How long do RTIC coolers stay cold? -

What type of cooler do you use to go camping? Hardsided? Wheels or no wheels? Soft sided that you carry with a strap? What brand of cooler do you use for your day trips? Does your cooler get the job done? How long does it stay cold? We use our cooler for camping and our day trips. How long does our RTIC cooler stay cold?

Rtic cooler At A Glance

Quick Takeaway

Well I’m glad you asked. When we got our 45 quart hard sided cooler we were so excited! And we loved it so much that we also got a large 30 ounce tumbler cup and a 16 ounce mug. We also bought 2 baskets to go in our cooler. We’ve had our Rtic cooler for about 3 years and use it about every weekend. We use it mainly on our day trips into the forest to go on some dirt road. We also use it while we camp too. Even though we have a camper with a fridge that stays cold.

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RTIC Product Pros

The cooler works very well. Our food is never warm or even kinda cold. It’s always cold
As I mentioned above we also have a 30 ounce Rtic tumbler cup which keeps our ice coffee cold until the next day. There is always ice in the cup the next morning.
We also have a 16 ounce travel mug that keeps our hot coffee VERY hot. I actually think that it get’s hotter while it’s in the mug

RTIC Product Cons

The cooler is heavy. Even without the food in it. The website states that it’s 29 pounds, empty. Then add ice packs and the fact that I have to lug it up the basement steps to the kitchen. Once the food and ice are in the cooler it takes two of us to carry it.
The coffee mug gets your coffee hot. I mean very hot. I’ve burnt my mouth several times. If I am going to wait an hour before drinking my coffee I’ll use that mug. But if I’m going to drink it right away I’ll use something else. I’m not really sure that this is a “con” though. 😉
The hard rubber closure that is on the coffee mug lid broke pretty quickly. I might have just gotten a faulty lid or it also could have been user error.

Do RTIC products stay cold/hot

45 Quart Hard Sided Cooler

We have a 45 Quart hard sided cooler. The RTIC cooler stays cold for days. We have traveled across several states in very hot weather, with the cooler in the back of the truck under the tanucover. Our food was still cold and there was ice still in the cooler.

Tumbler cup

We have a 30 ounce RTIC tumbler cup with lid. It’s amazing! We put ice coffee in it almost every day. We have left the finished cup on the counter overnight many times and the ice cubes are still stacked up in the cup.

16 ounce mug

The 16 ounce coffee mug keeps your coffee HOT. I honestly think the coffee gets hotter the longer that it’s in the mug. The vacuum seal of the lid is no joke. Sometimes I can’t get the lid off. I have to wait until David can help me or I leave it for a few hours and try again.

RTIC Pricing

RTIC has several different products. We have only bought a handful and are super happy with what we have. I find that their prices on their website are better than Amazon prices.

RTIC Competitors

Let’s do a comparison with the 3 known brands.

RTIC – 65 quart hard sided cooler $275. It comes in 2 colors. This size doesn’t include a basket.

YETI– Tundra 65 quart hard sided cooler is $375. They have 4 colors to choose from and it comes with a basket.

Titan– Atic Zone 55 quart Deep Freeze hard sided cooler is $275. It only comes in 2 colors. This one comes with a basket too. Certified bear resistant.

In this comparison, Rtic is cheaper than its competitors. RTIC 65 quart doesn’t come with a basket. But the 55 quart comes with a basket, cutting board AND has 6 colors to choose from. YETI has more colors to choose from in the 65 quart size. YETI and RTIC also come in larger sizes where Titan’s largest size is the 55 quart.

Questions

We’ve gotten a couple questions over and over again when people see our cooler.

Depending on the time of year. If we are traveling across several states and it’s going to be warm…then yes we will prechill the cooler. If we are going on a day trip in the mountains, we won’t. When we do prechill it, we’ll load it up with ice packs the night before. Then in the morning change out the ice packs to line the bottom with new ice packs. We will then load the cooler and pour ice all around everything. That keeps everything cold. Even when we have crossed several states in the blazing heat for days, the cooler will still stay cold. Does the ice melt… yes. We just kept adding ice and everything did just fine.

YES! As stated above we have made several trips across several states in the heat and our food never got warm. We also have a large 20 ounce cup that we use for ice water and ice coffee. The ice is still in the cup the next day!

Days! We prechill the cooler if we are going on a hot trip that lasts for a few days. And our food never gets warm. If we go on a day trip and just throw some ice packs in the cooler, it’ll still keep our food cold all day.

Conclusion

So how long does an RTIC cooler stay cold? Days. As long as you prechill it and load it up with ice. If you don’t want to hassle with all that or forgot, just load it up with ice. Your food will stay cold.

We bought ours from the RTIC website. As well as the other RTIC products that we have. Amazon does sell them but I find that it’s cheaper on the RTIC site.

What cooler do you use? How long does it stay cold? Do you like soft sided coolers better?

How long do RTIC coolers stay cold?