Brand · Camp Gear
Pelican coolers come in two families on this site: Elite hard coolers, from lunchbox size up to chests built for a whole camp's meat, and Dayventure soft coolers you carry on a strap or your back. Here's the thing: the first choice is hard or soft, the second is size, and the third is how the cooler gets from the truck to the cabin. (At Hemlock Run that last one is a gravel path and a porch with three steps. The steps always win.)
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On this site, Pelican covers two kinds of gear:
That's the deer-camp slice of the brand. The company is better known for protective hard cases, and it also makes portable lights. This site doesn't list Pelican cases, and no Pelican flashlights are in its flashlight grids right now, so they get a short section further down and a pair of FAQ answers, not a grid.
The grid filters by type and changes as listings come and go. So I'll write about the families and what separates them, not about how many of each are listed this week. Most capacities in the grid come from Amazon listings and are marked that way. A dash means the listing didn't say. Rule of thumb: a dash is information too. It tells you to go read the maker's page before you buy.
The Elite coolers are the core of the grid. The model names carry the capacity in quarts, which saves a step: Elite 20, 30, 50, 70, 80, 150 and 250 QT. They run from a cooler one person carries by the handle to a chest that wants two people and a plan.
Pelican's own Elite pages list the same core features across sizes:
The 70QT page also gives ice capacity: 65 lb. The 20QT page gives 19 lb. That's a useful number. It tells you how much room ice takes before the first pound of venison goes in.
The three biggest listings in the grid (the 80, 150 and 250 QT) say 10 days of ice retention. That's what the listing states, not a lab result I can show you. Ice life in the real world depends on how full the cooler is, how cold the food was when it went in, shade, and how many times somebody opens the lid to look for the mustard. The rotomolded cooler page covers how heavy-walled hard coolers differ across brands.
Two Elite listings in the grid roll: the Elite 45 QT Wheeled and the Elite 80 QT, whose listing names the wheeled version. Pelican's 45QW page lists heavy-duty wheels, molded-in handles with a built-in trolley handle, and a drain plug you can hook a garden hose to.
A loaded big cooler is a two-person lift. A loaded wheeled cooler is a one-person drag, at least until the gravel gets deep. The cooler with wheels page lays out that type across brands.
The 8 Quart and 14 Quart Personal Coolers are lunchbox coolers. The 8 quart listing says it holds 6 cans. These are for a day in the blind or a sandwich in the truck, not for the camp's weekend food. The small cooler page covers that size class.
The Elite 50 QT Americana and Elite 70 QT Americana are the same capacities in a different finish. If the color is the only difference between two listings, buy the one that's easier to find in the leaves. Nobody at our camp has ever regretted being able to see the cooler.
The Dayventure Sling carries on one shoulder; its listing gives about 9 quarts (8.5 liters). The Dayventure Backpack carries on two straps at about 19 quarts (18.4 liters). Pelican's Sling page describes high-density closed-cell foam, a leak-resistant zipper with a waterproof seal, padded shoulder straps and a rubberized carry handle. The maker says it keeps drinks cold all day and works best with an ice pack.
A backpack cooler earns its keep on the walk to a stand or a ground blind. Two hands free for the bow and the seat. The backpack cooler page covers that shape across brands.
The Dayventure Carry and Dayventure Base are tote-style soft coolers. Their listings in the grid don't give a quart capacity, so the grid shows a dash. Read the maker's size on the listing before you count on it holding a day's food. The soft cooler page explains how soft coolers differ from hard ones.
Pelican started with diving gear and protective cases, and its story page says the company grew into temperature-controlled packaging and portable lighting. Two of those turn up in hunters' searches.
Long cases for bows. Pelican's 1745 Air page describes a 44-inch long hard case with wheels, Press and Pull latches, an O-ring seal, a pressure equalization valve and optional pluck foam. The maker says it's waterproof, crushproof and dustproof. Whether a given bow fits depends on the bow's length and how wide it is at the cams, so measure the bow before you shop. The bow case page covers that type across brands.
