New Grizzly 450 Cooler

Hi all, I just placed a preorder on the newly released Grizzly Coolers 450 quart model. I was looking at their 400 quart cooler after my Nilgai hunt last year, my buddy and I borrowed a homemade cooler for elk hunts. We contemplated building our own, but I stumbled across this company. This size will be more than enough for our hunts. My buddy and I prefer to drive rather than fly for our hunts so we can transport the meat and trophies back ourselves. Do any of you have experience with Grizzly coolers? They seem to be very well made. It seems like a simple, overlooked thing, but a good cooler is extremely important. What do you all do for coolers on your hunts? I attached the link to Grizzly’s site, right now there is a coupon code WCB for a decent discount.

https://www.grizzlycoolers.com/shop/hard-sided-coolers/grizzly-450/

Thanks,
Voodoo

I have two of the Yeti 420s. They are awesome for game and big parties. Only problem is with a toolbox is the tailgate won’t close. . Works much better with my new truck and Retrax.

That’s great! I have a Tacoma with a 6ft bed and it should fit perfect. I’ll probably need to take my tri fold hard tonneau cover off though for transport haha.

Empty weight 102 lbs. Cost $1250. Then add shipping. Fairly pricey and heavy.

Another option for going big are the pallet style cold boxes that the fishing industry typically uses,

My largest cooler is a Kysek 100 (100 liters or 105 quarts). Does a great job of chilling any animal up to about 300 lbs with a good amount of ice. The best thing about it is the wheels on one side that make it easy to move on hard surfaces. My wife can easily move it (when empty) around the garage. Once it's filled up...things change considerably.

Been thinking about selling it...

I can't even imagine having to move a 450 quart cooler, even if it's empty.

I fish commercially so my price for a fish box was far less than the one posted above, we’ve kept ice 8-10 days in them in the heights of summer on fishing trips.

Tubby’s Canteen said:

I fish commercially so my price for a fish box was far less than the one posted above, we’ve kept ice 8-10 days in them in the heights of summer on fishing trips.

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The larger the container and more full of ice it is, the longer it will keep that ice. Not to mention the fact that the average high summer temperature in Nova Scotia is 73F (23C).

I've seen those commercial fishing coolers. Very impressive.

BeeMaa said:

The larger the container and more full of ice it is, the longer it will keep that ice. Not to mention the fact that the average high summer temperature in Nova Scotia is 73F (23C).

I've seen those commercial fishing coolers. Very impressive.

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The average is probably closer to 30 degrees off in the Gulf Stream and probably warmer than that on a deck covered in black mats. It should be noted though that we use salt water ice which also lasts longer.

If I know we can cut and wrap I load up a small freezer with a small generator. Trip to Newfoundland for moose had 3 freezers in the truck and worked great.
I also head down fishing off the coast of NC and use the same freezer, will use the food saver to portion the fish and pop them into the freezer for the ride home.

Have two Rtic 145s coolers and three 65s.

I never thought I'd want a cooler with fork pockets... My 73qt Yeti knockoff (no wheels) is a pig when fully loaded.

That said, I do have dreams of Canada moose hunts and south Texas exotics. How much meat can you actually cram into a 450qt cooler and keep frozen for 3 days? How much space does it take to store two moose, or is it meese?

I have several coolers and the biggest will hold elk quarters lengthwise. It has rubber feet so it doesn’t slide in my truck bed but isn’t so tall that my lockable hard top bed cover still functions. A fresh quarter will melt ice so it still needs to get replaced once in awhile. Also if you “precool” the inside your ice and contents will stay col longer. I also have a big quilt I put over mine that helps insulate the cooler itself.

Precoooling the cooler makes a world of difference. That and the Nilgai meat was already cold from their walk in at King Ranch. My buddy and I did that on our Nilgai hunt and once we iced up before leaving, the cooler was in the trailer in 90 degree heat through Texas, Louisiana, and some of Arkansas. We didn’t need to add a single bag of ice the entire 25 hour trip home back to PA.

