Pelican 20QT Elite Cooler - White

Works as AdvertisedMy Husband is in a vehicle all day for work so we needed a cooler that could withstand 140+ degree temperatures. I've purchased their cases prior and we already have the 50 quart cooler so we know how well their products perform. We condition the cooler overnight with a frozen gallon of water. When he heads out to work he grabs two gel freezer packs that pack slim between his food. His Gatorade ends up turning into slushy. At the end of the day I checked the temperature at the bottom of the cooler. It was 40 degrees and midway up the cooler it was 60 degrees which is great considering the freeze pack only reaches to middle of the cooler. I wasn’t sure I could fit as much into a rectangular space as is the shape of the Pelican, but it’s shape ... MoreWorks as AdvertisedMy Husband is in a vehicle all day for work so we needed a cooler that could withstand 140+ degree temperatures. I've purchased their cases prior and we already have the 50 quart cooler so we know how well their products perform. We condition the cooler overnight with a frozen gallon of water. When he heads out to work he grabs two gel freezer packs that pack slim between his food. His Gatorade ends up turning into slushy. At the end of the day I checked the temperature at the bottom of the cooler. It was 40 degrees and midway up the cooler it was 60 degrees which is great considering the freeze pack only reaches to middle of the cooler. I wasn’t sure I could fit as much into a rectangular space as is the shape of the Pelican, but it’s shape proved to be the best choice. The cooler fits on the floor boards in front of the passenger seat perfectly. I like it so much I’ve purchased a second one for the weekend to take around in case I have to pick-up a few groceries en route before I finish my errands.For those reviews that claim the cooler doesn’t work as advertised it’s important to note all coolers, even the inexpensive ones, work best when they’ve been condition. This especially hold true for well insulated coolers because whatever temperate you start with is going to be close to the temperate you end up with a day or two later.

Edit: Tried it once more. It just may not work in Arizona. Too dry. Weather has been cold roughly 50-60degrees. When it was 70 out or even 60 the cooler was inside the house which has been cold as well. Opened only a few times. An entire bag of ice melted between 9am until 1pm the following day. These are the times I checked. Still, no ice was left. I checked at 5am as well, still lots of water but the pics are from 1pm the following day.So I have tried Rtic and now this.I have tried using ice, 30$ 5lb icepack, I have put coolers into fridge, already cold items into cooler, and all of the above at once.Ice barely last 24hrs, and the cooler and icepack do not last 24hrs. I guess I figured because tumblers are awesome that I could put cold items into this and they ... MoreEdit: Tried it once more. It just may not work in Arizona. Too dry. Weather has been cold roughly 50-60degrees. When it was 70 out or even 60 the cooler was inside the house which has been cold as well. Opened only a few times. An entire bag of ice melted between 9am until 1pm the following day. These are the times I checked. Still, no ice was left. I checked at 5am as well, still lots of water but the pics are from 1pm the following day.So I have tried Rtic and now this.I have tried using ice, 30$ 5lb icepack, I have put coolers into fridge, already cold items into cooler, and all of the above at once.Ice barely last 24hrs, and the cooler and icepack do not last 24hrs. I guess I figured because tumblers are awesome that I could put cold items into this and they would stay cold for 3+ days with or without ice and especially with ice.How people can keep things freezing cold for an entire camping trip is beyond me, or the same ice for 3 days (mine melted completely, warm water.) **Note--the cooler was not opened more than lets say 3x in 24hrs.That is what I expect for this price, otherwise I have cheap walmart coolers that can hold ice for 5 days as long as I keep the ice full.This thing will keep things ice cold for 12hrs but again I expect more.Especially when you match the cooler with the ice pack.I do live in Arizona, not Maine.The weather has been lower than 80 degrees, and it was in an AC building all night for 12 hrs.I just left it outside in the garage.

