# Best Ice Chest brands



## Gofish2day (May 9, 2006)

I went on a 2 week trip recently to Colorado and Utah. As this was a driving trip, I packed 2 ice chests with food etc. The trouble is keeping ice was like adding butter to an skillet. Yes, it was Hot. 106 in Moab Utah and 104 in Amarillo. Just in general this cheap chest doesn't hold ice on fishing trips. As I have gotten older, I clean fish the next day usually and need to add more ice.
The Yeti is heavy I am told. Expensive too.
Which ice chest do you guys use??


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## texcajun (Feb 22, 2009)

I gotta say, for the money and THE WEIGHT, Icey-Tek coolers are the real deal. They hold ice exceptionally well and the weigh less than half of a comparably sized Yeti.

https://icey-tek.com/?utm_medium=pp...MIm66mw5nN6gIV0MDACh1RaATFEAAYASAAEgLBJfD_BwE


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## rglide09 (Mar 21, 2012)

My Yeti will keep ice for days once it is cooled down. With any of this style cooler you will use a couple of bags of ice to get it cold, once it's cold very little ice is needed to maintain the cool temp. I have a 65 quart and yes it's heavy and expensive but worth it in my opinion.


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## Jkmoore03 (Jun 19, 2015)

rglide09 said:


> My Yeti will keep ice for days once it is cooled down. With any of this style cooler you will use a couple of bags of ice to get it cold, once it's cold very little ice is needed to maintain the cool temp. I have a 65 quart and yes it's heavy and expensive but worth it in my opinion.


Put some water in old juice or soda bottles (2 liter, .5 & 1 gallon size) and freeze them. Use them to cool down your yeti style cooler the night before and it will hold ice just fine and keep you from wasting ice. Throw them back in the freezer so they are ready for next time.

I also use the frozen water bottles when I'm dove, teal and duck hunting. It keeps the birds from getting wet and nasty before I clean them.


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## dk2429 (Mar 27, 2015)

Igloo. Made in Katy, my two hold ice all day on the water


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## Muddskipper (Dec 29, 2004)

RTIC for the money on the high end coolers

Get the biggest you can handle...cool it down with a frozen bottle and remember you donâ€™t need as much ice once itâ€™s cold....keeping it closed also retain its cold temps


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## SeaIsleDweller (Jun 27, 2013)

I used to hate on high end coolers and stick to my marine igloos, however I bought an Rtic 45 back when they had a huge sale during their lawsuit with Yeti and I have to say I'm impressed how long it will keep ice once its cooled off. We use this cooler for camping or weekend long fishing trips to keep drinks cold. I still use the cheap igloo coolers for day fishing trips etc. For the money its hard to beat the rtic brand.


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## Gofish2day (May 9, 2006)

Great points on cooling the chest down the night before. With the Corona Virus, I don't stop at stores and have 6-8 of the juice bottles with ice that I use. I had some block Ice I made and this lasted longer. It always does.
Shopping for new Ice Chests.....
Stayed in Vail Colorado in a condo for 2 weeks. It was 39 in the morning and 73 in afternoons. Took a 3 day trip to Moab and Arches national park. OMG that park is incredible. Visited Canyon lands NP too and was great.


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## Jerry713 (Nov 6, 2019)

I have a Coleman 70 quart Extreme I've found to work well when cooled down the night before. You can make this cooler hold as well as a Yeti by adding a gasket around the lid. Walmart has Permatex gasket maker (I use black) back in the auto section. Tube runs about 6 bucks. Open the cooler lid and run a 1/2" bead on the base of the cooler all the way around it. Then place plastic wrap over the bead and close the lid. This forms the gasket material to the lid (plastic keeps the gasket material from sticking to the lid). Open the lid, remove the plastic, wipe up any excess and let it cure overnight. I've done it and it really helps.


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## Gofish2day (May 9, 2006)

WOW - I like that! Never thought of doing that.


