Not everyone agrees with me but after having my yeti for years I can say that the amount of service provided anytime I have had a problem was absolutely worth the price. At one point my yeti 30 started to leak and the zipper finally broke off after around 3 years of heavy use, I called yeti and sent it back in to them and they sent me a brand new yeti 30 in the newest design. They paid shipping and had it to me within a week. I'm not saying they are better at holding I've because they really aren't. But I am saying you're not just paying for a name and to feel good but you are paying for the service and warranty.
I completely 100% agree you can read my comment above right on a little bit of for detail about it. The thing that people don't understand is that the yeti is going to last you a lifetime. The little tests they show or brand-new coolers we have no idea how they were prepped was the yeti left outside in the winter was it kept inside where was air condition we don't know. The other thing do people need to take into account is the longevity of the cooler yeah that particular cooler won this competition but how will it compare to the yeti 5 years down the road 10 years down the road. Like I said I've had a Yeti 35 in tan the year they came out and I've had no issues and haven't had replace a single thing on that cooler. I have friends who have an orca that it failed the first year. Also I've got my next door neighbor that has an Arctic that failed in the first 6 months. it's just not worth the time and aggravation to having to call these companies and beg for parts all while not having a cooler. I live at the beach I am constantly on the water in the water or around the water and I always have a cooler with me. I have seen every variant a cooler made. When I see something I don't recognize I'll go up to people and just ask him about it and what do you think how long have you had it any issues. And so far nothing has held up like a Yeti
Great points! I also think someone has to be realistic with their use of a cooler. There are some folks who use a soft cooler as their lunch cooler and use it daily. If that is the case, then I would definitely agree that a Yeti is a no brainer for all the reasons you listed but if someone only uses their soft cooler a few times a year they might want to consider a cheaper brand. My RTIC 8 has finally started coming apart from the inside stitching after almost 4 years. I can't complain too much about that since I spend 70 bucks. I would have spent 200 for the Yeti and been out of warranty. It's also very possible that my Yeti wouldn't have that problem with the stitching. . The most common issue with the Yeti softs are the the zippers. I am on the fence about a Yeti soft and the Otterbox soft. Otter does have a lifetime warranty and that may be what sells me. I have seen awesome reviews on the Engel soft 30 but a one year warranty at 200 bucks to me at least, doesn't jive.
As others have mentioned, it’s not only ice retention but build quality as well. My Yeti Hopper 8 has lived in the front of a jetski for the past 5 seasons and has performed exceptionally well and is holding up fantastic despite the abuse. I’ve been nothing but impressed with all of my Yeti products and won’t buy any other brand after my experiences with them.
The biggest issue with Yeti knockoffs is that they just aren't quite made of the same standard and for that reason they don't hold up as long or as well. I got a Yeti 35 the first year they came out. I've had absolutely zero issues have and haven't had to replace anything on that cooler. It's been knocked off the boat trailer, knocked out the back of a truck, dropped I can't tell you how many times, it's been stood on sat on the, stacked things on top of it. It's just been abused in the worst possible ways. I've got friends that have bought Orcas, Grizzlies, Ozark, etc... the one thing they all have in common is that all failed in some way, mechanically and structurally in the same or less amount of time that I've owned my 35. I own 3 Yeti Coolers, the 35, Roadie and Hopper Flip 12. Every single one of them has held up in functions flawlessly. The old adage you get what you pay for holds true with Yeti products. My Philosophy when it comes to making purchases has always been buy once cry once. People are always trying to save a dollar, but what they don't realize is that they're going to end up having to replace that cooler and in the same amount of time that you spend going and buying a knockoff cooler and having to spend the extra money to replace it you could have already just bought a Yeti and been done with.
The build materials and build quality is a bit better on a yeti compared to a ozark for soft coolers . Can't speak for tourit never owned it. So I tested 2 soft coolers with in 2 weeks. 2 full days of testing at different beaches in Southern California. Ozark trail 24 can soft cooler ( new model) and hard lining lasted exactly 2 days . In the end it was just cold water. The yeti m30 ice lasted exactly 2 1/2 days. The yeti didn't fare that much better. Probably just the nature of soft cooler. But yeti is now my choice. That little bit of better build and build materials, shape and most of all innovation of the magnetic enclosure matters to me. It is absolutely air tight where the ozark is not. I wouldn't buy in middle like tourit or rtic because look at the common problems - the zipper always breaks! Ozark is a far better value that can keep up with the best so if the zipper breaks I didn't spend that much money. With that said im all about the m30
I would have liked to have seen the coolers pre-cooled prior to testing. No matter how good of a cooler you have, if it’s warm when you put the ice in, you’re going to have some melting in every cooler that will lead the viewer to believe the coolers are performing similarly.
I agree totally and even Yeti recommends pre chilling, but I believe the average person doesn't do that and even throws in warm drinks which melts the ice fast. Personally, I pre chill by sticking an Arctic or Yeti ice in the cooler for a few hours before using and actually replacing that one with an extra Yeti ice and keeping that in the cooler along with the actual ice im going to have in their with the drinks.
The Yeti has sulled their name with this one. I'll never buy another Yeti. From other comments here it sounds like they have taken a dive over the last couple years. I'd buy a used one off ebay. The thing cost me over $300 for looks? When my food was ruined and my drinks warm, after the ice started melting within a few hours in an airconditioned car, during my holiday, I was thinking about Yeti. It works slightly better than a $40 igloo in my compairison. Generally you get what you pay for. In this case, forget it. Although I must say, "it looks good." Side note: This may have been defective.....at $300, the quality control should be better than a NASA space launch. If it's the lack of quality control in this case, with a $300 cooler, Yeti is worse than my first assesment.
People commenting on the air pocket in the cheaper model. That’s not the reviewers fault. That is a design flaw. The only constant the reviewer could maintain was the 10 pound bag of ice. What kind of review would this have been if he slam dunked a damn 15 pound bag of ice in the cheaper more poorly designed model. Jeez. Just take it for what it is. Good job reviewer.
Performance is similar between yeti and tourit, definitely more value with Tourit but I prefer to use brand name stuff. It’s like why would people buy yeezy when there’s similar performance Sketchers? Or why use iPhone when Samsung is ahead in performance for less? 😂
It looks like you had the Tourit and Yeti filled with ice to the top, especially the Yeti. But you had like 4 inches of airspace in the Ozark. That's not going to yield a fair result
