What’s inside a $400 vs $50 Cooler?

What’s Inside is one of my favorite channels, and that says a lot since nearly all of my favorite content is automotive-related. While these guys have torn into some things that certainly tie into the car culture, they aren’t too particular about what they cut, break and slice in half to find out what’s inside.

In their latest video, the father-son team decide to head to the machine shop with a couple of coolers to find out the difference in a $400 cooler vs one that costs $50. As usual, they break down what they’re going to do and what they expect to find before the cutting commences. This particular shop has a massive bandsaw setup to accommodate the large coolers and it takes just a few minutes each to slice them in half, revealing the secrets inside. Does the $400 unit have some kind of high tech cooling circuitry built in to justify the huge price tag?

The answer, not all that shockingly, is no. In fact, looking at the cutaway coolers side-by-side, there really aren’t too many differences between them. Yes, the high dollar icebox definitely has thicker plastic lining the inside and protecting the outside, but that’s the only significant difference in the two besides the air-tight gasket built into the lid, which allegedly works with the rubber latches on the front to make the unit bear-proof, which is definitely noteworthy and should be worth a bump in selling price, especially if you plan to camp in an area known to be a bear habitat.

However, looking at the differences in the two, it’s hard to see where there is $350 difference between the two. Of course, it’s no secret that a lot of what you’re paying for is this particular brand name, which does carry some weight for a lot of buyers. If you have $400 budgeted for your cooler needs, by all means get the expensive one. I’ll personally take the one I can leave in the back of the truck and not have to worry about the cooler itself being stolen.