Budget Cooler Recommendations

[johnnyw027]

Going on my first Nevada Mule Deer bow hunt this coming week and am looking for any budget cooler recommendations or your personal experiences. I've been leaning towards getting the Coleman 316 120qt from Walmart for $80 or an Igloo marine series 100qt on amazon for $90. Does anyone have any experience with either of these or something similar? Realistically how long would meat last in these cheaper coolers?(I don't really believe the 5 days that they advertise). Also if you have any recommendations that are slightly more expensive please let me know, but know that I can't go all out on a Yeti considering the college budget that I am on.

 

[Taudisio]

I have an igloo marine, don’t remember the size, but it holds a quartered buck with no issue and kept it cold with fresh ice for 4 days last August. Just make sure to keep it closed and only check/replace the water for ice every 3 days and either should be fine. Only open it at night and not in the heat of the day. The cheaper the cooler, the more trips to town for ice you’re going to need. I have an orca 140 cooler and it just extends the timeframe to every 5 days. The orca is real heavy and takes up some truck bed real estate. It typically only goes on out of state hunts.

 

[sebastian.cassell]

If you are tight on space I have ran the bakcou cooler bags the last two seasons. You can literally crawl inside them they are huge but fold down to the size of a large lunchbox. Hold ice for a few days. Not necessarily budget friendly but they work. I have used the big Walmart igloo cooler for hauling mule deer that was already processed, frozen and topped off with dry ice. The 24 hour drive from Montana to Michigan in November was the MAX I would trust a cooler like that. All the dry ice was gone and the meat was still cold but not hard frozen.

 

[voltage]

I have some sub $100 Coleman 150 quart that works well. Don’t open the cooler and cool meat before putting it in the cooler.

 

[Drenalin]

I have a 120 quart Coleman XTreme that I think I paid $50 for. Keeps ice well for 3+ days.

 

[flathead#2]

I went with the Igloo 100qt.
No complaints, no worries.

 

[SmokeMedic]

I saw an America's Test Kitchen gear test on coolers recently. Yeti and pelican were the best two, as expected. Less dense insulation did a better job than denser insulation, which is why the Yeti beat the pelican. I'm not sure if insulation specs are typically listed by the manufacturers, so I don't know if that will be actually helpful in your search. Fun fact, if nothing else haha.

The best performing "traditional" cooler was the Coleman extreme, which beat all others under $100.

 

[CobraChicken]

I had good luck with lifetime coolers from walmart.

I have since upgraded to wyldgear though (non partition 110 quarts). Gotta have them wheels when I am getting older

 

[WiscoHoundsman]

I have the Coleman 316 120 I got last year and it works well for the price. As mentioned it all depends on the conditions you’re using it in and how often you open it. Store it in some shade if possible. I make large blocks of ice at home so I’m not buying the stuff at a gas station. Lasts a lot longer that way.

The cooler full is a 2 man job to lift and the handles are not the greatest as they kinda pinch your hand a little if trying by yourself.

 

[jjwise97]

I’ve got several coolers including some pretty nice ones, but IMO the best bang for your buck is by far the gray Lifetime 55qt. I got mine 4 or 5 years ago from Walmart for a little under $100, now I think they’re around $110. I’ve fit 2 quartered whitetails and a couple bunnies in it at once. Left it on the back porch full of ice and drinks last summer for 5 days and forgot about it, when I opened it up the ice was gone but the drinks were still cold.

 

[JFK]

Best large cooler for cheap is a diy job with the white 1.5” r-tec foam insulation board at Home Depot. Get a few rolls of white duct tape and make one for less than $50. I make large 300+ qt ones and they last several years. They weigh nothing and can stash them in the rafters of your shop or garage when not being used. Only downside is they can’t really be carried once loaded. Load them with 100lbs of ice and they last at least 5 days in warm weather. Punch a few knife slits in the bottom so they let the melted ice water weep out of the bottom.

 

[mooretitan]

Where are you at? Maybe someone will help you out if you are close
Biggest thing is cool before using. Fill with blocks of ice. Milk jugs and then pack with ice.
Keep it in the shade. It’s amazing how hot they get if the sun is on them.
Should no problem lasting a few days if you do this

 

[RWT]

I’ve had good luck with the Coleman’S. I would also suggest picking up a $10 sleeping bag that u zips like a blanket and covering the cooler. Amazing how much difference it makes with keeping ice longer.

