Yeti vs Pelican cooler quick overview

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MEB77

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Yeti vs Pelican cooler quick overview


Owning both a Pelican and a Yeti cooler I have been asked many times which is better or which I prefer. So I decided to write a review. Just a not this is not comparing apples to apples its more like apples to pears as the Yeti is a 65L cooler and the Pelican is a 300t (30L). However I can break down the differences and what I like and don’t like about each.
yeti6main.jpg pelican6main.jpg yeti6main.jpg pelican6main.jpg

Yeti: I have owned the Yeti 65 for about 4 or 5 years. It has been no a fair number of adventures and has severed me well. At its widest points it is 30 5/8”L x 17 ¼”w x 16”H. Yeti says it can hold 42 cans of beer with a 2:1 ice to can ratio. (I have not tested this)

Things I like about it:

Good drainage,

Holds ice for 3 plus days with regular usage. (Up to 4 with regular usage depending on how much ice you start with and how much food/drink you have)

Double handles. The rope ones are nice for carrying it with a 2nd person and the built in hard handles are great for solo carrying.

It truly is a no slip design with its feet.

Built in tie down points

Dry food basket. (Okay I lost mine a long time ago but it was a handy thing while I had it.)


Things I don’t like about it:

The locking handles. The rubber T latches are sometimes a pain to use.

Price


Pelican: I have a pelican 300T it the website says 31.18 liters. I have had this cooler a little over 18 months and it has severed me well on the trips I have taken it on. At its widest points its 25 1/3”L x 19”W x 18 ½”H. Pelican says it can hold 22 cans of beer with a 2:1 ice ratio.

Things I like about it:

Holds Ice 4+ days with regular usage. (Pelican says 6 days but I have a feeling they do a higher ice to contents ration then I do, and open it less.)

The Latches. I love the size and the ease of use with these latches.

Built it bottle opener

Molded can holders

Built in 4 point tie down

Handles are nice

Lifetime warranty* (it does not cover all parts.)

Things I don’t like about it:

The size of the lid. (the lid has a large over hang on the front and back that adds about 2+” to the width of the cooler. I found this leads to wasted space in my jeep and Bronco.

Price


Head to Head:

Both a great coolers, I really wish the Pelican coolers lid did not have that large over hang. I do notice it getting in the way when packing. But the latches are easier to use meaning when in camp they are more likely to be used which helps keep the ice longer. Both have amazing no slip feet however the Yeti’s seem to have a slightly better grip. I have noticed the Pelicans are a little less expensive but they are still far from cheap. (Yeti 35 $250 Pelican 300T $250, Yeti 65 $350 Pelican $350, Yeti 160 $680 Pelican 150Q $630) However at this price range one could argue that the $25 should not factor into the one you prefer. I do think the Pelican has a few more features built in. If they were of similar size the ice retention would be about the same. I know that on the larger Pelicans the way the handles are built in you can use those for tie down points as well as the built in tie down points. Depending on how much you use the cooler has as part of your built-in set I would lean a little more towards the Yeti as losing those few inches to the overhand of the Pelican cooler if annoying. However if you cooler is being used in your vehicle and also for other things out side of your vehicle such as bbq’s, fishing, ect I would lean towards the Pelican.


As for which I prefer:

Well I notice myself grabbing the Pelican cooler more than the Yeti. Now some of this is because I have been doing shorter trips where it’s just me and my 2 dogs, but also because I tore my left bicep back in February and I can carry the pelican loaded in my right hand with less issue then the Yeti. However I also have to say that if I was to go out and buy a new cooler tomorrow I would probably pick a Pelican over a Yeti if those where my only options. While the Yeti’s are amazing coolers and where the first to market, I think that other companies have created coolers that are just as good or even better than the Yeti now for the same price and often a little less.
 

