Yeti Coolers 50q or 65q?

[gelton]

I was never one to jump on the Yeti bandwagon as you can buy alot of ice and a cheap cooler and still be better off. My wife though has a promotion from the factory because she works at a boutique that carries them.

I can pick up a 50 quart for $220 or a 65 quart for $240 and at that price I am more than willing to take the plunge. I like the idea of having the big boy at just $240 but I am often solo and those things are so damn big and heavy that I think the 50 is the way to go for me.

What says you?

 

[Colberjs]

Get both and I'll pay you for the big one and you can borrow it from me as you need it. lol

 

[SDHNTR]

The 65 qt is the perfect size. The 50 is too small. This is coming from someone who owns a 45 and a 75.

 

[5MilesBack]

The smallest cooler I've ever used is 120qt, so both of those sound tiny to me. I think I'd have a hard time throwing down that kind of money for one that wasn't at least 120qt.

 

[SDHNTR]

A 120qt+ Yeti cooler is a stationary cooler. I wouldn't want anything bigger than a 75qt.

 

[5MilesBack]

Are you hauling a 75qt cooler on your back? I would say they're all stationary until you move them. I generally use my 200qt marine cooler in base camp when I go elk hunting, but also have a 120qt there as well.

 

[SDHNTR]

You can move a 120qt+ empty Igloo solo. Have you ever tried that with a big Yeti? Ask anyone who has a big Yeti and they will tell you what a pain in the ass they are to move. Financials aside, I'd much rather have 2 65qt models over one big jobber.

 

[gelton]

You can move a 120qt+ empty Igloo solo. Have you ever tried that with a big Yeti? Ask anyone who has a big Yeti and they will tell you what a pain in the ass they are to move. Financials aside, I'd much rather have 2 65qt models over one big jobber.

This is kinda what I was getting at. I carry 120 quart igloo and would be using the smaller cooler to hold ice until I fill up the big one and small one with meat. After looking at the dimensions a 65 quart only weighs 3 more pounds than the 50 quart and wasnt nearly as big as I thought. It is the biggest one we can get with the deal and I was imagining their bigger cooler, which, I know first hand is a bitch to handle when full.

 

[5MilesBack]

You can move a 120qt+ empty Igloo solo. Have you ever tried that with a big Yeti? Ask anyone who has a big Yeti and they will tell you what a pain in the ass they are to move. Financials aside, I'd much rather have 2 65qt models over one big jobber.

My 200qt marine cooler is the IRP, which is heavier than any of the Yeti's. Ya, it's a little more difficult getting it in and out of the truck by myself (with 15-20 frozen gallon milk jugs), but it works for me. The 120 isn't an issue even when it's full.

But ya, I can see your point "financials aside". But I always take financials into the equation as well. I'm also thinking of the logistics of getting all the meat from an entire bull elk in a couple 50-65qt coolers. Not sure what the OP will be using them for, but you always have to plan ahead for the future.

 

[Trial153]

I have 105 and 45.... I like the longer profiles of the 65 and 75 and plans on picking a 75 up as well.

 

[brewer427]

I have a 75 that I use in my drift boat and pretty much any time I go somewhere scouting, hunting or fishing and I feel its the perfect size, and even loaded up with food, water, beer and then packed with ice, I can still get it in and out of my boat no problem and in and out of the back of my diesel by myself with no problem.

 

[kodiakfly]

Go with the 65. I have a 45 that I use as a casting platform and for lunch, and a 125 for the back of the boat. The 45 is too small and the 125 is big. The 65 is perfect! I use the 65 for fishing the road system. I can have it full of ice, throw a couple of salmon in it and still carry it easily by myself. It'll hold ice for over a week in the back seat of my truck. I just rotate salmon through it all week and hose it out and fill it with ice again and repeat the next week.

The 125 I can carry by myself, with ice in it, but it kills me. I ended up getting a little dolly cart for it for moving around when I've got ice in it. Seeing the size of a 45, I'd not want a 50. The 65 is a perfect size.

And they are worth it. Besides keeping ice in them all week, a couple years ago I did a four wheeler fishing trip and had the 45 on the back of the four wheeler with a limit of reds in it. I rolled the four wheeler with the Yeti on it and hurt my leg in the process. I rode out the next day and got home and hit the couch for four days. I was laid up pretty good. I get back on my feet and I figure the salmon would be a waste...I open that thing up and those salmon are frozen solid like from a freezer. Sure you can buy a lot of ice and sure you can buy a cheap cooler. But a cooler that holds it's own while being rolled on a four wheeler and the proceeds to hold salmon and freeze them solid (all while I wasn't able to go buy more ice) is worth it to me. Not saying Yeti is the only game in town, but the new trend of expensive high-end coolers are well worth it.

 

[NEhunter]

I have a 65qt pelican and wouldn't want it any smaller for an all around cooler.

 

[JJHACK]

I'll share some thoughts on this as well. I have an older model I think it's an 85 or maybe an 80? I have not seen one this size in a while so I'm thinking they don't make it anymore?

I had a Colmen extreme for my Hewescraft fishing boat that fit in the Bow perfectly It was not very big, but held enough for a day on the river. I think it was a 40 quart. It finally was wearing out with the latch and hinges giving up. Since my big Yeti was so good I decided to get a smaller one for the bow of the boat. I found some interesting things when I was doing this. It seems ice chests are identified by size very much like motorcycles. A 500cc bike is not actually 500cc but more like 480ish. Depending upon the manufacturer they are all over the board for the accuracy of the size.

