4 ms·

Some of the latches on expensive coolers are intentionally hard to close, leading users to slam them, which leaves the user with the feeling of the cooler/latch

Some of the latches on expensive coolers are intentionally hard to close, leading users to slam them, which leaves the user with the feeling of the cooler/latch being rugged (and hopefully worth the extra price of admission). These slam latches are much easier to open than to close.

dandelany 6y ago
Surely it’s not just to “feel rugged”. The rubber seal of a cooler lid is essentially a deformable spring which must be compressed in order to form an effective seal.
chrisseaton 6y ago
When you're closing a cooler you're compressing the gasket. When you open it you're releasing the gasket. It's not a cynical marketing ploy like you describe - it's functional.
- double0jimb0 6y ago
  I encourage you to validate your assertion at your local sporting goods store (comparing tactile feedback against price point). Don't worry, that Yeti is still a great cooler (I jest, I jest) Source: I engineer tactile mechanisms to price points for a living.
  - chrisseaton 6y ago
    I don't know what you mean sorry? I don't know what differs at price points, and I don't know what Yeti is. I just know the coolers I have have gaskets which get compressed when you close them. That's why they pop open when I unlatch them, and why it takes effort to close them.
    - LukeShu 6y ago
      You asserted > It's not a cynical marketing ploy like you describe - it's functional. I believe the parent comment is saying that the closing-force varies closely with price; as price goes up, so does the force required to close it. While there may be a functional reason for some difference between opening-force and closing-force, you wouldn't expect that functional reason to result in that correlation so strongly, and that the majority of the difference in force at high price points is a cynical marketing ploy. (I'm not sure I buy that, it makes sense to me that a more expensive cooler has a thicker gasket to get a better seal.) Yeti is a well-known expensive brand of coolers.

dandelany 6y ago

Surely it’s not just to “feel rugged”. The rubber seal of a cooler lid is essentially a deformable spring which must be compressed in order to form an effective seal.

chrisseaton 6y ago

When you're closing a cooler you're compressing the gasket. When you open it you're releasing the gasket. It's not a cynical marketing ploy like you describe - it's functional.

double0jimb0 6y ago
I encourage you to validate your assertion at your local sporting goods store (comparing tactile feedback against price point). Don't worry, that Yeti is still a great cooler (I jest, I jest) Source: I engineer tactile mechanisms to price points for a living.
- chrisseaton 6y ago
  I don't know what you mean sorry? I don't know what differs at price points, and I don't know what Yeti is. I just know the coolers I have have gaskets which get compressed when you close them. That's why they pop open when I unlatch them, and why it takes effort to close them.
  - LukeShu 6y ago
    You asserted > It's not a cynical marketing ploy like you describe - it's functional. I believe the parent comment is saying that the closing-force varies closely with price; as price goes up, so does the force required to close it. While there may be a functional reason for some difference between opening-force and closing-force, you wouldn't expect that functional reason to result in that correlation so strongly, and that the majority of the difference in force at high price points is a cynical marketing ploy. (I'm not sure I buy that, it makes sense to me that a more expensive cooler has a thicker gasket to get a better seal.) Yeti is a well-known expensive brand of coolers.