Fridge vs. Yeti cooler

[pan-y-cerveza]

Heck 3 days at most, a regular old igloo will work with just a block of ice.

Depends. We've gone down the "better" cooler route after camping for only four days this summer when it was very hot. Our old Coleman couldn't keep cold. Had to drive into town each day to get two bags of ice. Even then we had to move things around the cooler. The stuff on top wasn't keeping cold.

A better cooler can hold more stuff than the cheap one even if the inside dimensions are the same because it requires less ice.

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[XirallicBolts]

Gotta check the technology they use. The fridge in my Flex uses a proper compressor+refrigerant setup and can keep food frozen, at the expense of added weight.

Peltier-effect coolers are lighter and have higher volume (no bulky compressor), but are more limited in how cold they can get. You aren't keeping ice cream intact without some extra cooling (ice).

 

[Rcarpen22]

I have both yeti and rtic coolers. My rtic holds ice longer and stays colder than the yeti. Just sayin.

I have an RTIC as well and it’s awesome. Half the price of Yeti. I can’t figure out why anyone would buy a Yeti unless they just have to have the “coolest” (no pun intended) name brand. I’m certainly not buying a refrigerator. The RTIC keeps ice for like a week.

 

[mestuntman]

How much is a effing cooler worth? In my day we went down to the 7-11 bought a case of Budwiser a bag of ice and a $1.99 styraofoam cooler. After we drank all the Beer we put the empty's in the cooler and threw the whole fucking thing out the window, into some assholes front yard! It's the American way.

 

[CrazyDogLady]

I have a Coleman fridge that plugs into an outlet or the 12V car port. I bought it a few years ago and I love it. Great for road trips and camping. I believe they are around $135.00.

 

[Jamyers77]

Just googled this. Awesome idea. I usually use 2L milk jugs but the tubes seem like a better "permanent" idea.

None of my tubes stay frozen for the same amount of time even with measuring my ratios. When I camp I use frozen waterbottles too. You could use any type of bottle. I just wanted something sturdy and distinguishable.

 

[dejones64]

I've kind of researched this overlanding stuff - portable refrigerator... As far as I know one would need a portable power station (such as a Jackery, they are popular) to power the fridge. Connect a solar panel to the Jackery to charge it (or to your vehicle while driving, or your house outlet). Once you get food in the fridge and to the right temp, the power it draws from the power station is pretty minimal. The fridge doesn't constantly run, it cycles on/off to keep the temp. Those 3 things can keep you on the road for awhile: Solar panel + portable power station + fridge.

My plan is to go with about a 500wh power supply + 100w solar panel + a fridge (Iceco vl35). I will also power other devices with that power supply while at camp. Either use the solar panel or vehicle (while driving) to charge the power supply.

I am by no means an expert, pretty much beginner, only learned what I've youtubed.

 

[Rick Astley]

Considering the size of the fridge/freezer offered, there is little space penalty for going with an Rtic cooler (No reason to spend 200% more to get a Yeti). $1,500 for a cooler or a few metric tons of ice? I'll just go with the ice.

In the summer i'll often camp off-grid on a dry lake bed in Nevada for about 2 weeks and use a single Rtic or Maluna cooler. Daytime temps will reach 120+ and the past few years nighttime lows are still in the 80's. Pretty brutal and unrelenting temperatures!

The cooler will need to be re-stocked with ice every third day (read temps above before you call BS). Thankfully new people show up with ice!

Or you can simply make your own dry ice. I prefer not to use dry ice because of the out-gassing, and that I keep drink mixers in the cooler, so I don't want to be refreshing the mug from a breakfast Bloody Cesar and accidentally lose a finger to frost bite.

Unless you've got a situation on your hands where you absolutely MUST be tethered to a freezer (medications, high maintenance significant other, delicate sensibilities, otter pops, etc.,), the rational for the freezer being a must-have item when remote is remote indeed (pun intended).

 

[ColoradoGuy]

Fridge in B&P or Yeti cooler? NEITHER

The fridge looks small and is very premium priced for what you get. And Yeti, you can find a comparable quality cooler more value priced from RTIC, Pelican, Grizzly, Yukon, etc.

 

[Felix808]

Depends. We've gone down the "better" cooler route after camping for only four days this summer when it was very hot. Our old Coleman couldn't keep cold. Had to drive into town each day to get two bags of ice. Even then we had to move things around the cooler. The stuff on top wasn't keeping cold.

A better cooler can hold more stuff than the cheap one even if the inside dimensions are the same because it requires less ice.

Always use block ice, bagged ice melts to quickly. I've never had a problem running block ice with dry ice in the heat of summer over extended days . YMMV.

 

[pan-y-cerveza]

Always use block ice, bagged ice melts to quickly. I've never had a problem running block ice with dry ice in the heat of summer over extended days . YMMV.

When the closest town is a rural farm town and the grocery store is also the hardware store you get what you get

 

[thd]

Grizzly still has 25% off sale. I am very tempted. I don't understand the Yeti craze. Half the ice holding capability with a 5-year warranty. Most other coolers have 10-day capacity and lifetime warranty. Some of the Yeti details are lacking too. Maybe they were truly groundbreaking when then were first released but they have been surpassed by the competition.

 

[Prkelly]

Has anybody ever used a BougeRV refrigerator. The 30 Qt is only $270

 

[MacHudson]

I learned a bad lesson using my Yeti for the first time in the wild. Ice melts. I know - earth shattering news right? But I wound up having everything swimming in ice water that was contaminated by a box of raw hamburger patties.

Yeah, I’m not the smartest guy.

Use sealed ice packs in that cooler instead unless the only thing in your cooler is sealed cans and bottles that are ok to go for a swim.

 

[Bison]

We have a cabelas cooler that beats the yeti in price and by a couple of days keeping ice. It’s bigger and takes up more room which is a pain. Bought an iceco 3 in one cooler fridge freezer and the wife is extremely happy. Best thing ever. We have the Jackery 500 and a 100 watt solar panel to keep this thing going. We sometimes camp a week at a time and it sucks getting ice. If I had the money I would of went with a dometic.

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