No, not an on-body cooler; an in-truck cooler. I'm tired of getting only one day of ice out of my cheapo coolers. They are all pretty much the same regardless of price. No insulation in the lid and very little elsewhere means stuff stays cold for one day. Beyond that and it's steadily climbing toward luke warm. My quest is a personal size cooler that holds maybe 12 cans or bottles of various sudsy or non-carbonated liquids, some perishable snacks, perhaps a lunch; stuff like that. I think 15-20 quarts is the right size. On the surface, the RTIC 20 looks like the right answer, but at 18 pounds, it seems uncomfortably heavy. The Grizzly 15 is better at 12 pounds, but lacks a drain port. The Stanley Adventure 16 is even lighter, but has no drain and can't take long necks standing up. I see Yeti made a Roadie 15, but discontinued it a while back. What do y'all recommend?
That rtic looks very nice, I'd go with that if there isn't anything lighter. Very expensive for a cooler.. Is the drain really important? I've had coolers with drains and always turned it upside down after.
I thought I'd have something to contribute when I saw the title but after reading I guess I don't have knowledge of what you want. I purchased 2 coolers recently. A Yeti Hopper 20 cooler and a RTIC lunch box. Both are awesome coolers but are soft coolers which by their very nature probably won't hold ice quite as long as you're looking for. I use the RTIC lunch box everyday with 1 ice pack and it keeps my lunch fine. The Yeti has been used a couple times for paddle boarding with a couple ice packs and the beer stayed cold all day. Not sure how it would have been overnight. The one beer left went back in the fridge. Lol. Testing of the Yeti hard coolers show ice lasting for days. Great coolers. You get what you pay for. Good luck. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
I don't see the need for a drain either for one day or overnight missions, but it sure is nice on day two and beyond. Draining through a plug is way better than upsetting the entire contents. The RTIC 20 is $130 and the Grizzly 15 is $150. Question is, which is more important, the right size and weight for an extra $20, or a big, heavy cooler with the convenience of a drain plug for $20 less?
I studied the soft cooler options, CV, and found about the same thing you see. My "lunch box" is a cheapo soft side that keeps refrigerated stuff cold with a small ice pack all morning until I eat lunch, but not much past that. I'm sure the RTIC Lunch Box is way better than that, but I'm looking for a cooler to keep stuff cold off grid for a long weekend.
Soft coolers are intriguing and even if it's only 3 days, that's plenty for my application. Guessing they're tough enough to bounce around the back of my seat of my truck too. My only concern with soft coolers is the longevity of the zipper closure. I've worn out many cheapo soft coolers and the zipper is the first thing to fail. It's one thing on a freebie or $10 cooler; quite another on a $120 cooler.
Unless you absolutely must have ice (e.g., for drinking?), I've used cooler packs for as long as I can recall. Even in summer with an Igloo brand cooler they seem to last through the day around here. Here being Northern Virginia -- in vehicle temperatures in July and August can really climb ! L'chaim! Moshe ben David
What about the Igloo Marine Ultra 30 Quart cooler. It is a little bigger, but Marine Coolers are usually decent coolers. Igloo is claiming 3 day ice retention. While I haven't used this particular one, I have used larger Igloo Marine Coolers, and found them to keep ice well.
The kelty folding coolers are awesom. Use mine all the time, would take a pic but its put away for winter
I was all fired up about the Igloo Marine 30. At $28, it's a real bargain. But like most low end coolers built in the last few decades, there is no insulation in the lid and real world testing indicates that it's no better than the real cheapos. In my experience, that means not more than overnight.
That sucks. Most of the "Marine Coolers" have had a ton of insulation in them, including the lids. I guess the dead giveaway was the ice for 3 days instead of ice for 6 some of the marine coolers advertise.
Sure does. I have a 50something quart Coleman Extreme that holds ice for days. Way more than I need (or want) for a weekend though.
We'll be picking up a Pelican 70qt cooler for next camping season. I've done a ton of research on coolers over the last year, and although Yeti is the go-to leader, their coolers just have features I don't like. For example, I don't want the stupid rope carry handles or the rubber "latches". I want proper carry handles and proper lock down latches. Pelican offers those. On most ice retention tests I've watched, the Pelican has equaled the Yeti as well.
Seen the same thing. Pelican is the ultimate performer. If ice life is the bottom line or features like latches or handles are top of the list (and really, what else is there in a cooler?), then Pelican is the way to go. For me, ice life needs to be 3 days at most and in a lighter, 15-20 quart size, I can get by with most any kind of handle. I'm also thinking I may not want a drain. The consequences of that drain leaking in the back of my Jeep are high and most of the stuff I'll keep in the cooler is plenty water tight. Thoughts on a drain?
I make my own ice, it lasts longer. I bought some rectangle plastic juice contaners that are 1.5 litres in size. I 3/4 fill with filtered water, and freeze with the lid off. Once fozen I put the lids on. Instead of draining cooler water out a drain hole everday, I pour the ice melt out of my containers, which is ice cold, filtered water. This supplements my water supply, and keeps things in the bottom of my cooler from floating around in melt water. So my preference is for no drains on a cooler I only use for a few days in a row. If I am out for a long time, and need to buy ice, I like a drain hole.
Flashman's got a solid plan. I do something similar: For ice in a soft cooler I just put the ice cubes in a gallon size zip lock or two. When it melts you can then just take the whole bag(s) out. If it's really a hot day I'll put an old towel in the bottom of the cooler to catch any condensation from the ziplocks.
How about a semi-active peltier cooler with solar panels... has that been 'invented' yet? Just toss a panel in the back of your truck, hook it up to the cooler and the more the sun does its work the better the cooler will cool. Could be a sound business plan if it hasn't been marketed yet
