Any recommendations on a decent cooler.

jcon12 said:
@Rain City where do you keep the bag? Can it sit out in the open and hold ice or does it need to be in a fish box or something insulated?
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My tuna buddy has one on each side of his 2470 pursuit tied to the cleats forward of the cockpit on his walk around
 
I have a yeti 75 and just put it through a hard test for 5 days. I used of the yeti freezer packs and 2 blocks of ice. The blocks were down to about 30% of starting size at the end of 5 days and the water within was cold af, zero issues and it was stuffed. It is heavy but you need the insulation. Excellent cool, speedy tho.
 
In the past I've used coleman extreme and igloo marine coolers, they are good for the money. I have a yeti Roadie and it's insulated well but doesn't fit much. I use it for short trips. I'm switching over to a kill bag for day trips on the boat. My center console is only 17' (whaler outrage2) so space is at a premium and the kill bag will fit tight to the bow or against the aft seats. Hali can go in the fish box below. I've got an igloo marine 65 up front and an old coleman under the leaning post that holds gear until we get fish. The cooler up front will just be holding extra ice and food/drink. The kill bag will only be used to hold fish. Picked up the opah fathom 4 kill bag. It looks to be a good size for everything we get here but big halibut. I'm really impressed by the build quality, it's got more than enough insulation for a day or overnight. If shipping wasn't an issue I'd have considered the killbags.com killbag. It looks VERY durable.
The new igloo marine looks like it's got very little insulation. Anyone have one of the new ones? I might replace the old one at some point if they're decent.
 
Since the space on your boat is so precious, before you buy, measure up some possible storage areas.

Having coolers that fit your boat is really helpful.

We have nothing fancy. 3 Coleman extreme marine coolers. Two of them over 10years old. They keep ice well. The 100 litre one fits perfectly in the floor of the cuddy of our Double Eagle 206. We put salt ice in it last July and put it down in the cuddy. Didn’t start using it for maybe 4 days still had ice on day 9 to transfer to our little Calcutta fish bag. The little Calcutta 36” bag fits in side pockets on the boat when not being used or also in the floor of the cuddy, out of the way and out of the sun.
 
We have a Yeti and an Esky cooler at work and the Esky is better. Always working in 30-40 degree heat, they both get topped up with drinks and ice daily and often get sun exposure but the Esky certainly keeps the ice longer and definitely has a better seal on the lid which is noticeable when draining it. Not sure the models but do kind of think the Esky might have came from Australia...
 
The Esky brand was so ubiquitous in Australia that it became the generic term for what Americans and Canadians call a cooler. My parents still own and use a sheet metal esky from the early 60s. The brand was acquired by Coleman IIRC.
 
sly_karma said:
The Esky brand was so ubiquitous in Australia that it became the generic term for what Americans and Canadians call a cooler. My parents still own and use a sheet metal esky from the early 60s. The brand was acquired by Coleman IIRC.
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There's one strapped on almost every Ute in that country. Interesting though, can see why Coleman didn't want to change the name.
 
Watched a video on YT where they took the top 10 coolers (Yeti etc.) and put the same amount of ice in them and checked
periodically on them for the next week. Coolers were left outside in the sun. Turned out the LIFETIME brand was as good as
the YETI and in a couple of cases better. Held ice for 5-6 days.

So we bought one. A 55 qt but they make bigger ones, up to 115 qt. Went camping in the middle of summer and still had ice
after 5 days. We were sold. Especially since the price was $115 US over a YETI @$400. Since then the whole family owns one and several friends too. You will be pleased. Here's a link: https://www.lifetime.com/coolers Shop around online.
 
I have bought so many coolers over the years and can say that they all work, but some work better then others. I have a couple older large 150 L Rubbermaid coolers that are ok, but way to heavy to reasonably pack when full of ice or fish or both. I have also had a couple of the Costco Igloo coolers but found the flip up lids made for poorer ice retention. I have not bought a Yeti or Calcutta as the weight to volume ration simply doesn't work for me. Mostly I do 3-5 day long trips. A couple years ago I bought 2 Lifetime 108L coolers from Costco. The dimensions for salmon are great (narrower and longer) and they seem to hold ice really well. Just last week we filled both completely full with salmon, lings and hali (including a 55 lber head off) and all the fish came home great. For value, I'm not sure it gets better. I bought mine from Costco on sale for $299.99 but see they are now $389.99. Even at that price, I'd recommend them.

 
My posse all run Yeti 210's on the back deck for extended trips up north. We use them for food and fish. They are beast as far as weight. Fish on ice for 8 days no problem.
 
Aces said:
For max cool storage I use a large Calcutta bag inside a 162 Igloo. I have 2 of these, one in front of my center console and one behind my leaning post style seat. Easily good for 5 day trips

Both have padded cushions for seating
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Same advice re Calcutta bag. Carries great and a block of ice stays all day.
 
I signed up on Sport Check/Atmosphere website when we were looking for Coolers,

Various sizes of Yeti's tend to go on sale during the year. We got both of ours for 20% off and free shipping

I think you can set up a watch list.
 
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