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Cooler Comparison

Tricia

The Velvet Hammer
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Beachin' at the Basin has a few requirements, one of which is a cooler (or several)
While an average cooler will do the job, we're not an average crowd and we like something a little better than average.
Lets face it, our members will use a cooler for everything from tailgating to serious camping.


First of all, the Yeti Cooler
@Drahtguy Kevin was touting the amazingness of his Yeti.
The Yeti doesn't have many bells and whistles, but its massive and it gets the job done.
The one thing it does extremely well is keep things cool. A bag of ice can last several days in the Yeti
Yeti Tundra Coolers
yt65tf_new.jpg

yt65to_new.jpg


The second cooler we're looking at is the Coolest Cooler, in a similar price point as the Yeti 65 shown above.
I would love to hear from someone who has one of these.

The Coolest Cooler touts several features that you don't usually see in a cooler
  • 20V rechargeable lithium battery
  • High powered blender
  • USB adapter for charging
  • Outdoor bluetooth speaker-partying pair
  • LED Light under lid
  • Cooler divider/cutting board
  • Corkscrew
  • Bottle opener
  • Essentials (plates, knife)with built in storage
  • Ergonomic wheels designed to go through rugged terrain
  • One and done built in bungee tie down
coolest_3-4_blue_prototype_11_15_14.png
 

crgildart

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If you you plan to keep using it for years instead of months avoid all the bells and whistles.. just stuff to break and wear out. The snow cone cappichino microwave shake o matic would be great for a long summer trip.. but I've not had good luck long term with products like that. A good sturdy cooler that keeps cold stuff cold for a loooong time and takes a sick beating without cracking is what I go with for long term investment..
 
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Tricia

Tricia

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If you you plan to keep using it for years instead of months avoid all the bells and whistles.. just stuff to break and wear out. The snow cone cappichino microwave shake o matic would be great for a long summer trip.. but I've not had good luck long term with products like that. A good sturdy cooler that keeps cold stuff cold for a loooong time and takes a sick beating without cracking is what I go with for long term investment..
So, for you (between the two I listed) the Yeti would be king!
 

SShore

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I have a Yeti and nothing beats them. Took it out to Montana last year and only had to re-ice every three days. The main thing to remember is to get it cold to start with and the ice lasts a long time. Plop the ice in a hot cooler and it melts pretty quickly.
 

JeffB

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I have a couple yetis, one of which is the hopper bag. I also have several Coleman extreme.

The hard side yeti is my go-to fishing cooler. I use it as a seat and casting platform on the boat. I'll lug it to the beach for surf fishing because I have rod holders for it. I love it. It is, however, heavy as hell once loaded. You do not want to be carrying the thing around or carrying it far.

The hopper is more of a day at the pool cooler for the kids. Works great though and easy to carry.

The Coleman extremes work amazingly well. Keeps ice for a couple days, and if you have people going in and out of them to grab beers and whatnot, they are fine for the task. When and if they die, I'm out 40 bucks for the big one.
 

James

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What's the price difference?
The Yeti is also big. You should go look at them.

Really should look at these if considering a Yeti.
They're Florida based.
65L:
http://www.engelcoolers.com/coolers/shop-by-coolers/high-performance-coolers/engel-eng65-cooler

They also make these cooler/dry boxes which are vastly cheaper but also smaller. But if they tip over there's no leak.
http://www.engelcoolers.com/coolers/shop-by-coolers/cooler-dry-boxes/30qt-cooler-drybox

The coolers and the Lions:

Or this showed up after the above video:
 
Last edited:

Monique

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For road trips and at a much lighter weight, we like the
Arctic Zone 50 Can Collapsible TableTop Cooler
http://www.amazon.com/Can-Collapsible-TableTop-Cooler-Purple/dp/B00CPTNRXG

We use this to cart food to/from the condo - we always have some leftovers, carton of milk, etc. The soft sides and shoulder strap make it a lot easier to manage, and there's more room on the interior. I'm sure it doesn't insulate as well as hard-sided coolers do, but it's been good so far.
 

