Re: Coolers?

Anyone have any suggestions for a cooler (ice box) for car camping? REI is selling the Yeti ($$$) and with 20% off today I am considering it. Always had a Coleman growing up. Any feedback appreciated for these or other brands.

Yeti's are great, but they're truly overkill for car camping. If they were priced lower, then Yetis (or Pelicans -- which also make top-end coolers) would be worth the price.

But it's like buying a Rolls Royce when a Toyota would do the job – just as well.

The top-end Colemans and Igloos perform almost as well as the Yetis but they are far lighter and can be bought at a mere fraction of a cost of a Yeti.

(Unless you're planning to be a away from any source of ice (or dry ice) for seven-plus days, there's simply no rational reason to purchase a Yeti over a top-of-the-line Coleman or Igloo.)


Study the offerings from Coleman and Igloo and go get a top-end cooler from one of these companies and you'll be fine.

But don't forget the most important criteria when purchasing a cooler to be used for car camping: make sure it will fit INSIDE the bear-resistent food lockers of your prospective campsite!



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 05/27/2013 05:17PM by plawrence.

Yes, I was thinking about the bear box size constraints....

And just to clarify what I mean by "top-end" and "top of the line" in regards to Coleman and Igloo coolers, I'm not necessarily talking about the most expensive coolers but the ones that have the best insulation.

For Coleman, those would be their Xtreme® 6 coolers, and for Igloo those would be their MaxCold® Ultra coolers.

(Note: Igloo now offers Yukon coolers that are priced to compete with Yeti coolers. But just like the Yetis, the Yukons are way overpriced.)

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The REI Weekend Cooler seems to work well for me. When I'm staying at a hostel I use it just for transporting my cold stuff in the car. When I'm car camping, I stick it in the bear box and add up to half of a (7- or 8-lb.) bag of ice. So far I've always found other campers nearby to split the bag of ice with.

The cooler is soft-sided and flattens down to about half its normal height. I can fit enough "real perishables" in it to last me four or five days at a hostel, though in that case I'll carry bulky semi-perishables like bread and vegies separately.

I carry an old sleeping bag in the back of my station wagon and drape it over any coolers, food bags, etc. If I'm crossing the Central Valley on a 100-degree day, I may even spread a space blanket over the sleeping bag.

I find that soft-sided coolers are fine for day use like picnics and outings to the beach. But I've never found one that keeps items cold for long periods of time (days) like the hard-sided plastic coolers for Coleman or Igloo (or even the disposable styrofoam coolers that one can buy at a grocery store like the one shown below):





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/27/2013 05:19PM by plawrence.

And here's a good video showing how to use dry ice to keep your food in your cooler either cold (or frozen) for extended periods of time:

Thanks for the video. I once used dry ice on a camping trip but I put it on top of the food. We brought steaks and they froze so hard that they sat in the bear box, out of the cooler for over a day until we could cook them.

TH\hanks for the info. Much appreciated.

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plawrence
And here's a good video showing how to use dry ice to keep your food in your cooler either cold (or frozen)

I had someone use dry ice for a camping trip once. It doesn't keep food cold, it freezes food (dry ice sublimates at −109.3 °F). If that's not what you want, don't use it.

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eeek

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plawrence

And here's a good video showing how to use dry ice to keep your food in your cooler either cold (or frozen)

I had someone use dry ice for a camping trip once. It doesn't keep food cold, it freezes food (dry ice sublimates at −109.3 °F). If that's not what you want, don't use it.

I guess you didn't watch the video. If you place dry ice on top of the food, yes, the food will freeze.

To keep things cold (but not frozen), the trick is to put the dry ice on the bottom and regular ice on top of the dry ice to use as a buffer. Then the food won't freeze.

An alternative – as shown on the video – is to put some insulation (like a towel) between the dry ice on the bottom and the food. But I haven't used that method (so I don't know how effective it is), but the dry ice on the bottom of the cooler then regular ice on top of it does work in keeping the food cold but not frozen.

