Portable Ice Chests / Coolers, whatcha' got?

[Supervisor42]

I don't usually start a thread, but I looked everywhere and couldn't find one on this subject.
We happily pitched our 2 rectangular ones with the 2 handles, that required 2 people to move when they are full, before we moved here. They were over 40 years old and they sukt.
We are going to get 100# of shrimp in a few weeks, so DW picked up a couple of these for $44 each.
Welcome to 2023!
The wheels and telescoping handle were long overdue.
60-quart capacity, and can be easily moved by 1 person when fully loaded.

 

[Wingnut]

Yeah, those coolers get heavy when they're loaded, especially the larger ones. I have two 48-quart Igloo coolers that work well enough for regular use, but whenever they cr@p out, I'll be sure to buy one on wheels. I recall seeing some coolers with XL wheels for beach use back in Coronado, dunno who makes that kind but it's an interesting option if you hit the beach on a regular basis. Last time I looked at coolers, I saw some that were ridiculously expensive, dunno why but the prices were sky-high, so I didn't bother checking them out more closely, 10-4?

 

[Supervisor42]

Yeah, those coolers get heavy when they're loaded, especially the larger ones. I have two 48-quart Igloo coolers that work well enough for regular use, but whenever they cr@p out, I'll be sure to buy one on wheels. I recall seeing some coolers with XL wheels for beach use back in Coronado, dunno who makes that kind but it's an interesting option if you hit the beach on a regular basis. Last time I looked at coolers, I saw some that were ridiculously expensive, dunno why but the prices were sky-high, so I didn't bother checking them out more closely, 10-4?

Yep, DW said: "Aren't you glad I didn't buy the $450 ones from YETI?".
Told her: "I would never lower myself to bringing something back to Walmart, but I would make an exception in that case".

 

[Wingnut]

That's what I'm talking about... coolers costing several hundred dollars, lol. They didn't look mechanized or electronic or anything, just overpriced. Maybe they were made of carbon fiber, platinum, whatever... sure didn't look like they were worth the expense. I did just see a huge cooler on sale at Walmart yesterday, I think it was 96 quarts? I can't remember, I just glanced at it while passing, but that cooler was priced around $100, which may have been reasonable given its size. It was the kind of cooler you'd want for a family reunion, Little League baseball or Pop Warner football game, whatever... large enough to be better suited for transport in a truck or SUV, and NOT my Camry, lol.

 

[Supervisor42]

That's what I'm talking about... coolers costing several hundred dollars, lol. They didn't look mechanized or electronic or anything, just overpriced. Maybe they were made of carbon fiber, platinum, whatever... sure didn't look like they were worth the expense. I did just see a huge cooler on sale at Walmart yesterday, I think it was 96 quarts? I can't remember, I just glanced at it while passing, but that cooler was priced around $100, which may have been reasonable given its size. It was the kind of cooler you'd want for a family reunion, Little League baseball or Pop Warner football game, whatever... large enough to be better suited for transport in a truck or SUV, and NOT my Camry, lol.

Being a devout capitalist, I can't fault YETI for fishing in the deep end of the pond.
They pull up tons of big stupid 'fish' that are more concerned with impressing their friends, than the function of a product.
...And they make gobs of money off of those idiots.
(surprised that I don't own stock in them).

 

[dademoss]

I somehow make do with an old Igloo "The Cube".

 

[Supervisor42]

I somehow make do with an old Igloo "The Cube".

