Coolers

[Mike K]

My dad is thinking about getting a high end (Pelican or similar) cooler so I started doing some basic research. I found this BCP thread that had some good stuff but I thought I'd start a new one specifically dedicated to coolers and tips/tricks to make ice last.

Tips I've come across so far so far or learned on my own:

- Freeze 1 gallon jugs
- A layer of thinsulite over the top
- Keep direct sun off the cooler (in shade if possible, obviously)
- Cover the cooler with a wet towel. Rewet as necessary and the sun won't be able to cook your cooler as much
- Freeze everything you can
- Make your own ice (blocks)*
- Use dry ice (at the bottom of the cooler)
- Open the cooler as infrequently as possible (pack it wisely and organize by day, etc)
- Precool the cooler
- My dad said he heard good things about these reusable cooler packs

*I've also started making my own blocks. I take old Amazon shipping boxes of various sizes and line them with kitchen trash can liners (doubling is always a good idea) then stick 'em in the freezer. They take a while to freeze if they're big but they last longer than the store bought stuff. I learned from river trip buddies that the ice blocks you buy at the store are typically compressed crushed ice. Some places sell "real" solid ice. It costs more but we'd buy the good stuff for our Idaho river trips and it lasted much longer.

Brands? Some of you guys like the Coleman Extreme Series. Good bang for buck apparently. That video likes the Engel brand overall for quality and sturdiness. Pelican, Iglooo, Yeti, etc. Anyone have a brand that they're in love with?

Thanks to @Nick , @sixstringsteve , and @gnwatts for info from the previous thread.

Add your tips or thoughts to this thread if you have any. Thanks!

 

[steve]

Lots of good tips there.

I tried a yeti once and found the marketing to be 100x better than any actual cooler. Performance on the other hand, was possibly 3% better than my cheap discount store $40 igloo cooler. I plan on getting a coleman extreme for my next cooler.

One other thing my wife taught me is that it's important how and where you pack your food in your cooler. You don't want your lettuce sitting directly on the ice. Keep things that can be frozen at the bottom, and keep produce and other things towards the top.

 

[steve]

the next question is, does draining your water halfway through the trip keep it colder, or does it make things hotter?

 

[Mike K]

the next question is, does draining your water halfway through the trip keep it colder, or does it make things hotter?

Haha...no kidding. We always wonder and debate about this one. To drain or NOT to drain? I've never found any scientific proof one way or the other.

If nothing else, I like to drain it so stuff doesn't "swim" in potentially nasty water.

 

[Nick]

Coleman Xtreme coolers come with a cooler tips sheet that says not to drain water. But with that said, I believe that the water will melt the ice faster. When I'm shooting for longevity on a 5+ day trip, all of my ice is contained somehow so it doesn't matter as much. I drink the water off of the frozen blocks each day because that is my drinking water supply and it feels GOOD when it's 90+ out!

On the subject of frozen blocks, I've been playing with a few different methods. I tried the 2.5 gal rectangular jugs on a couple of trips. It's a beastly block of ice but it has been a little tough to manage. Even with some water drained out, they still swell in odd places making it hard to fit in with other things.

On my last long trip we found some 1 gallon jugs that were made of the more durable plastic like the Arrowhead 3L round jugs, but they were square and didn't have the big gap on the bottom (wasted space). We froze I believe 8 of them and spread them between our two big coolers along with some DIY gallon bag ice blocks and some bags of cube ice for drinks. At the end of a 5-day trip in high 90 degree temps, we still had plenty of ice. I'm sure we could have gone to 7 or 8 days.

I also keep a handful of 1 liter water bottles frozen in the fridge to fill unused space when heading out. No leakage, no empty space and good drinking water as needed. Win win win.

I'm curious about the dry ice technique you mentioned, Steve. How do you keep it from freezing your stuff? I've heard people will have a two cooler system where they keep ice and dry ice in one cooler and then use that ice to keep replenishing the main cooler, but never dry ice and food together. I like carbonated grapes, but they usually come in a bottle when I have them.

 

[steve]

You put a chunk of dry ice on the bottom of your cooler, then cover it in crushed ice. The dry ice keeps the crushed ice cold, and carbonates your fruit in the process.

I've never had an issue with it freezing anything.

I usually us about a 4x8" piece of dry ice 2" thick. That works for a LONG time.

 

[gnwatts]

I believe leaving the cold water in the bottom of the cooler helps, it is basically a cold thermal mass. I have gone both ways but typically I leave the water in. I duct tape the cooler lid shut after breakfast, and I don't open it until dinner if possible. I think mine is a Coleman Xtreme.

 

[Aldaron]

We used a $30 Coleman Extreme to keep water and Gatorade cold in the car while we were backpacking for 3 days in Grand Gulch this spring. I used a bag of ice to pre-cool the cooler. I froze the drinks before putting them into the cooler. And I put the ice on top of the drinks.

It was hot during the day, but the drinks were still frozen when we got back to the truck three days later and we still had frozen ice in the cooler when we got back from the Maze four days after that.

I was glad I didn't splurge on the Yeti.

 

[blueeyes]

I pack all my produce and stuff i can't stand cooler water in on top of my bottles items with a cookie rack on top of the bottled. It keeps my produce, cheese and other stuff dry. Water stays until end of trip because I firmly believe it keeps cooler cold longer the less room you have in you cooler the less warm air trapped when you open it each time. I have a Coleman can't remember if it is extreme or not. Use 3 bags of crushed and 1 block of ice. Bags of crushed may vary depending on how long I am camping and how much room I have. I have a separate cooler for drinks.

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