Even more expensive coolers! Otterbox is in the game!

[edbentle]

That is what makes no sense to me as well. There are a bunch of competitors and they sell all their coolers for roughly the same amount of outrageous. Are we ever going to see a reasonably priced roto molded cooler?

 

[Beendare]

I don't like buying stuff that is poor quality and will fail in the future.....BUT;

.......I like the fact I can leave 4 Coleman 5 day coolers [$22 each at WM in the off season] in the back of my truck at a TH and nobody even considers stealing them.

 

[Backpack Hunter]

We live in a branded society. How is Under Armor a billion dollar company? Polyester is polyester. There is 0 difference is function and durabiltiy between their clothes and Starter brand at Wal Mart.

At least with the coolers there is a significant durability advantage. I was visiting with the manager at our local Running's store this winter. Nationwide last year, Yeti coolers had the highest increase in sales over every single item they carry. Demand isn't an issue.

While I am a fan of my Starter shirts, I also have a few Under Armor shirts to compare them with. Suffice to say they are not equal.

 

[jmez]

I have both as well and really can't tell a difference.


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[SWOHTR]

And here people are, arguing about coolers.


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[Matt Cashell]

I suppose the law of diminishing returns applies to coolers like it does to other gear like optics, rifles, etc.

If someone enjoys them, and can afford them, well ... more power to them.

The Otterbox coolers look like a nice product.

I have a bunch of coolers from Stanley, Yeti, and Coleman. Not surprisingly, I like the Yetis the best. Great coolers ... not great values.

 

[dotman]

that is what makes no sense to me as well. There are a bunch of competitors and they sell all their coolers for roughly the same amount of outrageous. Are we ever going to see a reasonably priced roto molded cooler?

rtic

 

[Where's Bruce?]

You don't question value, you assign a preconception that bolsters your ego and your narrative. Value is different for from person to person. A three hundred dollar cooler maybe an hour labor for some of us and for some of us it maybe a weeks work. The only actuality is the cost, value all relative.

An ice chest is supposed to keep things cold. That's it. That's its sole purpose. Now if an ice chest cost four times more but cannot keep things colder 4 times longer...many people will look at it and say, I'll throw a brick of dry ice in my $80 cooler and I'm good to go. Others will buy more ice (or buy ice more frequently) to put in their chest. And I'm sure a few will just buy a genset and chest freezer and run that for cross country treks. They will select the option they prefer for keeping things cold. And all of these options will accomplish the same purpose. Keeping stuff cold is not hard...and "some coolers" are disporportionately priced beyond the justification of their respective specs. Great for the owners of the company but lesser so for consumers. It doesn't mecessarily make the critic "envious" nor does it "bolster the ego" of the Yeti fanboy. It's just a freaking ice chest.

 

[MuleyFever]

Just think if they offered a cooler with kuiu camo on it, all the fanboys would be tripping over themselves to pay $2000 to be in the clique.

I laughed at this. Talking about one brand of fanboys on a thread full of another brand of fanboys tripping over themselves to pay a bunch of money for an over priced cooler.

 

[Kevin Dill]

3 Yeti coolers. No decals or stickers. No chest thumping. No spoiled food. No regrets.

 

[Shrek]

My 120qt Coleman extremes cost about $50 apiece and will take a frozen elk across the country with a block of dry ice on it. I don't need anymore performance than that and they're light compared to the foto molded chests. I had to drag a friend's 100qt-ish Yeti across the yard last week to clean it and was thinking "holy chit is this beast heavy !". I just don't see the attraction of expensive and heavy coolers for what most of us do with a cooler. For an everyday job site cooler maybe but not for recreational hunting and fishing.

 

[Titan_Bow]

These thread is just plain silly at this point. If you don't need a high performance cooler then don't buy one. If you find yourself needing ice in a cooler for more than a few days tops, then get one. They work great for some applications, but they are not the right tool for others. No different than anything we all do. If you bought a 5-600 dollar Kifaru or EXO to use as a day pack in the eastern whitetail woods, it probably would not be the most economical choice. However, if you hunt a couple western states on a handful of elk and deer tags every year, then a high end backpack makes a lot more sense. The same thing applies here. I don't get the bashing of some people because their use and circumstances doesn't exactly mirror someone else's....


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[ChrisS]

I guess I'm less amazed that a person would buy a $400 cooler and more amazed at the number of companies making them. The barrier to entry must not be all that great (even for those companies making the coolers themselves and not just buying a 40' container of them and slapping on their logo). Market saturation has to be a thing at some point.

I'm actually more amazed that people buy the hoppers for the price listed.

I'll end up with a rotomolded cooler at some point. I think the durability is the huge positive for these coolers - more so than the extra insulation.

 

[backcountry_hunter]

I guess I'm less amazed that a person would buy a $400 cooler and more amazed at the number of companies making them. Market saturation has to be a thing at some point.

My sentiments exactly. How someone spends their money is their business and their's only. I could really care less.... I just cant believe there's this many companies staying above water in the high end cooler market. Virtually everyone I know that has expensive coolers ($400/65qt) has yeti. RTIC seemed to have a following just due to price point but somewhere all these other companies must be breaking into a following or they wouldn't be making them I guess.

 

[Where's Bruce?]

Have you bought a $1300.00 Yeti Tundra 350 ice chest?

Most common answer:

 

[sodaksooner]

Not that it necessarily applies to the coolers, but all the market pressure on the tumblers has caused the prices of the YETI tumblers to come down significantly. I think the 32 ounce is now around $30, when mine was $50(it was a gift..I would buy the walmart one for $10.)

That said, my only experience with them is a tumbler and a can koozy(which is really nice). Can't speak to the coolers, but the tumblers do work. Kept ice overnight in Dallas this week, so I was impressed.

I will say my Coleman extreme will keep ice for up to 5 days in CO, so I am happy with that. At this point, no need for Rotomolded for me.

Now when the yeti's get VIAS....I am in!!!! lol

 

[5MilesBack]

Its an indisputable fact roto molded coolers perform better.

Sure.......if you need them to keep crushed ice for three weeks straight, they probably work better. But I've had my rotomolded IRP 200qt cooler and my 120qt Coleman Xtreme 6 in elk camp with frozen milk jugs for the past few years for 7-10 days at a time, and the frozen milk jugs are nearly identical in amount still frozen in each cooler when I get them home. So for most guys, it's not really an issue.

I just picked up another 120qt Coleman Xtreme 6 a week ago for $32 from Walmart. They had it mismarked.

 

[5MilesBack]

Have you bought a $1300.00 Yeti Tundra 350 ice chest?

Hey Bruce, what's the size of that thing? Looking at the poles it doesn't look much different than my IRP in size but mine is a 200qt that's 58"x23"x23". It barely fits side to side in the back of my F-350. It's like a bath tub.

 

[Gr8bawana]

3 Yeti coolers. No decals or stickers. No chest thumping. No spoiled food. No regrets.

Regular old Coleman and Igloo coolers for the last 40 years and never had any spoiled food after a week. No regrets and a lot more $$$ left in my wallet.

 

[Backpack Hunter]

I'm wondering what people are doing to get 20-40 years out of a Coleman or Igloo cooler. I sometimes get a year, rarely two and it's not like I'm particularly hard on these things.