After going head-to-head against two new premier level coolers, the Yeti Tundra is still the coldest.
With its rugged construction, thick insulation and freezer grade seal, Yeti set a new standard for high-end coolers when it debuted in 2006. Other brands have emerged in the elite market, though. Pelican, maker of outstanding waterproof cases for cameras, is now in the cooler business, and Igloo has entered the big leagues with its Yukon series. This year we pitted the Yukon Tundra 50 against the Pelican ProGear Elite 45 and the Igloo Yukon Roller 50.
The Yeti 50 interior has a capacity of 45.6 quarts. The Pelican Pro 45 has an actual capacity of 49.5 quarts, and the Igloo Tundra 50 has an actual capacity of 50 quarts.
Each has unique features that provide distinct advantages over the others, but the most important factor is how long they keep ice under equal conditions.
FIELD TESTS
I have used a Yeti Tundra 50 extensively since May 2012. It is a proven performer, and because it was the trailblazer, Yeti is the standard by which other coolers measure. This contest was Yeti’s to lose.
In mid-June, my wife Laura took the Igloo Yukon Roller 50 on a week long camping trip with our children to Tyler Bend Recreation Area on the Buffalo River. She also took an old plastic Coleman cooler.
The Yukon impressed Laura. Without replenishing ice, and despite frequent openings, its contents were still refrigerator-cold when she returned home a week later. The old Coleman was essentially relegated to a dry box. It’s a one-day wonder.
Three weeks ago, my son Matthew and I took the Pelican to the Mississippi Coast. We pre-chilled the Pelican with ice in our hotel room. After our last day of fishing, we filled it with bags of speckled trout fillets and tripletail fillets, and then topped it with fresh ice. It sat in our room overnight, and then it rode in the back of my pickup in direct sunlight for 10 hours in temperatures that hovered around 102 degrees. When we opened the Pelican at home, only a tiny amount of ice had melted, and the fish were still covered.
THE FIGHT IS ON
Head-to-head, we tested the coolers the way most people use them. Tuesday at noon, I hauled them out of my garage, put them in the back of my truck and filled them to the brim with bagged ice at a convenience store. Then, I left them outside, side by-side, in direct sunlight.
I brought them inside at night. We don’t run our air-conditioner at night, so inside temperatures ranged from 78-82 degrees. High temps the first two days exceeded 100 degrees.
I also alternated the arrangement so that all of the coolers would have equal exposure to east and west sunlight. Each cooler got equal time in the middle where the other coolers shielded it from side light. I checked each cooler at noon every day and measured air space with a ruler. Matthew, who is being recruited by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), worked up a formula to calculate the percentage of ice remaining.
On Tuesday, the temperature exceeded 100 degrees. The coolers had zero air space when I filled them, but after 24 hours, the Yeti had 3.5 inches of air space. The Yukon had 3 inches, and the Pelican had 3.2 inches.
Given their different capacities, they retained equal percentages of their original ice.
After 48 hours, the Yeti had 7 inches of air space. Its ice was still hard and well composed. The Pelican had 5.25 inches of air space, but its ice was beginning to get slushy.
The Yukon had 7 inches of air space, and its ice was mostly slush.
After 72 hours, the Yukon’s ice level had stabilized, and it retained about 20 percent. The Yeti had 8 ½ inches of air, but its ice was consistent to the bottom. About 40 percent of that volume was ice.
The Pelican was also stable, and it retained about 30 percent of its ice.
There, the test took a slight twist. We had a power failure at the house on Thursday afternoon that lasted until about 10 a.m. on Friday. Laura put a quart of milk inside each cooler overnight. After 72 hours, when power was restored, the milk was still refrigerator-cold.
Starting Thursday afternoon, when the storm hit, the coolers got a break.
High temperatures were in the low 90s. At that temperature, all three coolers held steady.
After 96 hours, Yeti still had 20 percent of its ice.
Pelican had 16 percent, and Yukon had 10 percent.
At 120 hours, Yukon tapped out. Its ice was all gone. Its water was marginally cold. As I moved it, water sloshed out from under the back of the lid, a symptom of improper sealing.
Yeti and Pelican were in a dead heat. Each had a single layer of ice across the water, and their water was very cold.
Pelican’s ice finally expired at 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Yeti was the winner. It still had a tiny amount of ice at 11 p.m., but it was all gone by midnight. Yeti contained ice for 132 hours. Pelican contained ice for 126 hours. Yukon contained ice for less than 120 hours.
By the next morning, though, at 9 a.m. - 141 hours - the vacuum lock on the Yeti was so strong that I could not lift the lid until I removed the drain plug. The water was still trout-water cold.
Notably, the Yeti and Yukon are white.
Pelican sent a tan cooler.
The tan color absorbs considerably more heat and was considerably hotter to the touch than the white coolers. That, coupled with 1 inch less insulation in the lid, probably cost Pelican the match.
Yeti Tundra 50
Compared to newer models, the Yeti is rather spartan.
