Bumping this thread up. My MIL and FIL got me a Yeti for Christmas--the smallest hardsided one they have. I think it retails for $250.
I'd wanted a Yeti or similar for a while because I like overbuilt things that are really a "buy it once" type of thing, but never was willing to pay for it. I'd been searching Craigslist but it kept coming up empty (and I wasn't searching too hard since I didn't need one, just wanted it).
After using it twice, Holy Cow. You know the difference in using a really cheap ratchet and a really nice one, or maybe a dull kitchen knife and a $200 one? That is kind of the difference in this and my old Marine Igloo. The Igloo works just fine for what I need a cooler for. It keeps beverages and food cold for a day or two, which is all I need a cooler for. But the handle is broken, the hinge is going, and ice does melt faster. After 5 years, it is about worn out and needs to be replaced.
The Yeti? Everything just feels better. The handle won't break. The hinge would probably withstand a nuclear blast. The only thing I see wearing out is the latches, but I don't see that happening for 20 years, and then they can be replaced. My Igloo? It is 5 years old and only had light use. It is ready for a replacement--the sides are cracked a little, it doesn't hold ice the same as it used to (a bag a day is necessary, block ice gets me a little bit longer but not much). Will I ever get to the value of the Yeti? Probably in about 30 years. But I won't have to replace the damn Yeti in that time. It is just better. I put cold beer in the warm cooler to take to my parents, just because I wanted to show it off. The beer had just been in the fridge. I left 2 bottles of beer in the cooler for 3 days when I remembered they were in there (the cooler had been in my basement for those 3 days) and they WERE STILL COLD. Not just pulled out of the fridge cold, but still a "cold beer". No ice. No ice packs. Just 2 cold beers.
I never thought I needed a cooler like this, I just wanted one. Now, I kind of "need" one. I'm on the search for another, a bigger one--I figure that I can use 3 more: One for Dad's boat (Great Lakes salmon fishing), One for Dad's vacation home (it would be awesome to load it with beer and ice ONCE for the week), and a big one for me at home--in addition to my small one. I figure that that "big one for home" would cover the 2-3 weeks a year that we think "man, we need to get a fridge in the basement/garage"
Luxury? Yeah. Faceslap worthy? Probably. I don't foresee taking it into bear country, although I have been camping/canoeing in bear country (albeit without a cooler). Dads vacation home is technically in Bear Country, although its extremely unlikely that they'd ever find his place. I just never expected to get it and think "yeah, this cooler is totally worth the $250", even though I really was getting by fine with my Igloo.
I am now searching craigslist every day for Yeti/RTIC/Ozark Trail/Igloo Sportsman*/Pelican/Orca/etc. For anyone looking for new, it seems like the Cabela's brand or Igloo Sportsman* is the best deal if you care about made in USA, and the RTIC or Ozark Trail is the best if you don't. I do think there is a Yeti tax on the name for being a status symbol that isn't necessary to pay for.
*Note: Igloo makes a version called the Igloo Sportsman. When I refer to my Igloo, it is not a sportsman--just a normal marine cooler.