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Nomadik Nova

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Yeti vs Pelican cooler quick overview


Owning both a Pelican and a Yeti cooler I have been asked many times which is better or which I prefer. So I decided to write a review. Just a not this is not comparing apples to apples its more like apples to pears as the Yeti is a 65L cooler and the Pelican is a 300t (30L). However I can break down the differences and what I like and don’t like about each.
View attachment 63227 View attachment 63228 View attachment 63227 View attachment 63228

Yeti: I have owned the Yeti 65 for about 4 or 5 years. It has been no a fair number of adventures and has severed me well. At its widest points it is 30 5/8”L x 17 ¼”w x 16”H. Yeti says it can hold 42 cans of beer with a 2:1 ice to can ratio. (I have not tested this)

Things I like about it:

Good drainage,

Holds ice for 3 plus days with regular usage. (Up to 4 with regular usage depending on how much ice you start with and how much food/drink you have)

Double handles. The rope ones are nice for carrying it with a 2nd person and the built in hard handles are great for solo carrying.

It truly is a no slip design with its feet.

Built in tie down points

Dry food basket. (Okay I lost mine a long time ago but it was a handy thing while I had it.)


Things I don’t like about it:

The locking handles. The rubber T latches are sometimes a pain to use.

Price


Pelican: I have a pelican 300T it the website says 31.18 liters. I have had this cooler a little over 18 months and it has severed me well on the trips I have taken it on. At its widest points its 25 1/3”L x 19”W x 18 ½”H. Pelican says it can hold 22 cans of beer with a 2:1 ice ratio.

Things I like about it:

Holds Ice 4+ days with regular usage. (Pelican says 6 days but I have a feeling they do a higher ice to contents ration then I do, and open it less.)

The Latches. I love the size and the ease of use with these latches.

Built it bottle opener

Molded can holders

Built in 4 point tie down

Handles are nice

Lifetime warranty* (it does not cover all parts.)

Things I don’t like about it:

The size of the lid. (the lid has a large over hang on the front and back that adds about 2+” to the width of the cooler. I found this leads to wasted space in my jeep and Bronco.

Price


Head to Head:

Both a great coolers, I really wish the Pelican coolers lid did not have that large over hang. I do notice it getting in the way when packing. But the latches are easier to use meaning when in camp they are more likely to be used which helps keep the ice longer. Both have amazing no slip feet however the Yeti’s seem to have a slightly better grip. I have noticed the Pelicans are a little less expensive but they are still far from cheap. (Yeti 35 $250 Pelican 300T $250, Yeti 65 $350 Pelican $350, Yeti 160 $680 Pelican 150Q $630) However at this price range one could argue that the $25 should not factor into the one you prefer. I do think the Pelican has a few more features built in. If they were of similar size the ice retention would be about the same. I know that on the larger Pelicans the way the handles are built in you can use those for tie down points as well as the built in tie down points. Depending on how much you use the cooler has as part of your built-in set I would lean a little more towards the Yeti as losing those few inches to the overhand of the Pelican cooler if annoying. However if you cooler is being used in your vehicle and also for other things out side of your vehicle such as bbq’s, fishing, ect I would lean towards the Pelican.


As for which I prefer:

Well I notice myself grabbing the Pelican cooler more than the Yeti. Now some of this is because I have been doing shorter trips where it’s just me and my 2 dogs, but also because I tore my left bicep back in February and I can carry the pelican loaded in my right hand with less issue then the Yeti. However I also have to say that if I was to go out and buy a new cooler tomorrow I would probably pick a Pelican over a Yeti if those where my only options. While the Yeti’s are amazing coolers and where the first to market, I think that other companies have created coolers that are just as good or even better than the Yeti now for the same price and often a little less.
I concur with your assessment. I own a couple of Pelicans and love them!



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EarlSwagger

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Agree. I have a Pelican 50qt. it is a bullet proof, and solid cooler. I would spend the money on the Pelican if I was buying again. Looked at the yeti, but the latch handles of the Pelican seemed like a solid move. I have used the Pelican products professionally, and also always had good luck with their various storage boxes.
 

