robtattoo
WKR
So, I was part of the EPIC meltdown that was the Atlas Group Buy. For the first time ever, I actually considered spending my hard-earned on something, basically, frivolous. I was utterly crestfallen when it all went tits up.
I always considered a 'good' cooler to be something of a non-necessity, as up until 4, maybe 5 years ago most of my hunting was done within either a few miles of the house, or within spittin' distance of a power source/ranch house/town etc. 99% of my hunts were, at most, 3 days.
Since discovering (by complete accident) at age 43, that I actually aren't as lazy & unmotivated as I've always considered myself to be, & spending more & more time is out-of-the-way places, for longer & longer periods chasing ruminants, I figured that the time was ripe for a good, expensive cooler.
Atlas took a shit.
Dammit.
That left me, last week, on my way to a 4 day hunt at a remote cabin in the back country of Tennesee's Cumberland Plateau. Chances of scoring on a whitetail or 4 were pretty damn high & the chances of needing to keep many & various adult beverages at sub-arctic temperatures were virtually guaranteed.
So, on my supply run to Walmart, I grabbed up a 70qt Coleman Extreme after reading lots of sterling reviews & claims of Yeti™ like ice retention.
The big sticker on the front claims it'll keep ice for 5 days.
Okay, Sally. 5 days of ice for $58.......riiiiight.
I didn't intend to pre-cool it, that itself was pure accident & happenstance. I'd pre-filled several pint, quart & 2 liter bottles & frozen them. The morning I was due to set off (couldn't leave until after work. "Be self-employed": They said......) The Wife told me to get the damn things outta the feezer to make room for other things. Groceries or somesuch nonsense, I should suspect. Into the cooler they went & sat there, baking in the 78° weather. I actually half expected them to be a little melted by 5pm, as my previous experience with Coleman's other coolers has not been great.
Come 5 of the evening clock I scooped up my junk, threw it in the truck & off I went, stopping on the way to fill up with 16lb of gas station Ice & 18 bottles of gas station beer.
4 days of unsuccessful (due to incompetence) hunting later......
There's still ice in the cooler. Like, all the ice. Maybe an inch of water sloshing around in the bottom, but basically ice.
The cooler's been sat in the bed of my truck ever since, under a black camper shell. Daytime temperatures are unseasonably warm & have hovered around 76° during the day & dropping off to the low 40s at night. I've not done anything sciencey, just checked it every day & left it open for about 5ish minutes. I reckon that's about the grand total of open-time yer average ice device is going to get per day.
So far, I'm at 9 days. NINE FREAKING DAYS!! There's about 6" of water with 4" of Ice floating around & all the bottles are around 50-70% solid, depending on size.
I. Am. Astonished.
I'm not going to try the 'Throw it out of a moving truck at 45mph' test, because it'll break & I'm cool with that. Being a dumbass SHOULD cost you money (if it isn't painful...) & I don't want to buy another just to prove a point.
No, I don't get the cool Yeti™ decal to put on my truck, I'll never be a 'pro-team' member & MTN Ops will probably ban me from their Instagram page (I was actually almost sponsored by Goodwill once.....mmmmm.....cheap wool sweaters) but I do have a very functional, budget pleasing, comparative performing ice retention device & I couldn't be happier!
I always considered a 'good' cooler to be something of a non-necessity, as up until 4, maybe 5 years ago most of my hunting was done within either a few miles of the house, or within spittin' distance of a power source/ranch house/town etc. 99% of my hunts were, at most, 3 days.
Since discovering (by complete accident) at age 43, that I actually aren't as lazy & unmotivated as I've always considered myself to be, & spending more & more time is out-of-the-way places, for longer & longer periods chasing ruminants, I figured that the time was ripe for a good, expensive cooler.
Atlas took a shit.
Dammit.
That left me, last week, on my way to a 4 day hunt at a remote cabin in the back country of Tennesee's Cumberland Plateau. Chances of scoring on a whitetail or 4 were pretty damn high & the chances of needing to keep many & various adult beverages at sub-arctic temperatures were virtually guaranteed.
So, on my supply run to Walmart, I grabbed up a 70qt Coleman Extreme after reading lots of sterling reviews & claims of Yeti™ like ice retention.
The big sticker on the front claims it'll keep ice for 5 days.
Okay, Sally. 5 days of ice for $58.......riiiiight.
I didn't intend to pre-cool it, that itself was pure accident & happenstance. I'd pre-filled several pint, quart & 2 liter bottles & frozen them. The morning I was due to set off (couldn't leave until after work. "Be self-employed": They said......) The Wife told me to get the damn things outta the feezer to make room for other things. Groceries or somesuch nonsense, I should suspect. Into the cooler they went & sat there, baking in the 78° weather. I actually half expected them to be a little melted by 5pm, as my previous experience with Coleman's other coolers has not been great.
Come 5 of the evening clock I scooped up my junk, threw it in the truck & off I went, stopping on the way to fill up with 16lb of gas station Ice & 18 bottles of gas station beer.
4 days of unsuccessful (due to incompetence) hunting later......
There's still ice in the cooler. Like, all the ice. Maybe an inch of water sloshing around in the bottom, but basically ice.
The cooler's been sat in the bed of my truck ever since, under a black camper shell. Daytime temperatures are unseasonably warm & have hovered around 76° during the day & dropping off to the low 40s at night. I've not done anything sciencey, just checked it every day & left it open for about 5ish minutes. I reckon that's about the grand total of open-time yer average ice device is going to get per day.
So far, I'm at 9 days. NINE FREAKING DAYS!! There's about 6" of water with 4" of Ice floating around & all the bottles are around 50-70% solid, depending on size.
I. Am. Astonished.
I'm not going to try the 'Throw it out of a moving truck at 45mph' test, because it'll break & I'm cool with that. Being a dumbass SHOULD cost you money (if it isn't painful...) & I don't want to buy another just to prove a point.
No, I don't get the cool Yeti™ decal to put on my truck, I'll never be a 'pro-team' member & MTN Ops will probably ban me from their Instagram page (I was actually almost sponsored by Goodwill once.....mmmmm.....cheap wool sweaters) but I do have a very functional, budget pleasing, comparative performing ice retention device & I couldn't be happier!
