I will be getting the 55 myself

K2 will form a vacuum like the Yeti, if the drain plug don't leak. They need to put a gasket on them, like Yeti.

I have 2 Coleman Extreme 5 day ice chests. They will not hold ice as long as the Yeti or K2. They are cheaper and hold ice about half as long as the high end coolers.

There is another high end company that builds custom coolers. Icy Tek, but they don't have a good sealing gasket on the lid like K2 or Yeti.

K2 was having problems with leaking at the plug but they have fixed that problem with a thicker gasket

Neither of the ones brother in law has had a gasket on the plugs.
He might have gotten them from a bad batch. Built on Monday.

thanks for the info! i really like the yeti and k2, but i just can't see spending 300-400 dollers to save $10 worth of ice! i'm gonna go check out the "extreme's"

To me it's really not about keeping ice longer it's more about the quality of the cooler. Even if you dont take good care of your cooler a k2 or yeti will outlast anything.

True! And I'm tired of buying ice chest every summer

What size are you looking to get?
Like BJ says if you spend the money once you wont have to worry about it for quite sometime, it will take some effort to wear out a K2.

The cube 55 looks sweet!

Yeah, it's a lot of money to spend at one time on a cooler but like the old saying goes, you get what you pay for.

yeh its pretty nbad arse
Cube 30 and 55 and a cryo 60
https://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos...05595239_n.jpg

We have 3 yeti, 155, 85 for the boat, and a 45. Love them all, and trick is to cool all your stuff before putting in the cooler and venturing out. Just last week in Oklahoma, was a bit hot, froze half full 5 gallon buckets, (know a secret trick to keep them from busting) was all we needed for all the beer for 3 straight days, one block of ice.
They expensive but worth it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So what's the secret trick to keep buckets from bursting when freezing ice??

that K2 55 looks sweet!!

I keep my cooler in the house so it stays cool, then cool all my drinks and meats in the fridge or freezer. Then I put them lil blue cold block things from the freezer around the edge of the cooler and throw the drinks and meat in it. Then cover with ice. It will last days like that. Just don't open it 20 times a day, and when you do open it, close it quick, and latch it.
It's different for the fish cooler. Not going in the house. If you use block ice, it lasts a lot longer.

X 2... You got that right.

Ice expands about 10% when it freezes. When using any "open top" container, the top of the water will freeze first. When the remaining water freezes, it will expand "downward" and usually crack the bottom of the container.

To help prevent breaking the bottom, two things can be done.

1) only put about 2-3" of water in the bucket. This will allow the water on the top and bottom to freeze about the same time and with only a couple of inches to freeze, there will not be as much expansion. When the the water is frozen, add a couple more inches of water to the bucket. Repeat until you have as much as you want. Using cold water from the refridgerator will speed up the freezing time.

2) put a lid on the bucket. The lid creates an air space inside the bucket which slows down the freezing process on the top part of the water. This allows the water to freeze from the bottom and expand upward.

You will have to experiment some [and probably break a bucket or 2] until you learn what is the max amount of water you can freeze and not break the bucket.

I freeze water in 5 quart plastic container that ice cream comes in. To fill up the container takes adding water 3 times.

Bought 4 Yeti's last year. Not impressed with any of them. The coleman extremes hold ice better.

I'll take them off your hands for you.

I agree 100%. The only thing good thing I see about the Yeti is it's durable. It's heavy as all heck and when it's used as a normal cooler (i.e. opened and closed all the time) it doesn't perform better than anything else.

Looking forward to trying a K2 cube as it comes in at a much different price point from the Yeti.