PSA: Everyone acting like Yeti is the only cooler worth buying is dead wrong

I get it, Yeti has that cool factor and the marketing is everywhere. But I bought a $150 RTIC cooler 4 years ago and it holds ice for 3 days just like my buddy's $400 Yeti. The latches feel the same and the rotomolded build is identical. I did a test last July at a lake in Ohio where we left both out in 90 degree sun and the ice melt was within an hour of each other. Why are people paying over double for a name when the other brand does the exact same thing?

2 comments

2 Comments

simon71710d ago

The ice melt test is solid proof, but the "identical" part needs a small correction. RTIC's rotomolding is very close, but Yeti uses a thicker gauge liner on the inside of their coolers. It's not about the outer shell feeling the same, it's about the inner layer resisting dents and cracking over years of abuse. I've seen a few RTIC coolers crack at the hinge area after a couple of seasons, something that's rare on Yetis. The latches on new RTICs are also a tiny bit stiffer out of the box and can loosen up faster. So you get 90% of the performance for half the price, but there are small differences in the long term build quality.

matthews2111d ago

You said "the rotomolded build is identical" and that's exactly what I keep telling people. If the manufacturing process and materials are basically the same, what are you actually paying for besides the logo? I wonder how many people have actually done a side by side test like you did.