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Reply With QuoteOne more thought.
Ice is cheap. How many bags of ice can you buy for the price difference. What is your rate of return, as-in, how many years of normal (your annual average) use before you recoup the extra cost of that cooler?
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Slabmaster II
Crappie.com Legend
One more thought.
Ice is cheap. How many bags of ice can you buy for the price difference. What is your rate of return, as-in, how many years of normal (your annual average) use before you recoup the extra cost of that cooler?
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Sure, ice is cheap. But hard to find at times. Especially when on the water, in the woods, on the trail etc...
How many junk coolers do you have to rebuild the hinges on or throw away before you recoup the cost?
I ran salmon boats on lake Michigan for almost 10 years. We were replacing 100 qrt Igloo coolers about 1 every 6 months. At 90 to 100 bucks a pop. Keep in mind that we are talking 20 plus pound fish and with a limit of 5 and 4 customers, it doesn't take long to fill one. You run two trips a day so you are opening and closing it 40 times per day. Hinges break, hasps break. All due to extra use, sun, and so on.
Bought a 400 dollar Engel and still have not had to replace it. Do the math. 200 plus per year in Igloo coolers times 10 years or 1 Engel
Trophy King II
Wow. I could never justify one of the high-end units myself, but as with many things, each of us has different uses and needs. Daily use for me is my old Coleman (18-20 yrs) that stays in my truck bed year round. Everything is still good on it. I know I didn't spend much on it as the Scotch-Irish blood usually wins out in money matters. I keep old juice jugs frozen for ice. But then, I don't go on trips for days on end. No doubt some of todays products are way better than what I have.
Crappie.com 2K Star General - Moderator
Started with a Engel 30 qt. drybox/cooler......love it for day trips, picnics, etc.
Then I purchased the Engel 65 high performance cooler, it goes hunting, fishing for the more than a day trip.
Recently just purchased the Engel Prym1 backpack cooler for my wife, easy for her to use when she does her thing.
Why am I a fan of Engel? A couple years ago I spent 2 days in South Florida on a friends boat fishing in blistering hot weather, my friend filled up his Engel cooler before we left and the ice inside looked just as fresh at the end of the second day as in the beginning......I was sold.
I looked at some of my other lesser quality coolers I had been using over the years and realized just how dinged up, broken, cracked, missing stuff they were and they all got tossed into the dumpster. My Engel 65 gets tossed in the boat, duck blind back of the truck, and still has not shown any wear other than a scratch here or there......speaks volumes for it's durability.
Yep, I'm a fan to say the least.......
Last edited by Just Steve; 03-22-2017 at 07:11 AM.
Crappie.com Legend
This is a prime example of when a high end cooler is needed. For a weekend warrior is where I question the logic.Originally Posted by wicklundrh
Crappie.com 1K Star General
If you need to keep something cold and not worry about it spoiling because the ice melts, I would suggest a Yeti. I have a 65 and a 125 and they keep ice. They are heavy. The 125 weighs 55 lbs empty. They are invaluable for transporting fish and seafood. When I buy a 100 lbs of shrimp in La. in the summer and transport it 500 miles I want to know it will not spoil on the way. I also don't want to have to stop every hour or so and check the ice. One thing to remember about any cooler. If you get them cold before you put ice in them your ice will last much longer. I keep a couple of gallon jugs full on water in the freezer and put them in the cooler the night before. When you add ice the cooler is already cold and keeps the ice better.
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We have put our RTIC 65 through the ringer during offshore trips and heavy surf fishing use where everything tends to break down faster with the combination of harsh UV light, sand and saltwater. I took my RTIC last year on a trip to the oil rigs for yellowfin as one of our drink coolers and my friend who owns the boat brought his YETI of the same size for food and snacks, both would be opened and closed frequently throughout the course of three days. After we returned and hosed off the boat when we got home the ice level in both was IDENTICAL by the end of the fourth day. He paid $399 for his cooler, I paid $169 for mine when RTIC had them on their website on sale.
I agree that with the quality of most coolers from Igloo and Coleman (especially their Xtreme Series that rates right up there with YETI on ice duration tests) that the rotomolded coolers are overkill for the average weekend warrior that just need to keep ice for a weekend. The Coleman Xtreme Marine coolers that can be found at many big box stores and Amazon are a best buy right now that start at 36 quarts and go all the way to a massive 200qt box.
Crappie.com Legend
Exactly. Don't get me wrong, I have others. My issue is that, with all the money I have spent on all of them over the years, I wish better options were available at the time.
Sometimes the cost isn't necessarily justified until 10 years after the fact.
I own my Engel coolers because of a fishing trip with Just Steve.
Deal is, I bring the boat and bait, he brings the snacks and lunch. Can always count on cold soda, tea, and all the goodies his wife can throw in!
Slabmaster
I have an RTIC 20 quart (Yeti copycat) and a Igloo Marine grade (white ones). I prefer the igloo, it's lighter and easier to handle. The RTIC weighs 17 lbs empty. For fish I would stay with cheaper ones, I would suggest you investigate replacing hinges, it's easy.
