Cooler thread

[jailbird141]

Does anyone use dry ice anymore? Growing up, we would put a couple pieces at the bottom of the ice chest then a layer of ice cubes. Lasted all weekend at the river or the desert. And the ice chests 35 years ago were nothing like the are now. If I remember correctly, I was not very expensive either.

 

[CAN AM MIKE]

My brother in law has the walmart version of the yeti. Its a pos. Maybe 6 hrs in the shade in yuma this summer. I have a 20 year old igloo maxcool. Ice lasts 2 days on the same trip/conditions

i want to upgrade coolers too. Im looking hard at the RTIC. I have a few of their cups and they are great

I have the RTIC 45. It works great but is heavy.  We leave it in the enclosed trailer during Glamis trips keeps ice for 4 days or so. They now make a lighter version of their coolers. We are happy with ours

 

[Bansh88]

Does anyone use dry ice anymore? Growing up, we would put a couple pieces at the bottom of the ice chest then a layer of ice cubes. Lasted all weekend at the river or the desert. And the ice chests 35 years ago were nothing like the are now. If I remember correctly, I was not very expensive either.

I haven't seen dry ice in decades.  Wouldn't a tight sealing cooler create a bomb?

 

[RideSand]

We love our Canyons. Have the 22, 35, and 75 and they all serve their purpose well. The little one is just for the drive. Keep some snacks and a couple of drinks in there - I used it during the week as a lunch box, too. The 35 is great for drinks. I know its going to get opened a lot - count on having to refill with ice and drinks a couple of times depending on where we are and what we are doing. The 75 holds our food. We get in it maybe 5 times a day, but we know what we are looking for and dont mess around. Its not the end of the world if ice melts, they still keep stuff really Fn cold for a long time. For us, we like local, like the look, and try to stick to the same thing. Also, we got our 35 used for a smoking deal. Might be worth watching that, too. People sell their stuff all the time....

 

[Kevin]

im happy with the lifetime coolers. made in utah.

 

[RideSand]

I haven't seen dry ice in decades.  Wouldn't a tight sealing cooler create a bomb?

Also curious about this. Have always thought about leaving the drain plug cracked open (or drilling a hole through a "dry ice use only" spare) and trying it out. Seems sketch.

 

[Crusty]

Smart and Final carries dry ice, we use it to keep meat frozen for trips to Yosemite. Small Standard Igloo, frozen meat on bottom, sealed in zip locks sized to portions we want. Cardboard placed on top of the meat, then dry ice on top of cardboard. You only open to get out what you want, leave it alone otherwise. Everything stays frozen easy 4+ days.

No way would I use Dry Ice with regular ice or for drinks. Just be a waste of $ that way.

I like the Walmart Lifetime Roto molded, been thinking of getting a small one for drinks....seems cheap and effective per many here.

 

[Rockwood]

I won a Polaris branded "Yeti" style cooler (hasn't caught fire yet and no clevis on it) in a raffle.  It's good, but not amazing.  For camping trips in the Jeep, we've switched to a 12vdc refrigerator.  As long as you're starting the car every day-ish, or have an extra battery, works great.  

https://www.amazon.com/AstroAI-Refrigerator-Portable-Freezer-Compressor/dp/B088FF4R3Y/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=12v+refrigerator+60+quart&qid=1662494833&sprefix=60+quart+12v+re%2Caps%2C110&sr=8-2

Survived over 2 years of hard Jeep use now, including a mad dash in Big Bear averaging over 40mph on trails because my daughter had a medical emergency (Jeep was airborne more than twice, spare tire carrier didn't survive, fridge did). It's been nearly sideways climbing ledges, constantly dusty, etc, never a hiccup. Jeep has a standard size O-Reilly AGM in it, never has trouble starting the following day.  No need for ice, so a 60 quart is the equivalent of an 80 quart and all my food stays dry.  

Only bummer is unlike a cooler, you won't have a cold beer 5 minutes after dropping it in, so plan your frosty beverages ahead of time and reload as you use.

Does anyone use dry ice anymore? Growing up, we would put a couple pieces at the bottom of the ice chest then a layer of ice cubes. Lasted all weekend at the river or the desert. And the ice chests 35 years ago were nothing like the are now. If I remember correctly, I was not very expensive either.

Water + dry ice = bomb.

I'd stick to just dry ice in there. :biggrin:

 

[Brian Machnach]

I use a pelican.   Made in USA and lifetime warranty.  

