For those young at heart, the summer road trip is more than just getting from ‘here’ to ‘there’. It is a rite of passage, a means of exploring yourself and your environment. It allows the freedom of creativity, improvisation and caters to the ambition of any traveler who seeks self-enrichment. Road trips are also a vacation from the mundane, away from the routines and devices that enslave us everyday: email, cell phones, traffic, and work. It feels great to leave all your cares behind and take off on the road with a car and some friends. Unfortunately, with a recession hitting home hard this year, many people feel that an ideal road trip has less potential than in year’s past. But there are ways to cut a road trip budget, without cutting out any of the fun.

You can eliminate unnecessary expenses on a road trip by packing your own food and beverages in an ice chest and bringing it along for the ride. No one wants to sacrifice space in the car for the bulkiness of an ice chest or clean up the mess of leaking melted ice, so it is important to find the right-sized ice chest with the highest quality. YETI coolers, a premier manufacturer of camping and marine coolers, offers a line of portable ice chests that are extremely durable and the perfect size for any road trip.

The YETI Roadie Series is available in two sizes: 15 quart and 25 quart. The 15 quart dimensions are 17-1/2" in length, 12-3/8" in width, and 12-1/4" in height. Th 25 quart model’s dimensions are 20-5/8" in length, 14-1/8" in width, and 13-1/2" in height. Both models are available in the colors of Desert Tan and YETI White, while the 25 quart model is also available in purple and gold.

What differentiates YETI’s product line from it’s competition is durability. YETI’s Roadie Series coolers are currently in the process of being certified as bear resistant by the Interagencey Grizzly Bear Committee (IGBC). The YETI Roadie is a one-piece construction for durability, and made with two inches of insulation in the body and lid. It also has a freezer-style sealing gasket to lock in the cold and keep any contents from spilling in your car. It even has a recessed leak-proof drain plug. The handles are made from stainless steel for easy hauling. Heavy duty T-latches with molded-in keepers to fasten the lid securely closed. For further security, the lid is lockable to keep unwanted friends or animals out, even bears. The Roadie is dry ice compatible and has non-slip, non-marking rubber feet to keep the cooler from going anywhere on its own.

The summer always brings countless reasons to get out of the house, office, or city and enjoy time on the road or in nature. But today’s economic climate isn’t ideal for expensive summer trips. A great way to cut unnecessary expenses for any trip is to pack up food and beverages in an ice cooler. The YETI Roadie Series is the toughest, coldest small ice chest available. Whether you use it for road trips, camping, or daily job-sites, the YETI Roadie will handle anything you throw at it.