Message Forums

Quote: Originally posted by Littleskink on 19/7/2010

---

we recently got an Igloo Maxcold 50 for 2 adults and 2 kids and it works fine for us for long weekends - pricey yes, but roomy and solid. And with comfy handles

we used to use a more than adequate 28L one and picked one that had tight fitting lid, comfy handle and a 24 hour rating (some are 12hr, most are unmarked), whether it made a different I dont know but with care we got on fine for weekends, without refreezing blocks

prefer the cool blocks that are large and thin to put between items and we freeze a few items too (like Spag Bog for first night)

---

We've got one of those, testing it before we go away at the weekend. Friday lunch time 3 quarters filled with 2 litre bottles of frozen water and normal cool packs, and the odd bottle of wine over the weekend. It's now Monday afternoon and the stuff at the bottom is still fairly frozen. Have got a cheapy coolbox with the same amount of stuff in it and by Saturday lunchtime the water had melted.

So, are all cool boxes the same??

 

 

Quote: Originally posted by suns on 19/7/2010

---

Dont forget as cold air lowers you will need your freeze packs on the top.

---

This would only be true if your coolbox were empty, i.e. full of air. As it is full of food (essentially solid) the cool packs need to be in as much contact with the food as possible. You could argue that putting them around the edges puts a cold barrier around the food to the outside, but I'm not sure this would make a huge difference.

For a totally 'budget' solution, freeze everything, including milk in whatever size container you would normally use in a day with your group e.g. 1 pint for a couple, 2 pints for a family. Freeze other food in 'meal packs' e.g. the amount of sausage/bacon you would use for one breakfast. Line a carboard box with bubble-wrap, polystyrene or anything insulating, and keep all your frozen stuff in there. For your 'chilled' stuff just use a soft picnic cooler bag - we got ours free from Sainsburys because we bought a lot of sausage rolls! - Each day remove what you will need the next day from the 'freezer' box to act as a cool pack for your 'chilled' bag. This means that the freezer box is only opened once a day, and you end up with wonderfully chilled milk! When you get to the end of your holiday you can just recycle the cardboard box, and everything else collapses to nothing.

If you can stretch to even a cheap coolbox instead of the cardboard box, then this has the benefit of being waterproof. Keep the coolbox in the shade, certainly outside of the tent during the day, and ideally in some sort of breeze. Soak a chunky bath towel in water and drape over the coolbox. Soak the towel whenever you think about it during the day. (Think about how chilled you feel if you are in damp clothes in a breeze!). I have had to wait for bacon and sausages to defrost after 5 days using this method.

Hope this helps.