Ice Chests

[nvbroncrider]

What do you guys use and how do they work. Thinking about going big and getting a Yeti or something similar.

 

[Dr. Vette]

We purchased one of these 150qt coolers at Sam's Club several years ago for use on hunting trips:

http://www.samsclub.com/sams/max-cold-1 ... 1880027.ip

I would have to say that we are extremely pleased with its performance. Despite the Yeti slogan I've seen this cooler keep ice for a week as well, and had meat arrive at home looking like it had just left the meat cooler 5 minutes ago, not 3 days ago. It's leaving with us again tomorrow on another elk hunting trip. If you have the room for it, I highly recommend it.

I have also borrowed a friend's Yeti coolers. Heavy and thick walled I'm sure they would keep things frozen a long time. However, I've not needed their extra time for any hunt so far.

 

[jimbires]

I use a big Coleman cooler . I think it's called the extreme, and it's 150 QT . I have carried meat from Colorado , and Wyoming back to Pa . I have used dry ice, and I have used regular ice . after traveling for three days , I still have ice in the cooler and the meat is cold . I'm well pleased with this cooler . ( edit cooler size )

 

[Rol_P]

In 2013 I had a frozen, (processed) elk and mulie buck to transport from Western Montana to upstate NY. I went to Walmart in Bozeman and purchased two 60 quart Coleman Extreme coolers for about $60.00 each. Put 10 lbs of dry ice over the packages in each cooler and started driving.. Did not open the coolers until arriving home and the ice was gone, no mess and the meat was still froze solid.

Two 60 quart coolers are easier to handle than larger coolers and also useful during the off season for storage.

 

[JD338]

This is a good thread. I like the Yeti but the prices are way up there.
I was looking at a Pelican at Costco which I think would do the job.

JD338

 

[nvbroncrider]

Vette,

I bought a 120 qt igloo in August and lost the lid the dang hinges broke and blew off down the road so I'm kinda looking for a replacement trying to decide if I should put the $100 in to replace the lid and hardware same price as I paid for it or cry once and get a Yeti or similar and then replace the lid later as I have an elk hunt coming up and I can't afford another failure like that.

 

[Dr. Vette]

Vette,

I bought a 120 qt igloo in August and lost the lid the dang hinges broke and blew off down the road so I'm kinda looking for a replacement trying to decide if I should put the $100 in to replace the lid and hardware same price as I paid for it or cry once and get a Yeti or similar and then replace the lid later as I have an elk hunt coming up and I can't afford another failure like that.

I replaced my hinges and latches with optional metal ones that I found online. That fixed the problem on my end.

 

[jimbires]

I looked at my cooler . it is 150 qt . coleman model # 5250 . I'd say it is a marine cooler , it has a ruler molded into the lid . mine has a two piece lid , the right side must open first . I'd guess a one piece lid should hold the temp better . this one does work well .

 

[Charlie-NY]

Dollar for dollar you can't beat the 150qt coolers that BJ's sells for $59. They will hold about 100 lbs of butchered meat. If the meat is frozen, just fill to the lid and close. Meat will remain frozen for days. I bought a 5'x8' trailer for hunting. It holds six of these coolers on the floor and I can add six more on top if needed. That could potentially hold 1,200 lbs of butchered meat or several animals quartered with room left over for the hides.
I usually load the coolers with gear & beer on the way out and (hopefully) replace with game meat on the way back. Gear is then placed in large bags and placed on top of the coolers.

 

[nvbroncrider]

Yeah thanks guys. I'm going with a pelican. I've played with there gun cases and love them. I looked at grizzly yeti engle and a few others all the higher end ones. I'll probably replace the lid later.

Looking at like the fact I can lock it and it has molded in tie downs on all four corners perfect to tying down on my roof rack on the jeep.

 

[Vince]

Yeah thanks guys. I'm going with a pelican. I've played with there gun cases and love them. I looked at grizzly yeti engle and a few others all the higher end ones. I'll probably replace the lid later.

Looking at like the fact I can lock it and it has molded in tie downs on all four corners perfect to tying down on my roof rack on the jeep.

I'll probably build one out of wood that takes up the bed of the truck. [emoji4]

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk

 

[Kodiak]

Another way to look at it; I shot a 350 B&C bull elk in NM and had it processed at the local Chama plant. They shipped it via UPS-AIR to my door in MO, in heavy styroform boxes at a cost of 165$. And I still have the shipping boxes.

The cool part is, from freezing time in NM to my house in MO , including flying and UPS delivery driving time was 6 hours.

YMMV

 

[Rol_P]

My processed meat (elk and venison) was partly frozen when I picked it up from the processor Sunday afternoon. I placed approx. 20# of dry ice in each cooler and hot footed from Montana to Western NY. Upon arrival home last evening all the ice was gone but the meat appeared completely frozen.

The interesting point is that I doubled the quantity of dry ice that I had purchased for the same trip in 2013,(the meat was flash frozen in 2013) thinking that I had some extra, but I did not. When planning for travel it may prevent a disaster with spoiled meat to over estimate the ice requirements.

 

[Charlie-NY]

Kodiak,

Exactly how much meat (weight) were you able to get shipped for $165? I was told that shipping frozen meat would be about $4/lb where available.

Another way to look at it; I shot a 350 B&C bull elk in NM and had it processed at the local Chama plant. They shipped it via UPS-AIR to my door in MO, in heavy styroform boxes at a cost of 165$. And I still have the shipping boxes.

The cool part is, from freezing time in NM to my house in MO , including flying and UPS delivery driving time was 6 hours.

YMMV

 

[Kodiak]

Charlie, I had about 375# of processed meat, shipped in eight 50# Styrofoam boxes. IIRC, the processing-plant in Chama shipped lots of frozen-meat boxes every day of the season, all across the country, so maybe they had a deal with UPS-AIR. It worked-out for me as I went on to Wyoming for another hunt and didn't have to haul the meat around in the truck.

YMMV

 

[Charlie-NY]

Now that was a terrific deal! If I could arrange that kind of shipping rate for my game I'd sell my trailer and SHIP EVERYTHING.

 

[nvbroncrider]

Picked up a 150 QT Pelican. It's nice perfect for 1 quartered elk!

 

[Richracer1]

Just an FYI, if you're looking at cooler for this fall, check out the Cabela's Polar Cap coolers. They cost less than Yetis and, are roughly the same size. Now the big differences are, the Polar Cap has a higher insulation rating, an R12 vs. Yetis R10, the Polar Caps are guaranteed FOR LIFE!

 

[truck driver]

I'll be needing a cooler next year for a Bear hunt so this is very helpful in deciding which one to get.

 

[sask boy]

I will be needed a good cooler this fall but I believe that we are going to manufacture our own with Styrofoam insulation and 1/2" plywood.

Blessings,
Dan