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. Hot Springs, Arkansas, celebrates its rich history as a place for healing and relaxation. Several spas are open year-round if you wish to soak away your troubles. The winter festivities in Branson center around Silver Dollar City's Christmas celebration. During the winter, the amusement park opens for the perfect family getaway, featuring 6.5 million twinkling lights, over 40 productions, and a Christmas parade led by Rudolph himself. Ozark Trail’s soft-sided coolers have gone through quite a bit of variation over the past couple of years. Many of their models have undergone facelifts and new sizes of soft-sided coolers have also been introduced to the market. As we mentioned above, Ozark Trail has both hard-sided and soft-sided coolers. The hard-sided coolers are measured in quarts while the soft-sided coolers are typically measured in how many cans that they can hold. We will break down the size selections available to you in the next section. For a completely customized wrap or pad, use our Custom Form here. Most of the models also come with an expandable top, which means you get plenty of storage space, being able to gain an extra three inches off the top. We know how premium Yeti Tundra coolers are, so the question is whether Ozark Trail coolers can match up. Though it’s a bit too tall to be able to leave in place when we want to make the bed, it fits just fine on the front seat. If you have a bigger van though, it would double as an additional seat in the cabin. How does this compare to some of the premium coolers on the market such as Yeti? There are very few head-to-head comparison tests between the Ozark Trail and other coolers like Yeti, so it’s hard to tell exactly where it stacks up in terms of ice retention. But from what I can see it’s one of the lower performing roto-molded coolers when it comes to ice retention. Luke is a co-founder of bestcooler.reviews, a cooler expert and author of 70+ reviews on this website. This can include things such as premature leaking, warping of the lid, and stitching coming undone. Ozark Trail is one of the most common brands we have been asked about as a potential “Yeti replacement”. We must admit that the huge price cut and supposed similar ice retention and features are tempting. An example of the color choices for the popular 24-can soft cooler is shown in the image below. The pockets on the front will be zippered while any on the sides will be open and mesh. For a leak-proof, easily transportable cooler with excellent build quality, the 35-quart Ozark Trail premium is ideal. It also has lots of nifty features for versatility, from a waterproof interior light that can be removed for use as a flashlight to multiple tie-down points. As you can see, they do a pretty good job and certainly deserve your consideration the next time you’re out looking for a cooler. The next time you want a premium cooler and have to stick to a tight budget, try an Ozark. To be entirely honest, while Ozark tries, the ice retention isn’t quite on the same level as what you get with a Yeti. When you are out on the water, people often sneak over to grab something from the cooler and may not latch it back up. With a hard plastic latch, you run the risk of brushing by the cooler and hitting your shin, which I have done and is awful. One of my favorite features though is the rubber wheels vs. the hard plastic wheels on the Pelican and Yeti. Not only will the rubber allow for a slightly smoother roll when you are pull this cooler along, but it will also be quieter. You won’t wake the neighbors up when you are pulling this down your dock. Many hotels offer lower rates during the winter, like the Margaritaville Resort, a family fun-filled accommodation with an indoor waterpark to keep the kids occupied. Lifetime coolers are made in the USA and are extremely similar to Ozark Trail coolers in most aspects, including their low price. If, after reading this, you want to steer away from Ozark Trail coolers altogether then they are a few different cooler brands that are quite similar but still cheaper than Yeti. Basically, you have a small cooler, you have a medium cooler, and you also have a fairly large cooler. They also have some great but more mainstream designs for the tightest of budgets, by the way. The style is better, build quality is better, they have better ice retention and more choice. If your budget can stretch a bit they are worth checking out. I really like these coolers as they offer great value but they don’t break the bank. In fact, at the time of writing this Lifetime coolers are even cheaper than Ozark Trail coolers with the 55-Quart selling for under $100.