Coolers

I have a Yeti 120 and Rtic 65. Last year I fit a whole boned 6x6 elk with ice in both no problem. I would not spend the money on a Yeti again. The Rtic coolers are just as good (my opinion) and a lot less money. They even just came out with some bigger sizes. The bigger coolers can be heavy when loaded. My opinion would be get a couple medium sized instead of one bigger model.
 
We have used Canyon Coolers before and they work great. After 8 days we still had frozen milk jugs for our meat. We used one 125 and two 55 for one de-boned elk. It depends on how much travel time you have after harvesting because you will need plenty of block of ice or frozen milk jugs. Just like Randy Newberg stated "make sure to place the frozen milk jugs on top of the meat not the bottom". Watch this video but those Orion Coolers are double the price of the Canyon ones.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipY8upsp4qI

V/R,
ColoradoHunter719
 
I have fit boned out Elk in a 105 and 110 with plenty of room for block ice on the bottom.
 
I used an igloo 150 last year and I believe I could have put the whole quartered elk in there with room for ice but I split it between two and had lots of room. Got them at sams club for 79.99 a piece.
 
The igloo Marine 120s are awesome coolers for the money. I use 2 of these to get an elk cooled quickly, then I'll condense the meat down to 1 cooler when a 2nd elk is down. They will hold a boned out elk just fine by themselves though.
 
It depends on the size of the elk and if you've de-boned everything. To give you an idea of some of the variation, we got 130 pounds out of my Dad's cow last year, 170 out of my wife's raghorn bull last year, and 207 out of my mature bull this year. My deboned bull this year barely fit into a 100qt + 150qt. I would have liked more ice in there, too.
 
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I would second the rtic They now make a 145 and a 110. They are pretty expensive but still way cheaper than Yeti and others. I know it won't help for this year but they usually have a great sale around Christmas.
 
I have two 120 qt coleman marine xtreme coolers. Found a deal on amazon and got both for under $140 a year or so ago. They work well enough for me. We lined the bottom of one with gallon jugs of ice and lived out of it camping for a week last summer and still had plenty of ice at the end. They have metal hinges and seem to seal pretty well.
 
ColoradoHunter719 said:
We have used Canyon Coolers before and they work great. After 8 days we still had frozen milk jugs for our meat. We used one 125 and two 55 for one de-boned elk. It depends on how much travel time you have after harvesting because you will need plenty of block of ice or frozen milk jugs. Just like Randy Newberg stated "make sure to place the frozen milk jugs on top of the meat not the bottom". Watch this video but those Orion Coolers are double the price of the Canyon ones.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipY8upsp4qI

V/R,
ColoradoHunter719
Click to expand...

Why on top? I'd think having the jugs below would allow meat fluids to drain out and keep your meat dry, which seems better than wet?
 
I have friends that come every year from out of state and have a 20-24 hour drive home. They bring out a small chest freezer and a generator. They are able to turn it on and run it, when the walls are frozen use it as a cooler. After getting an elk, they can freeze it. Don't have to worry about driving back right away, or finding a butcher to in some town near by to hang it if there is room. This year was cold enough we hung it in a tree for a week before freezing it. Last year was a lot warmer and went straight in the freezer. It's a small freezer. The recommendation I learned doing this the first time, when freezing the elk, put cardboard two layers works best on floor and wall of the freezer. After it's frozen you can remove the cardboard walls. It makes it easier to remove a bag of meat. Versus it can freeze to the bottom and the walls, then you are waiting for it to partial thaw from the walls to get it out.

We still bring coolers too. I personally use RTIC - I've only used it on a couple camping trips and hunting trip, and for the price I paid (inexpensive compared to others) It's awesome.
 
I have a Yeti 160, Yeti 105, and Rtic 65. Going out 3rd season with a doe, cow, and bull tag. I hope at least one is full on the way home
 
I used to have Yetis, including the a huge Yeti 250. I discovered Orion coolers seem to do better, the cammed closing hinges seal tighter it seems to me anyway. So I sold the Yetis and went with all Orion. As you get older the idea of a huge 250 cooler just loses its appeal anyway, too hard to move around. The Orions are great, I got two 85s and two 55s. They will fit pretty much anything I hunt.

I have had a Brute in the past too. It was good as well and the customer service from Brute is top notch.

DVOR just had the Orions on sale for 20% off which is rare to see....
 
2 Cabelas Polar Cap coolers on hand in camp for elk or deer meat. Great coolers, love em.
 
I've had a Canyon Cooler for 3 years now and it's great. It stays in my truck pretty much all of hunting season and I've been amazed at how long it keeps ice. But it's the only high end cooler I've used so I'm sure all the others are good too.
 
If you use regular style coolers, after you put ice in with your meat tape the gap between the lid and cooler. The ice will last longer
 
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