Camping cooler

[uk_figs]

Prepping for Oshkosh and thinking about changing out my cooler to save a bit of space and some weight. I have an igloo 70 qt extreme 5 day that weighs about 10 lbs which I use to pack stuff and then as a cooler, works well and keeps food and drink cold for 2 to 3 days (plan on cooking on the grill at Osh so will store meat etc). Problem is the cooler is big and takes up a lot of space in my -7 and with 2 up and the camping gear the volume and the total weight is a challenge.

Searched here and found quite a few suggestions but in doing a web search the reviews are all over the map and in many cases I am not sure the reviewers even use the products. Net result how about some real user input on alternatives and soft versus hard coolers for RV camping.
Thanks
Figs

[Kyle Boatright]

If you get there early (say Saturday), the HBC folks have a collection of foam coolers they loan out. They aren't particularly efficient (you have to replace the ice every day), but that's an OK trade for me.

Otherwise, just hop on the grocery store bus and pick one up at Target or the grocery store and leave it with the HBC folks at the end of the show so there will be more loaner coolers next year.

[pyolet]

RTIC 20 soft pack. Half the price of Yeti and better design. Light, fits the RV, keeps ice for 4-5 days. Just what I use and recommend...I had to wait 5 weeks for mine but looks like Amazon has 'em in stock so you could get it before OSH.

https://www.amazon.com/RTIC-20-Soft-...ds=rtic+cooler

Woody.

[YellowJacket RV9]

Originally Posted by pyolet

RTIC 20 soft pack. Half the price of Yeti and better design. Light, fits the RV, keeps ice for 4-5 days. Just what I use and recommend...I had to wait 5 weeks for mine but looks like Amazon has 'em in stock so you could get it before OSH.

https://www.amazon.com/RTIC-20-Soft-...ds=rtic+cooler

Woody.

Agreed. Love my RTIC and easy to get in and out of my 9A.

Chris

[scard]

For the last 10yrs, we've brought a foam cooler (pack in it) and just get a "half" bag of ice each day. Day 1, we walk to Target with our back packs and load 'em up. We eat like kings at the airplane for the rest of the week with very minimal "airshow food".

[crabandy]

I got this "Polar Bear" soft cooler for the airplane and love it, the rectangular size is perfect for the side by side RV's.

http://www.austinkayak.com/products/...FVq5wAodcJMA7w

It fits on the floorboard or the baggage compartment of my slider 7, holds Ice like a Yeti and ranges from $90-130 depending on options.

[catmandu]

Originally Posted by pyolet

RTIC 20 soft pack. Half the price of Yeti and better design. Light, fits the RV, keeps ice for 4-5 days. Just what I use and recommend...I had to wait 5 weeks for mine but looks like Amazon has 'em in stock so you could get it before OSH.

https://www.amazon.com/RTIC-20-Soft-...ds=rtic+cooler

Woody.

Originally Posted by YellowJacket RV9

Agreed. Love my RTIC and easy to get in and out of my 9A.

Chris

And I am happy with the knockoff Ozark Trail version of the knockoff RTIC version of the Yeti, which is half again cheaper.

My friend's cousins's wife's uncle said it beat the Yeti in a consumer report test (not to be confused with ConsumerReports.org).

[koupster]

Last year I took a re purposed cooler that came from a mail order steak company based in the largest city in Nebraska. It kept a bag of ice for over two days sitting under the airplane, was very light, and packed well in the airplane. These thick wall coolers can also be found at tropical fish stores.

Cheers, David
RV-6A KBTF

[uk_figs]

Decided to check out the top of the line Yeti soft coolers at Dicks sporting goods, and while they may indeed keep stuff cold for days and are very rugged construction, they seem overkill and are very expensive. In addition the access via the zipper does not make it easy to rummage around for drinks, food etc. and they are basically single use.

I have the Ozark Trails soft cooler with the hard liner insert so I checked out their Rtic copy version and it was OK but the manufacturing quality did not seem very good (in particular the zipper).

I ended up going the low cost route and bought the Coleman extreme 3 28 qt cooler for under $20 at wallymart. Weights about 6 lbs, will keep contents cold for a couple of days, acts as a seat, has tall interior to accommodate bottles of wine and sambuca upright, fits easily in the -7, and will accommodate the hard liner from my ozark trails soft cooler which will let me efficiently pack stuff in the hard cooler such as canopy cover, inlet covers, jetboil etc. and pack clothes etc in the soft cooler and end up with two coolers at Oshkosh.

Typical RV decision process, multiple options, multiple trade offs, personal preferences, and a final individual best value decision.

Thanks for all the input, much appreciated.
Figs

[Neal Trombley]

Lit coolers
they also supply lighting and are cheaper than YETI and last longer!

https://www.litcoolers.com/?gclid=Cj...AaApilEALw_wcB