Voodooracer said:

Hi all, I just placed a preorder on the newly released Grizzly Coolers 450 quart model. I was looking at their 400 quart cooler after my Nilgai hunt last year, my buddy and I borrowed a homemade cooler for elk hunts. We contemplated building our own, but I stumbled across this company. This size will be more than enough for our hunts. My buddy and I prefer to drive rather than fly for our hunts so we can transport the meat and trophies back ourselves. Do any of you have experience with Grizzly coolers? They seem to be very well made. It seems like a simple, overlooked thing, but a good cooler is extremely important. What do you all do for coolers on your hunts? I attached the link to Grizzly’s site, right now there is a coupon code WCB for a decent discount.

https://www.grizzlycoolers.com/shop/hard-sided-coolers/grizzly-450/

Thanks,
Voodoo

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VOODOO: of the “Roto Molded” Cooler Brands out there I have the following: Grizzly 165, Pelican 95, and Kong 110, and a Sportsmen’s Ware house 95qt . All but the Sportsmen Warehouse & Kong 110 were bought used in “As New Condition” for under $150….all are great but so are several other brands. I did a lot or research and there are several good independent “research videos” on line ICE CHALLENGE tests etc…. Grizzly and Kong performed very well and I believe both out performed the more popular “Yeti” — but it was by a matter of hours and Not relevant. What was relevant (to me) was the weight & price of each cooler. Kong and Grizzly were both slightly lighter then others and also performed slightly better in Ice Retention tests as did the Pelican but Pelican is the heaviest by far (also the most durable) ….but all are Good. Yeti was the most expensive but Not any better then several other brands (Yuppies are their target buyer for small coolers). On the trips I take out West my hunting buddy and I will take 2 Mule Deer and 2 antelope —- a 165 cooler will Not fit all the meat, plus capes/skull unless and a cooler over 200 quarts was just too big and would rarely be used for anything else EVER. SO, I decided on two coolers: a 165 Grizzly and a 110 Kong. We drove Starting with all meat already frozen AND packed in each cooler with 20 lbs dry ice - we drove from WY to NJ (with a few days stay over in Ohio) and after 7 days total (in temps that were 50 nights to 75-80degree day) some meat remained frozen. Compared to the previous years, using Coleman Coolers of similar size, where we had needed to add dry ice on Day 3 - these Grizzly and Kong Coolers were worth the cost. I don’t think you will get better performance with a 400 qt cooler but it won’t be much different, it will be “impossible” for 2 men to lift a FULL 400 qt cooler out of or into a pick up truck - that would be 500 lbs.? But a large cooler allows you to put heads and some racks into the cooler as well (Not Moose or Elk). If you have time - check Ebay and similar sights for “used” Coolers — many people get these Big Coolers for one or two trips then get rid of them, My Pelican 95 qt. was only $100 vs $500 New

Firebird said:

I have several coolers and the biggest will hold elk quarters lengthwise. It has rubber feet so it doesn’t slide in my truck bed but isn’t so tall that my lockable hard top bed cover still functions. A fresh quarter will melt ice so it still needs to get replaced once in awhile. Also if you “precool” the inside your ice and contents will stay col longer. I also have a big quilt I put over mine that helps insulate the cooler itself.

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I also have these plastic grates I put on the bottom of the cooler that keeps the meat from touching the bottom and becoming waterlogged. I put the grates in, then the quarters and ice on top. In a couple of hours I drain the water out and refresh the ice. Here's a picture I found on Amazon, but mine are blue.

dobber said:

If I know we can cut and wrap I load up a small freezer with a small generator. Trip to Newfoundland for moose had 3 freezers in the truck and worked great.
I also head down fishing off the coast of NC and use the same freezer, will use the food saver to portion the fish and pop them into the freezer for the ride home.

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DOOBER, I do the same - a small 5 cubic foot freezer is lighter & cheaper then a 100 qt Yeti cooler — just need to find a “plug in” every 2-3 days to freeze it all.