YETI YETI Tank® 85 "Ice Bucket" Insulated ice bucket 1 piece

Drinks cold for the whole meet, with no puddle on the forecourt

What is the YETI Tank 85? An open ice bucket for 111 cans and 45 kilos of ice that stands next to the car and stays dry on the outside. It has no lid, you can't carry it once it's full, and it only fits in a boot when empty.

The YETI Tank 85 is YETI's big ice bucket for anyone who hangs out next to the car and wants the last can at ten to be just as cold as the first one at eight. 77.9 litres, open at the top, no lid in the way. You fill it where it'll stay for the evening, and at the end you pull the plug at the bottom. That's the whole routine.

• Fill it once and the evening is sorted. 111 cans go in, or 60 longnecks, or a half keg on ice. At a meet with twenty cars, everyone reaches in twice, and still nobody has to make a run to the drinks shop. The bucket stands at the edge of the forecourt and the rest of the day carries on without it.
• It stays dry on the outside. After four hours in the sun, it's standing on the same patch of cobbles as at the start and has left nothing behind. If you've ever put a galvanised tub on an oiled wooden deck or the loading lip of an estate, you know the ring you can still see a season later.
• It ages like a tool, not like decor. 65 centimetres square, just under nine kilos empty, non-slip feet, a five-year warranty from YETI. Rotomoulded and UV-resistant, which in practice means: after three seasons between cobbles, trailer bed and paddock, it's got scratches and the colour is still where it was on day one.

Detailing1's tip from the shop: The mistake happens when you fill it, not when you drink. Empty it's just under nine kilos; with 45 kilos of ice and three crates of cans it's well over fifty. Fill it in the garage and then lug it across the yard, and you'll end up with two soaked trouser legs and ice all over the path. Pick the spot first, then fetch the ice. And leave the meltwater in all day — YETI says itself that ice-cold water keeps the ice longer than air does. Drain it in the evening.

You fill the Tank 85 where it's going to stay

The YETI Tank 85 is built to stand, not to travel. Pick a spot, set it down, ice in, drinks in. It stays there until the last car rolls off the forecourt.

Cars & Coffee starts early. At seven it's still cool; by eleven the sun is on the forecourt and every crate that sat in a boot is lukewarm. The bucket goes into the estate the night before, gets set down first thing in the morning and is full before the first car parks up. Between two rows of parked cars, it's the spot where people stop and chat.

On the way to the meet, it rides along empty. The 65 centimetre sides are what decide which car takes it: in an estate with the rear seats folded it disappears; in a saloon's boot it sits crosswise and takes up everything. On the other hand, you can strap it down on a trailer bed using the recesses on the side, so it doesn't wander off at the first bend. Like the other coolers and ice buckets from YETI, it's built for a load bed, not a living room.

In the paddock it's the same order, just a different place. The bucket has been standing in the shade of the van since morning, the ice went in at seven, and after the last session everyone reaches in without a lid in the way. That's exactly why YETI left it open at the top: hand goes in, can comes out, nobody flips anything open.

What goes in depends on the occasion. Cans for the crew, 60 longnecks for club night, twenty bottles of wine if someone's cooking in the evening, or a half keg on ice when the whole club turns up. Inside it's a good forty centimetres square and 45 centimetres deep. Whatever's on top comes out first, and whatever sits down in the ice is still the coldest drink on the forecourt at ten.

Pre-chilling pays off if it's spent the summer in the garage. A warm bucket eats the first load of ice before the first can is even in. Put a cheap bag of ice in two hours beforehand and take it out just before filling — then the day starts at zero, not at minus an hour.

No lid included, and nobody carries it full on their own

The Tank 85 comes without a lid. That's deliberate, and it's still where most people get their sums wrong: without a lid it's a one-day bucket, not a weekend one.

Open and in summer sun, it lasts a day, not three. If you fill it on Friday and expect cold cans on Sunday, you need the matching lid for the ice bucket — then users report two to four days. YETI itself deliberately gives no hours figure, and any precise number here would be a guess. One detail that keeps cropping up in reviews: the lid just sits on top, it doesn't seal and falls off if the bucket tips over.

One Saturday in July it stood on the paving in front of our showroom in Nordhorn, open and in full sun from midday. At eight in the evening there was still ice floating; the next morning it was a tub of cold water. In the shade and with a lid, the maths looks different. Without either, you plan for a day, not a weekend.

The second limit is weight. Filled to the brim it's over fifty kilos, and the rope handles on the sides are meant for two people, not one back. Moving it mid-afternoon is no longer an option; tipping it over is an event. It doesn't have wheels either. If you want to move it three times a day, you've bought the wrong thing.

