BEST ICE CHEST UNDER $100

RoyB wrote:
I use the COLEMAN EXTREME MDL6270 70 QUART SIZE 5-day ice chest which cost around $85 I think it was a few years back.


This does us pretty good keeping ice going. I throw in four bags of ice and then place a clear plastic container with a lid on top of the ice. This keeps things inside the container from getting any water soak.

Keeping ice for 5-days probably isn't doable when you open it the ice chest up to get things out. Definitely get two or three days of still having ice in it.

I keep my ice chest sitting in the tail gate corner of the covered truck bed and try not to keep opening the lid as much as possible... I also keep a blanket over the ice chest as well...


This is just one of those things you have to do when camping - keep replenishing the ice and cokes...

Roy Ken

It is now $40 on Amazon, Roy. But I suppose you've got your money's worth of use out of it at the higher price.

I agree the Coleman Extreme is very good. It keeps drinks, etc. ice-cold at least 3-5 days. No kidding.

Second the idea of keeping the ice chest covered. I have a nice thick moving blanket I throw over with either one or two layers. Helps enormously. Also block ice is best.

SteveAE, where'd ya get the two gallon containers. I use the bags the newspaper is delivered in, if it has no holes and lands on the lawn. Convenient size to freeze in the freezer door and when the ice melts the thin bags take up no room and is easy to dispose of. Some bread bags work, but most can't take the pressure of being full of water without leaking. Always searching for the idea container to freeze in.

i have a couple coleman extreme marine coolers, I think they are one of the best value coolers out there. I usually throw a case or two of drinking water bottles in the chest freezer at home and that is my ice. clean and dry cooler. remove water bottles to drink throughout the trip

garmp1 wrote:
SteveAE, where'd ya get the two gallon containers?

garmp1,
Plastic water containers from the grocery store.
I dump a little water out so there is room for expansion, then freeze them solid in our freezer. They stay frozen a long time and there is no water mess in the cooler.

I've got a bit of a cooler fetish, although I have it under control these days. I've sold and given away more coolers than a normal person owns in a lifetime. I have to say my favorite is the original Coleman Extreme when they first came out. I think it is a little better than the newer ones with the wheels and cup holders. And the latch on the lid makes sure its closed. We would use it to keep our ice supply to feed into our "working coolers" that we are in and out of more frequently. That would be these
AO Coolers
These worked great on the boat and are easier to carry around. The ice lasted us through the weekend. We also use them as luggage when we fly to Mexico so we have a good cooler to take to the beach while we're there.

I hate to ask, but for the price of a Yeti cooler, why not go with a Dometic CF or CFX refrigerator? These are true fridges, not Koolatron-esque thermoelectric coolers, sport a Danfoss compressor, and can get to 0 degrees (lower with the CFX units.)

I can see using a Yeti cooler when 12 volt power can't be found, but for a RV that has power available, and assuming a decent boondocking setup, it might just be better to go with the Dometic unit, because it is actively refrigerating the contents, not just keeping the contents from warming up, and since you need no ice, you have more room.

Maybe the best of all worlds might be both. The Dometic set to a freezer for storing cold items and freezing ice packs, while the Yeti has the ice packs rotated into it every so often, and functions as the "refrigerator".

My 40 year old green Coleman is the best cooler ever made, IMO. Makes a good step stool too.

Thanks for all the replies. I'll probably go with a Coleman extreme. Walmart seems to have them on sale .