Coolers

[3boymthr]

A couple of years ago I got sick of dealing with the cheap coolers when we go camping. I wanted a Yeti but just couldn't justify the price. We bought a Coleman Steel belted cooler. Well worth the money. The ice survived 7 hours in the sun in a basket on the back of my car as we drove to the campground in 100 degree weather. I didn't buy nearly as much ice that week - and the temps every day topped 100. Didn't really use it last year because of covid. If you are looking for something small and portable I also recommend the Hydroflask cooler bag. I've not tried it against long term 100 weather but it has held up well for beach days.

 

[Orion Nebula]

A couple of years ago I got sick of dealing with the cheap coolers when we go camping. I wanted a Yeti but just couldn't justify the price. We bought a Coleman Steel belted cooler. Well worth the money. The ice survived 7 hours in the sun in a basket on the back of my car as we drove to the campground in 100 degree weather. I didn't buy nearly as much ice that week - and the temps every day topped 100. Didn't really use it last year because of covid. If you are looking for something small and portable I also recommend the Hydroflask cooler bag. I've not tried it against long term 100 weather but it has held up well for beach days.

I "had" one of them also, great cooler. But don't forget it outside all winter.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Igloo has Yeti style coolers now, with a tight seal and a latching mechanism. The idea is actually quite simple and rather hard to keep others from copying the basic idea.

Good to know and will keep in mind if I ever need a cooler again .
Love the closing mechanism and hinges on the Yeti and it makes me think of the “back in the days” Colemans. Made them well then and was able to purchase a mid ‘70s Coleman fuel stove from EBay but never able to snag a vintage cooler. I’m guessing a lot of them succumbed to rust.

 

[Wendy31]

We road trip all the time and have a bunch of different coolers. I actually tend to use our $15 Igloo cooler from Walmart the most. I freeze a large bottle of water from a juice bottle like Simply Orange and use that. When ice starts to melt I add ice to the bottle and screw the cap back on. No food gets wet and ice easily lasts for two days.

We do similar - We freeze numerous Gatorade bottles which we’ve filled up w/ water. They act like great blocks of ice, &, when they melt, there’s not water all over the cooler or our cooler bag.

And we just refreeze as needed - which doesn’t work if your hotel room just has a small fridge & not a freezer.

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

We have two Colemans, and they are really good on keeping ice frozen. We have this one and this other one. We also use a small cooler for road trips, with just some drinks or light snacks in it, so we're not in and out of the big coolers constantly. (and we also have a 5 gal and a 3 gal cooler for drinks if needed. All Coleman, because I couldn't afford Yeti when I needed them..)


They aren't as good as the old metal coolers from Coleman, that my dad used to have...those things kept ice for days. These were the bob-omb...

 

[bcla]

Good to know and will keep in mind if I ever need a cooler again .
Love the closing mechanism and hinges on the Yeti and it makes me think of the “back in the days” Colemans. Made them well then and was able to purchase a mid ‘70s Coleman fuel stove from EBay but never able to snag a vintage cooler. I’m guessing a lot of them succumbed to rust.

Coleman has brought those back. They're pricey though - well over $100 each. They're going back to the 1950s style. My dad bought a 70s version which looks a little bit less rounded than these.

https://www.coleman.com/coolers/har...opener-54-quart-rose-pink/SAP_3000003591.html

Igloo has the BMX and IMX series with positive latching mechanisms. Very much like Yeti's style.

https://www.igloocoolers.com/collections/bmx-hard-coolers
https://www.igloocoolers.com/collections/imx-hard-coolers

 

[RamblingMad]

I have a Cabelas cooler. It's pretty much like a Yeti. You can get them at Bass Pro Shop. You can also get something similar at Walmart. They have an Ozark brand.

REI has a sale going on now, so you can get a Yeti for cheaper than a Cabelas cooler.

https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/coo...&pageView:grid&minPrice:&maxPrice:&pageSize:&

 

[Squirlz]

We have an electric cooler that plugs into a lighter socket or runs on 110 so you can take it into the room with you. No ice necessary. It also warms although I have never tried that function.

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

Depending on what size you need, I recommend the Coleman PowerChill Thermoelectric. You can plug it in in the car and also into a wall in a hotel room. We use this one on most of our roadtrips.

https://www.coleman.com/coolers/the...ill-thermoelectric-cooler/SAP_3000001497.html

 

[3boymthr]

I have a Cabelas cooler. It's pretty much like a Yeti. You can get them at Bass Pro Shop. You can also get something similar at Walmart. They have an Ozark brand.

REI has a sale going on now, so you can get a Yeti for cheaper than a Cabelas cooler.

https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/coo...&pageView:grid&minPrice:&maxPrice:&pageSize:&

Hmmmm...I love the Coleman but...oldest DS works at cabelas. Employees get an awesome discount on store brand stuff.

 

[NotUrsula]

Regardless of what cooler you get, be aware that air is the enemy, and the key to keeping the interior cold is to minimize air. Don't buy one so large that it will be used half-empty.

In most coolers the lid closure is a leak spot for heat. Putting a thick towel or an inch of newspaper under the lid will do wonders. You also want to keep the cooler itself out of direct sun.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

A Coleman Steel Belted Cooler will work wonders. My family had one from the 70s, and it kept stuff cool for days. But it had a seal like a refrigerator door and a locking mechanism that kept the lid sealed. A friend in high school asked to borrow it in order to store dry ice for a science project. It was literally air tight including the drain opening.

