Yeah, it’s a good product… but OMG, there’s quite the backstory…
Scrappy entrepreneurship, innovation, international intrigue, a very suspicious unsolved death (murder?), corporate maneuvering, . . . and more. It could be a movie.
Interesting - YETI pricing is 10x… arrived at on a bit of a whim, and it took!
Interesting …
That is … disturbing…
But probably good for holding Halloween treats.
Or the beach
That is quite a story - love the Australian connection - we are passionate about our eskies.
It’s a little bemusing that a story in a US publication makes so much of a sub-plot about how dangerous the Phillipines is: “But it was also a dangerous place to do business. The murder rate was four times greater than in Australia…”
Actually, I think the PI murder rate is about 5 times greater than Australia - pretty disturbing if you are Australian, but the murder rate in the USA is about 8 times greater than Australia. It didn’t suit their plotline of danger and intrigue, but the Phillipines is safer than the USA.
I have an Australian-Canadian coworker and he just introduced me to the term “esky” to describe our coolers, as well as my new favorite, “chilly bin.”
“Chilly bin” is Kiwi. “Chully Bun”. They’re weird.
“Esky” is like “Hoover”, “Kleenex” or “Biro”: a commercial name that became generic. The Esky was an Australian invention, probably the first modern style portable cooler. First sold around 1952.
Eskies are definitely on the list of 4 or 5 things that Australians take seriously. (Like genuine ugg boots, but don’t get me started).
Interesting story. Now I can feel even more smug when I laugh at people who own yeti and especially have yeti stickers on their truck.
True.
Gloria must also be feeling pretty smug if indeed she got away with murder.
Used to do a yearly family trip to the Philippines growing up. Although it’s been years since the last one, the article seemed to accurately capture the situation quite well.
Folks like Gloria, with money and influence can certainly pull off what the article suggests.
What is the more reasonalbly priced equivalent of a yeti in terms of keeping things cold. Yetis are overpriced.
Igloo makes some pretty good stuff. Some are even made in North America (Texas).
I have had this one for a few years now. I’ve taken it camping and it’s kept ice for days for me. A quick google search and I can’t find a Yeti at exact same size, but their 65 quart for comparison is $350.
I’ve got a couple of Ozark Trails rotomolded coolers. They aren’t as good as the Yetis and other top brands, but they definitely keep ice for several days.
Most cooler manufacturers tell you to do three things to help -
1 - Start with a cold cooler. Put some ice or cold water in it before you pack it
B - Fill the cooler. Make sure that it is full of ice and whatever it is that you want to keep cold.
iii - Don’t leave it open.
We have well water which is usually cooler than our ambient air, especially in the summer. I will fill the cooler with water (usually about 70 degrees) and then bring it inside into air-conditioning a few hours before I intend to pack it.
I took a four day trip to Oklahoma in October. The temps were in the 90s. I filled my 20 quart cooler with water, soda and ice and it lasted most of the trip.
I also use blocks of ice rather than bags. A 5 pound block of ice will outlast a 5 pound bag of ice.
I bought an RTIC soft side cooler a number of years ago for short trips. It worked very well, but the glue on most of the seams and the zipper came apart within 3-5 years. I used Gorilla Glue on the seams which helped some but the zipper doesn’t work. If I want to use it, I just set the lid on the top which is fine.
Where does one buy blocks of ice? Nevermind, you probably just make the ice block. That would be the logical answer anyway.
I see them pretty regularly at gas stations in the summer and even a grocery store or two by me.
I’ve never noticed bocks before. Perhaps I haven’t looked closely.
There is a store that sells flat coke and blocks of ice.
I use yogurt containers, cardboard milk cartons, and the plastic containers that salad comes in.
They are probably more of a thing in hot climates rather than the mediocre white north.
Whoa, whoa, whoa…
That’s Premium Mediocre White North, chump.