Hunters know that having quality gear is vital to the enjoyment and success of the days you get to spend out in the field. When it comes to outdoor and hunting gear, waterfowl hunters specifically are known for not only having a lot of it but also being extremely hard on the gear they use. The situations and conditions they often hunt in are demanding. Whether that’s hunting the early season in sweltering 80-degree heat or braving a below-zero blizzard just to get the decoys set up, waterfowl hunters are continually on the search for gear that not only survives the hunt but lasts more than a season. This is true of all sorts of gear such as blinds, decoys, apparel, and even down to things like gear storage and coolers.
Having a good cooler is pivotal for a whole host of different hunting situations, and for me, that’s especially true during waterfowl season. I’ve been fortunate enough to travel to a lot of different areas to hunt and for the most part that means a lot of windshield time, crashing on couches, and bringing everything I need for a week or more in the truck with me. Having a cooler that can hold up while getting tossed around in the truck, spending days on end outside, and keeping food, drinks, and meat fresh during big temperature swings is crucial to my success during waterfowl season. In general, I like to measure that “success” by the days I get to spend outside, sharing those experiences with good friends and at the end of it all hopefully bringing home a cooler full of duck and goose meat. Which is exactly why I’m glad to have been packing around a few Grizzly Coolers this year.
Grizzly Coolers makes heavy-duty, field-proven, rotomolded plastic coolers built right here in the USA. Recently I had the opportunity to talk with Issac Goetzinger of Grizzly Coolers and hear some of the inspiration and back story on their products.
“Grizzly is a family-owned outdoor company in NE Iowa. Born on a Rocky Mountain elk hunt in the late 90s the brand is rooted in the outdoors with a focus on hunting. The core products are the in-house rotomolded heavy-duty coolers and hunting blinds. Our other product lines include an assortment of stainless-steel drinkware in various sizes and colors, the Drifter line of soft-side coolers, and a complete line of gear bags and other accessories geared toward the outdoor enthusiast. Grizzly is all about creating experiences in the outdoors. We want to provide the outdoor enthusiast with products that will help them succeed or accomplish whatever their goal is in the outdoors. Whether it’s taking a trophy whitetail buck out of a Grizzly Alpha Blind, packing an elk home in a G450 from a trip out west, or spending time with family or friends on the weekend… we want our products to be right there along for the ride”.
The Grizzly Cooler lineup of products are undoubtedly some of my favorite pieces of gear I used in the ‘23-24 season. I was able to bring them along for early honker season in North Dakota this year, where they more than proved their worth, keeping drinks (and meat) cold during the heat of August/early September and they made for pretty great field chairs while out on afternoon dove shoots. Next, they came back with me to my home turf of Montana where they saved me on more than one occasion keeping my birds cold while traveling around the state until I could get them back to the freezer. Last but not least, I loaded the Grizzly Coolers up again and hit the coast for a little sea duck action, where they fared daily temperature swings and plenty of salt spray. Nothing feels quite as good as coming home with a cold cooler loaded down with fresh seafood, sea ducks, and a few bonus widgeon to end the season.
*Pro tip, the Grizzly 75 was also a great container to batch-brine a large quantity of duck/goose breasts before we processed them. Ice water and salt brines are always a go-to for me when processing birds.
A few of my favorite features of these coolers are the dual 2” drain plugs, integrated tie-down slots, and the included slick feet that attach to the bottom of the cooler which make pulling them in and out of vehicles effortless. Overall, every aspect of these products focuses on providing hunters with a tool to make their hunts and hunting trips that much more successful and enjoyable. So if quality, American-made gear is important to you and your outdoor pursuits, I highly recommend checking out the lineup of coolers and gear over at Grizzly Coolers. Also if you haven’t already, be sure to check out one of our most recent goose recipes, Goose Four Way Foldups, made from some North Dakota early-season honkers and brought to you by Grizzly Coolers.