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## fishinganimal (Mar 30, 2006)

I personally would use Marine Igloos and with that Yeti money buy an Ice Machine. Or about three years of Ice at Bucees! I don't know about y'all but my ice usually gets slimed and dumped. And I don't remote camp.


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## habanerojooz (Dec 4, 2006)

Regardless of cooler brand, if your goal is cold as possible for the longest amount of time, you should educate yourself on the use of salt with your ice. 


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## Mattsfishin (Aug 23, 2009)

In the boat for a day trip I use the coleman extreme 50 + quart. Keeps fish iced down all day. If going on a trip I always put the coolers in the spare bath tub with jugs of ice in it. I have igloo and coleman along with RTIC. I also purchased 2 of the 45 quart rtic when they went thru the lawsuit with yeti. With the basket they were around $135 each, free shipping. They have been in the closet since I bought them. Never used them yet. I do use the rtic 30 soft side a lot. In the boat, car, or concerts. It was also a sale item for $80. This is a really handy cooler for traveling and carry in a vehicle. If you carry a cooler in the bed of a truck make a slotted frame to sit the cooler on. So there will be some air flow between the cooler and the bed of the truck.


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## Gofish2day (May 9, 2006)

Sounds like deals on nice Coolers
Those Coleman extreme coolers are very reasonable.


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## ccoker (Mar 26, 2018)

I have a big old school Yeti I use for hunting along with a few other "high end coolers" Grizzly, Icehole and another one whose name is slipping on me right now..

They all work about the same frankly

What I do like about all of them is they just don't break.. You can abuse them and nothing breaks on them.. My big old school yeti has had two deer quartered out and filled with ice and dropped out of the back of the truck on concrete often.. Got tired of the cheap Igloos having hinges and handles fail.


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## photofishin (Aug 7, 2009)

there's a large difference between keeping ice in a cooler for a day and having a cooler than can keep ice for a week. The former, stick with brands like Igloo...they'll keep your Zimas chilled. 
For long storage, as mentioned, the best brands aren't cheap. Get the biggest you can afford and get it cold before the trip and then during the trip, minimize the times you open it. Yeti brand always gets bashed...but they work in those extreme environments when others don't. It's funny how everybody always compares vehicles to Mercedes too...but not Honda.


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## RUFcaptain (Aug 12, 2011)

Yeti is the best, but the Rtic is very close, frequently they go on sale too. Occasionally Costco will have Pelicans on sale, they are very good as well.


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## Ryan H. (May 10, 2011)

I have an Engle 80 and a Yeti Roadie (probably a 25 or something like that, holds a 12 pack or a little more and a full bag of ice)


I love them both. Both quality, would buy either one again. Engle is constantly cheaper. I need an intermediate size, and will probably buy an Engle just because it's cheaper, if a Yeti was similar in price, I'd pick by color. I think I slightly prefer the Yeti latches, but like the Engle rubber feet better.

I also have the Engle bag. It's the backpack one. Really like it. The yeti bag seems to work great, but has no features. The backpack is awesome and keeps stuff cold well. I use a refreeze cold pack and start with refrigerated drinks in the bag and love it.


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## dk2429 (Mar 27, 2015)

Never heard about cooling the cooler down before use.... I'll keep that in mind. Interesting


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## rglide09 (Mar 21, 2012)

dk2429 said:


> Never heard about cooling the cooler down before use.... I'll keep that in mind. Interesting


I learned this the hard way with my Yeti. The first time to use it I put stuff in it and dumped ice on top as with any other cooler I've had. About 75 miles down the road my wife checked on the cooler and discovered all the ice had melted.............she was not happy with me paying for a Yeti with these results... I bought more ice and she read the owners book and saw where it needed to be cooled down first. Once I started doing that the cooler is amazing and she quit complaining. As others have said minimize the time the lid is open and latch it closed and it will keep ice a long time.


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## fishinganimal (Mar 30, 2006)

I have a big Artic as well. And I have used it twice and it did as mentioned melted. So this means you have to prepare the cooler the night before with Ice you make or more of an expense. Thats **** IMO. For sale soon. And to mention I have to get it up the ladder in the toon empty because I cannot lift it unless its empty. B O A T for an onboard Ice Chest!.


