Ozark Trail "High Performance" cooler - any good?

[Ducky's Dad]

Maybe we should start a separate thread for Wal-Marts with coolers and for those that can pick them up and ship to those of us who have none in the area.

I would have posted sooner but I just got back from a quick trip. Last week my favorite old Igloo MaxCold small cooler finally disintegrated its handle. That cooler actually works and at 12"x16"x16" is a perfect fit for my truck (I also carry a fridge, an Orca 58 rotomolded, and an Igloo 50 MaxCold) for trips to the desert. I looked hard for a replacement for the old Igloo and no one makes anything decent in that size. I had never seen one of the Ozarks in the flesh and even WalMart's website (on Wednesday) would not let me order for shipment to home or pickup at one of their stores. That was on Wednesday. On Thursday morning, the WalMart website suddenly had 7 of the 26-qt units available for ship-to-store (but not to home). I ordered an Ozark 26 and I'll pick it up tomorrow, but their system is very restrictive about where you can pick these things up. My trip over the last few days covered about 900 miles in So Cal and AZ, and I couldn't get the cooler delivered to any store on my route. So I had it shipped to a store that I will be passing by tomorrow, about 80 miles away. It's larger than the old Igloo, but I hope it's good enough to justify reconfiguring my packing system.

Has anyone seen or tried one of these:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006OH5F9...lid=1YXMVKPXUFJT8&coliid=I12PPPSBEVAL41&psc=1
Only 19 qts, but 2/3 the price of the Ozark, and it's Engel.

 

[ChadHahn]

I looked at one of those Engels at Sportsman's Warehouse. Looked pretty good. Made in Indonesia.

Chad

 

[perterra]

Has anyone seen or tried one of these:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006OH5F9...lid=1YXMVKPXUFJT8&coliid=I12PPPSBEVAL41&psc=1
Only 19 qts, but 2/3 the price of the Ozark, and it's Engel.

It's more dry box than cooler, I dont think they use insulation in it.

 

[Ducky's Dad]

I picked up my Ozark 26 today. Initial impression is that it is well made, but the pad on the handle is too thin and it's not going to hold up. Will need a new, fatter pad in a couple years. The cooler is big for a 26 and very heavy for its size. Not quite what I want for lugging a bunch of ice and drinks to and from the truck, but good for leaving in the truck when I don't need the big cooler. I think I'm going to figure a way to replace or repair the handle on the old Igloo and get that one back into service.

 

[Outside somewhere]

this is crazy. i'm just outside of charlotte, nc and saw them at my local walmart weeks ago. not in the camping supplies as expected, but at the front of the store in the rotating special section. there were probably 4-5 52s and a whole wall of 26s. i didn't think a thing about them becoming unobtanium. so i passed them up thinking supply would be fine. should've picked a few up.

There was a guy on charlotte's CL two weeks ago that listed he had 20+ of 26 qt. He said he had them "discounted down to $145 per cooler"

 

[dusmw]

Probably had some 22LR for sale too!

There was a guy on charlotte's CL two weeks ago that listed he had 20+ of 26 qt. He said he had them "discounted down to $145 per cooler"

 

[pyrate]

Anyone looked at these?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/171866288488

I confirmed its 67 quarts (the written description is incorrect). Comes with a tray and about the same cost of RTIC.

 

[perkj]

26 Qts in stock right now on walmart.com: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ozark-Trail-26-Quart-High-Performance-Cooler-Grey/49229405

As are the two Orzark soft sides:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ozark-Trail-Premium-Backpack-Cooler/54055347

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ozark-Trail-Premium-Jumbo-Tote/52620406

 

[Ducky's Dad]

So today they offer free shipping, but they did not offer it last Thursday. Today they offer store pickup, but they did not offer it last Wednesday. Whoever is running their internet operation needs to get his act together. When I picked up my Ozark 26 on Sunday, I was talking to the guy at the pickup counter, and he admitted that Amazon is kicking WalMart's *** on internet order processing. This could be part of the reason.

 

[thefishhawk]

Anyone looked at these?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/171866288488

I confirmed its 67 quarts (the written description is incorrect). Comes with a tray and about the same cost of RTIC.

Looks more like an overpriced Coleman extreme type than a rotomolded to me. The RTIC 65 is 36.5 lbs and that 18 lbs, that pretty much tells me the insulation is not as dense.

 

[davis31052]

Got mine ordered. Free shipping to my door. Arrives on 20 Sept. Hopefully the order will get filled and I'll finally get to see if it was worth all the effort of watching this thread, and scouring the local stores.

 

[pyrate]

Looks more like an overpriced Coleman extreme type than a rotomolded to me. The RTIC 65 is 36.5 lbs and that 18 lbs, that pretty much tells me the insulation is not as dense.

EvaKool is an Australian company that has been providing long ice storage (advertised as 6-10 days pending the model) coolers for 20 years or so. It was the first time I had seen them available in the US via ebay but had not used one. Seems like they must have something that works even if it's not a rotomolded if it can keep ice that long.

 

[thefishhawk]

I saw that on their website but the ebay ad says 5 days. Sides don't look very thick to me.

Maybe they are old models they are trying to close out?? the 64 liter (67q) one on their website that says it will keep ice 10 days weights 24 pounds. IDK, that cooler just doesn't look that robust to me. I would at least be contacting them about US support for warranty issues or problems. the ebay ad doesn't mention a warranty even if the website does. I'd want to be able to get parts.

 

[perkj]

26 Qts in stock right now on walmart.com: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ozark-Trail-26-Quart-High-Performance-Cooler-Grey/49229405

And just like that they are gone in 3 hours

 

[jsexton]

And just like that they are gone in 3 hours

They were probably gone in minutes...