RE: Coleman Extreme Coolers

[Trailblazer]

 Campaholics
We used our Xtreme coleman cooler for the first time this past weekend and were very pleased with is performance. The temperatures were 90+ and we were in the cooler several times each day. We found the ice last for 4 days. At the end of the 4th day, the ice had all melted but the water was still very cold and the items inside were still cold. I am sure we could have gone the full five days, but we were home at the end of the fourth day and no longer needed to keep the food in the cooler.
 
 

[Jeffrey]

 Campaholics
Yepp, what most everyone else says.
 
 Just went to SD for the 4th. It was HOT upper 80 s and 90 s everyday.
 
 Had a new extreme cooler and our old Igloo cooler.
 Every day we had to dump the igloo and put in about 2 new bags of ice.
 
 The extreme came back home with the same ice we put in at home.
 
 So 3 days X 2 bags @ 1.25 a bag = $7.50 in ice we saved on one trip.
 We are going to Walmart to get another Extreme Cooler, before our next trip.
 

[topcat7736]

 Campaholics
We had an Extreme included with our Taos in 2000. I remarked at the time that it was the best cooler I ever had. We are still using it and getting the same results.
 
 For those who don t, here s some interesting observations.
 
 1) We now keep ours in a black van. I noticed this weekend that the ice had melted a lot. I had also left our weather radio in the van, running on batteries, overnight. It also tells the high/low/current temperature. Well, to my surprise, the high had been 124 the low 86 and the current 102!
 
 2) When I lived in Arizona, the weatherman said the temperature was 105. I looked out the window at my thermometer (in the sun) and it was registering over 140. Turns out the weather people report the air temperature not the temperature in the sun.
 
 So, perhaps the Extreme works best when it is in the shade and the ambient AIR temperature doesn t exceed 95 (as it s advertised to do). Ours is still the best cooler we ve ever had and I wouldn t hesitate to highly recommend it to those looking to purchase a cooler.

[Shutterbug]

 Campaholics
I purchased one based on the feedback given here.  I havent taken it camping yet but did use it along with several other coolers for a 4th of July backyard bbq.  It was the ONLY one at the end of a very hot day with ice in it.  I am looking forward to taking it camping and making many less ice trips.  Thanks for all of your feedback. []

[kathybrj]

 Campaholics
Wally world has the 36qt for $19 again- our local store has TONS of them. I d get one, but them seem small. I would really like a 58qt. May have to ask Santa...

[wiininkwe]

 Campaholics
I have been trying to convince my DH that this Coleman extreme is supposed to be the best cooler around, but I m not making many points.  I bought the 36 qt. cooler at Wally world back around the first of June, and it s definately the extreme, with the gray and white coloring, the big badge on the side, and the stickers guaranteeing 5 days of ice.  Well, we ve used the cooler three times, followed all the recomendations by precooling, etc.  The ice has never lasted more than one day.   I wonder too, if there could have been a batch of rejects that got released into the market?!   It s probably the worst cooler we ve ever had, aside from those old white foam jobbies.
 T
 []

[jpreiser]

 wiininkwe
COuld be a reject, I use to work at walmart... not saying that they got rejects but we sure got A lot of returns on defective items!![][]

[garym053]

 wiininkwe
Bought the 58 qt Coleman Extreme at BJ s for $29.99 last week. Took it on our latest camping trip, a 4 1/2 day excursion into the Great North Woods of New Hampshire. Used 3- 1/2 gal milk containers filled with water and frozen and 1 bag of ice. Loaded cooler on Friday morning, had about 1 cup of water to drain last night! Some food was still frozen yesterday morning! Very satisfied with this cooler, it will pay for itself before the end of the season!

[sandykayak]

 Campaholics
I bought two Igloo Ultracool (?) coolers several years ago.  Has anyone had a chance to compare the Extreme v. Ultracool performance?

[madrone]

 Campaholics
We ve had a 58-quart Xtreme (we call it the " Mac truck" ) for a few years now.  I keep a 1-gallon jug in the freezer for cooler ice.  When we want to use the Mac truck, we use the jug and sometimes add some loose ice.  We don t precool the cooler and we aren t particularly careful to put cold food in it to start.  It still holds ice for at least 4 days.
 
 We also use the cooler in the winter during power outages.  We live in the mountains, and we lose power for several days several times each winter.  The Mac truck holds the entire contents of our refrigerator.
 
 Last winter, we used the Mac truck for a power outage.  For some reason, we didn t take the ice when we cleaned out the cooler.  Two weeks later, the power went out again.  There was still ice in the Mac truck when we opened it.  Highs had only been in the 60s, but I was still impressed.
 
 I kind of agree about the cupholders and kind of not.  They are a pain to clean, but they do come in handy sometimes.  When we were setting up the pop-up in 100-degree heat, it was nice to have the sodas right there in the back of the van for easy access.
 

[Camping Coxes]

 wiininkwe
After reading the reviews, we decided to try the Xtreme 58-quart cooler on our vacation to Lake Tahoe.  We filled it with our stuff, including our frozen chicken and burgers, then filled it with ice.  We drove halfway to our destination and stopped for the night.  The temp when we got to our hotel was 106.  The cooler(s) stayed locked in our Suburban.  The next day when we got to our campground, we had to add ice to our regular Igloo cooler, but the Xtreme was holding up fine.  Each day we camped, we had to add ice to our Igloo, as it was 90% water after 24 hours.  Our Xtreme only got ice added (and it was very little) when we had some left over that wouldn t  fit in the Igloo.
 
 We were gone 9 days.  Our coolers spent the whole time either in the hot car or in a metal bear box, which could get hot and stuffy by mid day.  We were extremely impressed with the Xtreme.
 
 As far as the Xtreme not having a tray to keep the stuff out of the water, I solved that by using a tall Tupperware square container with a lid.  It fit into the cooler perfectly and I put our lunch meat, cheese and chocolate bars in it.  It acted as a refrigerator within the Xtreme.
 
 Our family gives the Coleman Xtreme 58-Quart Cooler four thumbs up!

[BaysideBruce]

 wiininkwe
We bought the Coleman 36 qt Extreme Cooler a few weeks ago and tried it out for the first time last week.  I was very disappoint with it too.  We used it mostly for drinks so I will admit that it was opened a lot and we added a few warm sodas to it a couple of times.  But compared to our old cooler it was not any different.  We had to add ice to it every day even when we had not add any thing that was " warm" .  I was not impressed with it like I had hoped.