View attachment 109909

That's not old!
Wheels, handle, not wide, and very close to up to date.
Here is exactly what one of our 48-qt "old ones" looked like, including the 'urine-yellow' color:

This = sux!
(and somebody is trying to sell it on eBay for $300, with $42 shipping )

 

[sonya123]

We have a few huge Igloo coolers that we put our frozen meat in to sell at the market. It takes both of us to move them around and into the truck.
Plus we have some regular size ones also. No shortage of coolers here, glad we bought them before Covid , they probably would cost a small fortune now

 

[backlash]

I have a Coleman Marine Extream.
It has held ice for over 5 days with Temps in the 90s. I only opened it when I got drinks out first the day to transfer to the refer

 

[Hardcalibres]

I have a Coleman Marine Extream.
It has held ice for over 5 days with Temps in the 90s. I only opened it when I got drinks out first the day to transfer to the refer

I really like the tests this youtube channel does on coolers:

https://www.youtube.com/@CoolersOnSale/videos
There are now even some soft sided coolers that can retain frozen ice for 5 days now - like the Engel soft coolers.

Soft coolers are generally a lot lighter (before you load them) and they are more comfortable to carry around.

 

[Magus]

I don't usually start a thread, but I looked everywhere and couldn't find one on this subject.
We happily pitched our 2 rectangular ones with the 2 handles, that required 2 people to move when they are full, before we moved here. They were over 40 years old and they sukt.
We are going to get 100# of shrimp in a few weeks, so DW picked up a couple of these for $44 each.
Welcome to 2023!
The wheels and telescoping handle were long overdue.
60-quart capacity, and can be easily moved by 1 person when fully loaded.
View attachment 109898

I have that model, word of advice, DO NOT leave it empty in a hot car in July or August, it'll split like an overripe pumpkin! Other than that, great piece of equipment! I fixed mine with Silicon and gorilla tape.
I went on a spree of buying coolers a couple of years back, good to have a flea market nearby.

 

[backlash]

An update on my cooler.
I have no ice left in the cooler after 3 days.
Either I brought the wrong cooler or it's not as good as I thought.
I'm hoping I just grabbed the wrong one. I have several that look the same.

 

[joel]

Coleman hard side, too many soft sided cooler, look like shopping bags.

 

[Frodo]

Build your own. And a fraction of the cost
You need a duct mastic called
Childers CP-147
duct board
Silver (tin foil) duct tape
Fiberglass and resin

Make a box with the duct board
Tape all joints
Seal with Pookie ( Childers)
Cover with fiberglass

 

[Frodo]

Bonus project with duct board

Make a 12”x 12. Box

Set a cheap flood light inside the box
You can use the box as an oven

 

[Woody]

I purchased several of the Coleman Extreme… I think they were 50 qt coolers when they first came out. 12… 15 years ago? More than 10 anyway. $50 at the time was A LOT for any cooler except Yeti. Regular 48 qt Coleman were going for $20, or less on sale. I always thought Yeti were too large, heavy and cumbersome for my uses.

Used them for extended beach camping in North Carolina in a highly modified Jeep XJ. I ran 3 Coleman coolers in it and they would hold out for a solid week - 7 days. There was still ice in cooler #1, and #2 was cold enough to grab drinks out of.

Cooler #1 pre-cooled and filled with blocks of ice. I would masking tape the seal and put it under a blanket covered with a white tarp. It got opened once every ~2 days to restock Cooler #2. This was strictly just ice storage.

Cooler #2 was pre-cooled and opened once a day. It was the main food stock storage. I would pull out enough for the day then reseal and put back under the white tarp. Restocked with a block from #1 as needed.

Cooler 3# was the daily use cooler. I would try to limit opening, but whenever I needed something I did not hesitate to just open grab and close. Restocked with a block from #2 or #1 as needed. I usually grabbed what was left in #2 as the fresh block from #1 fit nicely in #2 and #3 really did not care what size the block was. I would also use ice from this in the small 6-pack sized bait cooler. Didn’t use much, just enough to keep bait cool, not ice cold.

By pre-cooling I mean I put ice in them and gave them 24 hours to cool before stocking them for a trip. Also anything put in the coolers was as cold as I could get it before putting it in. This cooler system did many summer trips to Core Banks in NC. The ferry drops ya off, waves and says they will pick you back up on next Thursday at 4 pm (or whatever day/time). The only things out there are other fishermen in their camping vehicles, fish and one water well and pump at the ranger station, by the ferry dock. If you did not bring it, you do without it.

