Has anyone seen or tried the Igloo 55 QT Sportsman Cooler?
It looks and feels like a Yeti but much cheaper. I saw them at Sams last weekend and they looked good to me. However, I haven’t used any of the high end Yeti type coolers. I did stand on it and it seemed really solid.
In Sams they were $230 for a 55 quart -vs- $335 for a 50 quart Yeti on Amazon.
http://www.samsclub.com/sams/sportsman-cooler/prod10150470.ip?navAction=
I have done some searches on comparisions for them a year or so ago & Yeti is a better made cooler, has thicker walls/insulation, & will hold ice a little better. Both are good but I think if it is going to be mostly used as an ice chest & occasionally as a casting platform then I would say Igloo just to save the $$$. If it will be used primary as a casting platform then I would say the Yeti will hold up longer from what I have read.
Did you get any funny looks when you stood on it?
Semper Fi
18’ Sterling
115 Yamaha
Big Ugly Homemade Blue Push Pole
I have a small Yeti that I keep in my truck and to tell the truth I’d rather have my old Igloo back. It keeps ice as well as the Yeti and much lighter, of course I don’t stand on the Igloo that’s not what I bought it for. I’m not very impressed with the Yeti.
“Did you get any funny looks when you stood on it?”
Just from my wife!
I think the other manufacturers are catching on to the ‘premium cooler’ market and coming up with better competition to yeti. That said I have a 65qt yeti. It was just one of those things where I was offered 10% off of something that is NEVER on sale, so I bit. I had wanted one for a while.
If you search around for comparisons you’ll see maybe some cheaper coolers can hold ice as long, but for the total package, I’m happy. I have heard that there isn’t enough insulation on the bottom of the Yeti, so your ice retention will suffer if you have it on some hot asphalt, but I just have it on the boat so that hasn’t been an issue.
2002 Key West 1900CC
Ice is CHEAP… I can buy LOTS for the several hundred dollars I save by using a cheap Igloo or Coleman cooler. Plus, I don’t have to put a chain on it to keep it from getting stolen. Yeti is nothing more than a status symbol for wanna be’s
“If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die, I want to go where they went.”
Will Rogers
quote:
Yeti is nothing more than a status symbol for wanna be's
Hey, my wife bought me one. Maybe she wants me to be a wanna be.
“Apathy is the Glove in Which Evil Slips It’s Hand”.
Ice isn’t that cheap.
I estimated that I was spending between $14-$20 per weekend on ice (7-10 10lb bags) back when I lived in Beaufort and we’d go out on the boat both Sat/Sun all day. Do that ~18 times in a single year and you just paid $252-$360 on ice in one year.
Last year (the first summer I had the new cooler) we used 3-4 10lb bags per weekend. So it pays for itself in ~2 years from the money you save on ice?
But thats going from a $100 WestMarine Igloo 72qt to the Yeti. I guess you could find one of the better performing cheaper coolers (like a Coleman, maybe, but not the cheap igloo) and get similar (but not better) ice retention for $80-$100.
But hey, status symbol 
(mine was a birthday gift from the wife, technically)
2002 Key West 1900CC
My 65 yeti was 215$ with pro staff discount, and worth EVERY penny. I use mine as a dry box/cooler/fishbox/poling platform/casting platform/ bait rigging station/etc. I got mine right when they first came out with the Tundra Series before the big hype. For durability, there was no comparison, but now with competition, everyone has stepped up thier game, yeti just kept the name value. Any premium cooler is well worth it if you use it hard, mine has stood up to many years of harsh abuse and hopefully will see many, many more. To each thier own, but I love my Yeti.
strip…strip…FISH ON!
I’m not looking to keep ice for long trips. I’m typically not on the water for more than 8 hours and don’t go frequently enough for the cost of ice to be an issue. Also, I have the freezer space at home to stock up on ice from my ice maker.
I would like a casting platform for my boat and thought that getting a cooler would be a good way to go because I’d get 2 things in the same space.
It doesn’t matter what kind of cooler you have, Block Ice will last 3 times as long as bought cubed ice! I make mine in an old freezer in the barn, can make 5- 100 # cubes at one time,will last a week shrimping!
We use a gallon milk jug, fill it with water- freeze it. When ready take a small hatchet in the middle, break open ice, recy plastic. Works great. Keeps for days.
Creek Girl
“Throw like a girl!”
www.Heather-Jordan.com
Vibrant Coastal Artist
Have any of yall seen the Nu-ice? pretty awesome stuff. Basically dry ice in an ice pack. They make a large and small in a zero and 32 degree. They alleviate a ton of weight from your cooler, can be refrozen hundreds of times, and has a decent price point!
14’ Skiff-“Redfish Reaper”
The disappointing part of this discussion is hearing that Igloo is responding to the Yeti ‘hype’. 
BUT, I heard these ‘facts’ on the ‘inter-hand-job’ so… for me, I still don’t need to keep my ice cold for longer than a fishing trip.
My cheapo cooler works great and i have a small ice maker at home.
Stonoman
It’s already been posted, but thought I’d bring it back up. I guess it just depends what you’re looking for and how you’re going to use it.
Personally, IF I’m looking for a nice cooler, igloo doesn’t come into thought process.If you want a high performance yeti type cooler without spending yeti type money, get a k2! Can’t believe k2 hasn’t been discussed yet on his thread…
14’ Skiff-“Redfish Reaper”
I saw the k2’s at haddrell’s, seemed like a solid cooler, i thought the latches were a little uncomfortable, but that was my only complaint. Looks like they are about $50 cheaper than yeti on the 65-70 qt size models.
I was considering a yeti cooler. I spoke to a friend who had purchased one and he told me that the the 5 day igloos and others would work just as well.
Sorry Yeti. I agree with other posts ice is not too expensive.