Estimated reading time: 10 minutes
There are a ton of coolers on the market, and a lot of them are marketed toward hunters. Yeti is a well-known premium brand. Grizzly is another high-quality brand you might be familiar with. So, which is best? If you’re in the market for a good quality cooler to take hunting, you’re in the right place. I’m going to tell you which cooler is better—Yeti or Grizzly—for those times you have a quartered deer or a bunch of ducks to get home. Odds are you’ll be surprised.
Table of contents
Yeti Cooler
Yeti’s long-standing reputation for keeping ice in its frozen form is both well-known and deserved. Yeti really does leave ice intact for an impressive length of time. This is accomplished through a bulky insulation layer and sealing gaskets. That insulation layer is up to three inches of polyurethane foam that’s pressure injected into the lid and walls of the cooler. Polyurethane is a low-density synthetic foam that’s designed to maintain its shape once it’s cooled off and in place. This means it shouldn’t crack or deform, leaving gaps in the cooling properties of your cooler. Polyurethane is obviously not something you’d want to eat, but who’s out there blowing open the walls of their cooler for a snack?
Due to the insulation style of Yeti coolers, you get what looks like big storage space on the outside. However, once you pop open the cooler, you do find out the interior is significantly smaller. It tends to be worth it to get all the benefits of that thermal insulation, though. Yetis are known for being durable, wear-resistant, and excellent at keeping cold stuff cold. The company is based out of Austin, Texas. The products themselves, however, are made in different countries, including the United States, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Mexico.
Grizzly Cooler
As the brand name suggests, Grizzly coolers are seriously tough. The body of the coolers is made using rotationally molded plastic for longevity. Getting a bit more specific, that plastic is linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE), a material used for everything from shopping bags to trash cans (and coolers). LLDPE is known for being chemical resistant and capable of handling prolonged contact with moisture, both features you want in a cooler. The insulation used for Grizzly coolers is also polyurethane foam that’s pressure-injected into the body.
Like Yetis, coolers made by Grizzly have thick walls and lids, meaning there’s less storage space inside than you might expect. They also use gaskets to seal the coolers and enhance thermal insulation while also stopping potential leaks. As for that aforementioned rugged design, the company means it. Grizzly puts their coolers through IGBC (Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee) Bear Resistance testing. Yes, it’s a real thing, and it involves giving the products to grizzlies. Testing is carried out in a way that’s safe for the bears. It is, however, a real deal thing done to ensure coolers are resistant to the mayhem that bears dish out. It’s not meant as a 100% guarantee that the cooler is bear-proof
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It does, however, mean Grizzly coolers passed certain tests and standards for durability and resistance to, well, bears. Coolers are made in Decorah, Iowa, with outdoor types such as yourself in mind.
Long-Lasting Ice Claims
How long your ice will last in a Yeti or Grizzly cooler depends on a few factors like the temperature where it’s sitting, if it’s fully and properly closed, and if you’re taking the extra steps to ensure longer-lasting ice (yes, that’s also a thing). Let’s say you’re using it as expected—ice in, meat/drinks in, fully close the lid. That means you’re securing all those rubbery straps that lock the lid closed. Also, the drain plug(s) should be fully seated in place. Before we get into testing and results, check out what the companies say.
Yeti
Yeti doesn’t list an exact or even approximate length of time for ice to last in their coolers. The manufacturer (understandably) states that there are too many variables and it would be disingenuous of them to put a number on it. What’s their bottom line? Yeti claims “The Tundra offers up to 3 inches of polyurethane foam insulation, combined with a freezer-style sealing gasket. Beyond that, everything else is out of our control. But if you can minimi[z]e the negative variables that affect ice retention, YETI coolers can’t be beat.”
Grizzly
As for Grizzly, they don’t give a precise answer to ice retention, either. However, they approach the question by listing glowing customer reviews on their “Ice Retention, Cold Matters” page. Those reviews include camping trips and one guy who used the cooler in his truck where the temps climbed to 128 degrees Fahrenheit. So while Grizzly also skirts the question—again, it’s understandable—they do try to lay out some details. Those reviews break it down to about a week of ice retention, give or take.
Testing Results of Cooler Ice Retention
Let’s check out Yeti cooler results first. I’ve used different sizes of the Yeti Tundra for years, all with what I’d say are great results. One year, I learned the hard way not to use a fully closed Yeti to thaw a turkey—that one was still rock solid three days later. Packing the cooler with ice and game meat has different results depending on the outdoor temperatures at the time of use.