I also have a good size pelican with wheels my wife got me for a gift.works great if me and her just use it but camping with kids and them in and out 15 times a day and not latching it it works as good as a 50 dollar cooler..lol.it will hold ice for a full friday,saterday and Sunday trip if its just me and her.buddy just got the life time cooler from Walmart and I think its close to the pelican I have and way cheaper.i won't spend close to 400 bucks again on a cooler.him and his girl just did a camping trip and he also got Friday,saterday and Sunday out of his.he said more then 1/2 the ice was melted but drinks where still ice cold.

 

[HozayKwarvo]

If you didn't camp in wash 78 the icecream man will sell you a fresh bag every 5 minutes and you wouldn't need a new cooler

 

[Crusty]

 

[HBLOWEN]

I use a ORCA 75 on my boat for our Havasu trips. Great ice retention in the extreme heat. USA made and they show love to first responders, military, nurses, and teachers (20% off).

 

[matt86m]

I have a Rtic Light weight 55, a Yeti 30+ (cant remember) and a Hooked 50. All work the same.

One big difference I see makes ice last longer is pre-cool the cooler and put in cold drinks. 

Block ice is good too

 

[IFLY]

We have the Lifetime cooler from Walmart with no issue. I would not pay for the higher end coolers.

 

[Rockwood]

Forgot to mention.  Picked up this guy:

https://www.amazon.com/Coleman-70-Quart-Xtreme-Heavy-Duty-Cooler/dp/B00FQT6BQW/ref=asc_df_B00FQT6BQW/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=167119746601&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8897894296056519932&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9031326&hvtargid=pla-304813147386&psc=1

From Wal-Mart for $50-some-odd for a Rubicon trip.  Regular store bought ice, lasted the entire 5 day trip.  Worked fiiiiiiiine.  

 

[LtPyro]

Lifetime brand coolers at Walmart. Made in USA. Roto-molded, comes in 28, 50, and 70 qt.

I've been using the 28 at work for about 3 years now. Tough as nails, doesn't leak, and holds ice for days without issues. And much more affordable then other name brands. 

I use these ones as well and they work great.  I have the 50qt and what i do is freeze a flat of bottled waters to act as an ice block then pack the cooler with cold drinks and some regular ice.  the frozen bottles will last a long time and then they just become drinking water.

 

[Darkjuju]

https://canyoncoolers.com/ Cant say enough good things about them, no fault lifetime warranty (bear ate my cooler, "no problem here's a new one"), they sell parts to repair your cooler, HQ in Flagstaff Az.

 

[Kraut_n_Rice]

Lifetime units here too.  Coolers full of drinks when on the houseboat at Powell.  All the food is in the refrigerator.

 

[Big_Daddy_Jp]

So quick info. I too last year was looking for new coolers. Like you I came on here and asked the masses. Most said the same thing, if your in and out of the cooler for drinks all day than a Yeti or like cooler is a waste. The roto molded coolers were designed to hold ice for long periods of time without opening and closing all the time. A lot of people recommended the lifetime from Walmart. So I started watching ice challenges on YouTube for all brands of coolers. The lifetime actually held ice just as good as the yeti! So I bought two 77qt lifetimes to replace the one 150qt igloo I had. Mind you my igloo was 25 years old. I got rid of my smaller Coleman’s and igloos I had and now just have two coolers vs the 5-6 I had before. The coolers hold ice way better than any cooler I have owned. Does the ice last 5 days camping at the desert? Hell no! I even keep them in the shade with the lids latched. They do however last around 3 days before I have to hail the ice truck. Also I may add, my wife and I drink cocktails so we are in and out of the coolers for the ice. Not sure how long the ice would last if I wasn’t robbing it for my drinks! 

 

[Lord of the Dunes]

The Yeti coolers are built with extra thick plastic. This makes them heavy and nearly bear proof, but the plastic actually transfers heat, it is not an insulative layer and thus lighter coolers with thinner skins perform slightly better at ice retention. Yeti coolers are made to be rugged, and since we usually don't have problems with bears in Glamis, might be a bit overkill.

I prefer my coolers to be lighter since I'm lazy and don't like lugging 45 lbs of cooler plus ice and drinks. I have a couple of Rugged Road coolers which are about 8 lbs ea and retain ice slightly less than the Lifetime cooler, but close enough for car camping. I've got cheap coolers I bought long ago, before the premium coolers came out, good enough for daytime beach trips. I have 2 12v fridge/freezers for long car camping or overlanding trips and American Outdoors soft sided coolers (4 of them) for boat use. Something for every situation. If I had to get rid of the and only have 1 cooler, I think I'd keep the Lifetime cooler.