Free Yeti Cooler

Alaska hunting trip anyone or is it fishing? Either way, if you are lucky and spend enough time around the shores of the Pacific, you may just bag a free Yeti cooler. In what was an unplanned give-away, a cargo ship unintentionally lost cases of coolers overboard sending thousands of Yeti coolers adrift and now they are washing up on the shores of Alaska. All told, 109 containers or a total of 1,600 individual coolers dropped into the sea near Washington’s Olympic Peninsula last year. The coolers have started appearing on beaches by the hundreds.

“The coolers will keep circling the world. You’ll be getting reports of people finding Yetis for the next 30 years.”

Matt Reintjes, Yeti, CEO

The company is taking the accidental “finders-keepers giveaway” in stride, with CEO Matt Reintjes adding he hopes the coolers get put to “good use.”

Start hunting

Want a free Yeti cooler? You might not even need to layer up and brave the frigid weather to find one—there are reports that a pair of rouge coolers made it all the way to Hawaii, and who knows where the ocean will send them next.

Residents are setting off on foot and, in some cases, taking flight to scout for a free Yeti cooler. Their efforts are understandable because, as outdoorsmen know, good coolers aren’t cheap. Yeti’s average-sized coolers can run into the hundreds, while its most expensive option costs $1,500.

Yeti has no clue where they all are and no one knows where they will wash up, but they are being found at a good pace. One cooler hunter reportedly recovered 20 of them. That’s either a lot of fresh fish or an eBay fire sale for this lucky hunter.

And while Yeti is getting the spotlight, they weren’t the only ones who lost inventory. Everything from kids’ bike helmets to suitcase sets have been washing ashore from the spill. Also, other cooler companies are seeing their gear join the giveaway.

In July, bush pilot Duke Marolf of Seward, Alaska, found 23 coolers—19 Yetis, 3 Ozark Trails, and 1 Orca brand—by flying low over remote beaches of Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula and its offshore islands.

“All of them are functional, some are definitely more beat up, missing strap handles or plugs in some cases,” Marolf said. “Lots of beach abrasion (character).”

But don’t worry that you missed out, there is still a ton of coolers out there, so when you wrap up your hunting season, maybe consider a trip to the coast – Yetis are open season right now with high bag limits.