Yeti
Deer hunting in Texas means deer season could be hovering around freezing. It might also be in the 60s or 70s. When the outdoor temperatures stay under around 40 degrees Fahrenheit, a Yeti filled with cubed ice and venison retains a significant portion of the ice for about five days. After that, it more noticeably melts, but the resulting ice water remains extremely cold. At the two-week mark, there are still chunks of ice floating in the cooler, but not much. In warmer deer seasons, the melting happens much faster. In 70-degree weather, with the Yeti in the shade on the front porch, cubed ice melts quickly enough that it needs to be replenished every two days. This all assumes you aren’t repeatedly opening the cooler but are leaving it closed 99% of the time.
Taking the Yeti out on the boat in the heat of summer is handy because it does retain ice nicely, providing cold drinks when it’s over 100 degrees outside. On the boat, the sun is beating down on the cooler, so it’s pretty hot. On those days, when the cooler’s getting opened regularly and it’s blistering hot out, ice noticeably melts that same day, but there’s still enough ice to keep everything cold. Because there’s a live well on my boat, I rarely use the Yeti for fish during the outing itself. I will toss them in the cooler for the drive home, and of course, the ice holds fine for that trip (usually under an hour).
Grizzly
On to the Grizzly. Even though my Grizzly cooler isn’t as old as my Yeti, I have still used it consistently for a few years. I’ve put the Grizzly through some serious use and abuse. Everything from hog hunting to filling tags during deer season to driving across the country from Texas to Washington. When it’s below 40 degrees and I use cubed ice, the Grizzly retains ice without noticeable melting for about a week. At the one-week point, there’s enough melt off to see a little sloshing in the bottom of the cooler, but it’s shockingly minimal.
70-degree deer season meant adding ice on the third day and draining what amounted to a couple of cups of ice water. At one point, I forgot to dump my Grizzly, it had only ice at the time – no meat, and realized several weeks later it was still sitting there. To my surprise, there were a few stray chunks of ice, and the water itself was chilly.
As for 100-degrees-plus days on the boat, the Grizzly does well. Even opening the cooler a dozen times throughout the day, there isn’t noticeable melting. At the end of the day, dumping it shows there was indeed some melted ice at the bottom. It was, however, minimal.
Breakdown
How does that break down? The Yeti and Grizzly coolers are equally capable of retaining ice in cool temperatures. However, on truly hot days, think 108 degrees on the lake with the sun reflecting burning heat all over, the Grizzly performs better.
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Yeti Cooler or Grizzly Cooler
Over the years, I’ve done it all with these coolers. They’ve been dropped off the truck, dragged through the dirt, used as chairs around a bonfire, and served as cutting boards for giant catfish. I’ve packed them full of fruit to drive across the country. I mean, the coolers are in the bed of the truck where it’s way too hot, and three days later, the fruit is in fantastic shape. But the cooler that’s withstood the greatest abuse with the least amount of wear and tear to show for it is the Grizzly. Oddly enough, the Yeti cooler is more banged up despite being put through less.
Cooler Winner!
Considering a Grizzly cooler is cheaper than a Yeti cooler and manages to outperform it on hot days, I’d say Grizzly wins. I’ve come to prefer my Grizzly over my Yetis. Both brands have their merits—although it was Yeti, not Grizzly, that made some negative waves in the gun world a few years back. The Grizzly functions as well as, and sometimes better than, the Yeti. So why not go with the Grizzly? Its performance is enough, but there are also tons of sizes to choose from, a ridiculous number of colors, and the logo is cool.
What’s your experience with coolers? Drop your opinions in the comments.
Check out Yeti coolers here and Grizzly here.
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Kat Ainsworth Stevens is a prolific outdoor writer based in North Texas. Her love and enjoyment of firearms extends to both self-defense and hunting, and she’s driven to teach safe gun handling. Kat’s the author of several books and thousands of articles as well as a successful editor with more than a decade of experience in marketing. With experience in everything from defensive handgun use to field dressing a deer, Kat’s background is varied and extensive. She firmly believes in the importance of protecting the Second Amendment as well as the First.
When she’s not behind a gun or processing her own game meat, Kat can be found trapping, boating, doing yoga, and mudding. The outdoors and the Lone Star State are where she belongs.
Experience
Author:
Handgun Hunting and anthologies including The Deer Shot Back: And Other Hunting Tales and How Not to Shoot Fish and Other Deer That Got Away.
Dedicated Outdoorsman:
Year-round enthusiast of hunting, trapping, and fishing.
Advanced Training:
More than 1000 hours of training in defensive handguns, long guns, edged weapons, self-defense law, force-on-force, handgun retention, and related topics.
Focused Specialty Skills:
Expert witness. Massad Ayoob Group certified Deadly Force Instructor and graduate of Active Self Protection The Practice & Preparation of Being an Expert Witness.
Thank you for taking the time.
I’ve always kinda wondered and even when I did use a Yeti – I took the markings off since they are such a snob-superiority badge around here.