Flashlights. This site now lists flashlights, but no Pelican models are in the grid at the moment. The tactical flashlight page and the camping flashlight page compare flashlights across brands, and the headlamp page covers hands-free lights.
Hard coolers hold ice longer and take a beating. Soft coolers weigh less and go where you walk. At a deer camp the usual answer is both: a big hard cooler for meat and meals, and a small soft one for the day's food on the way to the stand.
Here's the thing about quarts. The number on the lid includes the space the ice takes. Pelican's own figures say a 70QT Elite holds 65 lb of ice, which is a lot of the box. Size for the food plus the ice, not for the food alone. The 50 qt cooler page and the large cooler page cover the middle and the top of the size range.
Weight matters more than capacity once the cooler is full. Ice is heavy, and a big chest full of ice and meat is a job for two people and a tailgate. Ask yourself three things:
If the honest answers are "far", "gravel" and "nobody", look at the wheeled models or go smaller.
A drain plug lets you empty meltwater without tipping the whole cooler. Pelican's 70QT and 45QW pages describe a threaded plug on a tether over a sloped drain, and the 45QW plug takes a garden hose. The lock hasp on the 70QT takes a padlock. That's handy if the cooler rides in an open truck bed or sits at a shared camp.
My one opinion on this page: buy the drain before you buy the extra days of ice. Draining meltwater is the chore you'll do every single morning, and a cooler that drains cleanly gets drained. One that doesn't gets tipped over in the yard, usually onto somebody's boots.
The FDA's guidance on eating outdoors gives the rules that matter most:
The drinks rule is the one camps break most. Every trip to the cooler for a soda is a trip that warms the venison. Danny keeps a separate drinks cooler for that reason, and calls the food cooler "the pantry." (He also opens the pantry to check on it. Often.)
After the trip, drain the meltwater, wash the inside, and let it dry with the lid open before storage. A cooler closed up wet in September smells like it in November.
Both brands come up in the same searches, and both make hard and soft coolers. On this site the differences are in the mix:
On the company side, Pelican's story page says it began in Torrance, California, in 1976. YETI's annual report says it was founded in Austin, Texas, in 2006, that it owns no factories, and that its hard coolers use rotomolded or injection-molded construction. Pelican's Elite pages describe a lifetime guarantee; YETI's terms are on its own site. Compare the exact models: latch style, drain, ice capacity, how it moves and the warranty wording. The YETI brand page has its lineup.
Here's what I could verify outside a store listing:
Drain the plug, prop the lid, and put the cooler away dry. It'll be ready when somebody remembers the ice.
Here's what can be checked. Pelican's own Elite cooler pages list Press & Pull latches, a freezer-grade seal, polyurethane insulation and a lifetime guarantee. The 70QT page adds a tethered threaded drain plug, a lock hasp with a stainless steel plate, a bottle opener and a fish ruler. Whether one suits you depends on size, weight when loaded and how you'll move it. Compare those in the grid.
Pelican Products, the protective case maker. Its own story page says it began in 1976 in Torrance, California, when Dave Parker built a dive marker in his garage, and that the company is still in Torrance. Coolers are one of its product categories.
Pelican's Elite cooler pages say the coolers are guaranteed for life, and point to its Guarantee of Excellence page for the terms. The Dayventure soft cooler page points to the same terms. Read them before you count on coverage for any specific kind of damage, and keep your proof of purchase with the camp paperwork.
Pelican makes long hard cases. Its page for the 1745 Air case describes a 44-inch case with wheels, Press and Pull latches, an O-ring seal and optional pluck foam, made from its HPX² polymer. This site doesn't list Pelican cases. The bow case page covers that type across brands, with the fit questions to ask before you buy one.
Yes. Pelican's story page says the company grew from protective cases into portable lighting, and its first SabreLite light dates to 1981 per Australian Defence Magazine. This site lists flashlights, but no Pelican model is in its grid right now. The tactical flashlight page compares models from other makers that call them tactical.
The product grid on this page links to Pelican listings on Amazon US, filtered by type. The same cooler often shows up in several colors as separate listings, and the Americana models are color versions of the 50 and 70 quart Elite. Check the capacity in the listing title before you order.
