Best cooler?

[scotty_pac]

Looking for a good cooler. Any recommendations?

Coleman, Igloo, Yeti, Engel?

Yeti and Engel are more pricey, but says it can hold ice for up to 8 days.

[TPMcGinty]

Looking for a good cooler. Any recommendations?

Coleman, Igloo, Yeti, Engel?

Yeti and Engel are more pricey, but says it can hold ice for up to 8 days.

I have a Coleman Xtreme that works well. Will it keep it's ice for 5 days at 90F as claimed? I don't know. It does last the weekend in the summer, but I keep it in the shade as much as possible. I would love to try a Yeti, but they are WAY to expensive.

[GuitarPhotog]

Where is the break-even point for a cooler that holds ice for 8 days vs one that holds ice for 4 days but costs less than 25% of the better cooler?

When ice costs $3.00 per 20 lbs it seems like it'll take a long time to pay for that ~$400 Engel or Yeti cooler.

<Chas>

[campmaster-k]

I bought a Yeti last year. Love it. Dont know how I lived without it. Only downside is its heavy.

Leaving your old cooler for a Yeti is like leaving your wife for Miss America. You will never go back.

[scotty_pac]

What was the best thing you liked about it that makes it worth the price?

[Lgboro]

If you need to justify the cost vs. buying extra ice I would think you would have to consider the time and expense involved in going to secure the daily bag of ice. Auto gas/diesel is at a premium everywhere I have camped. I don't currently own a decent cooler but I will prior to another extended camping trip.

[Dean in Ct.]

I'm sticking with coleman for the forseeable future. Seems a good compromise of price and quality.
(Hmmmm, I'm wondering if that means campmaster- k's wife is available...)

[Phooey]

We have 2 Canyon Coolers. Not as expensive as a Yeti and works better than our Coleman stainless. We have come home after 5 days of camping and still had plenty of ice and stuff frozen in the bottom.

http://canyoncoolers.com/

[Woodbutcher]

I have the Coleman and it does fine. My worries with a more expensive cooler is I would feel I need to keep it with me all the time. Thieves have good taste. I will say that anytime I can find block ice I buy it. Lasts way longer.

[Shadow Catcher]

One alternative is a12V refrigerator, I found a used Waeco for less than the price of Yeti. I made a bubble Wrap insulation jacket for it.

[doug hodder]

You can drop a ton of money on a high tech cooler. For me, I just get a Coleman and wet down a towel to put over it. The cool towel acts like a swamp cooler for it and will stretch the life of the ice. The killer coolers usually have thicker walls, take up more space to get the same amount of storage and cost a lot more. Doug

[scotty_pac]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I know when shopping around there's the high end and the practical. For the Coleman which is the best exterior material in terms of wear and tear proof? And when referring to "ice block" is it just a block of ice or dry ice? Where can I buy?

At work I have access to a walk in freezer. In the past I've filled a regular cooler about 1/4 with water. Freeze it over night and it lasts for several days.

[pete42]

Block ice would be what you have when you add water to your cooler and let it freeze.

when I used a cooler that needed ice to keep things cool I use a Coleman that came
with my pop-up I kept the cooler when I sold the trailer.

I now use a Coleman 12/120 volt cooler not good if you don't have a 12/120 volt source
when plugged into the truck if left on and truck not running you would end up with a dead battery.

[doug hodder]

I've had both the stainless and the painted ones. The stainless looks cool, but you pay for it and any little ding shows up easily on it. There are lots of nice coolers available at flea markets and garage sales. They can be easily restored with a rattle can paint job as long as the interior isn't cracked. I've got a number of older vintage coolers that are painted to match the trailer paint job.

I make up my own ice. I have a tupperware container that makes a block that will just fit in the bottom from side to side. I always make up several of them for each cooler, I take 2. Solid block lasts much longer than the ones made from the chips in a commercial ice maker. Dry ice is fine if you want to keep a lot of stuff frozen, but it'll freeze anything else you put in the cooler. That should be for a "frozen" foods only cooler. I usually freeze up some items in either zip lock bags or from the Food Saver that I can pull out and heat for dinner. Pre-made eats like spaghetti sauce etc...will keep the cooler nice and cold. If you are taking green leafy stuff like for salads...put a towel on top of the ice and place it on the top of the food in the cooler. It will keep longer and not get "slimey", but there is no guarantee on that, that varies a lot, experiment.

If really "dry" camping, drain the cooler and heat the water to wash the dishes. Just some ideas. Doug

[Alleged User]

I'll vouch for the vintage Coleman icebox. Five-dollar flea market find, and one homemade block of ice will last us an entire long weekend. We keep drinks in a separate cooler, and everything else - meats, dairy, etc. in the icebox.

There is some insulation around the surrounding cabinet in our galley, but I don't think it needs it, frankly. We'll have a about a quarter of the original ice block left when we get home from a long weekend trip. Love this thing.



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