I wanted the 65QT for the bow of the boat but its outside dimensions were just a bit too big. I was unsure if the 50 was going to be big enough. I decided to look at other brands. I also fell on the side of thinner side walls to achieve the needed interior space. Then while measuring these coolers I found that the actual marketed space was not at all accurate. Some by quite a bit. Like a 70QT cooler with actual dimensions of 63QT.

So I went back to check the actual of the YETI and it was also a " ball park" estimate of interior size. I ended up with the 50 because it fit so good. But the actual size was very close compared to others claiming 60-65 and being lower capacity. There are two things I have learned about ice chests that are worth mentioning here. First I use a one gallon plastic milk jug, or any plastic gallon size jug. Some of the Juice and Ice Tea companies make a rather heavy weight plastic jug that is better. You will need several. Fill them about 80% with good clean water and freeze them.

The night before you head out put several frozen jugs in the cooler over night. This will get the insulation totally ice cold. Then in the morning replace them with a single frozen gallon jug. This single frozen jug is plenty in my 50QT cooler for at least 4-5 days. Even in 90 deg plus weather.
If you don't Pre-freeze the box this way you might get only 2 days. The difference is significant. I suppose I could not expect that single Jug of ice to cool down that whole interior and the insulation as well!

I imagine you could get 10-14 days of ice retention if you could freeze your whole ice chest the night before you left. I can reduce the size of the cooler I use, buy the reduction of ice inside by preparing the ice chest this way. It would take two of these gallons of ice to manage the same timeline if I do not be freeze the interior the night before.

The other advantage the the frozen jugs is nothing gets soggy in there. Everything is ice cold and frosty but not soaking wet. You also end up with ice cold drinking water as needed from those jugs.

 

[gelton]

All good points. This is what my trusty old coleman (whose hinges and hardware have all been replaced at least once) after an 8 day elk trip in 40-80 degree weather. On a side note and one of the reasons I am going to pick up the Yeti (especially at the discounted price) is because this year at the deer lease there were 7 different igloo/coleman type coolers and EVERY SINGLE one of em had busted latches etc. But for just keeping ice, they do a decent job if you prepare it correctly.

 

[Clarktar]

Well my 65qt should arrive Friday night!

 

[LostArra]

I'll share some thoughts on this as well. I have an older model I think it's an 85 or maybe an 80? I have not seen one this size in a while so I'm thinking they don't make it anymore?

I had a Colmen extreme for my Hewescraft fishing boat that fit in the Bow perfectly It was not very big, but held enough for a day on the river. I think it was a 40 quart. It finally was wearing out with the latch and hinges giving up. Since my big Yeti was so good I decided to get a smaller one for the bow of the boat. I found some interesting things when I was doing this. It seems ice chests are identified by size very much like motorcycles. A 500cc bike is not actually 500cc but more like 480ish. Depending upon the manufacturer they are all over the board for the accuracy of the size.

I wanted the 65QT for the bow of the boat but its outside dimensions were just a bit too big. I was unsure if the 50 was going to be big enough. I decided to look at other brands. I also fell on the side of thinner side walls to achieve the needed interior space. Then while measuring these coolers I found that the actual marketed space was not at all accurate. Some by quite a bit. Like a 70QT cooler with actual dimensions of 63QT.

So I went back to check the actual of the YETI and it was also a " ball park" estimate of interior size. I ended up with the 50 because it fit so good. But the actual size was very close compared to others claiming 60-65 and being lower capacity. There are two things I have learned about ice chests that are worth mentioning here. First I use a one gallon plastic milk jug, or any plastic gallon size jug. Some of the Juice and Ice Tea companies make a rather heavy weight plastic jug that is better. You will need several. Fill them about 80% with good clean water and freeze them.

The night before you head out put several frozen jugs in the cooler over night. This will get the insulation totally ice cold. Then in the morning replace them with a single frozen gallon jug. This single frozen jug is plenty in my 50QT cooler for at least 4-5 days. Even in 90 deg plus weather.
If you don't Pre-freeze the box this way you might get only 2 days. The difference is significant. I suppose I could not expect that single Jug of ice to cool down that whole interior and the insulation as well!

I imagine you could get 10-14 days of ice retention if you could freeze your whole ice chest the night before you left. I can reduce the size of the cooler I use, buy the reduction of ice inside by preparing the ice chest this way. It would take two of these gallons of ice to manage the same timeline if I do not be freeze the interior the night before.

The other advantage the the frozen jugs is nothing gets soggy in there. Everything is ice cold and frosty but not soaking wet. You also end up with ice cold drinking water as needed from those jugs.

I do the same. Works well. Most cooler companies recommend pre-chilling to meet their ice keeping claims. It works well on soft sided coolers too like Polar Bear.

If you don't need the jug for drinking water I've also frozen a jug of salted water. I don't know all the physics but depressing the freezing point of water works for homemade ice cream and a single jug of frozen salt water has frozen some lunch meat, cheese and an apple that got too close in my cooler.

 

[idahobow]

I own Yeti's in 35, 55 and 105 as well as grizzly 16's, 75 and 150. Be aware that the Yeti's advertised size is much smaller than actual capacity. The interior dimensions of a yeti 105 is actually smaller than my grizzly 75. I'd go for the biggest yeti you can get a deal on. Retail vs retail in price, I'd rather own the grizzly.

 

[mgraber1]

I personally like the look of Yetis better than Grizzly or Pelican, but that's just a personal preference. I had the hardest time figuring out the actual capacities of Yeti coolers until I came across this guide that proved to be pretty helpful:

http://topratedcoolers.com/cooler-sizes-comparison-chart.html

Pelicans tend to be at or above their advertized size while Yeti's are often MUCH smaller.

 

[Travis Bertrand]

Yeti's are WAY too small and overpriced for me. Check out Orion coolers or Canyon coolers. You will get twice the cooler for half the money.