The New Huntmastersbbs!: Yeti Coolers

This is topic Yeti Coolers in forum Member forum at The New Huntmastersbbs!.

To visit this topic, use this URL:
https://www.huntmastersbbs.com/cgi-bin/cgi-ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=6;t=004302

Posted by Lone Howl (Member # 29) on September 12, 2015, 11:38 AM:

So I took on Yeti at my store in May. Got laughed at and criticized for spending the dough and taking the risk of having "high dollar ice chests" sitting on the showroom floor. My feeling was that we have a lot of outdoorsy type people in my area, and they would move. Boy... did they.

Fast forward to Sept...done 30 grand in business with it so far, which for our little store is good. Im completley sold out of everything and have backorders piling up because Yeti cant keep up with their demand. Even sold a 1400 dollar cooler (the most expensive one)that I brought in sort of as a showstopper/conversation piece. Had 3 guys fighting over it.
If I could get more product right now I could move it no problem.

No point to this post, just thought it was interesting to share.
Mark
(edited for spellin.)

[ September 12, 2015, 12:34 PM: Message edited by: Lone Howl ]

Posted by earthwalker (Member # 4177) on September 12, 2015, 02:25 PM:

They are catching on.
We have several and they are over priced but in the end they'll pay for themselves in not replacing coolers every few years.
They kept our food cool/cold for a week at a time in 90 degree weather. Got rained in on the AZ strip one year in Dec. 7 days in a tent 13" of rain. got out on Xmas day. Never lost any food.

Posted by Yotehntr (Member # 3684) on September 12, 2015, 03:17 PM:

That's crazy Mark, I poked fun at a buddy of mine for buying one of those. (guess I'm cheap huh?)

Posted by Lone Howl (Member # 29) on September 12, 2015, 04:24 PM:

Id like to thank whoever sings the country song that mentions Yeti 110 and Silver Bullets. That song has sold lots of product.
Mark

Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on September 13, 2015, 05:47 AM:

I think a Consumer Reports article would be very interesting. Specifically, I am wondering about the value element? Somebody needs to break it down, so many degrees lost over so many days for so much in dollars.

If I can keep fifty pounds of assorted food at 45 degrees for two weeks, while opening and closing the chest three times a day, in August temperatures, is it worth three hundred dollars more? Versus 50 degrees and replenishing the block ice once.

Heft, weight, bulk, durability etc. I'm just wondering if this is value, or a luxury item more suited for Dan, (the man)?

There is no free lunch, of course. But some of these boxes won't fit in a standard SUV.

So, convince me I need to pay $400 to keep my beer cold?

Good hunting. El Bee

Posted by TRnCO (Member # 690) on September 13, 2015, 06:07 AM:

Guess it's amazing to me that these things sell like they do. Guess advertising is working for them. It would take me a long time to spend enough on extra ice just to make it "pay" for itself. And I must be gentle on my coolers because I haven't broken one for in like...........forever.

Posted by Aznative (Member # 506) on September 13, 2015, 06:43 AM:

The best thing to buy to keep ice a long time is the biggest block you can buy and fit. Unfortunately, we can no longer get large block ice in the phoenix area. Back in the day large block ice was available, I would go to Powell in late May and still have lots of Ice left after a week in the 90s. The largest block we can get today is 16 lbs.

On our houseboat time share on powell, we have a freezer that we put in 6 1 gallon jugs of distilled water for freezing. We rotate the jugs from the freezer to ice chests daily and run the generator for about 5 hours per day. If we didn't have the freezer, I would probably buy a couple of yetis.

Posted by 3 Toes (Member # 1327) on September 13, 2015, 06:45 AM:

My humble opinion. I will never buy another brand of cooler. I am hard on equipment, to say the least. I have a cooler in the back of my truck, 24/7/365 down every two track and gravel road in the county. They get hammered to say the least. I had watched several brands of cooler disentegrate in the back of my truck. I threw a yeti in there about 4 or 5 years and 100,000 miles ago. It is still right there. Actually I took it out day before yesterday to stand on while I was dragging elk halves into the back of my pickup. So my weight plus a half of an elk standing on the lid. Would you trust a wal-mart cooler for that?

Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on September 13, 2015, 08:16 AM:

Those are good points, Cal. I might put your argument under "dependability". And, whatever it's worth.

Of course, everybody understands that you are more in the 24/7 professional class; a lot different than some of us hobby types.

But still, and not trying to knock holes in your justifications, but the ability to stand on it and drag meat is not one of the boxes I would check in evaluating.

Okay, it also takes a pounding in the bed of a Pickup.

I really think it's more or less suited for about 5% of the ice chest users out there; and yes, I just pulled that number out of my ass.

