Pelican ProGear Elite vs Yet?

[husker77c]

Don't forget Brute. Cheaper than Yeti and Pelican, made in the US, better handles, thicker insulation, and 7 day ice retention.

Www.bruteoutdoors.com

Yes, I'm a dealer.

I'm not trolling here I promise.

How do these manufacturers come up with the ice retention times and what are the standards for the test?
For instance do they consider it to be ice retention if after 7 days there are only a few small slivers of ice in a pool of cold water?

Or are you supposed to have more ice than water?

I'm legitimately interested in knowing because I researched all the big name coolers before buying my Pelican and I am not seeing what I would call 7 days ice retention. It's miles ahead of the Yeti like I mentioned but still only 3-4 days before I worry about my stuff getting

 

[screwball48]

I have done a non scientific test with mine and at the end of a week there was what i would call "liquid ice". While there where no solid pieces of ice the water was extremely cold.

 

[CodyY]

From my thread in Central States

Now an official dealer for www.bruteoutdoors.com

We tested the 25qt and 50qt models at the Ozark Overland rally and came away thoroughly impressed. The 25 stayed in the back seat of the Jeep and was used for "clean ice" only. No pre-chilling, no rock salt, no dry ice. Took it out of the box Thursday at noon, wiped out inside, and dumped in 16lbs ice from the gas station. Lotta air space and opened a few times a day, and never heard the ice sloshing in water till Sun AM. Sunday at 7pm I dumped out the remaining ice and ~2 qts of water. Thats 100+ hrs and still ice.

The 50qt got 3 8lb bags on one side of the divider only. Other side was pre-refrigerated food. Same story, straight out of the box. Saturday night (approx 60 hours later) I noticed about 1/8" water at the bottom of the "food" side. It's now Tuesday at noon and there is still ice in that cooler.

We have a winner. Contact me to order. Custom lid graphics avail.

Also, I keep a 25 in the bed of my pickup. One 8lb bag with a couple waters and DrPeppers stays cold for 4 days of opening and closing. No pre-chill lots of air space. Ambient temps in the low - mid 80's.

"conventional" coolers are lucky to last a full day in Texas summers.

 

[CodyY]

I'm not trolling here I promise.

How do these manufacturers come up with the ice retention times and what are the standards for the test?
For instance do they consider it to be ice retention if after 7 days there are only a few small slivers of ice in a pool of cold water?

Or are you supposed to have more ice than water?

I'm legitimately interested in knowing because I researched all the big name coolers before buying my Pelican and I am not seeing what I would call 7 days ice retention. It's miles ahead of the Yeti like I mentioned but still only 3-4 days before I worry about my stuff getting

To get maximum performance you need to pre-chill all items and the cooler itself the day before. Freeze anything you can, and minimize airspace internally. Rock salt will help to drop internal temps, and then KEEP THE LID SHUT. Don't expect anything impressive if you put a case of garage temperature drinks in a 75qt cooler with 2 bags of ice.

Watch the videos on the Brute site, read the manuals on a models, watch the comparisons on youtube, and do your own research. I picked up Brute because of the performance and size per dollar. The fact that they are local to me (Dallas area) and I can pick up a single cooler at their warehouse if I need, is pure bonus.

YMMV, IMHO, etc.

 

[Honu]

will you give us a killer expo discount

looking at picking up a engel at this point ? can't find to many comparisons yet with the Brute but read a few texas fishing forums

Don't forget Brute. Cheaper than Yeti and Pelican, made in the US, better handles, thicker insulation, and 7 day ice retention.

Www.bruteoutdoors.com

Yes, I'm a dealer.

 

[CodyY]

will you give us a killer expo discount

looking at picking up a engel at this point ? can't find to many comparisons yet with the Brute but read a few texas fishing forums

I went thursday and picked up a couple coolers for some customers. Had a brief discussion about Expo East, and a few new products.

Also saw the new softside prototypes.

 

[Ramjet]

If Cody doesn't mind and if he will lend me one to show, I can bring one to Expo for everyone to check out. Let me know what you think Cody?

 

[CodyY]

If Cody doesn't mind and if he will lend me one to show, I can bring one to Expo for everyone to check out. Let me know what you think Cody?

PM sent :thumbup:

 

[Bayou Boy]

I have the roadie cooler from Yeti and I just bought the 45qt Pelican. The Yeti in my opinion is not worth the money at all. I work my coolers pretty hard (south Texas oil field) so I have some experience with both. The best I've gotten out of the yeti in hot weather (90*+) is a day and a half of ice retention. The pelican which I've been using a lot more is averaging 2.5-3.5 days. After 3.5 all the ice is mostly gone but it's still super cold. The pelican is made in the USA and has a lifetime warranty plus it's cheaper. I think you can tell which one gets my vote.

