I am a huge fan of outdoors and nature, and I believe that there’s so much waiting to be explored — if only more of us could simply unplug long enough to enjoy it! Over the years, I’ve discovered that one of the best ways to enjoy the outdoors is with a good cooler with great ice retention. Convenient, portable, affordable, and durable — an ice chest is a great piece of gear that will reward you with years of memorable stories and adventures. While the hard-side spectrum focuses on resilience and replaceable features, soft-sided s take the higher ground via their impressive final layout.
If your budget is slightly expendable and would rather buy a cooler that you would not regret later on then you’re better off with a premium ozark trail chair. Ozark Trail apparently drops the double or nothing tradition to make room for the more exquisite 30 can zipper-less model. The model at hand is significantly different in terms of design and materials & measures 16.5 x 11 x 12.8 inches, concluding with approximately 2.5 pounds.
However, I don’t think these Yeti coolers come even close to the Yeti Tundra. There was a similar amount of ice remaining in both tumblers when I came to check them in the morning. However, there was more melted water in the Ozark Trail tumbler. To help you out, I’ve decided to take a closer look at the most popular products from Ozark Trail and Yeti and see how they compare to one another. It doesn’t have a drain plug so emptying it of water can be a hassle.
Ozark Trail also offers backpack and tote soft-sided coolers, which allow for hands-free carrying. Ice life refers to how long a cooler can retain the ice you place inside. Ozark Trail’s larger soft-sided coolers usually offer a maximum of one to one-and-a-half days of ice life, which is plenty for a picnic. For a more on-the-go option, the $88.00 Ozark Trail 26-quart high-performance cooler offers the perfect size and capacity. The heavy-duty, one-piece construction and blend of polyurethane insulation keeps ice frozen for days. This cooler is also made for easy carrying, featuring a stainless steel handle with a comfort grip.
Consequently, unless you really need those extra couple hours of ice retention, you will be just as satisfied with an Ozark Trail as you would with a Yeti Tundra. Consequently, you do not have to worry about water spilling outside once the ice has melted nor water getting inside on a rainy day. Indeed, hard shell s are highly resourceful in the sense that they are equipped with everything you’ll need on your little adventure.
Outside of the premium models (with their thicker insulated shell), these coolers aren’t designed to keep ice for long periods. Rather, they are a good companion for a lunch outing or small picnic. Specifically, the smaller models will have ice life that starts at just a couple of hours and creeps up to around half a day. The more capable premium models should keep ice for up to a day and a half. Lastly, being able to safely and comfortably transport the cooler is extremely important. And when you fill it up with drinks, food, and ice, it can weigh 100 pounds or more!
Accordingly, this is relatively a compact cooler, measuring 23 x 15.5 x 14 inches while in the package, totalling in an impressive 14 pounds. Hence, you can expect this cooler to get slightly heavier once fully loaded; therefore, it is definitely not meant for hikers. So, instead of directly jumping into this gigantic review of the brand, let us take a moment to detail our main points here. If you do opt for an Ozark Trail my advice to you would be to treat it carefully and not assume that it’s as durable as the Yeti because from what I can see it definitely isn’t. When it comes down to it Ozark Trail is a cheaper rip-off of the Yeti Hopper series of coolers. The Yeti coolers are all equipped with tie down straps so you can strap down your cooler to your car, van, truck or boat and make sure it doesn’t move around at all.
I half expected these Ozark Trail soft coolers to struggle to keep ice over a day. While they don’t perform as well as leading brands of soft sided coolers they still performed relatively well and kept ice good enough to suit most people’s needs. You will find both low-cost models as well as a “premium” lineup. The low-cost model won’t wow you with features, build quality, or long ice life but instead tries to find a happy medium while still being extremely cost-effective. The premium lineup will cost more but will also utilize features that help it to hang with other premium soft-sided coolers.