Yeti coolers are great, but they’re typically not what you get if you just want a small cooler for a few drinks and snacks while spending a few hours out and about. Most folks would opt for a soft cooler or even an insulated lunch bag. We guess they’re looking to change that with the new Yeti Roadie 8, the smallest cooler in the outfit’s lineup.
Before this, the Roadie 15 was the smallest cooler in the outfit’s lineup, so this is quite a huge reduction in size. For comparison, the Roadie 15 is rated to fit around 22 cans, while this new one can be filled to the brim with only a dozen cans in tow. According to the outfit, it’s designed for those day-long or half-day activities that requires you to bring a personal supply of drinks, with the size being ideal for putting behind the driver in a golf cart, right next to you on a park bench, or on the sidelines during a game.
The Yeti Roadie 8 isn’t designed the same way as the rest of the outfit’s coolers. For instance, it has a lot less focus on extended ice retention, since it’s only designed for a day’s use at most. According to Yeti, the handle is one of their biggest focus, since that will define how convenient it will be for people to lug around. While the Roadie 15 and 25 both used webbing straps, this one comes with a plastic handle called SmallHaul that, the outfit claims, is a simpler grab and go solution that’s ideal for the cooler’s compact size. Users can also remove the handle and replace it with the strap (it comes with an Allen key), although that will require a separate purchase of the DoubleDuty strap.
They also put in tie-down slots, making it easier to secure on the back of golf carts, ATVs, and mall boats, while a single oversized latch allows for one-handed opening, so you can simply reach in the back for some refreshment without having to slam on the brakes while you drive your golf cart to the ball. Apparently, it’s the only hard cooler in Yeti’s stable with a single latch. It also has non-slip feet to prevent any sliding action when you set it down on a slippery surface.
The Yeti Roadie 8 uses the outfit’s pressure-injected polyurethane insulation, so it should retain ice extremely well for such a small cooler, while a leak-proof lid with gaskets ensure none of the cold air escape the entire time it’s closed. It should be just as durable as any Yeti hard cooler, too, as it gets the same Rocksolid construction as their bigger offerings, complete with a two-pin interlocking hinge that, the outfit claims, is nearly impossible to break. Whether you want a cooler for the golf course, the job site, or a day out in the town, this thing is portable enough to make it happen, while keeping food and drinks cold just as well as any bigger Yeti cooler.
The Yeti Roadie 8 is currently listed as an early access product, which means you need to have a Yeti account to purchase right now. If you’d rather not make one of those, you can just wait for the full rollout on June 9. Price is $165.