Dave's right; the Igloo is pretty cheaply made. I bought a 70 qt Igloo Max Cold on sale from West Marine several years ago and I haven't been that impressed with it. Supposed to keep ice for 5 days, but that's a stretch, although it does keep ice better than the standard Igloo. Haven't used it that much and it's already got cracks in it, so it's my 3rd and last Igloo. I now just use it for a fish box! Later bought a 70 qt Coleman Extreme from Wal-Mart and it's a much better cooler - more rugged, keeps ice better than the Igloo and has a much better handle design.

However if you want a serious cooler that REALLY keeps ice, get an Engle http://www.engel-coolers.com/! PowerBoat Reports rated them better than the Yeti, although they did rate the Coleman Extreme as a Best Buy, good cooler for the $. The Engle isn't cheap, but very well made, tough as nails, and cheaper than buying a generator for power loss after hurricanes! I got the 65 qt model for my 2 wk. 700 mile So. Fl. circumnavigation trip a couple of years ago, and found that it'll hold ice for a week! Also found I could put more stuff in it than the 70 qt. Igloo because I didn't need so much ice! Now use the Coleman for waterproof storage of groceries and galley gear on trips!

And that's exactly what the big box home centers like Home Depot and Lowes do to their vendors.
I was a buyer for a large hardware wholesaler and when vendors tried to sell me a line,many would say "We don't sell to Home Depot".
My reply was "you mean Home depot won't give you an order"Eventually they all succumbed to the big box and mass merchant whores.The independent stores were put out of business by these mega retailers.
I never buy anything from Walmart,and try not to buy at Home depot,although it's hard not to as they in many cases are the only game around.I'd rather pay twenty bucks more at a local merchant.

AS for inexpensive coolers,I like Coleman much better than Igloo.Why does Igloo even bother putting the cheezy latches on their coolers?,they break off or don't work after two days anyway.

"Why does Igloo even bother putting the cheezy latches on their coolers?"

I have your answer....a smooth $8.99 at West Marine (asan example) for a lid snap.This for a piece of plastic that can be made in China, shipped to the US, wharehoused and retailed for an investment of about ninety five cents.....MAX!! They are making a killing on replacement parts!!!!!

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs...classNum=50467

DonV,
Yeah I can see what you mean.To a slight degree,I look at all these coolers as a disposable product.I beat them up pretty bad,load em with fish,drag em up the dock to the cleaning station.I get a few years out of them, and chuck em and buy another.

I've always thought about making my own with some thick foam and glass.I would think if done right,a home built one could far outlast and have better cold retention than one of the el cheapo's.
I think the weight would be to much of a negative for my Tsunami however.It already sits low in the water.