Good hunting. El Bee

Posted by TRnCO (Member # 690) on September 13, 2015, 11:10 AM:

Cal must be the driver of the pick-up in the commercial driving down the two track and bouncing his Yeti out the back of the truck? Should've known.... [Razz]

Posted by UTcaller (Member # 8) on September 13, 2015, 01:36 PM:

I agree with Cal I will never own another brand of cooler. Yeti is IMHO the best you can buy. I own one of the larger one and it rarely leaves the back of my truck either. It amazes the hell out of me how long ice lasts in the damn thing. I also have one of the smaller ones that I keep in the cab of my truck full of drinks. Then I have a stainless steel Yeti cup that keeps ice damn near all day. Yeah I'm sold.

Good Hunting Chad

Posted by Lone Howl (Member # 29) on September 13, 2015, 02:43 PM:

The Ramblers (stainless cups) sell like crazy. I mean I couldnt keep up. I do have a case set back of 20 and 30 oz. ones that I am going to have hydro dipped...just cause.

(BTW,my Yeti rep told me that the new Ramblers coming out next year will have closable screw tops.)

The bad thing about a Yeti cooler is that you cant leave em in the back of your truck around here, or they will be gone. We sell a lock for them every time we sell one just about.

Mark

[ September 13, 2015, 02:45 PM: Message edited by: Lone Howl ]

Posted by CrossJ (Member # 884) on September 13, 2015, 03:22 PM:

I agree with Cal completely on his reasoning behind the Yeti. That said, I have a Pelican...same deal, injection molded plastic. the durability is one of the biggest factors. Mine rides in the back of my welding truck all summer and takes more abuse than a standard cooler could.

As far as cold longevity, I have taken long hunting trips and use cheap disposable foam coolers our vet rep ships pharmaceuticals in. They are dense foam about 1.5" thick with a fitted lid. They hold ice as long as anything I have used, and they are free....but they can't take much abuse.

maintain

Posted by Moe (Member # 4494) on September 13, 2015, 04:55 PM:

I've wanted a Yeti since I first saw one. We sold our boat last year but when we still had it we'd load up on tuna, halibut, salmon or just a few ling cod. I have several coolers I carry in the back of my pickup and kept the meat in them. Yes, adding ice kept the fish nicely but it would've been nice to just out the fish in a Yeti and not worry about it.

With so many coolers in my possession it was hard to convince my wife that I needed more. Now the boat is gone and we don't do much camping any more so I doubt that I'll ever get a Yeti. Oh, well.

Posted by DAA (Member # 11) on September 13, 2015, 05:32 PM:

I run an ARB fridge/freezer. Which is a lot more expensive than a Yeti. You guys that run coolers every day might give one consideration though? Never need to buy ice. Can freeze meat. I'm obviously only using it recreational but figure mine is more than half paid for in the ice I haven't bought. There are other advantages for my application that are more important to me than buying ice though. Like better food options for long trips and keeping things fresh on longer trips. Some of my desert trips even the Yetis are swimming and guys using them are having to take care to keep the lids closed and what not to conserve their ice. I've frozen bottled water for them late in a trip before.

- DAA

Posted by Lone Howl (Member # 29) on September 13, 2015, 07:27 PM:

Those are rad! I want one.

Posted by Prune Picker (Member # 4107) on September 14, 2015, 12:15 AM:

On past big game trips to Alaska & Oregon the family trend is using multiple chest freezers strapped to a trailer('s) & a generator to cycle the freezers, usually twice per day, when they start to fill with winter meat & fish. The guys in Alaska also use the big yetti's but much prefer the freezer&generator combos for long stays, Mainly to keep water from contacting the meats.
Mark, the local Home Depot has yellow & green, John Deere marked Yetti's (40 qt) coolers for free if you buy a 2700$ mower. Kinda funny the mowers are just setting outside unchained but the coolers have about 10ft. Of cable & locks attached .

Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on September 14, 2015, 03:03 AM:

I have a little freezer that is out in the garage somewhere, don't use it much because truthfully, I forgot about it. But, I always worried about it running the battery down, and it gave off a lot of heat sitting on the floor, in the back seat. And, that was another thing, I had to be careful it wasn't sitting on a jacket or something that might clog the exhaust thingie. But maybe it's not the same as what Dave is talking about? His sounds more "Industrial Strength"?

You know, those cheap throwaway Styrofoam coolers? Last time I was down in Cabo, they were selling for $50! EEK! Talk about a town willing to drill into your wallet! We got so fed up with taxi prices that we rented a friggin' car!

Good hunting. El Bee

Posted by knockemdown (Member # 3588) on September 14, 2015, 03:29 AM:

I got a cheapo Coleman 28qt cooler for $28 @ Gander Mt. a while back and decided to make a project of it...

Drilled a couple pilot holes large enough to fit the straw from a can of Great Stuff foam insulation, and shot a whole dang can of that goop inside. The foam expanded to fill all the voids in the hollow walls/lid, and now that bitch insulates like a champ...

