I was wondering if there are any 5-day coolers out there that work? I've been looking online and the reviews of them at WalMart.com are very mixed. Some say they work great other say they don't hold ice for one day. There is one on sale at the Marine place but it is expensive and we already have several coolers. It is a 50 qt Igloo marine cooler (I think). I was wondering if this cooler or any other 5-day cooler is worth spending the $$ on.
Thanks!
Back in the tent camping days, I had (still have) a variety of coolers. The last few years, we used the 50 qt. Coleman for the most part, (for food), and a smaller cooler for sodas. Using block ice (if available) or frozen water jugs worked best, and we kept the cooler as shaded as possible, covered with a wet beach towel (seems to work). Our blocks of ice lasted several days (2-3), and with multiple families in our reunion camping trip, we alternated daily ice runs - and I found I was getting ice every 3 days which wasn't too bad.
With the PUP, I use the refrigerator/freezer for food, and a smaller cooler for sodas or things I'm not too concerned with spoilage. It's an Igloo cube and being wheeled and having a drain plug is nice. It serves as a table between the lawn chairs for the most part!
Quote from: butterflyfishI was wondering if there are any 5-day coolers out there that work? I've been looking online and the reviews of them at WalMart.com are very mixed. Some say they work great other say they don't hold ice for one day. There is one on sale at the Marine place but it is expensive and we already have several coolers. It is a 50 qt Igloo marine cooler (I think). I was wondering if this cooler or any other 5-day cooler is worth spending the $$ on.
Thanks!
I've been asking about the same thing and it seems the Coleman Extreme coolers are by far the best. It seems you can get a 70 qt one for about $38 at Walmart - heard that from many people, so it is what I am going to buy this year.
you might search this site, I am sure there is a discussion on this already. However,
We bought a coleman extreme this year, and love it. You have to remember to "prechill" the cooler, and put ice in it the night before you leave (I usually freeze a gallon bottle or two) Also try to refrigerate everything before it goes in, including sodas, etc. Keep it out of the sun, and the kids from opening the door ALL THE TIME! (good luck)
WE really like ours, it seems to work great. I have only had to buy ice on extended Hot trips.
Good luck. Oh and try ebay, I saw ours on there for CHEAP!
I use an Igloo Ice Cube MAXCOLD 70 (ROLLER) and it works very well and it fits in the entrance of the PUP. I found that solid ice last longer than the crushed ice.
Ruide
I purchased a Coleman Xtreme cooler last year just prior to a trip to Florida. I was disappointed in my purchase. I had to buy ice everyday for it. When I stated that on the site here I got questions like, Did you open it alot? (NO) Did you keep it in the shade? (Yes) Did you keep it on the ground or off the ground?(On the ground inside my add-a-room) Did you have the windows open or closed in your add-a-room? (Opened most of the time) What was the outside temp? (Upper 90's during the day) Did you drain the water? (No I just kept adding ice) I even had someone suggest that I keep it inside at all times with the A/C running constantly. And then I thought, if this thing requires this much attention to get it to perform, what's the point?
Some folks swear by these ice chest, but my experience has been that in the deep south during the summer with the hummidity we have down here, they just don't perform that well.
CajunCamper
I was wondering about the Gizmo ice chest cover...anyone tried that? How is it?
I bought a large Coleman Extreme, 6 day cooler last year. Here in the NW, the temps and humidity are not what you will find in Florida.
However, there is an obvious difference between it and my other coolers. Our longest trip was 5 days in August and I never had to add ice. We used it mainly for food, stocked with two ice blocks and 1 bag of ice at start of trip. We don't open it a lot but when ever we needed to. I did keep 'my' beer in there. :D
Over the trip I had to add ice to my other coolers pretty much every day, but not the extreme.
On a recent trip early this month, I took only the extreme and so it had food and pop/beer and was opened regularly. Upon our return after 2.5 days I left the cooler sitting on the front porch for the next week (much to my wife's chagrin) and the kids continued getting drinks out of it for the entire week. At the end of the week, the ice was finally gone. Temps were only in the 40-50s during that period so I'm sure that helps a lot.
