Practical testing shows that the Walmart Ozark Trail Yeti cooler clone is better

[Gray222]

That's at the beach...



After I got home and took all the stuff out of it.



Filled it with a bunch of Corona for tonight's GOT season finale.



I primed it last night until this morning using two of the reuseable ice packs. They were still ice cold this morning. I put 14lbs of ice in there, along with various drinks, sandwiches and other assorted items that needed to be cold. Drove out to the beach (2+hrs) left it in direct sunlight of 80+% (which they explicitly say not to do) and then drove back (3+hrs due to traffic). When I got home I'll say 1/2 to 1/4 of the ice was melted. This was typical store bought ice which is in small pieces and not large "block" chunks" I'd bet large chunks would have still been fairly intact. Anyway, filled it with the amount of bottles you see and will check again tomorrow morning to see how much ice is still left/intact.

For $78 this little 26q(25L) yeti clone will due just fine for a day of training or a day at the beach. Probably more if you use solid ice blocks (if you can get them)

[orionz06]

If you're gonna pre-cool them most any cooler will last for a class/weekend deal.

[Gray222]

If you're gonna pre-cool them most any cooler will last for a class/weekend deal.

I have a $20 cheapy thing from Wally world I bought years ago. Thing won't make it for 24 hrs no matter what I do to it or what I put in it, this one will easily. So yeah, I'll gladly cheat to win with a quality clone at less than 1/2 the cost.

[Johnny]

The Ozarks might not be up to the Yeti performance standards, for the money I do not really care. I'll take the Ozark for durability alone over the same old cheap crap cooler design of the last 40 years.

If you want your ice to last substantially longer keep the cooler in the shade, a blanket or sleeping bag tossed over makes a huge difference.

[rob_s]

Buying something simply to brag about how cheaply you got "the same thing" really isn't any different than buying the expensive thing to brag about how much you spent...

Living in SE Florida the Yeti, and the brands that came before them like Engel, have probably been a thing around here longer than anywhere else. The because:reasons I hear are extended trips requiring longer ice storage as well as the ability to stand on them when on a boat. Now they have definitely become a lifestyle/status thing (see the country song "buy me a boat"), but so are so many other items that cost a lot for performance that nobody will ever use (like Ford Raptors, for one), or performance that could be better had for cheaper (like virtually every factory sports car you see at the drag strip getting outrun by a $15k Civic with a turbo in it).

[SD]

make ice blocks out of ½ gallon cardboard milk containers, 3/4 filled. Chunk ice lasts longer and as they melt down you have cold water to drink if needed.

[orionz06]

I have a $20 cheapy thing from Wally world I bought years ago. Thing won't make it for 24 hrs no matter what I do to it or what I put in it, this one will easily. So yeah, I'll gladly cheat to win with a quality clone at less than 1/2 the cost.

Close the lid.

Buying something simply to brag about how cheaply you got "the same thing" really isn't any different than buying the expensive thing to brag about how much you spent...

Plus it's still not the Yeti they really want.

[Dagga Boy]

Just for the record.....I went with the big Pelican, because.....fricking wheels. Has worked amazingly well, and has suffered no damage or issues in its permanent home in the Raptor bed.....even doing 80 plus off road.

[Hambo]

make ice blocks out of ½ gallon cardboard milk containers, 3/4 filled. Chunk ice lasts longer and as they melt down you have cold water to drink if needed.

Do they still sell milk in cardboard cartons?

[Gray222]

Guess the point of contention is expected performance range vs. premium cost for name brand.

Just going on amazon I get the following when I look at the same size coolers:

Orca, Frostbite, Ozark, Igloo, Vibe Element, Yeti, MILEE, Driftsun, Pelican, Taiga and Coleman.

Other than the Coleman, the Ozark is second cheapest is probably 10-20% less effective than the Yeti (top tier) or Orca (which seems to get better ratings that Yeti on some models).

So for less than half the price of a top tier product you get 10-20% less effectiveness? I'd say that's a pretty damn good ratio.

The car analogy here doesn't make sense, these are rotor-molded coolers, they can look identical. If you could pay $80k for a Corvette and $30k for a Civic that looks like a Corvette and does 10-20% less in horsepower, sure some would buy the $80k Vette, but more people would buy the civic....