What other simliar to yeti coolers are out there
 

I just broke my old cooler. I'm kinda of sad about it, me and that cooler have had some good times!!! LOL

SO now I need to replace it and I know yeti's work great but I'm a cheap a** so I don't want to spend that much on a cooler. But I heard their patent ran out or something like that and now there are others out there with similar technology for a much better price.

Anybody have one or know of a good brand.

RTIC makes Yeti knock offs for about half the price. I haven't tried their coolers yet, but i have a few of their tumblers and they work every bit as good as the Yeti equivalent.

^^^^ I really like the way their soft sided ones look!!!

I have seen the RTIC it's a play on the word (Artic) they look like a straight up copy or clone of the Yetti. I like the idea of a high end entry level cooler but I just don't want to support a company that's a straight up Rip off of someone else's design. RTIC is the "Ken Land" of coolers! :) that said, I still wouldn't mind getting my hands on one to do the old "Pepsi Challenge" on Rtic Vs Yeti. Head to Head ice Challange. I have 3 Yetis all of different size. I'm a big fan of them.

I just wanted to see what others have used that's out there and since I only go out for day trips I don't need to keep ice for a week. So I can't justify 400.00 for a cooler, I have a lot of other toys I would rather buy than a cooler for 400 buck. All I really need is a smaller soft side cooler to fit under the observer seat. Since the cooler in the top step of my supra is a JOKE.

competition is good for everyone

Mark;
I think what you meant to say is "FAIR competition is good for everyone"

As a person that makes "things" the tied has changed. More money is made in the patten and conception of products then the people who actually make real products and bring them to market.
Example: why make anything if your design is being copied in China where you have almost zero chance of enforcing any patten law, why spend Millions on a patten and enforcing it if the product volume is so low it would take forever to just re-coop your patten $

I think sometimes companys charge a premium for a product because they know they will only have the market share for a short time b4 china ramps up and brings a knock off to market, sort of the "Make Hay while the sun shine" idea.

Couple of comparison videos on YouTube
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4yaTmfV_c8A

Pelican (mainly known for their rugged gun cases) makes an awesome cooler about 25% cheaper than Yeti.

Pretty good video comparing a lot of coolers
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zu-V0ZqfYHg

There is no comparison to Yeti!

Coolest Cooler?

My aunt/uncle have one, its pretty awesome.
http://coolest.com/

Bison coolers

https://www.bisoncoolers.com/

I'm thinking about going and looking a these Perma-Chill that are like the soft sided yeti.

http://www.gandermountain.com/modper...White&i=867591

I've got an Engel 65 that I absolutely love. It does better than both of my buddies Yeti 65's. It's a little cheaper and does better than the yetis at retaining ice. It still might be out of your price range though. I've heard good things about Rtic and whatever cabelas version is for the price.

i second the engel. We have friends that use one on our boat and its great!!

For under your observer seat soft sided day coolers - AO are great. We use the cooler the same as you and its is perfect. https://www.aocoolers.com/

These ones are made in a small town in Iowa. My buddy is actually from that town and absolutely loves and has a bunch of them. As far a compared to a Yeti I think they are a definite contender. However, being I already have a stockpile of Yeti stuff I might be bias :)


https://www.grizzlycoolers.com/catal...g-coolers.html

Yeti suing RTIC to protect their design and for patent infringement.

Orca is another company making similar coolers. I did the ice test on 4 different double walled cups. The 20 oz Orca beat out Yeti and the others, but not my much. Has a better seal on the lid.

My wife surprised me the other day by asking if I wanted the Yeti Cooler bag.....I said sure then realized it was $300-$400 for a cooler bag...got me looking online and it looks like all these companies are competition to Yeti:

-Pelican (I think I'll go with these guys even though they don't have a soft bag, we haul all of our NVG crap on the jet in Pelican cases and throw them all over the palce and not one has broke....I never realize they made coolers until now though)

- ORCA

- Orion

- Engel

- K2

This isn't cutting edge tech where one company could have a crazy advantage over another either...with Yeti albeit they make a great product you are definitely paying a premium for a name and not necessarily BETTER performance...

I have an ORCA. Yeti's are made in both the USA and the Philippines. You can specify one from the USA in a special order. ORCA on the other hand are always made in the USA. It's important to me and it's not like you get a price break on the Yeti because the people in the Philippines manufacturing it got paid half as much as Americans do.

I would already have an RTIC 65 if they weren't on back order until July. Holds ice just as well as a Yeti. Actually has 65 quarts capacity as opposed to the Yeti which only holds like 53 or something. And half the price.

Get a K2. I bought the 50 qt and it is great. Holds ice very well and its just as good/nice as my yeti 45.

I was pretty impressed with the IGLOO sportsman coolers in that test. Thats the 2nd test I have seen where that IGLOO sportsman has done well against the YETI so IMO there is your answer,

if you looking for a cheaper well made cooler the Igloo is 1/2 the price
http://www.amazon.com/Igloo-Sportsma...ortsman+cooler

Disclamer I have no Idea how they hold up. But if you not feeding your cooler to the Bears then im sure it will hold Ice no problem

how long do you need your ice to last?

Doug; good question, if you just go out for the day why do you need a $400 cooler. If your go out for a few days then that's when the high end coolers come into play. I know with my Yettis they are nice to stand / sit on. When I use it in my pontoon boat it doubles as a seat. I don't think the cheep coolers will work for that

[IMG]http://i953.photobucket.com/albums/a...psvxxy2tgd.jpg[/IMG]

Since I started it I'll answer the how long I need ice. I only need it for a day, that's why a 400$ cooler is not on my radar. That's why I really like the price of the soft sided Pirma-chill from gander mountain. It's similar to the yeti hooper but only 75$. I just can't find anybody that has accually had one.