skibob

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A blender in a cooler? That's just ridiculous. Who needs that when you have one of these:

FIGY3WHFGWIQYYK.MEDIUM.jpg


Yes, the bike powers the blender. No, its not really mine. But I do know somebody who has one. And if you are willing to pedal like a maniac for 3 minutes, you can get Vitamix like results
 

Philpug

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A blender in a cooler? That's just ridiculous. Who needs that when you have one of these:

FIGY3WHFGWIQYYK.MEDIUM.jpg


Yes, the bike powers the blender. No, its not really mine. But I do know somebody who has one. And if you are willing to pedal like a maniac for 3 minutes, you can get Vitamix like results
It better be a stationary bike if you expect me to pedal that fast.
 
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Tricia

Tricia

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SBrown

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Do we need a cooler quiver thread?

I have a Yeti 50 and love it; I was sold after reading a review from someone who had used one to jack up his jeep after getting stuck. I also have a slew of the soft-sided Mountainsmith cooler bags (which are a good size and sturdy but obviously don't keep stuff cold very long). I wanted something smaller and hard-sided, so I just picked up this 16qt Stanley. Haven't used it yet but it seems sturdy, and I like the spot on top for a thermos or something. Will report back.

stanley-adventure-cooler-16qt-navy.PT01.jpg
 
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Tricia

Tricia

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Its funny, we have a couple coolers, none of which are as bullet proof as the Yeti.
One of the features we looked for in the most recent cooler we bought was that it needed to fit behind the head restraint of the Miata for road trips.
IMG_0708.jpeg
I have a tiny one for taking lunch to work but rarely use it because its too tiny for most of my containers, let alone a drink.
 
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Tricia

Tricia

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Here's a funny side note -
I've been following the Facebook posts by folks who've invested in the Coolest Cooler on Kickstarter.
It seems that the Coolest Cooler hasn't been delivered to the Kickstarter investors as promised and the ship date is all over the map.
Here are some comments from the website:

  1. Corina Yvonne 3 days ago
    I plan to move in October, and I am sure I will not have the coolest by then, how soon do I need to inform you of a new address change. Please advise. Thanks.....2 years waiting.......


  2. Christopher Castano 3 days ago
    @Alex Delgado - Yep, same here. Same place, too.


  3. Susan Chears 3 days ago
    My soninlaw robert smith III purchased a cooler from you July 27 2014 and has not received his cooler yet. Please advise.


  4. Pamela Cronin 3 days ago
    Ryan, I have a copy of my receipt dated July 7, 2015 stating I would be getting mine last year? When can I expect mine? This is so frustrating.


  5. Alyce A Stewart 3 days ago
    Just curious, where are you seeing these notifications-I paid the extra money for the 4 coolers I ordered in July 2014 and have not seen anything except my credit card shows the money as taken. So from what I see below UPS is supposed to send me notification, is that it. My son lives outside of Portland, OR and I see others have received theirs but he hasn't yet. I've got one going to Eugene, OR, one to St Louis, MO area, one to Chicago, IL and one to Tampa, FL area. Has anyone received their coolers in these areas yet? Just curious.
 

Doug Briggs

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I have a fleet of cheap coolers in various sizes. If you've been to the Beach, you've seen most of them. None of them are particularly efficient but they all do the job they are selected for at the time. The things I need to be cold and won't be using the same day, I typically put in the cooler frozen like pre-made burgers, and pre-cooked meals. Mostly, if it is longer than a day trip, I plan so I don't need much stuff that has to be cold.

For long trips I like to freeze large containers (gallon milk jugs and the like) to make blocks of ice that later become water. Most of the time I'm on a long trip I'll need fresh water along the way, so its a 2-fer. Block ice is much more effective at keeping a cooler cold than cubes. If you buy your block ice, look for the crystal clear stuff, not the blocks that are opaque from included air. That's one reason why I make my own blocks, to insure they are solid ice. Of course, I'm cheap and can't stand to pay for ice.

Re: Coolest Cooler - What!? someone got ripped off by a kickstarter campaign? :-(
 

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