Amazing color combo! I LOVE the grey exterior lime green interior. The grey is different from the guys @ work dosent show scratches, nicks, or dirt really well which means my lunch box looks nicer longer. The handle is soft there is a small cutout on one side of the lunch box to help carry that against your leg. Im just 53 the cooler sits above my knee. Its pretty top heavy which I dont love. Id prefer a wider cooler vs a taller one. To travel with the cooler, I have to lay it down so it dosent tip over. To hold cans, this cooler may be better suited but Im still not a fan of digging through the ice to fish out a can. Id prefer the cooler to be wider so I can better see what Im looking for so I can better distribute my items that need to be kept cold. I bought this ... MoreAmazing color combo! I LOVE the grey exterior lime green interior. The grey is different from the guys @ work dosent show scratches, nicks, or dirt really well which means my lunch box looks nicer longer. The handle is soft there is a small cutout on one side of the lunch box to help carry that against your leg. Im just 53 the cooler sits above my knee. Its pretty top heavy which I dont love. Id prefer a wider cooler vs a taller one. To travel with the cooler, I have to lay it down so it dosent tip over. To hold cans, this cooler may be better suited but Im still not a fan of digging through the ice to fish out a can. Id prefer the cooler to be wider so I can better see what Im looking for so I can better distribute my items that need to be kept cold. I bought this cooler to serve as my lunch box. After reading the reviews, I was convinced my frozen water bottles would stay that way for at least a couple days. They literally didnt even stay frozen overnight in my hotel room having only opened the cooler twice; once to get food out once to put it back. For the cost, Im unimpressed as to the value performance. The guys @ work have Yeti Ozark Trail. Of those two, Ozark Trail, about $80-$90 @ Walmart has kept things frozen longer than both our Yetis my Pelican. There are slits inside the cooler to allow ice packs to be inserted. However, the slits are more narrow than those in the Yeti which makes cleaning them out difficult not even kind of conve.

Amazing color combo! I LOVE the grey exterior & lime green interior. The grey is different from t...

Amazing color combo! I LOVE the grey exterior & lime green interior. The grey is different from the guys @ work & dosen't show scratches, nicks, or dirt really well which means my lunch box looks nicer longer. The handle is soft & there is a small cutout on one side of the lunch box to help carry that against your leg. I'm just 5'3" & the cooler sits above my knee. It's pretty top heavy which I don't love. I'd prefer a wider cooler vs a taller one. To travel with the cooler, I have to lay it down so it dosen't tip over. To hold cans, this cooler may be better suited but I'm still not a fan of digging through the ice to fish out a can. I'd prefer the cooler to be wider so I can better see what I'm looking for & so I can better distribute my items that need to be kept ... MoreAmazing color combo! I LOVE the grey exterior & lime green interior. The grey is different from the guys @ work & dosen't show scratches, nicks, or dirt really well which means my lunch box looks nicer longer. The handle is soft & there is a small cutout on one side of the lunch box to help carry that against your leg. I'm just 5'3" & the cooler sits above my knee. It's pretty top heavy which I don't love. I'd prefer a wider cooler vs a taller one. To travel with the cooler, I have to lay it down so it dosen't tip over. To hold cans, this cooler may be better suited but I'm still not a fan of digging through the ice to fish out a can. I'd prefer the cooler to be wider so I can better see what I'm looking for & so I can better distribute my items that need to be kept cold. I bought this cooler to serve as my lunch box. After reading the reviews, I was convinced my frozen water bottles would stay that way for at least a couple days. They literally didn't even stay frozen overnight in my hotel room having only opened the cooler twice; once to get food out & once to put it back. For the cost, I'm unimpressed as to the value & performance. The guys @ work have Yeti & Ozark Trail. Of those two, Ozark Trail, about $80-$90 @ Walmart has kept things frozen longer than both our Yetis & my Pelican. There are slits inside the cooler to allow ice packs to be inserted. However, the slits are more narrow than those in the Yeti which makes cleaning them out difficult & not even kind of convenient. Aside from the optional fun colors, I'm underwhelmed with this purchase. I will likely hold out for a different color O.T. cooler & sell this Pelican. If I would have seen this for sale locally, I would have never purchased it as it's just top heavy & not convenient for much of anything beyond holding ice but O.T. kept ice frozen longer so overall it's a better purchase than this over-priced, fun colored cooler.