I'm heading to Gander Mountain tonight to check out that exact cooler and hopefully hold it next to a Yeti Hooper....I'm thinking about snagging the Gander Mt. Perma and going to Costco and picking up a Pelican Cooler for the same price as a Hooper by itself....

I guess i have never been in a situation where i could not get ice or needed to ration ice. I do agree on quality of the high end coolers, and am not opposed to buying up but i have a bunch of coolers and they all work, can't seem to spend 400 when i don't need one, maybe when they break. BTW my neighbors all have the soft yeti and hate it. hold ice like a mad man, but its a pain to fill and empty, the zipper is really tight and the kids can't open and close it. just an fyi

One of my best friends has the hard sided Yeti and the soft sided Hopper and I couldn't stand trying to get stuff out of it. I'm going to Gander Mountain and try the Perma-Chill zipper and if it's any thing like the hopper it might be a deal breaker.

Good point on the access to a soft sided YETI cooler. I love using soft sided cooler for certain applications but I cannot get them to last more than a couple years before they start to leak.

I have a couple Icy techs I think I purchased back in 2002. They older ones are not as pretty as the newer but they sure have been great investments.

A good point to note is that Yeti rates their coolers larger than they are by about 10%.

^ yep.
I have a 65qt Yeti and a 50qt Brute (now Bison) and they are the same internal size.

A lot of people that complain about the zipper on the Yeti hopper type of bag being hard to open have never lube'd their zipper with the silicone lube that is included. I've been using this type of zipper (T-ZIP) for a long time with a waterproof camera bag and can agree that when it gets hard it is stupid stiff to open. Lube her up and good to go!

Words to live by :D

Here's my yeti. I just use a soft sided cooler that wet sounds gave me for Xmas last year....

What's the deal with the inside of that Yeti? Does it have a Amp and Battery? How much space is left inside?

Enough to warm a couple slices of pizza. There are 2 batteries, an on-board charger, Syn2, RGB Controller, and the speakers protrude into the cooler. It's completely portable, and plays for a minimum 30 hours. The drain plug was changed to a charge port, all you have to do is plug it in.

We sell a new line of coolers from a company called "Lit Coolers". They have an LED ring around the sealing surface in a piece of waterproof plastic. A little cheaper than a Yeti, but still looks and functions as good. I'm going to load the lid with Rockford speakers, amp, and Bluetooth, then use an external power source.

While I applaud your creation, I must ask WHY use a Yetti for this type of project? How do the amps and other electronics deal with the heat build up from the Amos and power supply? I would think as for keeping Things cool it would do a good job and keeping things hot with no air exchange??

Why? For marketing for my business. It draws a crowd, it gets people talking.

As for cooling, it isn't playing for days. When we had it on the beach in Florida, I had it playing for about 6 hours a day at a low level. Weather was 90'ish degrees. There were no thermal issues at all. When it's charging I leave the lid propped open for ventilation.

Ok I get it. But I'll be 100% Honest. I would be way more impressed as a customer or "potential customer" if built your Own cooler that housed the electronics in one side of the cooler and a actually functioned like a cooler on the other side. Example a Wet Side of the cooler and a Dryside. Heck you could even maket the dry side as a "warmer" to heat things up or keep things warm.

Simply destroying a $450 to show people you can drill holes is IMO not impressive , Being creative is! I understand your want somthing for people to talk about but Honestly my first impression/thought was What a Waste :) Not sure what other people think? Mabey others will chime in.

Just to be 100% clear I think you did a awesome job and I love the Idea My only criticism is you used a Yett :) next time use the Igloo Sportsman! :) :)

And that's the plan, if you read my comment about the next cooler. Most people don't understand what's involved in making this what it is. Sure, you can make one that's still a cooler, but it won't be a comparison in terms of sound quality, loudness, and playtime.

Here's why this one is "not" a cooler -

it's completely portable, no wires.
has at least a 30 hour reserve time.
uses 808's, that are 4.5" deep. They protrude into the cooler
uses an actual head unit with AM/FM/USB/BT, not just a Bluetooth input device.
the head unit protrudes into the cooler.
uses a Wet Sounds Syn2, not radio power.
uses an on-board charger/maintainer - the drain plug is now a charge port

This cooler is VERY loud, and CLEAR. It's portable, plays for a long time, has a considerable amount of midbass, and can be used anywhere.

The next cooler I'm building will have everything housed in the lid. The drawback is that it will require a power source, it won't have nearly as much power, there won't be a head unit, so you're limited to BT only (the problem there inlies that you're dependent on cell service, which doesn't work in some parts here on the lakes or on trails).

Also, regarding using a different cooler, I also wanted to get some Yeti owners butthurt. Those coolers are all hype as far as I'm concerned. If that's what you want, so be it. A free soft-sided cooler serves my needs just fine.

I'm with ya on the Hype. When you hear a country song and they are singing about a Yetti then you know they Jumped The Shark.

But back to the Fantasy Cooler/ Boom Box. If done correctly!!!!!! (Aka If I did it) you could have both. :)

I have always wanted to do a Portable Boom box, but never had plans for a cooler! If you want to have a Boom box cooler Challange I'm sure I could come up with somthing that would smoke anything you could ever come up with! Yup thems fighting words! Then we could auction them off with money going to some charitable cause and who's ever cooler brings the most $ wins!!!

I'm with ya! We just picked up Rockford, and as much as a hate cheating on Wet Sounds, I'm probably gonna build this one with all RF. The only reason is for budgeting. It won't sound as good, but it'll fill a purpose.

I can host the Auction of the two coolers from out non profit Ripon QB Club. We have raised over $50K in one night. We also could push this on Wakeboarding Hall of Fame to market it.

Need a basic set of rules/guidelines/money spent, etc.. so its fair