Yeti has become a household brand name when it comes to coolers, and that's because the company makes amazing, high-quality coolers that last years and keep items inside super cold for a long time. However, there's one huge downside to Yeti coolers: They're expensive.
There's no denying that Yeti has done an excellent job with marketing and production over the years, but when it comes to buying your next cooler, there are many things to consider, including whether it's rotomolded and which color you should
get. There are plenty of other brands that create coolers with the same features and colorways you can find in coolers made by Yeti, but at a much lower cost.
Yeti's smallest soft cooler is $200, and it can fit up to 10 pounds of ice or up to 11 cans at once. The company's smallest hard cooler is also $200, but it can fit up to 16 pounds of ice or up to 22 cans, so it has slightly more capacity than the soft cooler for the same price.
We've rounded up five alternative cooler brands that work just as well at a fraction of the price. These coolers offer similar, if not better, capacity to Yeti's coolers and great features, but they won't hurt your wallet nearly as much.
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RTIC Coolers
According to multiple forums and Reddit posts online, RTIC coolers are the best alternative to Yeti coolers if you want nearly identical quality for a lot less money. Like Yeti, RTIC was founded in Texas, but makes its coolers overseas, mainly in Asia. RTIC's Ultra-Light series is a great alternative to Yeti's Roadie series, and RTIC's Ultra-Tough series most closely resembles Yeti's popular Tundra series.
The smallest Ultra-Light cooler from RTIC is only $59, and yet it can fit up to 12 cans, one more can than Yeti's smallest $200 cooler can fit. This lightweight cooler weighs just over 4 pounds by itself, and it can keep everything inside cool for up to 40 hours, thanks to up to 2 inches of closed-cell foam insulation.
RTIC's 20-quart Ultra-Tough cooler shines when compared to Yeti's smallest hard cooler, despite being $40 cheaper. This rotomolded hard cooler can fit up to 30 cans or up to 20 pounds of ice, which is about 25% more than Yeti's smallest hard cooler, and it'll keep cold for up to 4 days with 1.7 inches of closed-cell foam insulation and rotomolded construction — all for a fairly reasonable $159.
Coleman Coolers
Coleman is one of the most affordable cooler brands you can consider as a Yeti replacement. Specifically, the Coleman Pro lineup is comparable to Yeti's Roadie line, and you'll find soft coolers, hard coolers, and rolling coolers among Coleman's offerings.
The smallest soft Coleman Pro cooler is $59, significantly less than Yeti's $200 soft cooler. This little cooler can hold up to 16 cans, not including ice, and it'll stay cold for up to 30 hours. It features a reinforced base, a fully insulated lid and body, an antimicrobial liner to prevent unwanted smells and mold, and a padded strap for comfort.
For a more durable, albeit heavier option, there are multiple hard-sided Coleman Pro coolers to choose from. The smallest option is a 9-quart hard cooler for $79, but the cooler that best rivals Yeti's smallest hard cooler is the Coleman Pro 25-quart cooler for $159.
Compared to the more expensive Yeti cooler, this 25-quart cooler from Coleman Pro has a much larger capacity of up to 36 cans without ice. It can keep cold for up to 3 days, has the same antimicrobial lining as the Coleman Pro soft cooler, and includes a sturdy steel latch, an oversized drain plug, and a lid that's strong enough to double as a seat when it's closed.
Igloo Coolers
Texas is the birthplace of many popular cooler brands, including RTIC, Yeti, and Igloo. Unlike RTIC and Yeti, most of the coolers made by Igloo are made in America. Only about 5% of Igloo's total coolers made in 2023 were made outside the United States, and most of these were soft-sided coolers, so if you're looking to find a hard cooler alternative to Yeti that's made in America, an Igloo cooler is a safe bet.
The Igloo IMX 24-quart cooler is a good alternative to consider for the Yeti Roadie 24 Hard cooler at a fraction of the price. The IMX 24-quart is only $99, while the Roadie 24 Hard is a whopping $250, and yet the coolers share similar capacities and features. Igloo's IMX 24-quart cooler can hold up to 35 cans, uses an Ultratherm foam-insulated body and lid to keep items inside cold for up to 4 days, and offers helpful features like a drain plug, a built-in bottle opener, a lockable lid, self-draining cup holders, and super durable T-latches.
Fatboy Coolers
Although it's a lesser-known brand, Fatboy is steadily growing in popularity for delivering high-quality coolers with one-piece rotomolded construction at nearly 50% the price compared to Yeti. While Yeti's smallest coolers are $200, Fatboy's smallest 10-quart cooler is only $109.
With up to 2 inches of Fatboy's proprietary polyurethane Cryo-Foam insulation, this affordable cooler can retain ice for one to three days, depending on what you're storing inside, how often you're lifting the lid, and the type of ice you're using. It has a capacity of 2.5 gallons, which means it can hold up to 14 cans or 10 pounds of ice.
Even though this cooler is just $109, Fatboy doesn't skimp on adding features that improve its overall durability and longevity. The cooler includes a freezer-grade gasket, a black aluminum handle, stainless steel locks on the corners that double as bottle openers, and tie-down slots that are molded into the design.
Grizzly Coolers
Grizzly is closer in price to Yeti than some of the other cooler brands on this list, but it's one of the cooler brands made in America, so it's naturally going to be a bit pricier than brands that manufacture coolers overseas, where it's less expensive. That said, it is still a more affordable option than Yeti, whether you're looking for a soft-sided or hard-sided cooler.
A great soft cooler option from Grizzly is the aptly named Drifter 6 for $119, a cooler with EVA foam insulation in the lid, base, and walls that can fit up to six cans along with a single pound of ice to keep them cool. It features a tough, waterproof outer fabric, a storage pocket on the side, a lid for napkins, snacks, and utensils, as well as a removable shoulder strap.
For those looking for a hard cooler instead, the Grizzly 15 is a great choice with multiple fun colorways to choose from. This rotomolded cooler features eco-friendly pressure-injected insulation, built-in tie-down slots, an adjustable and durable shoulder strap, and an IGBC bear-resistant certification. Along with 5 pounds of ice, the Grizzly 15 can fit up to 15 cans.
Methodology
To find the best affordable alternatives to Yeti coolers, we first verified the prices of Yeti's cheapest soft- and hard-sided coolers, as well as their sizes, and then used those prices to compare with other popular cooler brands.
Some of the brands that made it onto this list are significantly cheaper than Yeti, while other options may be less than 50% cheaper. For each brand that we selected, we looked at both its cheapest soft- and hard-sided cooler choices, if possible, and tried to figure out which existing Yeti cooler it mirrored best to help anyone looking for an alternative to a specific Yeti cooler.
If you want as much info as possible before buying your next cooler, check out this guide on the biggest differences between coolers and ice chests and how to decide which one is right for you.
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Read the original article on SlashGear.