Nomadik Nova

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Agree. I have a Pelican 50qt. it is a bullet proof, and solid cooler. I would spend the money on the Pelican if I was buying again. Looked at the yeti, but the latch handles of the Pelican seemed like a solid move. I have used the Pelican products professionally, and also always had good luck with their various storage boxes.
Agreed Earl! I also like the locking latches on the Pelican. Built in bottle opener is a nice bonus too. :)

I bought my 20qt and 70qt here on sale: https://www.pelicancoolers.com/
 

Francis84

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Here is an alternative to both. OzarkTrail has a line that was designed to compete with Yeti. It was more in our price range and it keeps cold drinks or frozen foods for just as long.We bought a 52qt one at Walmart and were skeptical that it would do what it said it would do. However, when we moved from North Dakota to Alabama it kept the frozen goods frozen. The ice and ice packs held for three days as the hotel we stayed in did not have a freezer in the mini fridge to refresh the ice packs. When we got to Alabama we again had to stay in a hotel with no fridge. When we final got to our apartment we opened it up and everything was good and the ice packs were still partially frozen and about a quarter of a 7lbs bag of ice was still frozen. We spent about $140 on it. They have bigger and smaller ones available.

Hope this helps!20180730_152400.jpeg20180730_152315.jpeg20180730_152325.jpeg20180730_152410.jpeg20180730_152345.jpegScreenshot_20180730-152133.jpeg

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varano14

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Here is an alternative to both. OzarkTrail has a line that was designed to compete with Yeti. It was more in our price range and it keeps cold drinks or frozen foods for just as long.We bought a 52qt one at Walmart and were skeptical that it would do what it said it would do. However, when we moved from North Dakota to Alabama it kept the frozen goods frozen. The ice and ice packs held for three days as the hotel we stayed in did not have a freezer in the mini fridge to refresh the ice packs. When we got to Alabama we again had to stay in a hotel with no fridge. When we final got to our apartment we opened it up and everything was good and the ice packs were still partially frozen and about a quarter of a 7lbs bag of ice was still frozen. We spent about $140 on it. They have bigger and smaller ones available.

Hope this helps!View attachment 63328View attachment 63329View attachment 63330View attachment 63331View attachment 63332View attachment 63333

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We got my dad a full set of these for Christmas last year. We used them a few weeks ago at a grad party on a Sunday. We used the biggest, 72qt, I think for beer. It still was about half full so we never cleaned it up. Fast forward to Wednesday and the beers were still sitting on a nice pile of ice and were completely cold. Mind you it was only maybe half full Sunday after the party and it sat out in the sun with temperatures going into the 90s so not ideal conditions to make ice last. That said we only opened it in the evening to take out a cold beer;)

My point is I’m totally convinced for the weekend warrior the Ozark Trail coolers are more then adaquate, I’m sure had it been completely packed with ice to start it would’ve lasted more then the 3-4 days it did.
 
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DanW

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The Ozark Trails are a good value for the performance. I've got a 50 dollar Wal Mart Ozark Trail soft sided cooler with leak proof zippers. It works really well and those zippers really don't leak! It's narrow and tall dimensions make it easy to pack without taking too much room.
 

JK_pix

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I got a Pelican 30QT a few months ago and really like it. The main thing that made me select this cooler over other brands is the latch design. It's so easy to use without any hassles!
 
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Lost-Again

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I bought an RTIC awhile back. Couldn't be more happy with it.
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SVgarage

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I purchased a Yeti 65L a few months back. So far, I'm very happy with it, but I've only used it once- a 4 day outing. I used four Freez Pak™ Extra Cold -2°C Reusable Ice bricks to aid in keeping the cooler cold to supplement the ice. At the end of my trip, there was still a small amount of ice floating in the water.

These things are ungodly expensive! I bought it because I had some "reward" bucks from my work that I needed to liquidate before quitting and was able to convert them to REI gift cards. Otherwise in reality, I honestly don't think I would have the stomach to afford this cooler. If money is no object, this cooler is definitely up there with the best. My only concern is that I'm afraid that over time, the rubber handles will eventually break down and become brittle and one day break. I have not heard of this happening, but if not stored properly, this is a possibility.