When it's a want over a need I think we can be not intentional with our money. No one has to be, but I choose to be.
You do you, I'll do me.
Just like Nike gear, when they went all blm on us, I already owned Nike. I wasn't going to go burn the stuff, but I don't have to support them with my dollars anymore.

Igloo. Made right here in Katy, TX

It's not really the cooler, it's the gear they provide that will continuously be bought. Waterproof backpacks, etc.

Thanks Bobo, I'll give them a look.

All the ones I have HEB's Kodie brand. We get a discount on them and they are more reasonable priced than a lot of them as it is. Seems as the roto molded coolers are a buy once cry once kind of thing, I wont be looking to replace any for probably decades.

Did not know that. Cool

Pretty well stocked.

Have you ever been to the store there that is open on Saturday?

A lot of the Yeti knock-offs aren't that much less than an actual Yeti. My first Tundra 85 is about 11 years old and the only thing I've had to replace is a latch. I admit I don't know about many of these smaller companies, but my 7 Yeti's have never failed. And when I sold 2 coolers in the last couple years, they definitely hold their resale value.

Yes, you can buy QC rejects with nothing wrong for pennies on the dollar. Bought a 165 qt. 8 or so years ago for 50 bucks. Still use it. Have a couple others as well.

I have been to their warehouse several times. You.?

Sounds like this is all about finding a new hashtag for a signature

I don't know about any of these regarding wokeness, you can do your own digging there. Kong coolers get a lot of positive reviews and is a USA made cooler. ORCA is another that is USA made and supposedly was the gold standard in ice retention prior to Kong. Otterbox coolers are supposedly pretty impressive with ice retention and USA made but I've not seen anywhere in a LONG time.

Good luck in your search.

^^ nailed it.

Its been many many years since I bought two Yetis at their Austin homebase. They were some type of "seconds" that they said was only cosmetic. They have been indestructible. We have used them several times to prop up one end of a full size tower blind while strapped down and transported. Never ever had a hinge or latch or anything break.
As for ice retention, I really have my doubts. I have never done a side by side comparison but it doesnt seem any better than a cheapo cooler. I always buy two large bags of ice at Bucees and put in one of them and it basically fills the cooler. Nothing else in the cooler and lid stays closed for two days. After two days I open the cooler and almost completely all ice melted. Thats not anything special, right? Maybe defective...?

Me either. My Yeti got stolen.

Bison Coolers are made in Ft. Worth, TX and are awesome coolers! Check them out! You won't be disappointed.

I have done some reading on this in regards to your ice retention. They suggest you condition the cooler before long term use to keep things cold, clearly throwing ice into a warm cooler and think its going to hold for a couple of days isn't going to work. Depending on the weather and knowing where I am going if I know the cooler will be exposed to the heat, Ill bring it in the night before using it and put in frozen gallon jugs to actually cool it down. So when I go to load it will help the ice actually last a bit longer.

It sounds like your coolers weren't just cosmetic blems. If you fill the cooler and don't open it for two days you should have probably 60-70% ice remaining at a minimum. Put the cooler in a dark room, put a flashlight in it, shut the lid, and see if you can see any light around the seal. Sounds like you're getting air in there.

I bought a first generation Pelican when they very first came out at an introductory price. Been 100% happy with it. A few years later I got a 55qt Lifetime cooler at Walmart while on a road trip. Having it in the back of the truck next to my Pelican, there's very little difference in retention between the two. Certainly not enough difference to justify the cost difference. Both are made in the USA. If I had to do it all over again, I'd have just bought 2 of the Lifetime to start with. If they come out with a 90 qt, I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

The other thing you can do is take a cake pan (one of the ones that's got the 2-3 inch sides), fill it with ice cubes, then the rest of the way with water, and put it in the freezer. Make a couple of those blocks. When you get ready to fill the cooler, put the blocks on the bottom, load the cooler, and then top off with ice like normal. The big chunks on the bottom won't melt in the ice water nearly as quickly, and you'll get an extra day or so out of your bagged ice. You gotta do the ice cubes and water, though, because trying to freeze a cake pan full of water will make it freeze unevenly and the block will crack.

Like Herbie Hancock said, if the cooler was warm/hot when you put ice in it, the ice is going to melt faster. I'm loading up a Yeti tonight with food that needs to stay cold for a couple days, so I'll bring it inside out of my hot garage this afternoon and put some ice in there before I put the food and ice packs in.

I agree that its supposed to help to do some type prechilling of the cooler, but that should/would apply to a cheap cooler or expensive either way would it not.
I do the prechilling sometimes but its a hassle. My point is that whether you prechill both a yeti and a cheapo or whether you dont, I dont think my Yeti will hold ice any longer than a cheapo.

igloo, made in the USA since 1947.

But I buy them because of their size, design and cost.

I keep 1 and 2 liter bottles filled with water in the freezer, a couple of hours before we are ready to leave I put several in the cooler to pre cool it. When ready to pack the cooler I replace them with fresh frozen bottles. pack the food and drinks and place some 1 liter and 16 oz frozen bottles on top. The melted frozen water usually provides plenty of water for washing and cleaning. And little water mess in that cooler.

For crushed ice I do about the same, precool it, then add a couple of frozen bottles a bag of ice and some more 16oz frozen bottles on top. Keeping the coolers full allows less warm air to enter the cooler and melt the ice.

Yep. Driven by there many times. We have a yard down the road from it.

I bought their 45's for the kids 3-4 years ago. Have held up well and seem well built. I have never done a comparison test with my RTIC but would lean toward the Kenai if my RTIC's walk away. I've been looking at their 25 for a smaller one. Just haven't pulled the trigger yet.

I believe they are a low end division of Grizzly Coolers. The address of both companies are identical. They don't have some of the "bear proof" features but I don't need that for fishing the Texas coast.