I'm in the market for a high end cooler to use both as a cooler and a faux cambro. Based on the reviews here, I'm leaning very strongly to Cabela's, but I do see that the one reviewed here was a 40 qt. Ideally I'd like something closer to a 60. Cabela's have a 60 in that same line. Does anyone know if it performs comparably to its little brother?
I also have concluded that the Cabela Coolers looked to be best in class. Lot's of great features, excellent reviews as far as ice duration, etc. My only complaint is a lack of size options. I wouldn't hesitate in making that purchase if 60 Qt. is what you need. I'm looking for something more in the 70 - 80 qt. size range.
I have a 40 quart Cabelas and am very impressed. Ice lasts 3-4 days easily and the water stays very cold longer. I think the frequency of entry will impact what you get more than size.
BTW 40 qt Cabela's was $149. I use it for food and drink while traveling. Use an older Coleman for cambro which does fine for 2-4 hrs for that purpose. You can get them for about $49-59.
I have a cheap Coleman 40qt that works really well - keeps ice 3-4 days on my front porch (all summer I have it on the porch with beer, soda and water. The neighbors love me; as long as they don't bring a shopping bag by, they know they can get a cold one). I have had it for awhile, think I got it from Academy.
Cabela's was recently bought by Bass Pro shops. I do not know if the post take over coolers are the same as the earlier ones. It seems, however, that some of their products have changed (particularly clothing). I would make sure the reviews you have read are still relevant. There are a lot of companies offering roto-molded coolers these days, so shop around.
I'm with you. Switched to RTIC a coupe years ago and will not be looking back. It out performed my SIL's YETI in the similar size and similar contents.
I got an rtic 65 quart back when people were shooting Yeti coolers. They took advantage of the whole incident and had a sale.
Anyhow I like the thing. I also have a Yeti 45, the rtic is just as good.
I imagine the cabela’s stuff is also on par, assuming the same materials and similar insulation. But the rtic comes in $50 less.
By the way, the ability to use padlocks is awesome. I have a set of stainless steel long shackle locks and a thick hexagon link chain. When I go to the wholesale club or restaurant depot I bring the 65 quart cooler with a bunch of ice packs in it locked to the bed of the truck. That way I have a place to put meat and other stuff I want to keep cold. These high performance coolers are very useful.
I have a Cabelas 60qt and it absolutely rocks. I used it last year to transport frozen que on a drive from Virginia to Missouri. I used dry ice and the que was rock solid frozen 4 days later. I've been blown away by the cooler's performance. I did quite a bit due diligence last year when I bought it and IMHO at that time it was the most efficient best performing cooler for the price.
I have a Frigid-Rigid 40 qt cooler and bought a Cabelas 40 qt cooler. I planned to use both in the back of the pickup when pulling the RV. While the Cabelas cooler kept ice as well as the F-R (four or five days, depending), I finally sold it because the handles stick out on both sides and seriously reduced the packing space in the bed of the truck. If space isn’t an issue, I believe the Cabelas to be a sturdy, efficient, tough cooler.
Thanks, everyone! I appreciate all the feedback! I've gone ahead and bought it, along with the optional wheels, and will give it a spin as a faux cambro tomorrow/Sunday for Smoke Day, and for other purposes, perhaps even sooner. That beer won't keep itself cool in Georgia during a heat wave while I'm grillin' after all!!!
For what it's worth to anyone else searching this / considering the same thing, a few months in, I'm happy with my purchase. I've used it both as a cooler and as a cambro, and have been happy with both. Cambro-wise, unless you're cooking a lot of meat, the 40 would probably be more efficient...less interior to heat up...but if you need the size for cooling, this still works out nicely. I haven't yet used anything extra to keep it warm (a hot water tray, hot brick, whatever, and it's worked out well enough for my needs.
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