I've destroyed my share of coolers on the boats over the years, and can see the merit of having a tough built cooler like a Yeti. But for general truck cooler detail, my $35 po' man's Yeti works purdy dang good...

Posted by DAA (Member # 11) on September 14, 2015, 04:49 AM:

That's pretty good thinking Fred!

One of the magazines I read had a cooler test in the last issue. Took all the high end coolers, plus a couple cheapies and subjected them to the same conditions. Had FLIR images, temp probes, measured how long they kept how cold, at what positions inside. How long they kept ice under the same conditions. Etc., etc...

Test also included some drop testing, to see how they'd handle something like falling out of the back of a truck while loaded.

End of the day, no surprise, the Yeti came out on top. Best in every category.

- DAA

Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on September 14, 2015, 09:00 AM:

Along those lines, what Fred did, I used to have a steel cooler, and the inside was galvanized, have no idea who made it but it wasn't Coleman. Anyway, that sort of thing in a 48 quart size would be a candidate for filling with a can of foam. In other words, two bags of ice cubes would be cold water tomorrow, depending. I threw mine away when the bottom rusted out, but it was rugged like a mofo.

But, if I lived in Gillette, what I used to do was open the lid every night and close it in the morning. Stuff lasted a lot longer that way...I guess everybody knows that? You have to wonder if they will sell a deluxe model with built in stairs and a winch?

Now, this is secret stuff so keep it under your hat: we used to scout during the day for coming back at night. The problem is that it's hard to figure out exactly the best place to stop. Things look a lot different driving in the dark.

So, I came up with a way to mark the trail with a squirt of foam. It lays crosswise sticking out where it's visible to the driver and tell him exactly where to park to see the best. And, if you kick a little dirt on it, believe me, nobody would know what it is or pay any attention to it. I know most of you guys don't hunt at night, but many that do like to mark spots with engineer tape tied to a bush, stuff like that, which tells other people so involved as to what's going on; which you don't want. Nobody wants anyone to know where they are hunting, so that foam laid across one side of a two track is very stealthy.

Good hunting. El Bee

Posted by TRnCO (Member # 690) on September 15, 2015, 04:57 AM:

quote:
whoever sings the country song that mentions Yeti 110 and Silver Bullets

I heard that song this morning. If I had a million dollars I'd buy me a boat and and Yeti 110 too. LOL [Big Grin]

Posted by RagnCajn (Member # 879) on September 15, 2015, 09:04 PM:

Lone Howl, I agree with your assessment. I to began carrying them about a 2 years ago. To get started I placed a large order to stock the shelves. I ordered 20 of those 35's. Gave each employee one. My first order of all sizes didn't last long.

Leonard, mine have more than paid for them selves. We deliver oilfield supplies to the job sites. Each truck has a cooler in the back with bottled waters. Kinda the norm for our type of work. When we deliver supplies, the crews all get watered down. I was going through a lot of ice. I am talking about 10-15 bags a week. So much so that I put in a Grab and Go box that you see at the convenience stores. It cut my ice bill in half per month. Of the 8 deliverery trucks, I can attest the Yeti's have paid for them selves in the last two years.

I realize this is an extreme circumstance, but if you are someone that keeps a chest with ice in it everyday, they are worth the price.

On another note, I took my Dad to Cal's place and hunted with Murph. We both got nice antelopes. We had them butchered in town and on the day we left, we picked up the frozen, packaged meat and headed home. We got home 40 hours later. (made a stop in Kansas to hunt coyotes) allthough we had added dry ice to the big Igloo cooler we took, we still had soft meat when I got home. Several months later I began to handle the "Icehole" brand coolers. They are the closest to a Yeti that I know of and may actually be better. Just the name didn't sell well, therefore the reason I went with Yeti when I got the chance. Anyway, I packed a slaughtered hog in one of those High dollar coolers on a Thursday. No ice. Just frozen packaged meat. The next day I picked up my wife and headed to ElPaso to see my son at Bliss. We stopped over night somewhere out in Texas. Got to my Son's house Saturday before noon. That night we unloaded the Cooler and every package was still froze solid.

So my opinion is that the high end coolers are worth every bit of the price difference

Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on September 16, 2015, 05:59 AM:

Yeah Boy, Randy, And, did you know that you can stand on a Yeti and winch elk into the back of your truck? ( just kidding)

Fort Bliss, eh? Damn, I was stationed there, I think it was during the Civil War? I have been back there recently, my girlfriend is from there. Boy, has that place changed!

I'm a little surprised that you can get dry ice at just about any Walmart. Now, we need to discuss advantages and disadvantages of regular ice versus dry ice. I know that occasionally, I bought dry ice and it didn't always work too well.

Good hunting. El Bee

UBB.classic^TM 6.3.0