Good alternative to Yeti

I bought it originally for the summer season to keep my drinks and food cold in my car after a long day's hike, but the first unit I purchased unfortunately didn't retain a proper seal at the gasket, allowing for the ice to melt quickly, and Pelican deemed it defective. I sent my cooler back to them directly (at their cost), and they sent me a new unit after 3 weeks or so. I'm guessing they were manufacturing some more units. 2nd cooler had some minor light leakage, but I figured out that you can pull down on the gasket a bit to create that tight seal.Do these following tests to ensure your cooler is a-ok :Light leakage - stick a flashlight inside the cooler and ensure there is no light leaking between the lid and the body. If there is, pull down on the gasket ... MoreI bought it originally for the summer season to keep my drinks and food cold in my car after a long day's hike, but the first unit I purchased unfortunately didn't retain a proper seal at the gasket, allowing for the ice to melt quickly, and Pelican deemed it defective. I sent my cooler back to them directly (at their cost), and they sent me a new unit after 3 weeks or so. I'm guessing they were manufacturing some more units. 2nd cooler had some minor light leakage, but I figured out that you can pull down on the gasket a bit to create that tight seal.Do these following tests to ensure your cooler is a-ok :Light leakage - stick a flashlight inside the cooler and ensure there is no light leaking between the lid and the body. If there is, pull down on the gasket from it's seating a bit and test again. I've had no light leakage since I've manually adjusted the gasket. (Pelican's online FAQ says there should be no light leakage when completely closed)Leaking plug - There's been some previous internet reviews of water leaking from the draining plug despite it being tightly closed.Pre-cooling - Quite important to pre-chill the cooler before using it. Instead of buying/wasting ice cubes before your trip, find some suitable containers/bottles that you can fill with water, freeze and reuse. I luckily had a square empty sauce containers that ended up being 5lbs when frozen, so I freeze and rotate them on a weekly basis.Overall a good cooler, the ice will last close to, if not over a week if properly chilled.Pros:Lifetime warranty, hassle-free exchangeCustomer service via Pelican (in Edmonton) was pleasant to deal withSave a few bucks in comparison to a similarly sized YetiGood for long-term coolingCons:Lifetime warranty does not cover latches (from what I've read)It's unique shape does not pack squarelyHeavy (21.6lbs)Over-kill when a $30~$80 cooler is sufficient for a day or two of cooler.

Great Cooler

After lots of research, including reading reviews wherever I could find them, I chose the Pelican 20 quart Elite Cooler over the Yeti Roadie 24 Hard Cooler. Why? First, I preferred the solid handle on the Pelican vs. the soft strap on the Yeti; Second, the Pelican has a lifetime warranty vs. Yeti's more modest guarantee; Third, The Pelican is built like a tank. I am not convinced the Yeti is as durable; Fourth, Why pay more for a Yeti when the Pelican is better built? Things I like about my Pelican: The curve in the back of the cooler does make it easier to carry by your side. The handle is very strong. The cooler fits on the floor behind the driver's seat including in the tiny Communauto Flex vehicles we often use (mostly Toyota Prius). It keeps ice frozen several ... MoreAfter lots of research, including reading reviews wherever I could find them, I chose the Pelican 20 quart Elite Cooler over the Yeti Roadie 24 Hard Cooler. Why? First, I preferred the solid handle on the Pelican vs. the soft strap on the Yeti; Second, the Pelican has a lifetime warranty vs. Yeti's more modest guarantee; Third, The Pelican is built like a tank. I am not convinced the Yeti is as durable; Fourth, Why pay more for a Yeti when the Pelican is better built? Things I like about my Pelican: The curve in the back of the cooler does make it easier to carry by your side. The handle is very strong. The cooler fits on the floor behind the driver's seat including in the tiny Communauto Flex vehicles we often use (mostly Toyota Prius). It keeps ice frozen several days when used with the Pelican ice packs and packed full with cold or frozen items. Great size for a day out. Things I don't like about my Pelican: Limited choice of colours vs. Yeti. I can strongly recommend this Pelican cooler. And, hey, it's a Pelican and you can't go wrong with anything Pelican makes. I love everything I own made by Pelican.

