Favorite ice chest/cooler; BGE group controversy

8 years ago

Yesterday Kevin bought a Yeti ice chest at Dick's Sporting Goods in El Segundo ($50 off) and then made the mistake of posting photos of it in the facebook Big Green Egg group. Immediately he was pounded with angry posts from people who said they were boycotting for Yeti and Dick's because they have both removed their support for the NRA. I think Dick's no longer sells assault rifles, and that got some people in the BGE group upset. Yeti has also pulled their support for the NRA. Who knew that BGE users were such a violent group? They think that by boycotting Dick's and Yeti that those companies will go out of business.

We bought this ice chest because it has very thick walls and is supposed to keep ice frozen for up to a week. The last one we had that was a similar size cracked and broke, and so we thought it would be better to get something that would last. This one also has holes for pad locks to make it bear proof, and that is important to us, as we have always seen bears whenever we go to Sequoia. We wanted to buy it in a store so that we could see it in person. It also came with a wire basket, and I am thinking of getting an additional basket, for food that I want to keep above the ice. This ice chest is the same size outside as the one that broke, but it has much reduced storage capacity. We also have an old Coleman ice chest that Kevin wanted to get rid of, but I've had it for almost 20 years and it still works fine. It was made much better than the newer one that broke. We also have a couple of very small ones - one that I use in the house when I need to keep extra ice on hand and for when the ice maker in the refrigerator stops working, which it does from time to time, although it usually starts back again after a day or so.

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fawnridge (Ricky)

8 years ago

If you're going to bring politics into coolers, you better have a lot of beer.

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User
8 years ago
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/yeti-nra-business-ties/
Lars/J. Robert Scott thanked User
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Ezzirah, Why Subartic 25? Because it sets fruit early? Or because it is a shorter DTM? For fall tomatoes, the occurrence of fruitset is heavily dependent on and controlled by the temperatures. The factor that prevents fruitset is the high daytime/night temperaatures. Once the temps drop back down into the range where pollination/fertilization occur, anything you plant that is large enough to bear fruit will start blooming and setting fruit. If you're thinking that it will set fruit better in cooler weather as fall progresses, then yes, it will. That doesn't mean the fruit will mature or will taste good. I used to try to prolong the fall harvest as long as possible, but have to say that I really don't care that much for the fruit that mature in late autumn or early winter. Flavor of tomatoes is strongly affected by heat and intense sunlight. 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PRO
Lars/J. Robert Scott
Original Author
8 years ago
I felt better about Yeti when I thought that they had severed ties with the NRA, but it appears that they are only no longer offering discounts to NRA members. Still, NRA members are not happy with Yeti.
User
8 years ago
Actually according to Yeti, they just changed the program.

"A few weeks ago, YETI® notified the NRA Foundation, as well as a number of other organizations, that we were eliminating a group of outdated discounting programs. When we notified the NRA Foundation and the other organizations of this change, YETI explained that we were offering them an alternative customization program broadly available to consumers and organizations, including the NRA Foundation. These facts directly contradict the inaccurate statement the NRA-ILA distributed on April 20."
Lars/J. Robert Scott thanked User
rockypointdog
8 years ago
LOL, fawnridge!

Yes, it is increasingly difficult to side step politics, and I fully understand why many people give up posting on FB, out of frustration. I understand the appeal of protesting with your dollars, but have no idea how effective it is. After all, we can politicize ANYTHING.

I fully support their right to boycott, and will not shame or berate them for doing so. And I fully support your right to buy a cooler, without berating or shaming you.
Lars/J. Robert Scott thanked rockypointdog
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Lars/J. Robert Scott
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I also support anyone's right to boycott, and I will try to boycott any company that has ties to the NRA, once I am aware of it, and if I have alternatives. It never occurred to us to check this before buying a cooler!

