You have to love engineers willing to come up with the best product possible, price be damned. That’s the Yeti’s approach to coolers. The portable Roadie 15QT can keep beer icy in brutal sunshine, and it’s tough enough to jack up a truck. Its insulation is incredible, but it doesn’t come cheap. Should you take it out tailgating when summer hits?
What Is It?
The Roadie 15QT is a $199 15-litre cooler. Possibly the greatest cooler of all time.
Who’s it For?
People who want portable, perpetually cold drinks on every road trip for the rest of their lives.
Design
The Yeti’s 5cm-thick polystyrene insulation layer crushes a typical cooler’s 2.5cm-thick walls. Stretchy bungee-style ball-and-socket clasps pull the lid shut, and a freezer gasket seals it up.
Using It
Arrange the beer. Distribute ice throughout the bottle matrix.
The Best Part
Having plenty of ice left at the end of the day, even after sitting in a hot car.
Tragic Flaw
Heavy to haul empty. Brutal when loaded. A narrow metal handle is rough to grip, and the side smacks your knee with every step.
This Is Weird…
The walls resist heat transfer so well they remain cold to the touch hours after the cooler is drained.
Test Notes
- Tested over a year beginning mid-2011.
- A threaded port near the bottom makes it easy to drain what little ice actually does melt.
- The thick walls make the interior smaller than you think it would be, but a 12-pack and a tub of spinach dip fit nicely if you stagger and invert the bottles.
- The handle is surprisingly hard to move in and out of the locked, upright position. You practically have to kick it to dislodge it when you set the cooler down to crack it open.
- Yeti started out making coolers for boating. This is perfect for the water (but tough if the boat is paddle-powered). Its highest calling may be resting it in the back of an SUV while tailgating. Carrying it any distance, even from a hotel room down to a beach, is a pain.
- It makes a great seat, stepstool or campsite coffee table.
Should You Buy It?
Yes, if you can rationalise the $200 expense. The Yeti comes with a three-year warranty, but it should last a lifetime. It certainly won’t become obsolete. How often do you need a cooler? Throughout the summer and a few spring barbecues? If that’s the case, then this investment will cost just a few bucks per use over a few years.
Yeti Roadie 15QT
• Price: $199 RRP in Australia
• Weight: 6kg
• Dimensions: 438mm (L) x 309mm (W) x 306mm (H)
Photo: Brent Adams of Louisiana