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## Whitebassfisher (May 4, 2007)

I am not sure the cool down can be avoided no matter the brand or quality.


As an A/C guy once reminded me .... "There is no such thing as cold, only an absence of heat."


For any brand of chest, until the heat in the air and the walls of the chest are removed, ice will melt. 



Heck, moving the cooler from the garage to inside the house with open lid the day before use would save ice. Right now that would be a free and easy 20Â° cool down to start with.


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## Go Frogs (Nov 19, 2014)

Whitebassfisher said:


> Heck, moving the cooler from the garage to inside the house with open lid the day before use would save ice. Right now that would be a free and easy 20Â° cool down to start with.


^ this is what I do and it makes a huge difference. I'm sure it's not as good as filling with ice twice but for me it gets me better than halfway there in the summer.


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## Gofish2day (May 9, 2006)

Very true Donald.


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## metal man (Mar 30, 2006)

no juice or milk jugs make it to the trash in our home , all end up as block ice in the freezer, started getting the old cardboard 1/2 gallon because they stack wells . will bake a big difference in crushed ice longevity in a cooler.


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## tmd11111 (Mar 25, 2019)

Pretty much any of the roto molded coolers will work. I have 2 Yeti's myself and inlaws have some RTIC's. Not much difference. I will say plan on how you pack them. Make one just for drinks because if its constantly being opened you'll be sadly disappointed on how long the ice last.


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## Gilbert (May 25, 2004)

if you are going to use it for a cooler as in open and close all day, igloo/coleman/foam cooler hold ice just as long as a yeti. The reason I have 2 yeti's is that I them to stand on in front of the boat like a casting platform. You can't stand on an igloo/coleman without caving in the lid. Another thing is space, a 75 yeti is almost the same size outer dimesions as a coleman 150 and the coleman holds way more. If you really want to make ice last long no matter what cooler you have, mix in some rock salt. Not too much or you will freeze your beers to ice cubes.


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## shadslinger (Aug 21, 2005)

Coleman are the ones I use the most and get the most out of. Strong and cat fish fin resistant, they keep ice great especially if cooled down with frozen jugs before adding ice.
The lids on any cooler of the old style cooler are the weak point. I cement them back on after the screws get loose.
Coleman coolers have thick hard plastic walls that resist getting punctured by fins.
Igloos have thinner walls and will get poked through by fins letting deadly smelling fish slim gets into the insulation making them stink bombs.
And coleman collers are tough enough to sit on.


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## tbone2374 (Feb 27, 2010)

I have one of the largest Pelican brand, roto molded coolers...forget the exact size, but i think it's the 70 qt. It's great for vacations, and short weekend excursions, but don't use it at all in the boat, because of the size. It is heavy, and don't even think about lifting it, full of ice, and drinks. It's true what they say...this thing stays so cold, it makes more ice, than you can deal with...lol.


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## Mattsfishin (Aug 23, 2009)

As Loy mentioned the colemans can be used as another seat and not bow up. In the past the igloos would get holes in them and when I switched to coleman extreme I did not have the problem. You can usually find the 50 + quart coleman extreme on sale for $20 to $25 on black friday. Now is not the best time to buy a cooler if looking for a deal. Also on any of the plastic coolers I would use a plastic wall anchor and super glue for the stripped out holes. Another quick fix is to double a zip tie and put in stripped hole. Screw will usually tighten up.


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## pipeliner345 (Mar 15, 2010)

habanerojooz said:


> Regardless of cooler brand, if your goal is cold as possible for the longest amount of time, you should educate yourself on the use of salt with your ice.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Bingo! This! I keep Rock salt on hand always!
It's the best way and i use good ole igloos.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk


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## Gofish2day (May 9, 2006)

Hmm Rock Salt - Ice cream maker...â€¦â€¦.Colder
I know all about ICE - Latent Heat - Boiling water and Heat vs Cold. Pressure vs Liquids and Gases. Cold the absence of heat....
Anyone have a reason the Rock salt works?