Still wondering what people's preferences for coolers is.
Steve J
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
You're living in an age where no matter what you do or say, you're offending someone. There is no gray are either; you're either on their side. or against them. Social media only makes things worse as gives everyone a louder voice (good or bad), and you don't even have to be right or truthful for everyone to believe you. The mouth/tweeter in chief unfortunately is the worst of them all. For that very reason, I don't use social media, and opt out of any politically "charged" communications as it typically doesn't lead to good places.

I am curious what this backlash will do to Yeti though. i would think a lot of their customers would be outdoorsmen who would normally be pro-NRA. Perhaps they have a larger customer base than I thought.

Back to the important stuff: I don't own a YETI, not because I don't like them, but I simply think they're overpriced, and I don't need to buy that fancy a cooler for my needs. I own a couple of the Coleman Extreme coolers that I'm plenty happy with. They keep my beer cold and my smoked meets hot, that's all I need them to do. I've wanted a YETI cooler for a while, i just don't need one. I was hoping to score some cheapies when the Yeti fan club disbanded, but I guess they'd rather destroy them than sell them.

Forgot to add, I am a BGE owner as well, so we're not all nut job puppets. Maybe just nuts :).
Lars/J. Robert Scott thanked Steve J
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Lars/J. Robert Scott
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I think you are right that a lot of Yeti customers (or previous customers) were pro-NRA, which is why Yeti used to give them discounts for being members. I really do not have a problem with their giving them discounts, but evidently they are not happy when the discounts are discontinued.

The reason we felt we needed the Yeti is that we go to the desert quite often, and it is very hot there (on occasion), and we needed a better cooler for the extreme temperatures. We generally overpack for our excursions, but better that than to run out, especially when it some to water or something to drink.

Coleman used to be very good, but I think their quality has diminished recently. It was a Rubbermaid we had that developed cracks. Orca is supposed to be good, but I've not seen it in stores, and I did not want to order on line.
plllog
8 years ago
For car trekking, we have an older huge cooler that's well designed, and has a divider and a bin, as well as a drain plug. I think it's a Coleman, but approaching ancient. I have a pretty colored little Oscar (maybe double the size of the lunch coolers) for individual use, like for a day in the meadow at a music festival. It also exactly holds one 7lb. bag (still in the bag) of party ice, so gets use for that regularly. I had a particular purpose for a cooler built like a carry on, vertical with an extending double tube pull handle and wheels. It's an Igloo, and has very thick insulation. I've left a two quart container block of ice in it, alone (i.e., lots of air space) for more than 30 hrs. and had it only barely starting to melt. Plus, I have a folding cooler bag with ice gel built into the sides that lives in my manual defrost freezer.

For long travel, like several weeks or more, I like having the big cooler, but it does get heavy, and tending it can get tiresome. For shorter trips, like 10 days or less, we've used two borrowed full sized Oscars, which I'd call medium sized. A bit bigger than the Igloo but maybe half the size of the Coleman. I don't think they were as efficient for the keeping cold as the Coleman or Igloo, but it's nice having the food in one and cold drinks in the other if you're places where you have to chill your own and ambient temperature water is too warm to be refreshing. I seem to remember something about them no longer coming with drains but that you can buy a drain and install it yourself.

The Igloo is the thickest, and best insulated. Makes sense that thicker is better, even though I know there are a lot of new materials that do more with less. I bought it off Amazon for it's shape and wheels, and am very pleased with it for cooling. I've also used it as the water bath holder for cooking sous vide with an immersion circulator.

It sounds like Kevin's new Yeti has similar thick insulation. Those coolers have a good reputation no matter what hysterical political nonsense the BGE people may want to hang on it. I'd have more sympathy for them if their facts were in order. I'm just sorry they've made you uncomfortable! Normal barbecue types mostly care about whether it keeps the beer cold.

So, if you're going to Sequoia again, or on a similar kind of car trip, remember you can increase the insulation. If you can, put the cooler on the side of the car away from where the sun is, and move it over at midday. Drape it with jackets, towels, blankets, or whatever similar you have going with you. Either keep a small cooler with drinks during the day or buy them so you're not opening the food cooler so often, and in the heat.

