YETI Tundra 65 Cooler

There is a leadership problem at YETI (i.e. NYSE: YETI; YETI Holdings, Inc.). Specifically, the two attached pictures show: (a) the marketing representation of a white, YETI Tundra 65 cooler; and (b) the quality of the product you will actually receive. I’m not a plastics engineer, but it appears that the rotomold used to make this cooler are most likely WORN OUT (the mold is clearly leaking), or the mold was poorly made, or both poorly made AND worn out. You can see by the deformation of what was supposed to be the catch for the rubber latch that this defect IS NOT merely mold flashing that was improperly trimmed. The area of the cooler is MALFORMED. This malformation happens when the mold leaks. Don’t blame the poor slobs on the manufacturing floor - leadership decides what is acceptable and when to invest in properly functioning equipment. If this defect happened on the cooler I received (presumably after making its way past quality control), it’s happening on others. YETI may have been best-in-class before the founders sold out to private equity in 2012, and the subsequent Initial Public Offering (“IPO”) in 2018. Today, you need to ask yourself, “Am I purchasing a best-in-class product, or am I accepting POOR QUALITY at a PREMIUM PRICE to pay off an enormous debt that made a handful of people rich?” Hint: You ain’t purchasing a best-in-class product from YETI. Today if you purchase a YETI product, you’re just a low-level minion paying your hard-earned money for a poor quality product to meet NYSE:YETI’s quarterly earnings targets and related management bonuses. AND, this is not an indictment of YETI’s corporate structure, or ownership - there are literally THOUSANDS of companies that are publicly traded that maintain their brand promise, and sell products that are consistent with their marketing. YETI is NOT one of these companies. No one characterizes this lack of leadership better than YETI themselves. A quote from the January 2021 10-K sums it up: “Our indebtedness may limit our ability to invest in the ongoing needs of our business …” In the end I will keep this cooler not because it is a best-in-class product, but because it’s much more of a hassle to contact YETI and participate in a quality control process THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ADDRESSED LONG BEFORE THE PRODUCT REACHED THE CUSTOMER. And, I will keep this defective cooler because I have an immediate need for a cooler - planning on using on my boat this week. For everyone else, I’d encourage you to LOOK ELSEWHERE if you want to purchase the best cooler on the market.

Barely any melted ice after 3.5days - used 9lb of dry ice and ~3lb of regular ice. After 2 days some of the drinks were frozen solid when they were only refrigerator-cold going in. Would have stayed cold even longer but that was the end of our trip! Wish it had wheels because its very heavy but functionality outweighs it.

I work on the road Monday through Friday a lot of weeks, this cooler makes taking my own meals easy. I start with 20 plus pounds of ice, and pack 5 days worth of lunches and dinners. It fits it all perfectly and keeps the original ice all week.

Finally pulled the trigger and got the yeti cooler. I use their cups and bottles. I used it at BBQ Completion this weekend and it worked great and saved me money by not going through the ice.

I dont mind paying good money for good products. And I have several smaller Yeti purchases, all of which are great! I was excited for this cooler but had to be patient due to the price. I finally pulled the trigger last week and was really excited to take it camping for the first time. I was especially excited when I read a review saying the ice would last seven days... In reality: 32lbs of ice w/ 32 bottles of water -- 75 degree weather, no humidity, lid closed properly every time -- and most of the ice was gone within 1.5 days and not a single cube was left on Monday morning (filled Friday afternoon). Furthermore, it is disproportionally heavy for the amount of open space you end up with. The cooler is pretty heavy to begin with. And the walls are really thick, so the opening ends up small relative to overall size. I could almost accept heavy. Or the small opening. Or the melted ice. And I did accept the price. But all of these things together are compelling us to return this cooler and get something different.

I’m so tired of buying ice. During planting and harvest, we were always keeping our freezer filled with lots of ice? Large bag $5 dollars. And I gotta go get the giant ice bags, haul home, fill the freezer, then do it again when the ice quickly melts in my cooler and I need to replenish every day! Not any more! If you use a cooler for long periods of time, or just don’t like buying ice all the time, get a YETI. I’ve paid the price of 3 or 4 YETI’s in extra ice purchased over the last 20 years.

work recognition worked out perfectly.

TOO heavy to lift, especially after you get your drinks stuffed in there. Didnt keep ice any better than the big cheap Coleman I have. Wish I wouldve kept the box so I could send it back. I cannot afford to just throw away $350.00! So poed!

Amazing!

Everyone told me to get a Yeti. I never did because of the cost. The cost is ridiculous. So I bought these on Prime day of which I had to pay full price once I looked around. Anyway once I got them I loved the color and was so excited to use it. However the weight of the ice chests is crazy. It is empty but is as heavy as if I had 20lbs of ice and it was full of Beer and Soda. They are so heavy and do not slide well on carpet. I have to scoot it because it is to heavy for me to lift. I dont recommend them for older people or anyone who is out of shape and cant lift anything more than 30lbs. These dont have wheels either which at the time of purchase those were sold out. I do like the baskets in them. Havent taken it to the boat yet because of the weight We will have to put it on a dolly and not put ice in it until we get it on the boat. We will have to leave it in the boat. Now I know why the farmers have their yetis in the back of their trucks and the people are no where to be seen and they dont get stolen. They are to heavy to move especially if they have ice and drinks inside. Sorry guys. Your stuff is just too high priced for me to buy one again.