need more ice. You're not going to get a week longer than a regular cooler.

Lots of people don't pre-chill their coolers. All coolers will benefit from prechilling but super insulated coolers will really benefit. If you put warm food into your cooler, it's going to melt the ice regardless of how much insulation the cooler has. Simple thermodynamics.

This is a good post that I think summarizes a lot of peoples complaints.  The really expensive coolers are only going to give you an extra couple days of ice retention under the same conditions.  Out of direct sunlight I have had basic old not so great coolers hold ice and keep stuff cold for 3 days. I rarely go where I cant grab another bag of ice, and if that's the case I usually don't bring much that needs to stay cold.  Rather than an expensive cooler we went with three smaller cheaper coolers and store our stuff as it relates to usage.  Leaving a cooler closed and not digging around in it without a purpose really helps its retention, and I am able to negate that by having 3 separate smaller ones.  Beer and drinks in one, food that needs to stay just cold/ condiments/ extra stuff in another, frozen food and meat gets its own cooler and is left alone.  We are able to go 4 days without an ice resupply and that includes reloading the beer cooler a time or two, of course by the end its just cold water but it works...  If I am on a longer term expedition without resupply I probably don't have beer and am eating MTN house & MRE!
Igloo 28-Qt Island Breeze Cooler  -  is what we are currently using but the same results can probably be had from any small basic cooler.