Ozark Trail "High Performance" cooler - any good?

[Blind_Io]

I was at WalMart and found this decent looking "expedition" type cooler back in sporting goods. I can't seem to find any information on it, it doesn't even appear on the WalMart website. The construction looks decent and it claims to hold ice for 7 days - not quite as good as the Yeti's claimed 10 days, but at half the price I'm not complaining.

52 quart for $147

Hinges look beefy and it has an o-ring seal.

Double drain and nylon webbing for handles with comfortable grips. The webbing is held on with steel buckles that go through the case of the cooler. (see previous photo)

Latches are rubber and apply tension to the posts. The cooler can also be locked with a padlock that goes through the plastic lid and a steel plate on the main body.

What are your thoughts? Does anyone recognize this as a re-brand of something else? A Yeti is out of my price range right now, but a good cooler that will keep things fresh for several days is on my list with two trips coming up next month.

 

[SigSense]

Ozark Trail (OT) is an outdoor equipment line owned by Walmart. All the equipment is manufactured in China for exclusive distribution by Wal-Mart. I have not seen any reviews of that cooler yet. I owned a OT tent and it was cheap, made to last about four recreational uses. OT/WalMart also make soft coolers, and I think this is their first experience in the roto-molded cooler realm. One thing you can do is take a good flashlight with you to the store and put it against the cooler walls to see the uniformity of the injection foam/insulation. Please give us a review if you get it.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

The Coleman Extreme Marine Ultimate is a better cooler for less money, they have tested it against the Yeti with good results, a quick search on here or Google will show the details.

 

[Blind_Io]

The Coleman Extreme Marine Ultimate is a better cooler for less money, they have tested it against the Yeti with good results, a quick search on here or Google will show the details.

From what I've found, this cooler was just released. Have you found any testing of this particular cooler? I'd be interested in seeing a comparison, I'm not going to jump to conclusions on it until there is actual data.

 

[perkj]

The Coleman Extreme Marine Ultimate is a better cooler for less money, they have tested it against the Yeti with good results, a quick search on here or Google will show the details.

ditto…these Coleman Xtreme 6-Day Marine Ultra's hold their own against any of these roto coolers. For the price of a yeti you can get a 36, 58, and 82 qt of the Xteme 6 Marines. Put two ratcheting tie downs around them and then you have them bear proof

 

[CCH]

I would not count on ratcheting tie downs to keep a bear out of a cooler.

Have not seen that OT at the Wal-Mart out here, but it looks interesting if you don't mind why it is so much cheaper. I get by with some older Coleman Extremes that just keep ticking no matter how much I drool over every roto-molded option I come across. Sam's had a nice Igloo for $200 recently, but I didn't check out the details.

 

[Airmapper]

I'm needing a cooler as well, and this is tempting.

Was looking at RTIC and the lead time is ridiculous, at least this I might could get my hands on, depending on if my local Wally World has it. I bet they have them in before June anyway.

I'm not against the Colemans, but I really like a positively closed lid.

 

[afbond03]

For the coin it might be worth taking a shot on it. I did find a reddit thread with one person saying he was impressed with his so far and I came across a youtube video as well but haven't had a chance to watch it, though it does look like a review video.

 

[Blind_Io]

I will have to see if I can find that.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

For the coin it might be worth taking a shot on it. I did find a reddit thread with one person saying he was impressed with his so far and I came across a youtube video as well but haven't had a chance to watch it, though it does look like a review video.

Found it, not the best but if you listen intently you might understand what the guy is saying https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ll87-5e3ybk And it's not very conclusive.

 

[SgtMac]

The Ozark has similar details in construction as the Bayou Classic coolers, it is heavy and seals very well, it has a 2 piece drain, the small drain takes a garden hose connection and the large drain is huge. It is made in china and it is bear rated, my 52 quart was molded in 12/2015, my surefire LED is not visible when held up to the sides, lid or bottom. It will keep ice for a week. Once word is out on these coolers they will probably be hard to get, they are sold out online at Walmart.

 

[perkj]

The Ozark has similar details in construction as the Bayou Classic coolers, it is heavy and seals very well, it has a 2 piece drain, the small drain takes a garden hose connection and the large drain is huge. It is made in china and it is bear rated, my 52 quart was molded in 12/2015, my surefire LED is not visible when held up to the sides, lid or bottom. It will keep ice for a week. Once word is out on these coolers they will probably be hard to get, they are sold out online at Walmart.

They look to be exactly the same and the Ozark even undercut the Bayou prices.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

The Ozark has similar details in construction as the Bayou Classic coolers, it is heavy and seals very well, it has a 2 piece drain, the small drain takes a garden hose connection and the large drain is huge. It is made in china and it is bear rated, my 52 quart was molded in 12/2015, my surefire LED is not visible when held up to the sides, lid or bottom. It will keep ice for a week. Once word is out on these coolers they will probably be hard to get, they are sold out online at Walmart.

How can they be sold out if the coolers don't even pull up in a search on their website?

 

[SgtMac]

The customer service desk told me they were sold out online and store stock was all they had at this time, that was earlier today. I tried pulling them up online also to no avail; I came across mine in the store, when I purchased mine it was the only 52 quart in stock and they had one of the smaller ones.

 

[SigSense]

The good thing about WalMart is that if something is selling very well, they typically are good about reordering/restocking more.