Igloo has jumped into the Yeti game- Are they the next to be in court

Sonny3

After all of the discussion about the 30oz tumblers on sale at Sam's Club, I traveled down to Cocoa FL to pick up a few.  Much to my disappointment they were sold out and had no idea when/if they would get more.

But traveling down the isles I ran across the Igloo Sportsman 55 and on the label found it to be comparing itself to the Yeti Tundra 65.  Seemed to be quality construction, a few nice features and well made.

This may have been out there for a while, but I have never seen it before.  Interestingly it is $40 cheaper than the same one at Wallyworld.

henapple

I saw those also.... Who knows? 

Acn

I have a Sportsman 40.  Put in 20 lbs ice on Wednesday night, sat in the car until Thursday afternoon, when we added food from the fridge and three pint glasses of extra ice from the ice maker.  Below is what was leftover Sunday afternoon when we got home from camping.  For $150 less than the smaller Yeti 45, I don't know why anyone would choose the Yeti, unless they've got a hardon for the name brand.
 

Eggcelsior

They have a 20 too and it's much nicer than the Yeti in terms of design of the handle. I saw one at butt blast and the integrated handle inspired a lot more confidence that the chintzy metal one that Yeti has.

Thecoiman

I have one and I really like it

Acn

Eggcelsior said:

They have a 20 too and it's much nicer than the Yeti in terms of design of the handle. I saw one at butt blast and the integrated handle inspired a lot more confidence that the chintzy metal one that Yeti has.

The handles on the 40 are great, hard plastic that don't bounce around if you're carrying with somebody:

As far as the original question - I doubt that Yeti would sue Igloo; it is one thing to go after a startup that presumably has limited resources, it is something different to go after the largest company in your industry, that has been around over 60 years, and probably has a much larger legal department.

KiterTodd

I don't think Yeti stumbled across any rocket science here...if you put in more insulation, you get a better performing cooler.  It is, of course, at the expense of storage capacity.

Now, having said that, the prices they charge for coolers, tumblers and coozies is refuckingdiculous.  BUT, they were the first in the high-end cooler market and the first to figure out the top end of what folks would pay.

I think we'll continue to see every cooler manufacturer coming out with over-sized, over-built coolers which will continue to drive the price down until the market is saturated with plastic and foam and people realize, "I don't need the ice to last a week.  Can I get a $50 reuseable cooler that will keep the beer cold for a day?"  


I get it. There is a need for this type of cooler, but that is a niche... 5% of us need it on occasion, but we're about to see the market explode and these designs are going to be 70% of what's on the shelves for a while.  It'll happen, watch for it.

Toxarch

The Sportsman has been out for a little while. I'm sure Igloo has the money and lawyers to fight with Yeti. Yeti likes to sue all the new companies to stop them from starting.

BugFreak72

I was going to pick up the small igloo until I read the reviews on the igloo website that said the handle breaks and drain leaks. Too bad too since the price is great and igloo is made in the U.S.

FATC1TY

Nice design, but the handles aren't a plus. Rigid is nice.. those look like they'd break off.

That said.. the handles on the 20's from Yeti and Rtic suck. Those things are garbage and in the way.

Toxarch

The RTIC 20 handle folds back and locks in place when up. I kinda like it.