RTIC Soft Pak coolers

blasting said:

FATC1TY said:

My gripe is them charging your account, and holding your money for whatever date they pull out of the air for shipping. Wish they'd just hit your account when they make a ship label, rather than hold it for months on end.

This is very well said, and the reason I don't have an RTIC cooler yet.  I have some of their cups, because they shipped right away.  

If they are going to use my cash to fund their startup, I want a dividend check inside the cooler when it arrives.  Not in any way slamming RTIC, but no way could I charge my customers up front for services performed 4 months in the future.

I fully get that, and fair enough.

But, they are (at least now they are) up front about when you pay and when you get the product and from what I have read, no one has had any issues getting money back from them after getting cold feet from waiting.

So, the choice is up the consumer.  Do it or do not do it.  You are not forced to buy it from them.

Gravytrain84 said:

Check out the ozark trail jumbo cooler from Walmart. $59 and held ice as well as yeti in tests. I bought one last week and love it so far. 

https://youtu.be/WfNJFSosIHc

That's an awesome price, can't find it online to check my local availability, must be really new

Focker said:

Gravytrain84 said:

Check out the ozark trail jumbo cooler from Walmart. $59 and held ice as well as yeti in tests. I bought one last week and love it so far. 

https://youtu.be/WfNJFSosIHc

That thing leaks like a siv when knocked on its side.  Not an issue for the truck, but definitely in a car or suv.  

Still, not bad for 60.

Other than a hard style latched cooler, I would expect just about any soft cooler to leak when knocked over, even hard sided with no latches would. Can't speak for the waterproofness of a yeti or rtic, but for the savings I'd take it.

I ordered the rtic soft 40, or whatever the largest model is but if I can find this Ozark before the rtic ships I'm on board for a cancel, got two Ozark 20 oz cups and they are equal quality to rtic for half the price.

ive tested the waterproofness of the rtic zipper. it holds well on it's side with icy water inside. No drips.

I took my Yeti 30 hopper on a fishing trip recently. I can say that it is designed to be carried for long distance. It doubles as a great carry on bag when you fly. The duel use makes it worth the extra money to me. It held ice pretty well. I put 10lbs in it initially and put two five pounds bags in over 7 days and I threw out ice when I was leaving. Got used in a small fishing boat all day and it performs great. With that being said, the RTIC looks pretty solid as well but I wouldn't want to haul it very far based on what I've seen of it. 

Great thread

I cant wait until RTIC gets bought out or goes public. Brother Scottie can cash in those shares he has earned for the great viral marketing campaign he has pulled off.

only then we can see him ride off into the sunset, on a buffalo heading to Illinois towards brother Ron so they can count that $$$ together with BGE's grilling in the background.

here here...

Can you folks that already recieved the Soft Pak coolers post some pics?

I added an extra little velcro strap to extend the zipper pull. It's tough to pull with the short zipper. Maybe it'll loosen up but I doubt it. The tighter the zipper, the more water tight.

looks like some decent quality.

feef706 said:

Gravytrain84 said:

Check out the ozark trail jumbo cooler from Walmart. $59 and held ice as well as yeti in tests. I bought one last week and love it so far. 

https://youtu.be/WfNJFSosIHc

That's an awesome price, can't find it online to check my local availability, must be really new

Focker said:

Gravytrain84 said:

Check out the ozark trail jumbo cooler from Walmart. $59 and held ice as well as yeti in tests. I bought one last week and love it so far. 

https://youtu.be/WfNJFSosIHc

That thing leaks like a siv when knocked on its side.  Not an issue for the truck, but definitely in a car or suv.  

Still, not bad for 60.

Other than a hard style latched cooler, I would expect just about any soft cooler to leak when knocked over, even hard sided with no latches would. Can't speak for the waterproofness of a yeti or rtic, but for the savings I'd take it.

