The Rubbermaid egg didn’t survive the first swing. Then I lifted the maul up to my waist and let it swing into the cases five times, checking after each impact to see if the egg broke. I placed a raw egg in each of the cases and created a pendulum with an eight-pound maul attached to a metal clothesline in my backyard. (More on the durability of Pelican’s handles later.) Protection That said, the minimalist Yeti and Rubbermaid handles are less likely to break in the field. It has sturdy top and side handles plus small wheels for rolling, and it was a breeze to carry with one hand. Both the LoadOut and Action Packer lack substantial handles (they’re essentially just small indentations), so the load was a little unwieldy and my fingers got sore. I put my 31-pound kettlebell in each of the containers and carried them around my yard four times, roughly an eighth of a mile. It’s worth noting that you can use smaller bins and place them inside the larger main compartments to keep gear separate, though that isn’t as tidy or secure as the LoadOut’s standard system. The Pelican and Rubbermaid only have a single large compartment-fine for fitting everything but without the organization of the LoadOut. The mesh pockets were especially handy for storing smaller items like spices (and pilfered Taco Bell Fire Sauce packets) and my lighter-which I appreciated, knowing how frustrating it is to find those little items at the bottom of a packed bin. I loved that all the pieces of my kitchen could have their own easy-access place. ![]() This system was easy to pack and unpack, which made finding gear easy and was an absolute dream for this anal-retentive camper. The Winner: Yeti’s LoadOut GoBox, which comes with a removable plastic tray (called the Caddy), a center divider, and three pockets inside the lid. I took my camp kitchen-consisting of utensils, a spatula, paper towels, knives, a corkscrew, soap, a sponge, hand sanitizer, a lighter, a small pot and pan, cooking oils and spices, two plates, and two tumblers-and packed it into each of these bins three times. There was a small sprinkling of water inside the Rubbermaid bin, but it was still impressively minimal at only one gram of water. The Winner: This was a tie between Yeti and Pelican-both were bone dry, as they should be, since both are advertised as being waterproof. Then I used the shirts to mop up any moisture that had gotten inside and weighed them again. I was trying to re-create splashing like they’d encounter on a raft or in the rain. Then with my garden hose on the jet setting, I blasted the boxes from two feet away, spraying along the seam of each side exactly 100 times (400 sprays in total for each model). I weighed three cotton shirts and placed one in each bin. ![]() I settled on ten pounds because it’s a good average weight for the amount of gear you’d be carrying in these, whether it’s in the form of camera equipment or a camp kitchen. ![]() I put ten pounds of weight-in the form of individual one-pound pods from the Harbinger weight vest I use during workouts-in each and threw them in my Jacuzzi to see if they floated. Rubbermaid Eight-Gallon Action Packer ($30) (Sarah Jackson) The Tests Flotation Pelican Protector 1620 ($275) (Sarah Jackson) Yeti LoadOut GoBox 30 ($250) (Sarah Jackson) I gauged their durability, flotation, waterproofing, organization, portability, and how well each kept its contents safe. I pitted the LoadOut GoBox in a head-to-head-to-head test with the closest equivalents from Pelican (which is more expensive) and Rubbermaid (which is less than an eighth of the price). So naturally I wanted to beat the snot out of it to see just how it holds up-and if it’s worth that price tag. As with pretty much every debut from the Austin, Texas, brand known for making expensive and burly coolers, packs, and drinkware, the multipurpose cargo box looked incredibly durable. A few weeks ago, Yeti’s new $250 LoadOut GoBox 30 went on sale.
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