If you do not want your food frozen, then it's important that the dry ice is placed at the bottom of the cooler, not touching any of the food or drinks directly.

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One thing to keep in mind is that a pound of dry ice is going to turn into a lot of carbon dioxide gas. It's not the kind of thing you'd want to keep in a closed car, or maybe even a tent, where you're going to be spending a lot of time.

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Wikipedia
In concentrations up to 1% (10,000 ppm), it will make some people feel drowsy. Concentrations of 7% to 10% may cause suffocation, manifesting as dizziness, headache, visual and hearing dysfunction, and unconsciousness within a few minutes to an hour.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_dioxide

It's usually mentioned in the handling safety instructions for dry ice that when transporting dry ice in a vehicle to leave at least one of the windows in the vehicle open.

It's also mentioned in this video:




(Also, why would anyone store their cooler inside a tent? When car camping, it needs to be placed in a bear-resistant food locker (aka bear box).

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I like the vintage 1970s models of Coleman steel-belted coolers.
The 42 quart model named the "Low Boy" is particularly well-suited to the older, shorter bear boxes
that are in Lower & North Pines. You can lift the lid up and get things in an out of the Coleman Lowboy
model without having to pull the entire cooler out of the bear box.
You can still find them in nice shape on eBay, but they will admittedly cost some $$. Or if you're lucky,
you can sometimes score one in nice shape at a garage sale.





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/28/2013 07:53AM by PineCone.

Oh man, I want one of these '70s low-boys! Very cool!

We've used this cooler for several years:

http://www.coleman.com/product/62-quart-xtreme-5-wheeled-cooler/6262A748?contextCategory=8581

Left North Pines this afternoon and was glad to find that the cooler is a perfect size for the lockers.

I have a Coleman Extreme and an Igloo 5 day max. Both work quite well and ice stays ice for 3-5 days (with melting of course) I first got the Igloo, which when measured fits the newer bear boxes in UP campground. But it was too tall for TM campground, so we got the Coleman. I usually take the coleman when I have a choice because it is shorter.

here is the coleman, fits in all bear boxes, including older style http://www.walmart.com/ip/Coleman-Xtreme-50-Quart-Wheeled-Cooler/14574676

here is the Igloo, fits only in the newer bear boxes found in Upper Pines http://www.target.com/p/igloo-island-breeze-maxcold-50-roller-cooler-ice-blue-50-quart/-/A-11905898#prodSlot=medium_1_4&term=igloo



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/28/2013 02:49PM by hotrod4x5.

i saw on the internet how to keep your cooler colder longer.

i went camping a few weeks ago in Yosemite and the ice i put in the cooler at home (a 2 & 1/2 drive) lasted me 2 whole days!

i was skeptical, but decided to try it, and for me, it works great.

get a large zip lock bag, fill it almost full of cold water, and put at least one good tablespoon amount of salt in with it.... once you zip it up, shake it so as to mix it up real good... then i put them on a cookie sheet (so they would lay flat), and put them in my garage freezer overnight.... this way when it becomes hardened, it will be thin so it will lay flat in your ice cooler, or you can stand it up on the sides of the walls of the cooler.... either way, it worked great.... gonna do it from now on (talk about cheap lol).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/31/2013 07:56PM by forrestranger.

Great idea forest!

The salt may be the critical part of the sequence...ski resorts in challenging spring periods which nonetheless see cold nights will salt certain slopes to preserve the snow (lowering the temperature of the solid mass).

Well, I did order the 52-quart steel belted Coleman cooler with the REI discount:

http://www.coleman.com/product/54-quart-steel-belted-cooler/3000000381?contextCategory=8501#.UaqotJWFzIY

It arrived today and looking it over, it is just too big for a weekend camping trip for only two people, IMO. It is a very nice looking cooler through!

I have now decided on the 36-quart X-treme 5:

http://www.coleman.com/product/36-quart-xtremereg-5-cooler/6251A748?contextCategory=8581#.UaqpPpWFzIY

Looks like this one will fit into any bear box at Yose for sure. Thanks for all of the valuable input. I will let you know how it goes!