Credit Card for a Yeti cooler

[Rural]

Just was at the sporting goods store. There are giant Yeti coolers that cost $800. $800 for a cooler. Let that sink in.

There's a car in my driveway now that cost that. Runs and everything.

[mtn]

Just was at the sporting goods store. There are giant Yeti coolers that cost $800. $800 for a cooler. Let that sink in.

There's a car in my driveway now that cost that. Runs and everything.

Mine too! Well, the car was $700. The battery to make it run was $130.

The other day I realized that between my hockey skates, yeti, and golf putter which were all in my trunk, the contents of my car were worth more than the car itself. That didn't even get into my shoes, or the rest of my golf clubs or hockey equipment!

[FINate]

Just finished a road trip through the desert US South West during a heat wave and this thread came to mind.

We sold our travel trailer (expensive to maintain/store, pain to tow) and bought good tent camping gear. As part of this we got a rotomolded cooler from RTIC - the same as a Yeti at a fraction of the price (the 65 on sale after Christmas for $170, vs $400 for the Yeti equivalent). Was HOT on our trip, often above 110F (43C) and reaching to 120F (49C) in some places.

We acclimated pretty quickly to the point that anything under 110 felt comfortable. Was glad to have spent a bit more on a well insulated cooler. We still had to put ice in it every 3-4 days, but food near the top of the cooler stayed quite cool whereas in past I experienced food spoilage near the top of cheaper coolers. It quite literally saved our bacon (and everything else in the cooler) when we ran low on ice in rural Utah and could not find any open stores selling ice while traveling on a Sunday.

I also have a new appreciation for insulated tumblers. My water heater thermostat is set at 120, which means water in my trusty old Nalgene bottle would very quickly increase to the temperature of hot tap water. Amazed how quickly ice water in an uninsulated cup would heat up. I still think spending $30 or $40 on a cup is dumb, and wasn't going to spend $$$ just to maintain cold drinks on a road trip, but understand why there's a market for such products in these areas.

[mtn]

Seven months of ownership into my Yeti. Still a big fan.

I wish I had returned it and upgraded to a larger one when I bought it though.

Some real world tests: I had both the small 20 quart Yeti and my FIL's 35-40 quart Coleman in use this weekend--both were holding beer and pop only, other than for 4 hours when they were holding some frozen food. All the frozen food remained frozen, as expected with just about any cooler.

The Yeti kept the ice longer, but for real world practicality they both were perfectly fine for a long weekend. I replaced the ice in both one time--keep in mind that neither were kept in the shade, and bother were opened frequently. The big differences that I noticed in the Yeti and the "normal" Coleman:
 - Yeti was too small, really. I'd have liked a larger version.
 - Yeti is quite heavy. Not an issue for me. 
 - Coleman did just fine, but it leaks a little bit, and you have to be careful opening it or the hinges would break after a few years.

Also, everyone here should look up SHITI coolers. Good stuff.

[apricity22]

Seven months of ownership into my Yeti. Still a big fan.

There are definitely some Mustachian uses for this product and it is very high quality. I don't personally own one but my Dad and his wife do and they love it. They use it because their vacations consist of 1 week to 2 week long road trips with stops at campgrounds and/or various friends or relatives houses. They load up the Yeti with fresh food and they don't eat out on said road trips.

One time they brought a Yeti cooler home of inexpensive fresh seafood that they bought directly off the dock from fishermen in Oregon. For them, that cooler has definitely paid for itself. They live in the Southwest and it's impressive how long that thing can hold ice!

[mtn]

Seven months of ownership into my Yeti. Still a big fan.

There are definitely some Mustachian uses for this product and it is very high quality. I don't personally own one but my Dad and his wife do and they love it. They use it because their vacations consist of 1 week to 2 week long road trips with stops at campgrounds and/or various friends or relatives houses. They load up the Yeti with fresh food and they don't eat out on said road trips.

One time they brought a Yeti cooler home of inexpensive fresh seafood that they bought directly off the dock from fishermen in Oregon. For them, that cooler has definitely paid for itself. They live in the Southwest and it's impressive how long that thing can hold ice!

Your parent sound like they really are. Mine was a gift, and to be quite honest I'm not getting my in-laws money out of it. A $5 foam cooler would work nearly as well as this for what I use it for. The big thing is the "buy it for life" value for me.