A padlock isn't going to make the cooler bear proof unless it's not really hungry and decides it's not worth fussing around with. They know how to smash open coolers to get to the goodies. A car isn't proof against hungry bears, and you can bet they smell food through all of it. The lock hasp isn't a bad feature. Just pay close attention to what the rangers say about dealing with the bears, and don't think that the lock means you're protected from them.
User
8 years ago
Yeti is very popular here. Dh doesn't fish anymore, so we don't really have a need for a special cooler. He keeps an old one in his car and I have insulated shopping bags in mine.
Lars
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Yeti claims that if you put the two padlocks on the cooler that two bears will be unable to open it, and they have conducted tests:

I also have insulated shopping bags - one I got in Palm Springs - and I always take them to the farmers' markets.
Steve J
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Bear “resistant”, not “proof”. The locks are bear proof though. The bear will likely get bored before it gets inside the locked cooler. But a determined bear could potentially find its way inside.
Lars/J. Robert Scott thanked Steve J
plllog
8 years ago
Those were juvenile bears, by the looks of them. They hadn't learned yet to smash the cooler on the rocks, which is what bears often do with sealed boxes (BTW, I've seen men do the same on TV with gun safes and lockboxes--it works!). The two lock corners do help, however. I didn't know that part. I think that would probably help keep the box together when the corners are smashed and prevent it from racking as much.

Bears get into "bearproof" stuff all the time. The rangers et al. are constantly figuring out new ways to stymie them, as they do eventually figure out how to get into even the most ingenious and physically challenging puzzles. The most sure way to keep bears out of your food while camping is to tie it to a tree limb that's too high for a bear or bear with stick to reach, and too bendy for the bear to climb out on. So you'll want a ladder.

Otherwise, pay attention to what the rangers say about the bears in each place you visit and remember that bears now regard cars the way Yogi regards a picnic basket.
annie1992
8 years ago
I also have an Igloo, as well as a Coleman and a Stanley. My favorite is the Igloo, but it's about 20 years old. The sticker on the front when I got it said it would keep ice for 5 days and it does, but only if it's in the shade. Anyway, it's big and heavy, but it works.

I also do not support the NRA, as it is no longer anything other than a lobbying machine for the gun manufacturers. I think lobbying should be banned and our elected politicians should actually represent us instead of just those who can afford to give them a lot of money. Crazy, I know.....

I try to avoid politics, as I'm one of those oddities known as a "moderate". We're nearly extinct now, I think, thanks to social media. I've never voted for a "party", only for individual candidates from all sides. I always thought that everyone had good ideas and bad ideas and that if we sorted them all out, kept all the good ones and worked together, we'd be just fine. More crazy talk, I know....

Along with politics, I avoid social media. No Facebook, no Twitter, no Instagram, not even Pinterest. Keeps me calmer and gives me more time to get things done.

Anyway, I like the Igloo, and would never consider paying the amount they want for a Yeti. Ashley has been telling me to buy a Yeti travel mug, but I have a Thermos mug that I can fill with hot coffee and set in a snowbank and 5 hours later the coffee is still hot, so I don't think I'm going to give that up.

Annie
Lars/J. Robert Scott thanked annie1992
2ManyDiversions
8 years ago
Lars, I don’t think you can go wrong with your Yeti purchase in the performance area. DH spent some time reviewing ice chests as we needed one for a long trip a bit over a year ago, (reading online, watching youtube, talking to his friends). Some of his friends have Yeti’s, others have Coleman’s, Igloos, and someone had an Orca (am I remembering the name correctly? Perhaps not).

In the end, we choose to buy a 2nd Coleman, mostly because we felt it would still keep things cool enough given the way we use coolers with the Yeti overpriced – again, for our personal needs. Yeti is popular here, I see Yeti decals all over the place (and my assumption is if something has a decal made for it, it’s overpriced and/or a status symbol). However, overpriced/status does not mean they don’t perform.

