I have an Rtic soft pack 20 cooler, a Yeti Hopper 20 (softside) and Yeti Tundra 65
hard cooler. IMHO, since I haven't done any experimental comparisons, is that it comes down to quality of manufacture. In comparison, my Yeti Hopper zipper is much heavier duty than the Rtic. The pull on the Rtic broke this year, but wasn't really an issue to get another pull. These zippers are waterproof, so you have to keep them lubed for them to work well. The quality of the materials between the 2 are close, but the Yeti gets the nod. As far as cooling goes, I've had both filled with cans and ice, at the beach for 6-8 hours in the sun with ice and some water left, and back at the beach house filled with ice for longer than 24 hours. The price difference would lead me back to the Rtic ($80) over the Yeti Hopper ($300) if $$ is the prime factor. The Yeti Tundra has been fantastic if you're looking for (smaller) hard side cooler. I'm sure the comparative roto-milled coolers work generally as well, but I've had mine (pre-cooled) packed with ice, meat and other spoilables going on vacation, in the trunk of my black car for 2 1/2 days and very little (3"?) water at the bottom of the cooler and balance still ice. That all being said and long winded...…….I'll never recover the costs of these coolers thru my lower ice costs over a cheaper cooler, so keep that in mind. These (hard coolers) are really meant for those who USE them as the only source of refrigeration in the outdoors. Good Luck!
