Cooler vs Fridge

[JAVIERGONZO]

We use this igloo on short trips and to the beach and it is amazing. Has a lunch tray. 2 bottle openers. 2 fishing rod holders or umbrella. And a long pullout handle. And all kinds of stuff. And it goes everywhere with these tires.

Sponsored

 

[ecidiego]

My Pelican 80 works better than the RTic and then the Yeti I previously owned. No idea what the poster saying they were 'behind' is referring to.

 

[Free2roam]

Have the 30Q and paid $299 for it. I also have the 20Q for work that cost about $175 for. At work we use pelican cases for everything so ordered from our supplier. Probably paid a bit too much but as said its a work deal. Neither work well at all. I take the 20 every week and same thing daily feeding with ice.

There are a lot more options than just ARB which are super expensive. But good.

 

[Blade1668]

I broke down and bought a Amazon fridge freezer almost 2 years back. What I've saved in not buying ice has more than recouped the cost. The sad part was I had bought a large "premo" cooler from Walmart their brand high end cooler. I should have done it decades ago. That fridge is running in back of my JT right now and has been since a few days after I got it.

 

[TroutFishingInAmerica]

I have a Pelican cooler, have had it for years. I've been out for weeks and thousands of miles at a time. You really need to keep a mental inventory and use the most perishable items first and buy ice when ever you can. Block lasts longer, not the cubes pressed into a block but the real solid block. This cooler has been from Canada to Mexico so it's like a old friend and it's hard for me to kick it to the road. Fridge is definitely the route I'll eventually go, just so many upsides compared to a cooler. Coolers definitely have there place, I out grew mine a long time ago and in stubbornness I'm still using it.

 

[sarguy1941]

Thanks all. I really think the cooler is what we need for this trip. I still want a electric one but with the first responder discounts and such I picked up the ORCA for a really good deal yesterday direct from OCRA. Hopefully it will be a good unit for the trip. Be looking at the electric ones this fall if we do more of this type of adventure.

 

[Blade1668]

By the way that's the current price for it. So I'm not certain the price of the Orca cooler.

 

[Volksparts]

Yeti is definitely the best. I can camp for a weekend on the beach in OBX and the cooler will have some ice left. The trick is to pre cool it the night before, then drain out the melted ice and fill as desired.

lots of online comparison videos though. RTIC definitely seems to be the clear 2nd best, and at a very good price break from the yeti. Good luck.

I've been using the RTIC cooler for the last 4 years and I feel it holds ice for about a week. One thing I do is line the inside first with thin ice packs I get through work and then the rest I fill with ice and my drinks. My only reason I haven't bought a fridge yet is because I feel the fridge has wasted space and that I can't fit as much in there as I can my RTIC. I also don't really necessarily like running electricity to a fridge. But, maybe I might eventually get a fridge based on the stupid heavy weight of my RTIC with or without ice and the obvious that the fridge can keep things cooler longer.

 

[azmojave]

I haven’t done a trip longer than a week, but for that we take two coolers and a Dometic fridge. One cooler has drinks, the fridge has food and the other cooler is ice only. We then have plenty of ice to use in our drinks and to add to the drink cooler as needed. The fridge is a game changer. No more soggy or smashed food.

 

[CMac]

.....My only reason I haven't bought a fridge yet is because I feel the fridge has wasted space and that I can't fit as much in there as I can my RTIC.

I promise you....once you eliminate the ice, there's so much room for food and drinks. Getting rid of the cooler was the smartest change in our camping process in the past 24 years. You would not believe the volume used by a cooler to hold ice.....which will soon be turning to ice water.

This is only something I can tell you....you will have to have some faith, take a deep breath, then a first step into that unknown....and experience the change for yourself.

But I can assure you, the change is real...real nice. It's nice to have dry food....it's nice to never have to break camp to make an ice run. It's a 100° out there....and my fridge contents are sitting at a cool 33°.

 

[sarguy1941]

By the way that's the current price for it. So I'm not certain the price of the Orca cooler.

If your asking about the ORCA I got the 40Q for just over $200 with my discounts and shipping via FED EX. Figured at that price I can't go wrong. I had looked at the RTIC and almost pulled the trigger on it but it was more than the ORCA.

 

[dcmdon]

One other trick re making ice last is to use a block rather than cubes.

Sure if you want the coldest beer, cubes are best. They form a slurry that is right at 32 deg. But if you are just keeping steaks and cold cuts for a day or two, a block gets plenty cold and lasts much longer.

We used to get a weekend out of a block in a large Igloo cooler back when I was a kid. And that was not even close to the current coolers.

 

[zxd9]

Once you have a powered fridge you'll find you use it for stuff other than camping. I've done road trips for work and taken it with groceries for the week and drink/snacks for the trip. Around the holiday's our house fridge gets full and we put the overflow into the Dometic.

 

[ttn333]

Why not both? I don't want to lug my 65q dual zone fridge every time I go out. So having a smaller cooler is great for a day trip or one night stay.

 

[kb5zcr]

I fish for a week at a time 50 miles from pavement, I have two Lifetime brand coolers from Sam's Club/Walmart. Great coolers. Keep them out of the sun and they work great.
I use frozen 2 liter coke bottles filled with water and keep in my deepfreeze in the garage just for these trips. Using this homemade "block ice" lets me last a long time. I then put bag ice on top to fill in the gaps.
One cooler for the fish, one for food.

Sponsored