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## shadslinger (Aug 21, 2005)

Gofish2day said:


> Hmm Rock Salt - Ice cream maker...â€¦â€¦.Colder
> I know all about ICE - Latent Heat - Boiling water and Heat vs Cold. Pressure vs Liquids and Gases. Cold the absence of heat....
> Anyone have a reason the Rock salt works?


The all knowing Google

*
Salt lowers the freezing point of water via freezing point depression. ... When salted ice melts, the water can't refreeze as readily because the saline isn't pure water anymore and because the freezing point is colder. As more ice melts, more heat is absorbed, bringing the temperature down even lower.*

So if you get the cooler's temperature lowered( as stated above) before adding ice, then the process of the salt melting the ice goes at a slow rate gradually and continually lowering the temps much as it can.


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## loco4fishn (May 17, 2010)

fishinganimal said:


> I have a big Artic as well. And I have used it twice and it did as mentioned melted. So this means you have to prepare the cooler the night before with Ice you make or more of an expense. Thats **** IMO. For sale soon. And to mention I have to get it up the ladder in the toon empty because I cannot lift it unless its empty. B O A T for an onboard Ice Chest!.


Iâ€™d be interested in it if you plan on selling it.


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## Whitebassfisher (May 4, 2007)

Gofish2day said:


> Hmm Rock Salt - Ice cream maker...â€¦â€¦.Colder
> I know all about ICE - Latent Heat - Boiling water and Heat vs Cold. Pressure vs Liquids and Gases. Cold the absence of heat....
> Anyone have a reason the Rock salt works?


Shadslinger already googled and answered.

My high school chemistry teacher said it was because salt lowered the freezing point of water, simple as that. That fact brings about the other things Loy mentioned. ie: * As more ice melts, more heat is absorbed*


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## fishinganimal (Mar 30, 2006)

So a cooler with a stainless insert is whats needed just like the new tumblers keeping ice. Ice Cream makers stainless tub. Again the starting temp would be the key.


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## Mattsfishin (Aug 23, 2009)

FA Yeti has what you want. Cooler with stainless vacuum panels in all sides and top. A price that you will enjoy. $800. YES $800 and it only weighs 35 pounds. One person that bought one said it weighed 49 pounds when they got it.Plastic liner but vacuum panels inside and stainless wrap on the outside. When will it ever stop.


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## Gofish2day (May 9, 2006)

WOW - $800 on an ice chest.

I might need to look into this salt thing more as I don't understand. Learned this a long time ago and thought was kinda cool.
First the reason ICE works.
BTU = the amount of heat it takes to change 1 pound of water 1 degree.
Heat 1 pound of water with 144 BTU's and its now 144 degrees.

What is the Difference between 32 degree water and 32 degree ice? One is a liquid and one is a solid. Latent Heat - water at 32 degree you must remove 144 btu's of heat for it to change from a liquid to a solid. 
So Ice can absorb 144 btu's of heat for every pound of ICE before it changes back to a liquid. That is a lot of heat its absorbing.


I get ice lowers the freezing temp but still don't get it. I need to check Google.


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## Gofish2day (May 9, 2006)

Took a trip to U-tube and see why the salt works.
Ice can stay as ice longer in salted chest than if there was no salt.
I do remember making ice cream as a kid.


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## habanerojooz (Dec 4, 2006)

As youâ€™ve discovered, salt lowers the freezing temperature. Without salt, the freezing point is 32F. With salt, the freezing point is lower than 32F. The outcome of this effect is a colder temp. Now letâ€™s translate that into action and how this works. 

The â€˜howâ€™ is summarized by the melt of the ice caused by the salt (energy consumption) and the gradual production of an ice/water mix. Energy consumption continues until the new freezing point equilibrium is reached. As this reaction is happening, everything inside of the ice chest stays cold and gets colder. 

Rock salt, table salt, it all works. Probably a cost question as much as anything. 


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