If you do not intend or have a way to replace ice after 3 days, if you need to keep things cold for 3+ days out in the woods (camping), a Yeti most likely will not disappoint according to DH’s friends. If you have access to ice and wish to drain water from coolers (my bugaboo, as even Yeti’s will accumulate water eventually, and I dislike things floating in water, fishing soaking container labels from icy water, and finding a container has fallen into the water and water leaked inside, thus ruining the contents), then other coolers most likely will be fine. Keep any cooler in the blazing sun over a few days and you’ll have melted ice.

Bears are another thing. I do think 2 padlocks will keep most bears out. We’ve a lot of black bears around, and they know what coolers are, so nothing stops them from swiping, rolling, and trying to somehow break in. Bears can open dumpster latches and lift heavy dumpster lids (clever creatures), so nothing is ever truly impervious to say, a grizzly (which we don’t have). Our older Coleman has survived the swatting and rolling bear tests, even without locks, but occasionally the lid popped open and the bear made off with food and even soda cans (although they will drop them when punctured)! You and Kevin enjoy your purchase, enjoy your camping trips to Sequoia, and take the Coleman as a backup if you’ve room : ) Oh, and aren’t those little coolers so handy? I love to pack snacks and water for road trips in them.

Annie, all nicely said : ) DH and I have never been part of any form of Social Media, and feel they seem to encourage self-involved antisocial tendencies. Well, I do post here on GW, does this count as Social Media?
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fawnridge (Ricky)
8 years ago
I'm not going where there are bears, with or without a padlocked cooler, beer, or politicians.
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2ManyDiversions
8 years ago
Wait, fawnbridge, you pack politicians in your cooler? Aren't they cold enough already?
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User
8 years ago
Fawnridge just wants to feed the politicians to the bears. Win. Win.
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2ManyDiversions
8 years ago
Oh, I see. So the bear uses beer as bait... bacon might be better.
Photos for uploading · More Info
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User
8 years ago
http://edibleloweralabama.ediblecommunities.com/event/beer-and-bacon-pairing-salty-nut-brewery
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Lars/J. Robert Scott
Original Author
8 years ago
I got chased around a picnic table (like the one pictured above) by a bear in Sequoia one year, and that was the last year we camped out in a tent there. The bear wanted my sandwich, but I was not about to give it to him. This happened right before sunset, and the bear had come loping down the hill behind me. Kevin should have noticed this, but he didn't, and I got mad at him for not warning me that the bear was coming toward us. Eventually the bear (which had a collar) got tired (or bored) of chasing me in circles and went to the next picnic table and eventually made the rounds throughout the campground. We could tell where he was because of the sounds people were making to try to scare him away. I have a feeling that bears walked by our tent at night, and this made me not want to sleep in the woods after that. The next time we went to Sequoia, we stayed in a lodge, and I saw a mother bear with cubs, which is even more dangerous. I also saw a mountain lion on that trip.

I see now that the video says "bear resistant" instead of bear proof. I still plan to get the padlocks. We do take multiple coolers when we go on long trips. I like the small ones for keeping just a few drinks cold.
sleevendog (5a NY 6aNYC NL CA)
8 years ago
Lol, I know that picture of the bear. A poster on another forum I frequent has that as their avatar. I guess the Yeti is photoshopped as it does not have the same shadow as the bear. Cute any who.

I think any group, political, social, even work related...at the office/workplace, will stomp their feet and if a perk is eliminated. My work eliminated all Starbucks and chain fast food receipts years ago. (except for ShakeShack). NYC mom and pop is encouraged, ...buy and support local. (I don't do 'Sitbucks' or any chain fast food)

I do try and practice-what-i-preach. No plastics or p-towels within reason. Cloth and filtered home bottled. Do what seems right. Less waste and USA or local when possible.

Coolers? I'm a sucker for good design/branding. I did more research than I care to admit a year ago. Thinking we should replace our two coolers that have served our needs for almost 20 years. 3 day road trip to our beach house. (2 days, 15 hour ferry, 3 hours to the home). Sometimes add a day for foul weather.

