RTIC Coolers

[Airmapper]

The statement below is correct. A styrofoam gas station cooler would likely hold ice for a week in those temperatures at the end of winter/beginning of spring.

No one said his statement was wrong. The point I'm trying to make is not that he's wrong, it's that thinking of how good a cooler is by how many days it will hold ice at an unknown temperature is useless. He's spot on about days not meaning anything, measuring a coolers effectiveness by days is like trying to say how many months tires last, it totally depends on the conditions. While acknowledging this though, he seems to still desire a measure of days a cooler will hold ice at warmer temperatures, which is still a useless figure. What he wants to know is what's the best cooler for the money, and to know that you need to compare them. Whatever temperature you compare at, be it above freezing, is irrelevant.

There is a guy in the Ozark Trail cooler thread that is doing an excellent comparison of 3 coolers. Sure it's at cooler springtime temps, but it will be useful information, regardless of temperature. He will know how those coolers rank among themselves.

Comparing coolers in any temperature significantly above freezing will work. You just need something to compare it to, put the same amount of ice in two coolers in the same environment, and see which one melts first. Boom, better cooler of the two is known, without sweltering temperatures. Doing 2 at a time you could eventually rank all coolers no matter what the external temperatures involved and have a fair comparison. The only thing that it being hot means is you don't wait as long to find out.

You could even figure out how well a cooler will do at higher temperatures if you do several time to melt tests at cool temps. Say, 40, 45, 50, and 60 degrees. From that you could predict how long it might hold ice at 70 degrees, or 100 degrees. It probably won't be a straight line on a graph, but you could calculate it, the more data points the more accurate it would be. It also wouldn't be fun waiting weeks for ice to melt, but it would eventually melt.

 

[texascrane]

Did you know that in the Census, they don't actually count and quiz everybody? They get a certain sampling of people in an area and go from that. So the figures collected are not exact, never will be, but will be average for a given area. Why is this relevant to coolers you might wonder...

Not that this is directly relevant to the point at hand, but that isn't how a census works. A census by definition doesn't use sampling. The whole point is to go out and "actually count and quiz everybody". There has been talk (controversy) about using some sampling techniques for the last couple of US Censuses, but it hasn't actually happened.

 

[Airmapper]

Not that this is directly relevant to the point at hand, but that isn't how a census works. A census by definition doesn't use sampling. The whole point is to go out and "actually count and quiz everybody". There has been talk (controversy) about using some sampling techniques for the last couple of US Censuses, but it hasn't actually happened.

Ah ha! I knew it, my geology professor if full of crap. :sombrero: He had discussed this a while back and I may have misunderstood. It came to mind trying to convey the idea you don't need to have perfect data to collect useful info.

In case anyone missed it, I'm a nerd. :smilies27

 

[jsexton]

The statement below is correct. A styrofoam gas station cooler would likely hold ice for a week in those temperatures at the end of winter/beginning of spring.



I use my coolers year-round. The main reason that I buy quality coolers is for the durability. I have destroyed enough cheap coolers in the past, that I finally gave up, purchased a Yeti, and will not be going back. I am in my drink cooler way too often, on a normal basis, to expect much as far as keeping ice longer is involved. However, my food cooler is where I benefit from the extra ability to keep ice.

I haven't noticed any difference in the ability to hold ice between the Yeti and RTIC coolers. So far, the RTIC coolers have been every bit as durable as the Yeti's, but I have years of use out of the Yeti's. The size difference between the two brands is noticeable, immediately. Time will truly tell with the RTIC coolers. From what I have seen so far, the RTIC coolers are a great value at half the price of a comparable Yeti and well worth the wait.

After my first coolers arrived, I immediately placed an order for another cooler. It arrived within a couple months.

I think that many people all over the internet have overreacted to the shipping time-frame associated with the first RTIC coolers. It never was a secret that it was going to take a while. While it was not ideal that they took payment well before delivery, that is sometimes the way it goes when dealing with a fresh, new business. I figured that the folks here would be seasoned to delays associated with Customs. I think that most people here do understand.

Thank you for posting a legitimate, first hand review with actual use of the RTIC cooler. There are not many out there.

As for the other guy, I was more noticing the continued snarky comments made by him (not just toward me) after I asked if anyone had used theirs a few months ago. He acts like ice retention, only when it's hot out, is the only thing that will qualify a cooler as being good. We all know there is more to it than that. If pure ice retention was the only quality we were looking for, all of us would be using the 3" thick foam coolers used to transport organ transplants and refrigerated medicine (those are awesome for that btw). I've kept steak frozen for over a week in one of those in 85* temps with no ice, just a few freezable gel packs (I don't know their name). But, they are foam, so they are not practical/reliable for how most of us use coolers.

End rant.

 

[jsexton]

Ah ha! I knew it, my geology professor if full of crap. :sombrero: He had discussed this a while back and I may have misunderstood. It came to mind trying to convey the idea you don't need to have perfect data to collect useful info.