I ordered the rtic soft 40, or whatever the largest model is but if I can find this Ozark before the rtic ships I'm on board for a cancel, got two Ozark 20 oz cups and they are equal quality to rtic for half the price.

Just use ice gel packs, no ice to melt, nothing to leak and many or colder than ice.

Or that functionality is broken.  Usually at least one person will give a 5 star review.  Zero reviews is less fishy than only 5 star.  IMHO

Finally received a Rtic Softpak 20 on June 9th. Have had an excellent opportunity to compare the Softpac 20 to the Yeti Hopper 20 as I've been fishing in the Keys for the last two weeks.  The first thing I noticed about the Rtic upon first opening, was it needed a hose off and a few hours outside in the sun. The interior material needs to off gas a bit before using. Once I got it aired out I gave it a good going over for any issues and found one small area on the inside that may pose a problem down the road. Seam was off just a bit, but for now it appears to be OK and does not leak a drop.
Loaded it, and the Hopper, up in my truck bed and hit the road for a 13 hour drive. When we got to the Keys I opened both coolers and found the Hopper holding more Ice than the Softpak.  This I did not consider as a true test as the Hopper had a frozen Yeti Ice in it which really helped retain the ice.  No leaks from either cooler and all contents in both were cold. 
The real tests came the following 10 days on the boat. Almost every morning I would load both coolers with the same amount of ice and pretty much the same contents.  First thing we noticed with the Softpak is it's much easier to load than the Hopper. When you are dealing with a bag of ice the Softpak's big lid makes loading a breeze. The Hopper is a bit more of a hassle as it only opens so wide, and if you're not careful ice can go all over the place.  We had about a 200' walk to the boat and both traveled well with the shoulder strap. Between the two I would say the Hopper is more balanced and comfortable.  This could be an important factor if you had a longer haul and if at the same time you were carrying other gear.
On the flats boat both coolers sat by the console and both were in the sun.  We had a few days that got stormy which kicked up the water and made for a bumpy ride back to the dock. Both coolers rode well, but I would give the Softpak the edge in stability.
Now for the ice test. After a full day in the sun the Yeti (without Yeti Ice) won hands down. It really will keep ice longer than the Softpak. That said there are Pros and Cons to ice retention in each.  I noticed on the first day that my two companions used the Softpak much more often than the Hopper. Mainly because they could get to whatever they were looking for quicker and easier. The Hopper can be a pain to get into. The Hoppers zipper, which is far superior to the Softpak's, can aggravate a sunburned wrist and arm like nothing else.  The Hopper's opening soon took on the nick name, vagina with teeth.  As for the Softpak's zipper, I will be very surprised if it lasts over a year of regular use. It is water proof and does seal in the cold well, but in my opinion, its just not beefy enough.  Even with the frequent opening and closing of the Softpak, there was still ice left at the end of each day.
During the trip we did take a day off the water. On that day I loaded both coolers equally with ice, left them in the sun, and did not open until nightfall.  Both had ice but the Yeti had more.
Got to give the Yeti a 1st place finish for ice retention and durability. It really is made like a tank and it pretty much does what it claims. There are those that say, "but hey I only need ice for one day anyway" and that is true for many. Then again ice can be a precious commodity in some places, and not having to refill the cooler every morning is a nice elective.
The Rtic on the other hand has it's place on the podium as well. As mentioned its easier to use and does an adequate job of keeping ice. It's also easier to get ice in your tumbler when your ready for that end of the day cocktail. The flat top does come in handy for multiple uses, and over all the Softpaks's a decent deal at the $99 price point.
My final take is both coolers have their pluses and minus and I really feel that the majority of us that just need a basic cooler will be happy with the Rtic. Those that go to extremes (I used to be that guy, but at 60 not as much) will probably justify the Yeti. Either way don't sweat it too much after all it's just a cooler.
As an aside the Yeti folks posted what I feel is a very good guide to maximizing your ice not just in a Yeti but in any cooler.
http://yeticoolers.com/pages/maximizing-ice-retention/