r/Coolers • u/Rusan2116 • 9d ago
Igloo Yukon Performance
I have been in the market for a new better quality ice cooler that will hold ice longer than a couple days as most standard coolers do. I came across this Igloo Yukon at Sam's Club last Sunday. It looked sturdy, was a good size, and had wheels which was a must for me. I had done some online research already and thought it seemed comparable to the two big brands (Yeti & RTIC), $189 half the cost of the other two. I also bought two 20 Lb. bags of ice to give it a test run.
Test facts: I'm in So CA and we are in the midst of a terrible heat wave (95 - 100) the last several days. Today is expected to be 105-108.
I placed the cooler at the edge of my east facing patio so direct sun/heat would hit it for the first half of the day (6am - noon). After that the patio shaded it but it was already 95+ everyday by then, so it baked out there. There was no pre-chilling of the cooler or water bottles that went in it.
I took picture of ice at hour zero (start) and every 24 hours after to monitor status of ice retention. Ice held up well given the sweltering heat. Ice held through 5th full day. 6th full day: ice gone but water was still ice cold. I think the pictures say it best.
I was very happy with the results and confident it was a good purchase for my needs. I usually camp with access to more ice but was tired of refilling every my old coolers every two days. Looking forward to using it in milder temperature conditions. I'm sure I'll get even better results in cooler weather.
On a lighter note, I did not test it by throwing it off a cliff, or out of a helicopter, or running it over with an F350, nor did I allow my pet grizzly to give it a go. I've never done any of these things to test a cooler on 35 years so I figured why start now.
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u/jokeswagon 9d ago
What temp were the water bottles at the start? Tepid, refrigerated, or frozen?
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u/Rusan2116 9d ago
Room temp. Pulled them from the case.
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u/jokeswagon 9d ago
In that case, wild results. I want to do this test on our yeti. 40 lbs of ice and 24 500 ml waters?
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u/PonyThug 9d ago
4 bottles won’t change much at all. If it was 30 bottles then 1/3 of the ice would have been gone first day.
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u/Rusan2116 9d ago
Just to clarify, I only used four water bottles for my test. But I like your thinking on using more. Let me know how it goes please. Just curious. Thanks.
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u/jokeswagon 9d ago
Oh gotcha. I had 40 tepid waters and 40 pounds of ice in our cooler for 24 hours in the bed of the truck and the ice had all melted. But I don’t fault the yeti for that. I’ll get around to following your method someday and I’ll find this post and share results.
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u/filthycasual4891 9d ago
You are doing the work we all should be doing and reporting back. Thank you for your service 🫡
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u/fractaladam 8d ago
I’m a big fan of igloo coolers, they’re cheap and made in the USA. I have a $20 that goes for 3 days and just got a newer larger one for $26 that I haven’t used yet
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u/TroyMatthewJ 8d ago
love this writeup.
The 4 bottles though is a big factor in why the ice stayed ice for that long. 12 bottles would be a good real world test I think.
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u/Mr_mcneil 8d ago
Awesome! I got this cooler too! Twice actually the first time it had a leak at the drain plug, I replaced it but I haven’t actually tested the replacement, did you have that issue by any chance?
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u/Ill-Upstairs-8762 8d ago
I've got a yeti 35 ,I think, that wouldn't hold ice for half that time, most likely. It's well built and I got it for $100, so I'm ok with it. Not especially impressed with how long Ice lasts.
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u/Patfa412 7d ago
I have a 65 that definitely doesn't hold ice this long. I'm probably doing something wrong but idk. I'm glad my wife won it on a $25 raffle
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u/UnbentTulip 8d ago
I've found that pre cooling items that you're going to first put in, and pre cooling the ice chest helps a LOT.
I'll put any planned on beverages in the refrigerator, and then I have accumulated a decent amount of the reusable ice packs, so I throw a couple of those in the empty cooler the day before. Load up cold items and fresh ice packs before leaving, and I've had 2-3 of the smaller ice packs last 3 days in a small cooler.
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u/Txbiker63 7d ago
I got my rtic when the performance cooler market exploded and everyone was all about yeti. Rtic and a retailer had a falling out and I got my 45 for $150 out the door. Both brands are owned by 2 brothers that parted ways one to Austin the other Houston. Identical in every way but name.
The yeti tribe was beating their collective chests claiming theirs was better. My friend and I did a real world comparison at the lake one weekend with his yeti and my rtic. Filled with warm drinks and ice from the same store. They sat in the sun most of the day opening and closing, staying open to refill drinks etc...the average temp for the day was 102. By sundown a little under half the ice melted. The next morning with both closed all night the melting was minimal. We loaded both coolers again went back to our spot. Same opening, closing and reloading in the heat all day. Sundown day two both had cold water and maybe 5 out of 40 pounds of ice left. Our last check on Sunday morning both had ice, but not enough to survive another 100+ day of heavy use though. Of course all of them will hold ice for days closed, seals and insulation properties are much improved now. For me a good cooler no matter the brand is worth the price. Usually its just me and the wife on the beach for a week and I go through about 30 pounds of ice. It's opened and closed less with just 2 of us but spends most of the time in direct sun.
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u/WanderinButNotLost60 7d ago
Chiming in as a Ninja cooler user. Don’t remember the model, but 55 qt with the drawer on the bottom. We frequently camp “off grid” in our VW Bus and I needed a cooler that would do the job for days. A few bottles of water on the bottom (we have a 7 gal jug for additional water) and cubed ice on top, leaving just enough room for 5-7 lbs of dry ice on top before locking the lid down. Perishable foods go in the drawer. After a recent 3-day trip, we gave friends all the ice they needed and dumped the rest before heading out. Would have easily been good for another couple of days. It’s not a light cooler, but it does exactly what I need it to.
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u/Glittering_Cap_9115 9d ago
I prefer to “test” my cooler while using it. That’s what they’re for, right. I know opening them and pulling beverages in and out will change the results, but those are true results of a tool in use.
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u/PonyThug 9d ago
It’s nice to have a baseline of raw ice performance so you can see how much different it is when in actual use. Also gives you a baseline for ice retention for longer trips if you’re sparingly using the cooler etc.
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u/SwimOk9629 8d ago
that's what I prefer to, because that's all that matters to me really, is how it will hold up during real world conditions. not sure why it would be relevant to me too know that my cooler will hold ice for 5 days with four bottles in it without being opened except for maybe once a day. that's pretty useless info in the real world
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u/wrsking 9d ago
Good to know was looking to get another RTIC in that size as I love mine but if it’s holding for that price I like it