Twenty people standing around the forecourt for four hours? This bucket. Four people at a folding table who want two bottles kept cold? The smaller ice bucket for 55 cans, which weighs just under six kilos empty and fits in any boot. Of the two, the 85 is the more expensive wrong buy, because it's still big when it stays half empty.

And it's an outdoor thing that sits on the ground. In the kitchen it's in the way; in the living room it looks like a building site. On a concours lawn with a white marquee it stands out less than any blue plastic tub, but there's nothing elegant about it. It's built to be used.

For the host of the meet, not for the boot

This ice bucket belongs to the person everyone else meets up with. If you're the one providing the yard, opening the gate and firing up the grill, you've been improvising the drinks until now.

That's the real target audience: the club treasurer with the big yard, the trackday organiser with the van, the neighbour whose garage has twelve cars outside on Saturdays. All three have solved the same problem by putting crates in the shade — and from two o'clock nobody got anything cold. The YETI Tank 85 is where that improvising stops.

Who it's not for: anyone who goes to meets alone, the weekend road trip for two, the small boot. A cool bag that fits in the footwell does the job there. And if you need it twice a year, a bucket this size doesn't pay off. It's worth it when it's out on the forecourt ten times between April and October, not when it looks good on a shelf.

How it ages is the calm part. Rotomoulded polyethylene picks up scratches and nothing else. No rust at the seams like a zinc tub, no cracked paint like a painted metal bucket. After three seasons the surface tells the story of everywhere it's been, and the rope handles are still the same. Soap and warm water are enough to clean it; for stubborn smells after a fishing weekend, YETI recommends water and bleach at six to one.

The move no manufacturer writes down comes at the end of the season. With the bucket standing, open the drain plug just a quarter turn. Unscrew it fully and forty litres hit your paving at once — with you standing in the middle of it.

And store it open over winter, with the plug next to it rather than screwed in. A bucket screwed shut and still damp inside smells of that August evening come March. Do both and in spring you'll pull a bucket out of the corner that smells like new and looks used. Exactly as it should be.

Is a lid included?

No. The Tank 85 is open at the top so hands and ice scoops can reach in all day. The matching lid for the 85 size is an accessory and sold separately. It just sits on top, isn't watertight and falls off if the bucket tips over. You don't need it for a day on the forecourt, but you do for a whole weekend.

How long does the ice last?

YETI deliberately gives no hours figure, and any precise number would be a guess. Open and in summer sun, plan for a day. In the shade and with the separate lid, users report two to four days. What matters is shade, a pre-chilled bucket and not tipping out the cold meltwater along the way.

How much fits inside?

111 cans, 60 longnecks, 20 bottles of wine or 45 kilos of ice. A standard half keg also fits in on ice. The volume is 77.9 litres, inside a good 40 centimetres square and 45 centimetres deep. YETI recommends roughly two thirds ice and one third contents, not the other way round.

Can I carry it full on my own?

No. Empty it weighs just under nine kilos; filled to the brim with ice and drinks it's well over fifty. The rope handles on the sides are meant for two people. It has no wheels. So the order is: pick the spot first, then fill it.

Does it fit in a normal boot?

Empty and crosswise, yes, but it takes up the whole boot. On the outside it measures 65.3 by 65.3 centimetres and 49.3 centimetres high. In an estate with the rear seats folded that's no issue; in a saloon it is. On a trailer bed, you can strap it down via the recesses.

How do I clean it?

Soap and warm water are enough for everyday cleaning. For stubborn smells, YETI recommends a solution of water and bleach at six to one with a sponge or a slightly abrasive cloth. Then rinse thoroughly and let it dry open.

What colours are there and how long does it last?

We stock it in white and tan. YETI gives a five-year warranty on the ice bucket. The body is rotomoulded, UV-resistant polyethylene: it picks up scratches, but doesn't rust at the seams or chip like paint on metal.

Before use: If the ice bucket comes out of a warm garage, put a cheap bag of ice in two hours beforehand and take it out again before filling. Otherwise a warm bucket eats up the first load of ice.

When filling: Pick the spot first, then fetch the ice. Filled to the brim it weighs over fifty kilos and can't be moved anymore. Roughly two thirds ice, one third drinks, fill the gaps with ice.

During the day: Leave the meltwater in. Ice-cold water keeps the remaining ice longer than air does. Keep the bucket in the shade if you can.

At the end: With the bucket standing, open the drain plug just a quarter turn, or forty litres come out at once. Then wash it out with soap and warm water. For stubborn smells, water and bleach at six to one.

Storage: Store open and dry, with the drain plug next to it rather than screwed in. A bucket screwed shut and damp inside will smell come spring.