My wife has the new Yeti Hopper soft sided cooler on order for me as my Christmas present. The local fly shop referred to it as the "tickle me elmo" of man gifts this year. So I'm wondering if it's more gimmick than function. For the price I'd certainly want something that will outlive me.

I'm pretty covered in the large cooler department with an igloo marine 150 quart. However, something smaller for the yak/canoe expeditions would be nice. I've seen a roto-molded Yeti put to the test on a 4 day Devil's river trip and it passed with flying colors. Also have heard good things about the Brute Box and Pelican coolers as well.

Anyhow, general comments would be welcome!

Pelican is one of my personal favorites. Lots of nice features not included in the Yeti's.

Marketing 101

I've had my Brute 25qt for a few years now, and it has served me well on 3 day kayak trips. If fits behind the seat of my Cuda 12 perfectly. My buddy carries a 20 quart Yeti, and they are about on par as far as ice retention. They seal on the Yeti seems to be tighter, but I like the handles more on the Brute.

I had a little issue with my first Brute, but took it back to their warehouse in Keller, and they gave me a brand new one.

Excellent, I have a Cuda 14. I really like the fact Brute is local. Have a lead on some Yeti's that shipped sans drain plugs that are being discounted. If the brute is still cheaper, think I will go with them.

I talked to a guy who had a Yeti and a Pelican at a tailgate and he gave the pelican the thumbs up especially for the price.
What features in particular do you feel standout? Thanks for the feedback!

Sam's Club has the Pelican 45 quart model for $210; that's a heck of a buy. I like the Pelican's latches and handles better than the Yeti's (and I have -- and love -- a Yeti). I don't know enough about the Hopper to offer an opinion. In my experience, all of the premium coolers -- Yeti, Engel, Pelican, Orca; and I'm sure I've forgotten a few -- are fairly equal for ice retention. They all have 2 - 2.5 inches of insulation, and they all claim to outperform the competition, but I haven't seen any real difference in the ice retention, all other factors being equal. For my money, the real differences are in the latches and handles. I can't recall any significant differences in the hinges, but my memory ain't what it used to be........

They are all good. None of them will keep ice for a week if you set them in the sun and are in and out of them all day long. But they sure are nice on those multi-day excursions, especially if it's a two-hour drive down the beach or a two-hour run in the boat to get ice every day.

winchester44, let us know how that Hopper works out for you. I, for one, would sure like to know how well it works and how it holds up.

I can't keep ice in my Yeti like they say. I emailed Yeti about the issue, thinking I had a bunk cooler. No one on the TFF OT believed me, they all claimed how great their cooler was. I took a pic of my beer sitting in water after one day. Yeti said it really is not designed as a drink cooler, but for storing food for longer periods. LOL....I guess I missed the point of having a cooler if I'm not supposed to open it.

The pelican's bottom is sloped towards the drainplug so you don't have to tip it to let out water. Their handles are made out of a durable plastic rather than a rope. They have am "unconditional lifetime guarantee". Also made in the US.

It it was room temperature beer that would be very believable to me.

Mariner Sails proudly carries the Brute cooler line. Several recent comparison reviews by Chris Payne and others have given the Brute a big thumbs up over the Yeti. The hard shell Brute comes n 25, 50, 75, and 100 quart sizes in white and tan. We even have Texas flag appliqu�s available on the lids.

Another awesome cooler that we carry is from Polar Bear. This amazing soft sided cooler comes with a factory written guarantee of keeping ice for 24 hours at 100 degrees F. The Polar Bears come in 6-pack, 12-pack, 24-pack, or 48-pack sizes and assorted colors and camos.

For additional information go to www.mariner-sails.com and put the words "Brute" or "Polar Bear" in the search box.