I'm not sure why there is such a discrepancy in everyone's results with these coolers. Maybe at a certain temp and humidity, they completely fail to perform? Thankfully I don't have that problem around Portland, OR.
Maybe we should sign up a group of current owners, around the country to run a controlled test. Something like we all start 2 different coolers (including the extreme), with exactly the same amount of ice (i.e.,1 block, 1 bag of cubes), set them so many inches off the ground (something easy like 2x4s) and then start logging results. I know I'd be interested. :compumad:
Wayne G
It should probably be noted that there are two variations on Coleman Extreme theme: the "Extreme" and the "Ultimate Extreme."
I have one of each--the larger of the two is the Ultimate and holds ice longer than the smaller, or plain Extreme cooler. Side by side, in the sun, exposed. I didn't realize there was a difference until after the first trip, trying to figure out why the smaller of the two coolers didn't keep ice as long.
That may explain some of the difference in experience. The Ultimate does have thicker walls (by at least half).
Can't speak to the Igloo side of the house, since I haven't even looked at them. I have too many coolers now. :)
All I've got to say is....Cruzin' Cooler!!!
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2011/2370009454_48f7dc4a3c.jpg?v=0
Quote from: CajunCamperI purchased a Coleman Xtreme cooler last year just prior to a trip to Florida. I was disappointed in my purchase. I had to buy ice everyday for it. When I stated that on the site here I got questions like, Did you open it alot? (NO) Did you keep it in the shade? (Yes) Did you keep it on the ground or off the ground?(On the ground inside my add-a-room) Did you have the windows open or closed in your add-a-room? (Opened most of the time) What was the outside temp? (Upper 90's during the day) Did you drain the water? (No I just kept adding ice) I even had someone suggest that I keep it inside at all times with the A/C running constantly. And then I thought, if this thing requires this much attention to get it to perform, what's the point?
Some folks swear by these ice chest, but my experience has been that in the deep south during the summer with the hummidity we have down here, they just don't perform that well.
CajunCamper
Amen budro! No cooler will perform much in the South in the summer. We use the Ice Cube Igloo and its ok, but you'll still be using alot of ice. Its the humidity. Part of our burden for being in the South, but we can camp in December. Tell em Budro! Oh no cher' eeze not too cold.
A lot of the difference in "extreme" coolers is the fact that for years a lot of discount houses stuck 5 day stickers on regular coolers.
There are actually quite a few types now.
Check out the link for your cooler to see if it's actually an Xtreme:
http://www.coleman.com/coleman/colemancom/category_main.asp?categoryid=8500 (//%22http://www.coleman.com/coleman/colemancom/category_main.asp?categoryid=8500%22)
We learned if it's blue or red it ain't an Xtreme
Quote from: dkutzyou might search this site, I am sure there is a discussion on this already. However,
We bought a coleman extreme this year, and love it. You have to remember to "prechill" the cooler, and put ice in it the night before you leave (I usually freeze a gallon bottle or two) Also try to refrigerate everything before it goes in, including sodas, etc. Keep it out of the sun, and the kids from opening the door ALL THE TIME! (good luck)
WE really like ours, it seems to work great. I have only had to buy ice on extended Hot trips.
Good luck. Oh and try ebay, I saw ours on there for CHEAP!
Do you use the frozen gallon milk bottles just to cool down the cooler before camping or do you use them as ice blocks FOR camping? Seems to me they would take up all the room in the cooler.
We've been using ice coolers for a long time. Different types and brands, large ones, mediums and small sized. Hard metal and soft styrofoam sided; then the plastic ones. Used one for the perishable food stuffs and another for the fish ... try not to get the use of the two mixed up later on as the fish arroma can get carried over!