Perfect size; good performance

I was debating between buying 14qt and 20qt. And I'm glad I decided on this one. It is still not too large to be carried by one person, but can fit a decent amount of food and drinks.It held the ice for at least 2 full days (didn't have a chance to test for longer period).The build quality seems to be good as well.Overall, I'm satisfied.

So far i love this cooler. I picked this brand over the mythical snow monster brand mainly for 2 ...

So far i love this cooler. I picked this brand over the mythical snow monster brand mainly for 2 reasons. First, its a good deal cheaper than a model of comparable size from the other, and second, for the button latches. I dont really like the other style with those rubber T shaped latches, just my personal pref. Did my pelican come with the infamous gasket gap.... yes, it did. Did it shatter my reality, no. It took all of 10 seconds to pull up the last 3 inches of one side of the gasket, pull it a little forward towards the other side, and push it back down into the channel it sits in. Very simple fix. If you are put off on the idea of purchasing this cooler due to the numerous reports/complaints about the gasket, i would not let that be the deciding factor as to ... MoreSo far i love this cooler. I picked this brand over the mythical snow monster brand mainly for 2 reasons. First, its a good deal cheaper than a model of comparable size from the other, and second, for the button latches. I dont really like the other style with those rubber T shaped latches, just my personal pref. Did my pelican come with the infamous gasket gap.... yes, it did. Did it shatter my reality, no. It took all of 10 seconds to pull up the last 3 inches of one side of the gasket, pull it a little forward towards the other side, and push it back down into the channel it sits in. Very simple fix. If you are put off on the idea of purchasing this cooler due to the numerous reports/complaints about the gasket, i would not let that be the deciding factor as to why you would not consider this brand. Should it come perfect, that would be nice, but mine and many others haven't. The handle is also very nice to grip, its a bit of a squishy or soft rubber that feels better than hard plastic. The cooler is on the heavy side empty, but most are that have such thick insulation and are well made. I got the gray with the green interior, love the bright color on the inside. Easy to see what you are digging through. If i end up having problems with this item down the road, i will update this with those problems. For now, i would buy this again if needed, and would consider buying some of the larger models in the future.

Works as advertised

We live in an area that is very hot and humid in the summer. My Husband is in a vehicle all day for work so we needed a cooler that could withstand 140+ degree heat and still keep his food safe to eat. For the price, reputation, durability and quality we chose Pelican. I've purchased their cases prior and have always been impressed. We condition the cooler overnight with a frozen gallon of water. When he heads out to work he grabs two gel freezer packs that pack slim between his food and his Gatorade ends up turning into slushy. At the end of the day I checked the temperature at the bottom of the cooler. It was 40 degrees and midway up the cooler it was 60 degrees which is great considering the freeze pack only reaches to middle of the cooler. I wasn’t sure I could ... MoreWe live in an area that is very hot and humid in the summer. My Husband is in a vehicle all day for work so we needed a cooler that could withstand 140+ degree heat and still keep his food safe to eat. For the price, reputation, durability and quality we chose Pelican. I've purchased their cases prior and have always been impressed. We condition the cooler overnight with a frozen gallon of water. When he heads out to work he grabs two gel freezer packs that pack slim between his food and his Gatorade ends up turning into slushy. At the end of the day I checked the temperature at the bottom of the cooler. It was 40 degrees and midway up the cooler it was 60 degrees which is great considering the freeze pack only reaches to middle of the cooler. I wasn’t sure I could fit as much into a rectangular space as is the shape of the Pelican, but its shaped proved to be the best choice. The cooler fit on the floor boards in front of the passenger seat perfectly. This eliminated having something on the passenger seat that he has to brace from falling off the seat on occasion. It also frees up space for his paperwork. Although the truck bounces the cooler around a fair bit it looks the same as the day we bought it after a weeks use. I like it so much I’ve purchased a second one for the weekend to take around in case I have to pick-up a few groceries en route before I finish my errands.