Cooler Throw Down: Does Ozark Trail Stack up with Yeti and Pelican?

And to maximize how much squeeze the gasket produces, having strong latches that provide a lot of clamping force is necessary. You will find the popular “T-latch” design on s. While some brands will have the base of the “T” be what catches the pin, Ozark Trail has instead decided to have a hole in the middle of the latch that catches onto the pin. In terms of size election, having three sizes is a bit lackluster. But Ozark Trail has managed to incorporate sizes that are most common for people to want.

The lower end coolers are mostly designed to retain ice for several hours at best. On the inside of the larger coolers, you will find a wire basket. This is a plus, ozark trail cooler considering many brands actually charge you extra for the wire basket. Another thing you want in a premium cooler is the ability to hold ice for extended periods.

If you are adding warm drinks to your ice, you will see reductions in the overall length of time your ice will stay cold. As far as color options go, you can purchase this in one of two colors, Greystone which is the one featured in this article and a lighter grey. The constant color feature among the two are the ozark trail chair orange rimmed wheels which I don’t love but, it is not a deal breaker. I’m using my North facing deck as the staging area which receives direct sunlight at almost all hours of the day. I also placed  a small weather system on the deck rail to help get a sense of how hot surface temperatures are in the area.

Several models come with an expandable top that can increase the storage height by up to 3”. This makes it large enough to easily fit a 16-liter bottle or even stack 12oz cans on top of each other. So no matter what type of bottle you tend to carry, they have you covered. The next essential piece to a cooler that can hold ice for long periods is a thick rubber gasket. Sure enough, Ozark Trail has sourced a freezer-grade gasket that is eerily similar to what you will find on much more expensive coolers on the market. Learn about the products you’re wondering if you should buy and get advice on using your latest purchases.

We will break down the specific features for each type of ice chest in the sections below. As is typical of most other cooler brands, the smaller coolers will utilize an overhead carrying handle while the larger coolers will stick to traditional side rope handles. We will go into more detail about the specific features later in this review.