I watched the ice test videos and never took the bait for the Yeti. It is, I bet, a lifetime investment, but maybe if our wheels and handles broke? or cracked and stopped performing we may jump?...not sure.

I do like that you have it Lars. And the BGE. I would go that route as well but our old 20 year grill/smoker is still kicking and no longer babied being left out years round now. (so well built being so old unlike recent models I've noticed).

I'm OCD about travel and packing so I know all the tricks for frozen to last 4-5 days.

I would accept this as a gift, lol. A 40 dollar 5 gallon bucket...another 100 for a lid and accessories, : )

Ha ha, my dozen five gallon buckets are for utility and hauling poop and compost and stacked filthy, then hosed off and bleached occasionally....
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sleevendog (5a NY 6aNYC NL CA)
8 years ago
I walked down to the garden last Fall with the pups 20 steps ahead of me and spooked a teen bear in my pear tree. He got all the ripe pears except for a few he could not reach. And broke two major limbs. I had been taking a brix for ripe sugar content the week or two before but he could sniff out that well ahead of me. (jerk)
Lars/J. Robert Scott thanked sleevendog (5a NY 6aNYC NL CA)
2ManyDiversions
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Sleevendog, yep, the yeti is photoshopped : ) Sorry to hear about the bear eating your pears. Really a shame about the limbs. Animals tend to be pesty that way : )

ETA: I missed that $40 price comment. You gotta be kidding me. : o

Lars, please don't love a sandwich that much ever again or I'll need to be upset with you, and you're too nice for me to be upset with! The story you told above had me thinking of you as a cartoon character, the bear too, and I could envision it chasing you round and round the table, LOL! ...but they aren't cartoons. No sandwich is worth that much and you my dear friend are neither bear proof or bear resistant : ) People feed bears too often around here (Smoky Mtns), and they will hold their hands out of car windows (with/without food) thinking what a cute bear - and get bitten. Truly. We've only had one fatality, some years ago. They are getting more and more used to humans and just the other day one strolled through a town not far far from us. Not a good thing of course.

For some reason bears aren't always noticeable - they are rather quiet. I've plenty of bear stories (which I'll not go into) of bears within bite distance of me and others, where other people just haven't noticed them - including myself! Glad to hear you've given up tents, though! Camping is so enjoyable, but darned if wildlife isn't being so encroached upon and losing their wariness of humans.
Lars/J. Robert Scott thanked 2ManyDiversions
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Lars/J. Robert Scott
Original Author
8 years ago
2MD, my logic about the sandwich was that if I gave the bear one sandwich, it would want more, and I did not want it to think of me as a source for food. This bear was already used to people, which is why it had a tracking collar on. Thanks for your concern, however! If it had been a mountain lion, I probably would have given up the sandwich, but I figured I could out-maneuver a bear, and luckily I did. If it had gotten too close, I would have thrown the sandwich.

As for the price of the Yeti - it was on sale and was priced competitively with Orca through Amazon, and it is a replacement for one that we had to recycle. I felt that this one should last long enough that it would save us from having to recycle another large cooler in the future. I prefer to buy as few of them as possible, and so it is worth it to me if they last a lot longer. We do use them a lot, and I think they may be handy to have in case of earthquake, so that I would not have to open the refrigerator or freezer that often. I have part of my earthquake water supply stored in the freezer. In 1994, I lost half of my stored water because the plastic jugs broke in the quake. Now I have them stored more carefully.
User
8 years ago
Lars, I would have bought from them just because NRA members are boycotting them.
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foodonastump
8 years ago
...from Dick’s.
plllog
8 years ago
I didn't even know there were Dick's stores in SoCal before this. I had no idea! But I looked up at the TV just now, and it was a Dick's commercial, prominently featuring Yeti. I think they must be capitalizing on the controversy. :D

Favorite ice chest/cooler; BGE group controversy

fawnridge (Ricky)

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