Found out that pre-chilling is the way to go. Keep some frozen water in quart rubbermaid containers in the home freezer, remove the ice from the containers and load them in the cooler awhile before placing in the chilled (and frozen) food stuffs. Usually the ice chest is close to full and so there's little empty space that seems to hasten the end of the coolers performance. And I like two smaller coolers rather than one larger one. Pre-chilling is important as anyone knows who has loaded a cooler with warm drinks to chill down that it requires lots of ice.
About the very best cooler I've ever had was the original 32 qt Coleman Xtreme. Tried to pick up another one just like it but they had changed styles and the second is no where close to the performance of the original. I see in this year's Cabela's marine cataloge they have a 200 qt "OptiMax" Coleman cooler for the mere price of $299.99! Sure looks good (ought to for three hundred bucks!), but it says it will keep ice for 7 (seven) days!
Fly
Quote from: flyfishermanWe've been using ice coolers for a long time. Different types and brands, large ones, mediums and small sized. Hard metal and soft styrofoam sided; then the plastic ones. Used one for the perishable food stuffs and another for the fish ... try not to get the use of the two mixed up later on as the fish arroma can get carried over!
Found out that pre-chilling is the way to go. Keep some frozen water in quart rubbermaid containers in the home freezer, remove the ice from the containers and load them in the cooler awhile before placing in the chilled (and frozen) food stuffs. Usually the ice chest is close to full and so there's little empty space that seems to hasten the end of the coolers performance. And I like two smaller coolers rather than one larger one. Pre-chilling is important as anyone knows who has loaded a cooler with warm drinks to chill down that it requires lots of ice.
About the very best cooler I've ever had was the original 32 qt Coleman Xtreme. Tried to pick up another one just like it but they had changed styles and the second is no where close to the performance of the original. I see in this year's Cabela's marine cataloge they have a 200 qt "OptiMax" Coleman cooler for the mere price of $299.99! Sure looks good (ought to for three hundred bucks!), but it says it will keep ice for 7 (seven) days!
Fly
Now thats an expensive fish cooler! I'll bet you don't lend that one to your buddies to take home a mess of Flounder fillets! I can't imagine paying 300 bucks for a cooler. My folks used to raise cattle in South Dakota, and when I went there to see them. They would send back meat with me to NC. It got so popular that I had them ship 200 lbs of hamburger to me once for some friends. They used the original 5 day extreme (silver) Coleman coolers. My friends both swear that those coolers are the best coolers they have ever seen. Too bad I didn't get one at the same time. My Igloo cube works OK, but I would like to get one of those Coleman extremes.
Quote from: mike4947A lot of the difference in "extreme" coolers is the fact that for years a lot of discount houses stuck 5 day stickers on regular coolers.
There are actually quite a few types now.
Check out the link for your cooler to see if it's actually an Xtreme:
http://www.coleman.com/coleman/colemancom/category_main.asp?categoryid=8500
We learned if it's blue or red it ain't an Xtreme
I thought all the Extreme coolers were blue. I even saw one in the grocery store the other day (blue) and it said Extreme on the front.
Quote from: CajunCamperSome folks swear by these ice chest, but my experience has been that in the deep south during the summer with the hummidity we have down here, they just don't perform that well.
CajunCamper
Several of my buds bought them and they didn't perform to expectations here in Virginia. They didn't hold up to the rigors of canoe camping either.
Quote from: mike4947A lot of the difference in "extreme" coolers is the fact that for years a lot of discount houses stuck 5 day stickers on regular coolers.
There are actually quite a few types now.
Check out the link for your cooler to see if it's actually an Xtreme:
http://www.coleman.com/coleman/colemancom/category_main.asp?categoryid=8500
We learned if it's blue or red it ain't an Xtreme
If it's DARK BLUE, BRIGHT BLUE, or red it ain't an Xtreme. The true Xtremes are a blue/silver color, as per the pictures at Coleman's Website and the ones I have seen at several stores. Those coolers haven't been out all that long and stores don't have extra stickers lying around from the manufacturer to stick on them. They may have tagged them as such with a store sign, but remember buyer beware and make sure the manufacturer's tag says Xtreme 5-day.
