YETI’s Latest Innovation Is… A Bucket?!

Known for taking old-school gear (hello cooler!) and applying a dose of function and style, YETI’s at it again with the just-released LoadOut Bucket.

I’ll be honest, when I first heard about the LoadOut Bucket, I was unimpressed. I didn’t get it. I mean, who needs a bucket anyway?

But after a week with it, I started to fall in love. Day after day on the Snake River, we put the LoadOut to use and each time it not only lived up to the challenge but revealed yet another use.

Washing off the boats, collecting spent beer cans, hauling gear across camp, wrangling fresh-caught fish… all the things you expect a bucket to do, but without all of the annoyances of a normal, flimsy plastic bucket.

YETI is known for burly products and even burlier prices. And this bucket is… wait for it… $40? That’s actually… not bad.

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A few GearJunkie editors love what they’ve endearingly termed the “f%*#-it bucket,” as in, “Toss it in the f%*#-it bucket” to ensure it makes it to the adventure without fuss.

YETI LoadOut Bucket Review

I spent last week in middle-of-nowhere Idaho to test the brand-new Panga Submersible Duffel. But the LoadOut Bucket in some ways stole the show.

I realize the thru-hike, pack-light, bike-in crowd simply doesn’t need a bucket. And to that I say: Fair enough. Those of you who honestly, truly, never-ever use a bucket should feel free to skip the rest of this article and carry on with your bucketless life.

This Is One Epic Bucket

For the rest of you, I ask that you spend the next 10 seconds remembering all of the times you’ve used a bucket. And another 20 recalling how much of that time was spent fighting with said bucket.

Wire handles digging uncomfortably into your hands. Sidewalls cracking and spilling precious contents across the floor. Handles breaking. And, perhaps most infuriatingly of all, stacked, forever-stuck-together-buckets.

If, like me, you shudder at the thought of these bucket nightmares, then the YETI LoadOut may be just what you need.

YETI Bucket: Who It’s For

Boaters, ranchers, farmers, fishers, barbecuers (hooray for food-safe materials!), gardeners, construction workers, home DIYers, and all-around random load haulers.

What It’s Good For

Use it as a step-stool, shotgun-shell collector,  feed hauler, cleaning aide, bait holder, kindling manager, tool organizer…. It’s a bucket, people. The possibilities are endless.

Room for Improvement:

For the bucket of a lifetime, I’d like to see a few more accessories. A seat for fishing or watching a ballgame. A wheeled caddy perhaps, for ultimate garage portability. And even a custom-fit fishing rod holder would take the LoadOut to a next level.

The Awesome:

Three words: Food-Safe Materials. The BBQ fanatics out there get it. Sometimes you just need a big ol’ bucket to marinate your meat in.

But my favorite part of the LoadOut is its stackability. Plunk one right on top of the other and never again worry about bucket lock-up.

Trust me, I had an eagle eye on the buckets each time they were stacked and consequently pulled apart and I swear on all that is outdoorsy, they never once — not even for the slightest moment — stuck. It was a thing of bucket beauty.

Go Out And Buy One Right Now If:

You’ve got fish to catch, cattle to feed, or tools to organize. Or you forgot about Father’s Day and want to make it up to the old man.

Perhaps you scare the dog with your creatively explicit cursing every time those basic five dollar buckets become inextricably stuck together. Maybe you believe there should be a place for everything and dream at night of a flawlessly organized garage.

Or, you just have stuff that needs hauling and are ready to stop buying several crappy buckets every year. Well, this is a single built-to-last bucket.

–Mallory Paige is a Storyteller and Adventurer. As creator of the Operation Moto Dog adventure, she spent a year traveling and camping her way across North America on a motorcycle-sidecar with Baylor the Dog, proving you don’t need to be fearless or perfect to live your dreams.