 

[taskswap]

I have two of the Walmart 120qt ones, the monsters. They usually go on sale in the town near where I hunt every fall for $70, so it was a good deal. I have zero use for an elk-size cooler the rest of the year. I'm not a big-bbq, 10-friends, 12-suitcases-of-natty-lite kinda guy. IMO if this is its only purpose, cheaper is better. A plywood box can hold ice long enough to get an elk home, not that I'm recommending it. Just saying.

These suckers are huge and very heavy when loaded. Don't forget to plan for how you'll transport it. I have a truck camper, and these are too wide to fit through the door so that's out. In my case I installed a front-receiver hitch on my truck and one can ride on a cheap also-from-Walmart cargo carrier up there, with another in the rear. Works well for me and gives some balance to the truck.





For size reference, that's a Coleman 120 I had already. That's a small cow in there, but only 2 rears and 1 front quarter - I gifted the other front to a friend who helped pack out (and yes, all legal). Opinions vary, but I like to put down a layer of ice, then a sheet of plastic ($2 1-mil drop cloth from Home depot works great) and then the quarters. Drop cloth wraps up and over, then more ice on top.

 

[highcountrymuley]

I use relatively inexpensive Coleman and igloos. I make ice blocks out of 1 or 2 qt apple or orange juice containers. They stay frozen better than crushed ice. They also keep meat out of sitting in water. When I get quartered meat to cooler I then go buy several bags of crushed ice and leave it in bag as much as possible. Fill cooler and use ratchet strap to close if needed. I then cover the coolers with blankets or sleeping bags if I am still hunting. If more than 3 days I will go back to car at TH and drain water and add ice if needed.
If you are traveling far with it I would research dry ice. I have have driven cross country with cooler of processed meat and the dry ice kept things frozen

 

[Boarmaster]

Before we went to high quality rotomoulded coolers we used igloo and coleman marine coolers. We thought they were great. They held for 5 days easily if you had them filled with block ice or frozen water blocks hunting in Florida. Temps ranged from 65-80 during the day. We kept them in the shade with a moving blanket over them. If you can put cooled meat or items in them it really helps. If you only open them once a day it helps as well. Don't expect a drink cooler to keep ice for 5 days.

I upgraded to more expensive roto’s as a hardware upgrade not so much for ice retention. I got tired of replacing plastic hinges and latches on the marine coolers. They got a lot of use and they were breaking all the time. I kept spare parts in an ammo box along with lantern parts. I get better ice retention with the roto’s but not really that much.

On a college budget marine coolers work very well. Look around for some used coolers. Maybe you can find a good deal on someone upgrading.

 

[Boarmaster]

I’ve got several coolers including some pretty nice ones, but IMO the best bang for your buck is by far the gray Lifetime 55qt. I got mine 4 or 5 years ago from Walmart for a little under $100, now I think they’re around $110. I’ve fit 2 quartered whitetails and a couple bunnies in it at once. Left it on the back porch full of ice and drinks last summer for 5 days and forgot about it, when I opened it up the ice was gone but the drinks were still cold.

I have friends that have those lifetime coolers. They been very happy with them for years.

 

[Southernfried]

I’ve got several coolers including some pretty nice ones, but IMO the best bang for your buck is by far the gray Lifetime 55qt. I got mine 4 or 5 years ago from Walmart for a little under $100, now I think they’re around $110. I’ve fit 2 quartered whitetails and a couple bunnies in it at once. Left it on the back porch full of ice and drinks last summer for 5 days and forgot about it, when I opened it up the ice was gone but the drinks were still cold.

Back in July when my wife and I drove to Colorado and back from Tenn we used one of these lifetimes from Wally world. It did great. Temps were in the mid to high 90's the 14 days we were gone, and we left the cooler in the back of the suv every day, never took it out. The 2 bags of ice would last 3-4 days, before I dumped all the water out, and got new bags of ice. Now we only had lunch meats etc, but the thermometer I put inside the cooler stayed below 40 the whole time. We never kept it in the shade or parked under a tree and ya know how hot a vehicle can get. But we also only opened it to get lunch out, and kept a blanket on top to keep some heat off of it. But it was a great experience with it.....I also caught it on sale for 75$ I think 2 days before we left.

 

[esoreny]

Got my igloo's at Sam's or Costco, best price i could find

 

[Weldor]

If your going like Taskswap bring a small trailer , generator and a 5.5 cu. ft chest freezer and your all set. They are insulated and you drive all day , fire up the gene for a few hours and your good to go. The 5.5 cu.'s I have weigh less then my Grizzly coolers.