Quote from: dmodechickyI was wondering about the Gizmo ice chest cover...anyone tried that? How is it?
My wife made one for our Coleman steel cooer. They help a lot, maybe adding a day.
When I was doing multi-day canoe trips, I took an Oklahoma steaks styrofoam shipping cooler, loaded it with food for the end of the week, added dry ice and taped it shut with duct tape around the seam of top to bottom. Opened it 4 or 5 days later to let stuff thaw in the regular Coleman. That's the only sho' nuff system I've found to keep food cold for a week.
Quote from: sewseriousIf it's DARK BLUE, BRIGHT BLUE, or red it ain't an Xtreme. The true Xtremes are a blue/silver color, as per the pictures at Coleman's Website and the ones I have seen at several stores. Those coolers haven't been out all that long and stores don't have extra stickers lying around from the manufacturer to stick on them. They may have tagged them as such with a store sign, but remember buyer beware and make sure the manufacturer's tag says Xtreme 5-day.
This is correct. All others are knock-offs. The silver Colemans are the ones. I do not believe they are the same as when they originally came out with them though. They do not work as well as they did then.
There is another route to take that no one has mentioned yet.
I used coolers for years and years just like everyone else. Once my camping trips moved from a couple hours from a town to 8 hours from a town I had to rethink what to do with my my perishable foods. It was either eat all the cooler items in the first few days or get a huge cooler to hold a week+ of food without it going bad.
I was tired of all the soggy cheese and just wet containers and getting ice every couple days when it is over 100 degrees in the truck.
Engel and Norcold make 12 volt fridge/freezers. They use 12 volts and have very low amp draw. Less than 2 amps and will keep you food as cold/frozen as you like as long as your battery holds out. These are not the thermoelectric units that run all the time and pull nearly 15 amps and cool to 40 below ambient. These are true fridge/ freezer unit just like at your house with a thermostat and compressor. They are top opening so they are like a cooler in that aspect and won't let all of the cold out when you open the door like a regular camper fridge does.
Imagine having ice cream after being on the trail for a few days
They are expensive to say the least. Once I got over the sticker shock I haven't looked back, it is a great addition.
You can add warm soda/beer/water containers without worrying that you are making the ice melt faster and this way you don't have to carry two coolers, one for food one for beverages.
DT
Current Xtremes are different than the originals.
Originally Coleman took the same outer molds and made new inner molds slightly smaller than the standard cooler inner molds. This allowed for more insulation but slightly decrease the interior volume. IIRC back when they started the red & blue standards were 56 quart and 36 quart and the silver blue Xtremes were 50 and 30 quart.
We learned about the "substitutions" by discount stores when we complained to Coleman, who said (at that time) to look for a hanging tag that actually said Xtreme, and that the capacity was reduced by the extra insulation, and gave instructions on the usage of the Xtreme cooler. They also thanked us about notifying them about "the problem" with 5 day mislabeled product and they would look into it.
I have 2 Xtremes and a Rubbermaid 5 day.
The Colemans seem to keep ice better.
The Rubbermaid "was" wheeled. The handle and wheels were on the wrong ends. It would not roll through a door and seemed to be off balance. I took the wheels and handle off .... now I just carry it.
Just as others.... I've had many different coolers too. Mainly coleman, later Rubermaid, and recently Igloo. I've never owned an "extreme" cooler, but did pick up an igloo Maxcold a couple of years ago at Target (I think it was a 60-70 quart model, it was less than $70). We bought this for a camping trip to Willmington, NC in August (Temp. showed 105 in the shade. I sent the wife and son to the pool (pool Temp was 95 degrees ). I'd say that was a pretty "Extreme" trip.
The cooler held up well. I did have to put a new bag of ice in it every day, but with highs around 100-108, and lows mid 80's that didn't seem to be too bad. We were tent camping at the time. We kept the Igloo in a gazebo style cover night and day.
