Lifetime Cooler vs Yeti
Lifetime vs YETI – Which Cooler Wins?
Lifetime is more than a movie channel, and more than the length of time you’re alive. It’s also a cooler brand. That’s right, Lifetime coolers are one of the new it things, but do they compare to a Yeti? Almost everyone’s heard of a Yeti, even though they capitalize on their marginally small market. But they are still one of the best coolers out there on the market these days, and they’re a one of a kind. Almost everyone who has ever owned a Yeti will swear by that cooler brand over any other brand out there. In this guide, we’re going to pit a Lifetime cooler with a Yeti and see how things fare.
Lifetime Coolers?
Lifetime is a value-packed cooler that features some similar features to a Yeti. As a knockoff, they’re starting to gain popularity, but we’re going to list some things that you may want to look into in terms of both, and let you decide which one you want to be buying these days. As a roto-molded competitor, Lifetime is definitely the more affordable of the two, and it’s even available at larger retail stores such as Wal-Mart and others. This means that you could spend hundreds less than you would with a Yeti, but what do you get?
Lifetime coolers can cost about 200 bucks less than a Yeti. However, there are some key things you may want to notice about it. Of course, we’re going to look at the overall quality of it though so we can see if it’s worth it!
What Holds Ice Better?
The Lifetime coolers feature a claim that they can hold ice for more than seven days, but can they really? No. You’re going to get about 5 days instead of 7. However, when it comes to the money, five days of ice retention is still not a bad price to pay for the value you get with it. With a Yeti though, you definitely get more ice retention, and thanks to the extra insulation, you get a bit more when it comes to a Yeti on keeping your food colder longer too. Therefore, the Yeti definitely wins that one.
However, the lifetime has more capacity to hold ice even though it’s only slightly longer than a Yeti cooler. Therefore, the studies in which they tested the ice retention wasn’t completely accurate (because Yeti still won).
Are Lifetime Coolers Popular?
To tell you the truth, Lifetime coolers aren’t very well known, despite their main market branding. They aren’t a line of coolers that stand out as much as Yeti in terms of premium products and coolers. However, they are like the budget PC build vs. a premade one – nearly the same capabilities but a lower price. What attracts to their brand is that they’re more affordable.
Build and Manufacturing – Still Yeti
Sorry, but to burst your bubble, Yeti still has better construction than a Lifetime cooler. Don’t get me wrong, they’re completely similar in terms of material that they’re made out of. But the Yeti has a thicker outer plastic shell, and the insulation gives a Yeti more sturdiness and reliability than a Lifetime. It’s hard to tell exactly why Yeti is better, but for some reason, Yeti magically makes their coolers so rigid a raging bear couldn’t tear it apart.
For some reason though, the Lifetime cooler doesn’t seem quite as sturdy. When you sit on a lifetime cooler (come on now, if you have a big cooler, then you’re going to sit on it at some point – everyone does it), the lid sort of caves a bit. This is something you don’t want, and it’s a telltale sign that your cooler just isn’t quite everything you are getting if the lid caves. There are literally cheaper coolers that are sturdier than this somehow.
Watertight Features
Unfortunately, Yeti wins this battle of water tightness too. As your ice melts, it’s going to create a sloshy scenario in your cooler. Unfortunately, this means that your cooler should be watertight so you don’t end up leaking water everywhere. Yeti coolers have an amazing waterproof seal that makes them completely free of leaking. For some reason, they forgot to add this feature to the Lifetime cooler. This can be problematic when you have to do a lot of moving around with your cooler. It can be caused by the fact that the lid of the cooler isn’t quite as tight. A lot of users complain about how the rubber gasket around the cooler along with drain plug have the tendency to leak.
Yeti coolers are literally airtight almost. Their rubber gasket is perfect and keeps the cooler sealed when you move it around. Even if you just had a cooler full of water, you probably wouldn’t (and need to get it fixed or replaced if it does) leak at all if you laid it up on its lid and kept it locked. This feature along with the insulation is why the Yeti coolers take the cake in the quality department.
Features
One of the key things though, is that they have features on Lifetime coolers that you just don’t get from a Yeti. For example, who doesn’t love a bottle opener? You have to buy one and attach it to a Yeti manually, but this requires some handiwork in order to accomplish. You don’t have to do this with the Lifetime budget cooler. That in itself speaks volumes, because that means they make up with some of their features for their lack thereof. In our eyes, they’re still not quite as good as a Yeti though. Fortunately, there are others out there – but if you’re wanting an all around good cheap cooler, this is much better than your typical Igloo. And they also claim to be bearproof too!
The easy release latches are also pretty awesome because they’re soft and rubber and they’re easy to open. Lifetime does win in this department, because in a sense, they’re more family friendly. Yeti coolers are made for durability, and targeted more towards adults… Therefore, the latches don’t open on a Yeti cooler quite as easily as they aren’t easy for kids to open. The latches on lifetime make it easy for kids to have access to it, so it may be more beneficial for a family outing.
Next, we have the rubber feet and the grip. Of course, the slide rubber feet are different than Yeti’s non-slip rubber feet. The way they’re designed is so that you can literally lift it by one handle and slide it around easier. This is unique to Lifetime coolers, and unlike coolers by Kysek even (or others that have wheels), it is easier to move around if you decide to take it to the beach or into a grassy field.
Conclusion – YETI vs Lifetime Coolers
So, there we find the champion is still the Yeti. With its indestructible design, and its amazing durability, there isn’t really anything that compares. Lifetime tried to accomplish this, but nonetheless, they have lacked in almost every test that we mentioned in this guide. However, as mentioned before, if you’re looking to not have to spend a fortune, then you can save a ton of money by buying a Lifetime Cooler. Our bet though, is that you may want to go ahead and save up for that Yeti if you’re wanting a virtually indestructible cooler that you can literally take with you anywhere. Did we mention that Yeti coolers also come with a lifetime warranty that covers almost anything?