Igloo has some similar coolers with a latching mechanism. They've updated it with some of their newer design elements (like the bottom that barely touches the ground and should result in less heat transfer) into their "legacy" coolers. Not going to be cheap though. I saw a similar sized wheeled Igloo cooler at Target for about $25 on sale. It might not be perfect, but the newer plastic coolers are lighter, not likely to dent, and still keep stuff reasonably cold.

https://www.igloocoolers.com/collec...ts/legacy-54-qt-cooler?variant=32180513341523

Most newer coolers tend to have fairly loose lids that don't really seal all that well. They may have pretty good insulation, but it's not going to be as good as an airtight seal.

Coleman has brought those back. They're pricey though - well over $100 each. They're going back to the 1950s style. My dad bought a 70s version which looks a little bit less rounded than these.

https://www.coleman.com/coolers/har...opener-54-quart-rose-pink/SAP_3000003591.html

Igloo has the BMX and IMX series with positive latching mechanisms. Very much like Yeti's style.

https://www.igloocoolers.com/collections/bmx-hard-coolers
https://www.igloocoolers.com/collections/imx-hard-coolers

DH has a new job that requires a lot of traveling staying in hotels or Airbnbs. We'll be traveling together for up to a month at a time. After returning from the first trip where we spent 26 days eating out three meals a day, we want to take most of our food with us & will grocery shop along the way. Which one of these coolers would you recommend for that situation or would you recommend something else in a similar price range?

ETA: After rereading my post, it sounds like we were constantly on the road. That's not the case. We'll probably spend a night or two on the road each way, but the bulk of the trip will spent in one location.

 

[Sjm9911]

If traveling like that, you may want a 12 volt dc cooler/freezer. Assuming your traveling by car.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

If traveling like that, you may want a 12 volt dc cooler/freezer. Assuming your traveling by car.

Thanks. We plan to travel by car as much as possible. Do you have a recommendation for a good one that will hold enough food for several days, as well as keep several drinks cold?

ETA: I edited my above post, if that makes a difference in your advice.

 

[JoanneAZ]

One thing that will help no matter which cooler you use is pre-trip prep. When I was young, my family went camping multiple times a year. In the days before our trip my mother would take containers from milk/juice, fill them 3/4 full of water and freeze them. The night before we left she would fill the cooler with the frozen water bottles and seal the cooler. The next morning she would remove the bottles and replace them with fresh bottles from the freezer. Then she would put the food in. That way the cooler was already cold, more efficient at keeping the food cold, and we had water to drink as the ice bottles thawed. I hope you have a great trip!

 

[Sjm9911]

Thanks. We plan to travel by car as much as possible. Do you have a recommendation for a good one that will hold enough food for several days, as well as keep several drinks cold?

I dont have one, but a lot of the campers like this one Alpicool C40 Compressor Fridge. From what is said , there basicly all made in the same place and they stick diffrent manafature names on them. Good thing is its dc ( cigarette lighter) or ac plug in. So no need for ice. And no need to drain water. If i were in your situation and could afford it, i would get that for your situation. If not any roto mold cooler would work. As stated pre cool it and use block ice. Wallmart coolers are good if you dont need it them be bear proof.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

I dont have one, but a lot of the campers like this one Alpicool C40 Compressor Fridge. From what is said , there basicly all made in the same place and they stick diffrent manafature names on them. Good thing is its dc ( cigarette lighter) or ac plug in. So no need for ice. And no need to drain water. If i were in your situation and could afford it, i would get that for your situation. If not any roto mold cooler would work. As stated pre cool it and use block ice. Wallmart coolers are good if you dont need it them be bear proof.

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll look into it.

 

[NotUrsula]

My dad ran a trawler out of Louisiana. Years of experience transporting seafood across the country has taught me that there are things you can do (beyond pre-cooling it) to extend the performance time of ANY cooler:

1. Store it in the shade. If you don't have shade, you can make it. I have the perfect "fake shade" cargo setup that I keep in the car and use all the time. I went to a fabric shop and bought two 6' lengths of washable fleece fabric; one is pale tan, and the other is black, which are the two colors of the upholstery in my Outback (useful for security when I don't want passerby to easily be able to see what is in my parked car.) I lay them out folded double, put the cooler on top of one end, wrap the other over the top, and repeat that, normally with the lighter-colored fleece on the outside. Fleece is a great insulator, especially 4 layers of it, and it keeps the outside of the cooler (and everything else it covers) from heating up from the sun.

2. Displace the air inside it. The bottle trick noted above is a really good way to help achieve this, but you need to keep the bottles filled up & the area around the tops filled with something other than air. Soft artificial ice is good for this, because even when it melts it still takes up space where you put it, rather than sinking to the bottom. Half-filled baggies of food or ice work, too, as they bend. I also recommend a vapor barrier, which is part of tip #3 ...

3. Add an extra insulating barrier under the lid seal, the full size of the inside top of the cooler. IME, the best way to do this is to take a large garbage bag, place something such as a stack of newspaper or a folded-to-size-towel inside it, and then fold the rest of the bag over the top a few times and tape it down flat without air inside. After you fill the cooler, place this waterproof air barrier on top of the contents and under the lid, making sure it isn't too thick to interfere with the seal. It will help keep warm air from leaking in around the opening.

 

[Dan Murphy]

I bought this from Costco for my son. He loves it.

https://www.costco.com/massimo-cx50-12v-portable-e-kooler.product.100566509.html

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

Anyone ever have RTIC? Seems to be a knockoff of Yeti but like $100 cheaper.

I have an Rtic cup and it keeps ice very well... I also did see RTIC coolers when we were in FL last week.