[Dorobuta]

I just got a 100 qt cooler from Cater Gator. they have a bunch of yeti-like coolers in various sizes all for about a third of the price of an equivalent Yeti model. I got this in advance of next-year's bear hunt. I wanted a cooler that can handle dry ice and the meat and hide. I have a Yeti in 65 qt, and an RTIC in 45 quart. This cooler seems to be as well made or maybe even better made than the other two coolers.

check out the website here

I'm not affiliated with them in any way, and I spent my own money to buy this cooler.

Just another option if you're looking for one.

even at a third the price, it was still not cheap...

 

[BigEd]

I've seen similar, but not 100% identical stuff at a few big box stores off and on. Some looking pretty good and others I'm not sure.
I got a few items, but not coolers, that are Yeti style coffee mugs being stainless with friction fit tops. Only they are Ozark Trail brand. Name is kind of ironic but that's another deal.
But anyway they work pretty good and I remember being told about them by someone in the past from my old church.
Just another example.

And actually if I decide to move out as far as one place I'm looking at this weekend. A heavy duty cooler might be in order to haul food from the store.

 

[Dorobuta]

there are things where you can get away with not buying the "best", but to me, things like coolers get a lot of abuse and when on extended trips away from civilization, it's important to have ice and store food. So for this stuff, I try to go with "buy once, cry once."

But if you don't need a heavy duty cooler, then they are overkill, and a waste of money. Bottom line, evaluate your needs and act accordingly. It is not a one size fits all world.

 

[John in AR]

Fwiw, when I was looking into foam insulation for our house build a few years ago, I saw numerous references to Yeti using 1.5" or 2" closed-cell extruded foam (not expanded foam, which is open-cell) in their coolers. It can be had at Home Depot, Lowes, etc, in 4x8 sheets in 1" and 2" thicknesses, and is available in spray form at foamitgreen.com as well if a person had a use for it. It's what we ended up using to insulate the downstairs living area in our house. It's great for thermal insulating, but because it's more rigid than the open-cell expanded stuff, it's not great (or even good) for noise insulation. Because it's so rigid, it conducts noise all too well, but for thermal insulation uses it's phenomenal.