I've used it several times since, one recently a few weeks ago (mild Temps. in S.C.) After a couple of weeks in the back of my car I dumped out more ice than water.
P.S. I don't recommend camping in Willmington, N.C. in August. I'm pretty sure I fried a few brain cells on that trip.
Quote from: Old StarcraftJust as others.... I've had many different coolers too. Mainly coleman, later Rubermaid, and recently Igloo. I've never owned an "extreme" cooler, but did pick up an igloo Maxcold a couple of years ago at Target (I think it was a 60-70 quart model, it was less than $70). We bought this for a camping trip to Willmington, NC in August (Temp. showed 105 in the shade. I sent the wife and son to the pool (pool Temp was 95 degrees ). I'd say that was a pretty "Extreme" trip.
The cooler held up well. I did have to put a new bag of ice in it every day, but with highs around 100-108, and lows mid 80's that didn't seem to be too bad. We were tent camping at the time. We kept the Igloo in a gazebo style cover night and day.
I've used it several times since, one recently a few weeks ago (mild Temps. in S.C.) After a couple of weeks in the back of my car I dumped out more ice than water.
P.S. I don't recommend camping in Willmington, N.C. in August. I'm pretty sure I fried a few brain cells on that trip.
I love Wilmington, but August is brutal. I'm a straight up AC man in August. I do not believe any cooler will hold up ice in July and August. I don't believe a refrigerator would hold up outside in those months.
Quote from: McCampersThis is correct. All others are knock-offs. The silver Colemans are the ones. I do not believe they are the same as when they originally came out with them though. They do not work as well as they did then.
Au contraire, mon frere, my stainless works
much better than my old steel belt (which I still have as my fish cooler). Insulation technology has improved markedly in the last 20 yrs.
Quote from: Old StarcraftI've used it several times since, one recently a few weeks ago (mild Temps. in S.C.) After a couple of weeks in the back of my car I dumped out more ice than water.
P.S. I don't recommend camping in Willmington, N.C. in August. I'm pretty sure I fried a few brain cells on that trip.
Good grief ... I live south of Wilmington, exactly half way between there and Myrtle Beach. But I have ALWAYS found this neck of the woods a tad cooler than summer time in Columbia, SC! At least we do have some ocean breeze coming in!
The only place to camp in the summer hot months is in the opposite direction ... to the mountains! Especially if you do not have A/C. My coastal (or low country), camping offically ends mid May and will not resume until October. You'll find my carcass that time of the year around the 3,000' level when you have to don a sweater after sunset and sleep under a blanket at least.
Fly
Quote from: McCampersAmen budro! No cooler will perform much in the South in the summer. We use the Ice Cube Igloo and its ok, but you'll still be using alot of ice. Its the humidity. Part of our burden for being in the South, but we can camp in December. Tell em Budro! Oh no cher' eeze not too cold.
You crack me up.
CajunCamper
Quote from: CajunCamperYou crack me up.
CajunCamper
Didn't want you to feel too left out. I thought I'd throw some of that cheezy sounding, poor excuse for cajun dialect at you. I think I'm going to look into these norcolds freezers.
K mart has a "Igloo quick and cool" 5 day cooler for $39 which is described on a competitor's website ($79) http://www.buy.com/prod/igloo-100-qt-quick-cool-cooler-white/q/loc/17250/202569576.html
Quote from: spearmintDo you use the frozen gallon milk bottles just to cool down the cooler before camping or do you use them as ice blocks FOR camping? Seems to me they would take up all the room in the cooler.
No just to precool
Just wanted to let y'all know what I did. It actually made and unscientific and uncontrolled test, so to speak.
I bought the $39.00 100 qt Igloo cooler at K-mart (figured since there were so many mixed reviews on it I shouldn't spend too much $$ on one.