In case anyone missed it, I'm a nerd. :smilies27

Perhaps you shouldn't listen to your geology professor for statistics advice

 

[texascrane]

Ah ha! I knew it, my geology professor if full of crap. :sombrero: He had discussed this a while back and I may have misunderstood. It came to mind trying to convey the idea you don't need to have perfect data to collect useful info.

In case anyone missed it, I'm a nerd. :smilies27

Personally, I wouldn't get statistics advice from a geology professor :sombrero:

Generally, the alternative to a census (counting everybody) is a sample. You randomly select cases from the population so that each case has the same likelihood of being selected. We can then take the data from the sample and make statistical inferences about the general population. Although in practice, it's much more complicated than this with targeted population strata, weighting schema for analysis etc. For instance, if I collect my sample via telephone interviews vs a website vs the mail, how are my respondents biased compared to the population I'm trying to study and how do I correct for that bias in my analysis?

At the end of the day, you sample because you have limited time and money (there's a reason the US Census only happens every 10 years). It's usually almost as good as a census but it's way cheaper and easier to accomplish. That said, sometimes it can also produce errant results when the assumptions being used turn out to be incorrect (http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-the-polls-missed-bernie-sanders-michigan-upset/)

 

[Hilldweller]

I just ordered one.

 

[The_Dude]

The listed sizes of the Rtic are nice because they are true to actual capacity. That's why I got a yeti 75 instead of 65.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jeep-N-montero]

Thank you for posting a legitimate, first hand review with actual use of the RTIC cooler. There are not many out there.

As for the other guy, I was more noticing the continued snarky comments made by him (not just toward me) after I asked if anyone had used theirs a few months ago. He acts like ice retention, only when it's hot out, is the only thing that will qualify a cooler as being good. We all know there is more to it than that. If pure ice retention was the only quality we were looking for, all of us would be using the 3" thick foam coolers used to transport organ transplants and refrigerated medicine (those are awesome for that btw). I've kept steak frozen for over a week in one of those in 85* temps with no ice, just a few freezable gel packs (I don't know their name). But, they are foam, so they are not practical/reliable for how most of us use coolers.

End rant.

I actually have a few of those thick coolers from when I was a lab assistant years ago, they come in handy for shipping fish and lobster(I'm originally from Maine).

 

[toymaster]

I was about to write a response but TXBX said exactly what I had in mind. I would like it reiterate the reason to buy a "high-end" cooler is the construction/longevity. Real low-end ones just shatter and mid-range usually get the lid ripped off. If one is really concerned with maintaining low temps for an extended period well then, this is why the 12V portable fridges were invented. Last year I ordered a small RTIC 45 just to make sure the quality was there and it is; I'll be ordering a 65 this year. With an engineers eye I cannot tell any difference between the RTIC and Yeti. At this point the only advantage Yeti has over RTIC is more available sizes.

The statement below is correct. A styrofoam gas station cooler would likely hold ice for a week in those temperatures at the end of winter/beginning of spring.



I use my coolers year-round. The main reason that I buy quality coolers is for the durability. I have destroyed enough cheap coolers in the past, that I finally gave up, purchased a Yeti, and will not be going back. I am in my drink cooler way too often, on a normal basis, to expect much as far as keeping ice longer is involved. However, my food cooler is where I benefit from the extra ability to keep ice.

I haven't noticed any difference in the ability to hold ice between the Yeti and RTIC coolers. So far, the RTIC coolers have been every bit as durable as the Yeti's, but I have years of use out of the Yeti's. The size difference between the two brands is noticeable, immediately. Time will truly tell with the RTIC coolers. From what I have seen so far, the RTIC coolers are a great value at half the price of a comparable Yeti and well worth the wait.

After my first coolers arrived, I immediately placed an order for another cooler. It arrived within a couple months.

I think that many people all over the internet have overreacted to the shipping time-frame associated with the first RTIC coolers. It never was a secret that it was going to take a while. While it was not ideal that they took payment well before delivery, that is sometimes the way it goes when dealing with a fresh, new business. I figured that the folks here would be seasoned to delays associated with Customs. I think that most people here do understand.

 

[Hilldweller]

I have a fridge and want this thing for the times that I want to travel lighter.
I need two batteries for the full-on ExPo boondoggle with solar panels, fidge, pottie, spare fuel...
I only need one battery and some beer & goodies for a 3-day weekend, etc.

...the Coleman Extreme didn't cut it.

 

[ETAV8R]

I think I'm gonna join the club with the small RTIC 20 to replace a crappy old cooler I've had for years that can only keep ice a couple days at best in mid temps. There are several reviews now on Youtube and I think the RTIC is on par with the Yeti's if not slightly better.

 

[diluted]

I ordered a 65 in late May.. it was originally supposed to ship out on 6/30 they've recently updated my ship date to 8/9.

 

[rob mellor]

I ordered my tan 65 on 4/5. Original ship date was 5/30. Actual ship date was 6/27. It's well built and worth the wait.

 

[reran]

I ordered my white 20L and 45L on 05/17/16, received delivery of the 45L on 06/06/16 and the 20L on 06/08/16, even though the website stated the shipping dates for both would be 06/30/16. Extremely satisfied with the quality and performance of the coolers. Highly recommend these coolers.