Every once in a while I run across a piece of gear that deserves Hanback’s BIG DEER seal of approval. Like the Yeti Cooler.

Ryan from Yeti sent me a 45-quart Tundra cooler to check out. I liked it the first time I picked it up. This was no cheap plastic job, but rather a man’s ice chest. One-piece molded polyethylene construction…2 inches of foam insulation in the walls and 3 inches in the lid…recessed hinges that won’t snap or break…my favorite feature, a large sealing gasket (see picture) that locks the cooler shut, traps in the cold and keeps out the heat. The rope handles with rubber grips are a nice and functional touch.

I stacked some beer and venison burgers in the bottom of the chest, piled on a couple bags of ice, closed the Yeti and set it on my deck out of the July sun. Two days later I still had ice. I think I could have made it 3 days, but the second evening after shooting our bows, my buddies and I drank the Coors Light and grilled the burgers.

The one-piece Yeti is certified bear proof by the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee (watch the bear vs. Yeti video at their website). It will last for years in your boat, in deer camp and on your deck for parties and cook-outs. It’s even got a nice, retro look. My college son saw it and said, “That Yeti’s cool old man, you gonna let me take it back to school?”

Nah. I’m gonna carry my Yeti hunting. I can bone out a doe and pack it on ice, or cool down and haul home the cape of a big buck.

Classic case of you get what you pay for. The 45-quart Yeti Tundra costs $279, and bigger chests cost more. Buy one and you won’t be disappointed. Or, you and the boys in your deer club could pool your funds and buy 3 or 4 Yetis of various sizes for packing food, meat and capes for your weeks and weekends in camp.

BTW, Yeti owner/brothers Roy and Ryan from Texas shoot big deer. I appreciate products developed by hunters because they know what we need and expect in our gear.