Eleven models are available, ranging from 28.8 quarts (Tundra 35) to 402.4 quarts (Tundra 420). Yeti was the first to build coolers with the roto-molding process used for making whitewater kayaks. The shells are impact and stress resistant. The walls contain 2 inches of polyurethane insulation. The lid contains 3 inches of insulation. That’s important because the lid is exposed longest to sunlight.
The ceiling drops down to form a deep channel that houses a wraparound, freezer-grade gasket. These gaskets are standard on all coolers in this class.
When you close a Yeti, only the vacuum is audible. You hear no plastic-to-plastic contact.
Thick rubber straps secure the lid to the shell.
The handles are marine-grade foam tubes and marine-grade ropes. They hang inside recesses on the sides, so they do not increase the cooler width. At both edges are hasps that allow you to lock the cooler with long-shank padlocks.
You can also add a security shim, which is sold separately in a security package that comes with a special lock and laminated braided steel cable. This allows you to secure the Yeti to the tie-downs in a truck bed, or to a tree or lantern post to prevent theft.
The interior has smooth, tapered walls.
The angled bottom has a tapered channel for drainage.
The Yeti’s drain plug is a heavy, threaded plastic plug with a thick gasket. You do not have to remove the plug to drain a Yeti, but the plug is loose. If you lose it, you’ll have to buy another.
The Yeti also comes with a metal dry goods basket. This is handy, but it significantly decreases the amount of ice you can put in the cooler.
On the bottom are non-skid feet.
You can get Yetis in your favorite school colors, including cardinal and white with a Razorback logo.
The Yeti 50, our test model, fits sideways in a canoe and is ideal for canoe camping.
MSRP - $359.
Weight - 25 pounds
Warranty - 5 years.
Pelican ProGear Elite 45
The Pelican Pro 45 is as solid as a bank vault, with more features than the Yeti, including a lifetime warranty.
Six models are available ranging from 41-250 quarts. The shells are impact and stress resistant. It looks and feels more solid than a Yeti. Insulation is a uniform 2 inches, including the lid.
When you close the lid, all you hear is the vacuum. No plastic-to-plastic contact is audible.
The hinged handles are heavy-gauge plastic with rubber grips. The hinge extensions widen the cooler considerably. The Pro 45 is 29 2/3 inches wide. The Yeti 50 is 24 inches wide.
The oversize push-button latches open easily with a gloved hand. They are the best latches I’ve seen on a cooler.
The Pelican has molded tie-downs on the corners, with a separate, stainless steel reinforced hasp in the middle.
The Pelican drain contains a plastic, threaded cap that screws onto a drain spout. It attaches securely to the spout with an oversize ring. You can attach a garden hose to the spout for power cleaning. A small amount of water leaked during testing. I fixed this by pressing a rubber o-ring from an auto parts store into the cap.
On the bottom are non-skid, non-marking feet.
Pelican gets points for the molded rulers on the lid, great for measuring fish. A dry rack basket is sold separately.
The Pelican Pro 45 fits sideways in a canoe, but it is suitable for boating and car camping, too.
MSRP - $300. It is available locally for $270.
Weight - 35 pounds
Warranty - Lifetime.
Igloo Yukon Roller 50
The standard Yukon would have been a more equal comparison to the Yeti Tundra and the Pelican Elite, but Igloo insisted we test its new wheeled version, instead.
The standard Yukon is available in sizes ranging from 50-250 quarts. The wheeled version is available in 50 and 90 quarts.
Wide, soft-treaded wheels distinguish this model, as does its telescoping handle of heavy-gauge, non-corrosive aluminum. The handle extends and retracts easily and secures with spring-loaded studs. The cooler has molded grips, but it is meant to be rolled down boat docks and around campsites. The reversible feet have skid and non-skid surfaces. The Yukon Roller 50 fits sideways in a canoe, but at 39 pounds, it is better suited for boating and car camping.
Yukon coolers contain a uniform 2 inches of polyurethane insulation in the walls and lid. The lid has molded in rulers for measuring fish. The two molded in tie-down/ lock hasps are reinforced with stainless steel. The wheel nacelles reduce interior capacity, but they are also very much in the way. You have to pack around them.
In the drain is a heavy-duty, threaded plastic plug with a thick foam gasket. A chain attaches it to the shell. You must remove the plug to drain a Yukon, but you can’t lose it. The drain is much wider than that of the Yeti and Pelican, so it drains faster and has an oversized thumb/forefinger grip.
Two rubber straps that attach to integrated studs secure the lid.
Unfortunately, the lid on the Yukon Roller 50 does not fit securely to the shell. The lid closes with audible plastic-to-plastic contact, and the gasket does not seal in the rear. Near the end of the test, water actually sloshed out the back while the lid was locked. Water does not come out the top of a Yeti or Pelican. This is probably why Yukon’s ice melted almost a full day sooner than Yeti or Pelican. Fix that, and the Yukon Roller 50 will be a contender.
MSRP - $329.
Weight - 39 pounds
Warranty - 5 years
Sports, Pages 28 on 07/21/2013