Sorry but this is dumb. You can't compare a 20qt cooler that holds drinks plus maybe 3# of ice with one that holds drinks plus 10-15#. My 20qt k2 performs the same as your Roady. Guess what? My 50 qt K2 and yeti 50 perform as good or better than your pelican. Any cooler that has closed cell foam of about 3" on all six sides will perform about the same as long as the lid seal is in good shape. The difference is in the build quality and features. I can tell you that the K2 coolers that I own are much less strong than the Yetis. The lids bow slightly and they just don't feel as substantial. Would I notice if I didn't have a yeti on the shelf next to it? Probably not. Will the yeti outlast them by a really long time? Absolutely. Does the white Yeti look like crap quickly? Uhhh yea. Who cares? I have it covered with stickers. Yetis are worth it for a few reasons. They work. But so do others. The handles are designed so if you break them, you can easily replace them with whatever rope you have hanging around. Need a part? Every sporting goods store, fly shop, Academy sports, etc. has them. That's worth a lot if you loose a drain plug in BFE. Good luck finding a pelican or engel or whatever plug.

 

[prcaston]

Yeti 50

After much debate, the wife and I splurged on a Yeti 50. I scrounged forums (which is how I found this one - interesting how my first post is on a cooler) and reviews until I landed on the Yeti. There were several reasons I did:

1. Ease of use - 2 quick pop latches that are about $10 to replace if they break
2. Weight - less than that of other "nice" cooler brands
3. Lack of breakable items - there is nothing to these coolers. They are plastic with some rope and rubber on them. It is hard to break them.

After using it for the better part of 2 months, here are some observations. We took a 1 week trip to the Florida Keys camping the whole way and several 2-3 day weekend trips since we got it for testing (probably 2 weeks worth of chilling stuff in it).

1. Ice retention is 2-4 days depending on use and loading. I'm not sure it would matter what type of cooler you get if you don't load it appropriately and limit opening, you will melt your ice.
2. On one 4 day weekend trip I added ice on Thursday night before leaving and loaded cold drinks and food on Friday morning before we left. Ended up adding 30 lbs of ice to the cooler between Thursday and Friday and didn't add any more until we got home on Tuesday (4 full days of ice with normal to conservative use).
3. You can't break this cooler. Seriously, I dropped it out of the car, used it as a step, stacked stuff on it in the closet, and not a dent.

We went with the 50 just based on the size and shape - the 45 was just a little too shallow for holding long necks and a tray (for food and such). It was a good choice and easily fits in the back of the Subaru we have along with the gear box.

All in all, I'm very impressed and am glad that I got it. Plus, it came with a sticker. Actually 2.

 

[Bayou Boy]

Freeze 3 or 4 20 ounce water bottles to supplement that ice. Also make sure that you are using really cold ice. The ice out of my under cabinet ice maker, and all ice makers really, is not that cold. Maybe high 20s. But if I put it in a bag and let it cure in my -15 degree freezer for a couple of days, it's so cold my fingers stick to it. It's so cold that it will freeze chilled water bottles solid in the yeti. Those two things will add another day or so. A block/cube slurry mix in a prechilled cooler with prechilled drinks will last the longest. To prechill the cooler, when you fill it up the day before you leave, don't fill it with ice the entire way. Leave enough room to add another small bag right before you get to your destination. That way you replace the BTUs lost chilling the insulation right before you leave civilization.

 

[CodyY]

Day 4 in my 25qt Brute Box. ~2# Ice halfway through day 1.

New soft Brutes released last week. 24hrs ice retention in 120* ambient temps.

 

[briferg]

I have a 45 Qt Pelican and I really like it. I got it just before the 2014 Overland Expo. I don't have any experience with Yeti or any comparable product. Well, I have been on expeditions that used Yetis. I only learned from that, there were more efficient coolers with thick walls. I think all the advice I have seen here about pre-chilling etc applies to all of these coolers. I got the Pelican because I have a good relationship with the company and have a loyalty. I do like the catches on the lid better than the Yeti. I like that they are made in the US. I don't know if rope handles are better than plastic molded ones. They seem to be all about the same price.

 

[GCecchetto]

Another plus for the Yeti is that it is certified bear proof. I'm not in the habit of leaving it outside the camper (or food locker if there is one) at night, but it's nice to know if I did for some reason and a bear managed to get into it that I wouldn't get a mega fine. I've heard stories of people getting fined up to 10K for mishandling of food in national parks if it creates a negative wildlife/human interaction issue. I've just returned from a 2 week eight state road trip and was easily getting 3 days ice retention out of my Tundra 50, without doing anything special to retain the ice.

 

[daveh]

Pelican is also certified bear.