BEST ICE CHEST UNDER $100

[TOMMY47]

In your opinion, which is best or worst or overrated.
Looking for something that can keep ice frozen for 4 days or so.

[Steve_B_]

My Coleman steel coolers have lasted me for a few decades now and always keep ice longer than anything else I've used. I also take block ice as it lasts so much longer. A good ice pick gives you chunks in no time.

[navegator]

31 years ago I got married and purchased a Coleman ice chest green, a Coleman gasoline lantern, and a stove, the future wife and I went tent camping and latter in the VW bus, the VW bus rusted beyond repair, purchased the present RV still have the ice chest the lamp and the stove and of course the wife.

Buy a Coleman ice chest!

navegator

[GoPackGo]

Marine coolers could have hold downs so you can lock them down to the deck.

Tim

[RAS43]

Sailor,
Since you have done a lot of research do you know the difference between a Coleman Extreme and Marine coolers? In the same size the Marine is a bit more but I don't see any difference in construction.

[GoPackGo]

I think the single best thing you can do when using any cooler is to use block ice instead of bag ice. Block ice lasts forever.

Back when I owned a house, we also had a chest freezer in the basement - and small kids. I would take empty plastic milk jugs, fill them to the 90% level and put them in the freezer. When needed, I would use a serrated knife and cut around the jug about half way down, then just pop out the gallon size cube for use in the cooler. Having the melted water circulate around everything seemed to work better then just setting the frozen plastic jug in the cooler. Plus, you could break the gallon size chunk in half if that worked better.

Worked splendidly.

Tim

[dapperdan]

Do a You Tube search on coolers, somebody did a pretty good review on five different brands including the Yeti and the Coleman Extreme. Believe it or not if I remember correctly for the money the Coleman came out close to the top. I "think" Yeti was on top but again it was waaaaay more money too.

If I were in the market for a decent cooler I'd buy the Coleman. My brother has one and loves it and I didn't realize which one he had till after I had watched the review on You Tube. Interesting comparison, watch and learn.

Dan

[TOMMY47]

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

[lbrjet]

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

[mlts22]

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".

[SailorPam]

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.

[SteveAE]

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.

[millerak49]

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

[garmp]

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.

[sprintstream]

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.