The Jeep was parked for camping just above the high tide mark, right on the beach. I would move around to find fishing, but it was always in the direct sun. Dark green Jeep too. With the windows open and taking advantage of the shore breezes, you could keep it fairly cool in the Jeep but not cooler than summertime NC beach temps. Water management in the coolers was also always a consideration. You had to be careful about draining that nice, cold water away. Putting it in a jug in Cooler #3 helped keep ice costs down. I was extremely pleased with the coolers.

 

[Supervisor42]

I don't usually start a thread, but I looked everywhere and couldn't find one on this subject.
We happily pitched our 2 rectangular ones with the 2 handles, that required 2 people to move when they are full, before we moved here. They were over 40 years old and they sukt.
We are going to get 100# of shrimp in a few weeks, so DW picked up a couple of these for $44 each.
Welcome to 2023!
The wheels and telescoping handle were long overdue.
60-quart capacity, and can be easily moved by 1 person when fully loaded.
View attachment 109898

I chirped about picking up a couple of updated coolers...
We put those suckers to work yesterday!
DW had been monitoring and in touch with the shrimp-boats so we made a 'shrimp-run'.
You have to time it just right for when the 'big ones' come in.
We don't have goats down here, everybody just says 'naa-aaa' to goat-meat.
We have to get our meat protein from these instead:

Traveled down to Mathews, LA , hooked up with her relatives, and made our way to Galliano, LA:

Picked up 100-lbs of 16-20's straight off the boat, caught that morning, 50# for each family.
We got back to Mathews and our team of 5 worked for hours.
1-deheading, 2-peeling, 2-deveining.
We are good for a year with what will go into the freezer!
BTW, I talked about how important it is that coolers are taller and not so wide:
Each one loaded with 50-lbs of shrimp and filled with ice, total weight = 84lbs.
Yes, I was able to lift them into the car.... barely.

 

[Supervisor42]

I forgot to post the the last pic.
I was struggling with getting this pic uploaded since her camera made the pic so big.
The size of 16-20 shrimp; here is 4 in my hand, 5 wouldn't fit:

 

[joel]

Is that a bud light in the last pic?

 

[Supervisor42]

Is that a bud light in the last pic?

Naa, that's a Michelob Ultra, they were nice enough to not bolt a 'tranny' to our favorite beer.

 

[Magus]

An update on my cooler.
I have no ice left in the cooler after 3 days.
Either I brought the wrong cooler or it's not as good as I thought.
I'm hoping I just grabbed the wrong one. I have several that look the same.

Want to give it some steroids? you will lose 1" of internal space.
Get some 1/2" Styrofoam sheet (home depot) and cut it to fit inside, use foaming gorilla glue to hold it in place.
Get "good stuff" brand foaming crack sealer and a piece of plastic milk jug to fill in the gaps, line the whole thing with a garbage bag, then fill it with water to hold everything in place. when it cures you can either remove the bag or trim it to fit, but it will come out eventually anyway. if you precoat it with Silicon spray, it will pop out like a loose tooth!

 

[backlash]

Want to give it some steroids? you will lose 1" of internal space.
Get some 1/2 Styrofoam sheet (home depot) and cut it to fit inside, use foaming gorilla glue to hold it in place.
Get "good stuff" brand foaming crack sealer and a piece of plastic milk jug to fill in the gaps, line the whole thing with a garbage bag, then fill it with water to hold everything in place. when it cures you can either remove the bag or trim it to fit, but it will come out eventually anyway. if you precoat it with Silicon spray, it will pop out like a loose tooth!

I took the same cooler camping again.
Last time I wasn't paying attention and I had left it in the direct sun.
This time I kept it out of the sun and I still had ice 5 days later.
I will keep my Coleman Marine Xtreme cooler.

 

[Magus]

I ought to make a thread up in the info section on how to make an insulated fishing bucket.