Here's what happened:
Yesterday I needed to defrost our larger freezer so I took out 3 of our 4 coolers. The new Igloo 5-day, the Igloo cube and a rubbermaid promotional cooler we got for free when we had our store. I filled all three coolers with just the frozen foods and no Ice (well I had one bag of ice that was in the freezer I put in the cube since it didn't quite fill with food...) Anyway since yesterday was a somewhat cool day (in the low 50's) the freezer took all day to defrost I started about 10 and ended about 3). So after it was defrosted and I cleaned the freezer out and put all the food back, I cleaned the coolers. First, let me say that all the food was still frozen from all of the coolers as would be expected. I then sprayed cleaner inside each of the coolers. The rubbermaid one, the cleaner just wiped out and there was no ice or frost left in the cooler. The cube cooler had some ice stuck to its sides, and some frost but the cleaner still just wiped out. The igloo 5-day cooler had a good amount of frost and froze the cleaner when I sprayed it on (very much like your freezer freezes cleaner when you try to clean it out cold.). So I guess the 5-day does get colder than the rest and in my very uncontrolled and unscientific test the rubbermaid cooler performed the worst. (It was a promotional cooler that we got free...so maybe you get what you pay for.)
Just thought I'd let you know. I'm thinking if the 5-day cooler can keep the food cold to get us where we're going then we're in good shape! ;)
Quote from: butterflyfishJust wanted to let y'all know what I did. It actually made and unscientific and uncontrolled test, so to speak.
I bought the $39.00 100 qt Igloo cooler at K-mart (figured since there were so many mixed reviews on it I shouldn't spend too much $$ on one.
Here's what happened:
Yesterday I needed to defrost our larger freezer so I took out 3 of our 4 coolers. The new Igloo 5-day, the Igloo cube and a rubbermaid promotional cooler we got for free when we had our store. I filled all three coolers with just the frozen foods and no Ice (well I had one bag of ice that was in the freezer I put in the cube since it didn't quite fill with food...) Anyway since yesterday was a somewhat cool day (in the low 50's) the freezer took all day to defrost I started about 10 and ended about 3). So after it was defrosted and I cleaned the freezer out and put all the food back, I cleaned the coolers. First, let me say that all the food was still frozen from all of the coolers as would be expected. I then sprayed cleaner inside each of the coolers. The rubbermaid one, the cleaner just wiped out and there was no ice or frost left in the cooler. The cube cooler had some ice stuck to its sides, and some frost but the cleaner still just wiped out. The igloo 5-day cooler had a good amount of frost and froze the cleaner when I sprayed it on (very much like your freezer freezes cleaner when you try to clean it out cold.). So I guess the 5-day does get colder than the rest and in my very uncontrolled and unscientific test the rubbermaid cooler performed the worst. (It was a promotional cooler that we got free...so maybe you get what you pay for.)
Just thought I'd let you know. I'm thinking if the 5-day cooler can keep the food cold to get us where we're going then we're in good shape! ;)
Nice test. and you always get what you pay for. Sometimes you don't know what you're paying for until after the fact, but you always get what you pay for. One way or another. I like my cube, but I'm still am looking into an Engel. THey are way highdollar, but they look like the real deal.
Here is what I did. I ordered some steaks from Omaha Steaks and the large shipping styrofoam container they used to ship them in is great. It is about 28 qts so it is decent in size. They are very very thick!. I now use 1 10lbs bag of ice for the entire Fri-Sun campouts and I still have Ice left over. I recently found one of the medium size Omaha containers and I use it for yes.... Ice Cream! :-()
Quote from: spicyville1Here is what I did. I ordered some steaks from Omaha Steaks and the large shipping styrofoam container they used to ship them in is great. It is about 28 qts so it is decent in size. They are very very thick!. I now use 1 10lbs bag of ice for the entire Fri-Sun campouts and I still have Ice left over. I recently found one of the medium size Omaha containers and I use it for yes.... Ice Cream! :-()
I am familiar with those "disposable" coolers they use. They are the bomb diggity, but they won't hold ice for 3 days in the North Carolina summer. They might handle it out there in the Lone Star single digit humidity state, but here in the sultry South they ain't hittin on much.(more southern coloquialisms)