If you're not already an REI Co-op Member, signing up is as easy as a one-time $30 purchase , and there's no credit card involved. And, until July 11, the store will give you a $30 bonus card just for making a purchase of $50—for which any Yeti cooler would qualify. The only difficulty you might run into is picking your Yeti cooler . Thankfully, I've used most of what REI has to offer, and these are the four models you should be looking at first.
Yeti Roadie 48 Wheeled Cooler in Big Wave Blue, $320 (was $400) at REI
Yeti's Roadie collection is the ultimate solution to portability, featuring a lineup of wheeled coolers that are as easy to pull around as they are to pack into a car. Though available in three sizes, the medium Roadie 48 offers the ideal capacity for family beach trips, weekend rec sports, or even for transporting warm food from your house to a backyard barbecue.
Why It's Worth It: The Yeti Roadie 48 is my choice for my weekend softball games up in the scorching hot San Fernando Valley of Southern California. It comes with a dry goods basket that I use to separate electrolyte packets, snacks, and some first-aid equipment from the icy-cold bottom that I pack with a 5-pound bag of ice, a 3-liter jug of water, and usually 12 to 18 mini bottles of Gatorade. The thick wheels and durable telescoping handle make it easy to go from kitchen to car, parking lot to field, and back again without breaking my back. This should be everybody's first choice.
Yeti's Hopper Flip 12 Soft Cooler is a soft-sided model that's lightweight, well-insulated, and even stackable. It perfectly fits Yeti's 4-pound reusable ice pack that makes less mess when chilling up to 13 cans, the day's lunch, or even the potato salad you made for the Independence Day cookout. What stands out most is the Hopper Flip's HitchPoint grids, which allow you to fasten other Yeti accessories to it when on the go as well as the well-padded shoulder strap.
Why It's Worth It: Though the Roadie offers great portability with its wheels, I find myself reaching for Yeti's Hopper Flip 12 for smaller loads, like a picnic lunch for two, drinks and sandwiches for an afternoon beach hang, or just bringing better beer to a party hosted by wine drinkers . The shoulder strap is wickedly comfortable, more so than any crossbody bag I've ever used, and the HitchPoint grid conveniently and securely holds the Yeti Sling (not sold at REI) for my tumbler. It's also very convenient to have it sit and lay flat on car rides, which brings peace of mind knowing that the contents won't jostle around.
The Tundra is perhaps Yeti's most iconic cooler style, with the traditional chest shape and handles. It's the second-smallest Tundra model in Yeti's lineup, but it's a perfectly sized personal cooler with a similar holding capacity to the Roadie 48. It comes with a wire dry basket to keep things off the ice and is even certified by the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee as a bear-resistant container when two padlocks are used in the front corners.
Why It's Worth It: The Yeti Tundra 45 is my go-to cooler for car camping. This size is perfect for tossing in the trunk of my SUV because it packs perfectly next to all my gear without taking up too much space and doesn't shift around on the winding roads of national parks or in stop-and-go traffic. I've packed food for up to three days of camping in this thing and it even remained fresh for days after I'd returned home. It's the better choice if you're not going to be hauling your Yeti cooler by hand all over the place.
Also a big portability player from Yeti's lineup, the M12 Backpack Soft Cooler offers another way to transport contents without lugging handles. It features a latching fold-over top, comfortable shoulder straps similar to the Hopper Flip, and a high-density fabric shell that's UV ray- and puncture-resistant. What's most important, though, is the backpack's strong magnetic closure that seals it shut so well that it's also leakproof.
Why It's Worth It: Yeti makes the M12 and M20 backpack coolers, but the smaller M12 is the one you'll want because its lesser carrying capacity won't weigh you down as much on a trek. It's the ideal solution for destination picnics at the end of a hiking trail, and it has enough room to hold lunch and drinks for three to four people. The shoulder straps are very comfortable, and though I find that it doesn't stay as icy cold for as long as Yeti's rotomolded coolers, I never need to use them for more than a few hours at a time. That means the sandwiches, water bottles, veggies, and fruit I typically pack are more than perfectly chilled by the time I'm eating.
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