The Yeti Tundra 35 cooler is a great compromise between capacity and portability.
How often have you been fishing, camping or just relaxing at the beach and opened your cooler, only to discover that the ice you bought yesterday afternoon is now just a bag of cold water? If this sounds familiar, take heart, for modern technology has provided us with a solution of sorts: the roto-molded cooler. Chances are you have seen these coolers in sporting goods stores in your area, with names such as Yeti, Orca, Grizzly or RTIC. You also probably noticed the hefty price tag. The question is, are they worth it?
Roto-molding is a process in which a powdered plastic poly-based material is placed into a heated mold. This mold is then rotated until the plastic is completely melted, filling every void in the mold. The mold continues to rotate until the item is cool. Because the mold spins as the resin melts, it covers the inside of the mold completely, allowing precision one-piece molding of large objects, such as kayaks and coolers, so that they are free of voids and other imperfections on the surface as well as inside.
Although they are used by professionals in extreme conditions, I wasn't interested in how these coolers would perform during a heat wave in Death Valley. Many side-by-side comparisons of the aforementioned brands have already been done under similar circumstances and widely discussed, to the point that it is hard to know just what to believe. Most people aren’t going to be using a cooler that way in any regularity. Rather, it will be used around the house and for the occasional trip afield. With all this in mind, I decided to just choose one and use it as I would normally to see how well it works.
As mentioned earlier, it is hard to decide which high-performance brand to buy. I spoke with lots of friends who have them and the consensus is that the brands mentioned above are all great coolers. I ultimately chose the Yeti, mainly because the company has a good reputation for standing behind their products. My model is called the Tundra 35. It holds 6.7 gallons. The length on the outside is 20 inches, while the inside length is almost 14 inches. That means the walls are about three inches thick including the insulation sandwiched between. The first thing you’ll notice about these coolers is the weight. They are heavy, especially when loaded. The Tundra 35 weighs 20 pounds and will hold 28 pounds of ice.
The first thing I did after bringing the cooler home on a Friday afternoon was load it. The eight cans and six bottles of pre-chilled beverages were placed in a room temperature cooler, then covered with 20 pounds of ice. By next Thursday morning, we had opened it enough to use all the beverages and almost all the ice was melted. This is just typical use, but since my inside temperature was 76 degrees, it does show how an un-prepped cooler performs in fall daytime temperatures.
The cooler (after pre-chilling) on the first day of the performance test, loaded with beverages and 20 pounds of ice.
Since the cooler was now pre-chilled, it was time to see what it could really do. On Thursday, I emptied the remaining ice and water from the cooler, replaced the pre-chilled beverages, covered all with another 20 pounds of ice, closed the lid, and placed the cooler in the woods where it would be shaded for most of the day. The cooler was opened multiple times each day to remove beverages. Daytime average temperature was in the mid to upper eighties and lows were in the mid to upper sixties. By Tuesday, there was still a lot of ice, but mostly water. This cooler had held ice for a full five days outside!
The contents of the cooler after five days outside.
Performance in total sun in 90-plus degree heat would probably not be as impressive, but used with care, this cooler would get you through a weekend on a boat or at the beach with plenty of ice left at the end.
These tips will help you get maximum performance from your cooler:
Use ice to pre-chill the cooler overnight before use.
Freeze or chill foods and beverages before loading.
Use as much ice as you can. The less air in the cooler the better, so fill all voids.
Open the cooler only when necessary and always latch the handles when closing.
Try to keep the cooler in the shade. If this is not possible, try putting something over it.
Stuff the hollow drain plug with a non-toxic insulation material such as cork.
All the companies mentioned above have an assortment of accessories and related products. As for the Yeti, it comes with an informative owner's manual with lots of tips, some of which are alluded to above. There is also a free bottle opener offer for registering your cooler. Lots of other things are available, such as bear locks (to turn the cooler into a bear-resistant container), non-slip decking (so that the cooler can be used on a boat as a casting platform), mountable bottle openers, drain hose connections, beverage and rod holders, and many others.
All in all, these coolers are a wonderful addition to your arsenal of outdoor equipment. Although plenty rugged for the outdoor professional, they are also perfect for relaxing afield or at the beach. Pick one up for your next outing. You'll be glad you made the investment!
