Rtic cooler review (as promised) 65qt in now
08-20-2016, 05:55 AM
#34
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Onslow County, NC
Posts: 1,856
08-21-2016, 03:54 AM
#35
Dominant Buck
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: On an Island in Vermont
Posts: 22,605
Nearing the end of my warm water pan fishing season so I'll continue along with my existing 70 qt igloo coolers which cost about 50 bucks each. I had to remove the handles and build new ones since the cooler filled with pan fish and adequate ice to keep them cold weighs around 90 pounds and the handles were breaking. I start the day with 3 cake pans of ice 2" thick by 16" X 12". One goes on the bottom with fish dumped on top and another goes on top as the fish start to get to the mid point of the cooler I add the 3rd one on top and keep it there as I add fish. At the end of the morning when I am ready to quit with a full cooler the ice has melted about 2/3. My bet is the new cooler would require less ice and would be built with better handles. The rubber feet would be a negative for me though in dealing with sliding them on and off the truck. I keep a rubber mat in the truck bed which helps to stop sliding and it is easy to pull a full cooler out.
Last edited by Champlain Islander; 08-21-2016 at 04:25 AM.
08-21-2016, 03:48 PM
#36
Nontypical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 3,359
Well Ive definitely put it to the test the last few days. It really is excellent and it wasn't a fluke...Ive regularly pulled water bottles out with ice in them.
There are some negatives.
1. Possibly the rubber feet depending on your needs.
2. To get it to work better than any old cheapy it has to be precooled. The thick walls and insulation also hold heat so if you don't precool it it just doesn't work. Its simple though as you can just load it the night before and then put fresh ice in the morning.
Also some might find the weight and bulk of the 20qt to much for a cooler that small. Works great but its a lot to pack around and may not hold enough to be worth the extra weight and bulk and adding warm drinks as you go will melt your ice in a hurry in a cooler that small. Today I had added one bag of ice in 5 days and had probably another days worth of ice left but when I added twelve 80 degree bottles of water today my ice was gone in an hour.
Precooled it exceeded my expectations but you have to use it correctly.
I'm gonna say all things considered the Yeti is just too expensive and I'd be fine without one but the RTIC is worth the money IMO. The durability alone probably makes it worth it even if you don't precool its just a much better built cooler and then you add in the ability to hold ice so well with just a little extra process when you need it.....2 thumbs up on the RTIC from me.
My recommendation for an avid outdoorsman that is interested in a higher end cooler, skip the 20 as its really just too small for this kind of cooler IMO unless you have a specific need for it(just go with a decent cheapy for small cooler day outings)
Pull the trigger on the 45 right now, you can't go wrong. It takes two months to get one once you commit and if you are not happy with it people will stand in line to buy it from you because it takes 2 months to get one. Its pretty much a free trial and ultimately you can probably make money trying one out of you want. Then hold out for the 100+qt.
There are some negatives.
1. Possibly the rubber feet depending on your needs.
2. To get it to work better than any old cheapy it has to be precooled. The thick walls and insulation also hold heat so if you don't precool it it just doesn't work. Its simple though as you can just load it the night before and then put fresh ice in the morning.
Also some might find the weight and bulk of the 20qt to much for a cooler that small. Works great but its a lot to pack around and may not hold enough to be worth the extra weight and bulk and adding warm drinks as you go will melt your ice in a hurry in a cooler that small. Today I had added one bag of ice in 5 days and had probably another days worth of ice left but when I added twelve 80 degree bottles of water today my ice was gone in an hour.
Precooled it exceeded my expectations but you have to use it correctly.
I'm gonna say all things considered the Yeti is just too expensive and I'd be fine without one but the RTIC is worth the money IMO. The durability alone probably makes it worth it even if you don't precool its just a much better built cooler and then you add in the ability to hold ice so well with just a little extra process when you need it.....2 thumbs up on the RTIC from me.
My recommendation for an avid outdoorsman that is interested in a higher end cooler, skip the 20 as its really just too small for this kind of cooler IMO unless you have a specific need for it(just go with a decent cheapy for small cooler day outings)
Pull the trigger on the 45 right now, you can't go wrong. It takes two months to get one once you commit and if you are not happy with it people will stand in line to buy it from you because it takes 2 months to get one. Its pretty much a free trial and ultimately you can probably make money trying one out of you want. Then hold out for the 100+qt.
Last edited by rockport; 08-21-2016 at 04:56 PM.
08-22-2016, 05:59 AM
#37
Nontypical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 3,359
Nearing the end of my warm water pan fishing season so I'll continue along with my existing 70 qt igloo coolers which cost about 50 bucks each. I had to remove the handles and build new ones since the cooler filled with pan fish and adequate ice to keep them cold weighs around 90 pounds and the handles were breaking. I start the day with 3 cake pans of ice 2" thick by 16" X 12". One goes on the bottom with fish dumped on top and another goes on top as the fish start to get to the mid point of the cooler I add the 3rd one on top and keep it there as I add fish. At the end of the morning when I am ready to quit with a full cooler the ice has melted about 2/3. My bet is the new cooler would require less ice and would be built with better handles. The rubber feet would be a negative for me though in dealing with sliding them on and off the truck. I keep a rubber mat in the truck bed which helps to stop sliding and it is easy to pull a full cooler out.
Last edited by rockport; 08-22-2016 at 06:01 AM.
