|
|
Post by iamkristinl16 on Jul 12, 2016 3:34:06 GMT
I have a 31 thermal cooler but it doesn't seem to keep things very cold. I'm wondering if a hard cooler (like Igloo or Coleman) would keep things colder? What are your experiences?
|
|
|
|
Post by Eddie-n-Harley on Jul 12, 2016 3:44:21 GMT
What are you trying to keep cool and for how long? Are you including an ice pack in your thermal?
I have a generic insulated bag that I've been using to take snacks to work. A small freezer pack is still half frozen eight hours later, although I wouldn't really say my food is as cold as it would be if I put it in a hard sided cooler. Then again, if I were using a hard sided cooler and I wanted stuff REALLY cold, I'd pack it with actual ice.
So depending on your objective, I would guess you probably will have better luck with the hard cooler.
|
|
|
|
Post by crazy4scraps on Jul 12, 2016 3:52:22 GMT
I'm sure a hard sided cooler will keep things colder for longer, but if you're just looking for something that will keep your refrigerated food cold enough to stay safe until you're ready to eat it a thermal bag will work well enough. DD has a zip close soft sided insulated lunchbox and the Rubbermaid ice pack that snaps to the food containers is always still partly frozen by the time she comes home from school in the afternoons so it does keep things cold all day.
|
|
|
|
Post by **GypsyGirl** on Jul 12, 2016 4:07:04 GMT
I have the Polar Bear Coolers thermal bags. They work very well at keeping things cold. In fact they are guaranteed to keep ice from melting for 24 hours. They also have a line called EC that will keep ice for 3 days. I've test them several times when I would take frozen meats from TX to KZ. The meat would be in the bag for 27 hours on average. It would all still be rock hard when I arrived. They work as well, if not better, than any of the hard coolers we've had. |
|
|
|
Post by iamkristinl16 on Jul 12, 2016 12:30:04 GMT
I have two scenarios for keeping things cold, I guess.
The first is keeping my lunch cold. I have a soft sided bag that has a hard plastic insert that I typically use for lunch, and it works ok. When I use this I use the blue plastic things that look like ice and can be rolled. Not sue how else to describe them. They melt very quickly but I like that they don't leak or make things wet. The bag is usually in my car all day. Some food needs to stay cold for several hours, which is sketchy.
The second scenario is keeping things cold at a baseball tournament or other all day event. I have a large 31 thermal that I used with the ice packs and that really didn't work. Last weekend I took the plastic insert from my other bag and put ice and drinks in it then placed that in the 31 bag, which took half of the space. In the other half I used the ice packs and put snacks over there that I wouldn't want to get wet. That worked ok except the ice in the other side spilled when the bag got tipped over.
I'm trying to decide if it's better to have two coolers--one for drinks (in a hard cooler with actual ice) and one for snacks? Or if the hard cooler would actually make a difference.
|
|
|
|
Post by bianca42 on Jul 12, 2016 13:14:55 GMT
I'm sure a hard sided cooler will keep things colder for longer, but if you're just looking for something that will keep your refrigerated food cold enough to stay safe until you're ready to eat it a thermal bag will work well enough. DD has a zip close soft sided insulated lunchbox and the Rubbermaid ice pack that snaps to the food containers is always still partly frozen by the time she comes home from school in the afternoons so it does keep things cold all day. My kids use the same thing for school lunches. However, I discovered that for summer camp where the lunch is outside all day long it needs 2 ice packs. DH leaves his lunch in the car and eats it there. In the cooler weather, I use a soft-sided lunch bag with 2 ice packs. This time of year I use a small cooler with 2-3 ice packs. I keep telling him to bring it inside his office and carry it back out...but he won't. 31 has one large softsided cooler bag that's waterproof so that you can dump ice right into it. I haven't used it, but the rep was telling us about it at the last party I went to. |
|
|
|
Post by STBC on Jul 12, 2016 13:19:47 GMT
The hard coolers will keep things cold longer. I have an Igloo Max Cold cooler which keeps things cold for hours. It's a little more expensive than a regular Igloo cooler, but worth it. (They're usually silver.) I use actual ice, packed in Ziploc bags. Now is a good time to buy a cooler - they will start getting discounted to move out.
For my lunch, I just use a cheapie lunch tote with some of the hard ice packs. The hard ice packs stay cold all day, but my tote is at my desk.
|
|
|
|
Post by secondlife on Jul 12, 2016 13:22:03 GMT
I've never been happy with the 31 thermals - I never felt they kept things cold enough. I swapped it out for an Igloo soft sided cooler bag from the sporting goods store. If I put my lunch and two small ice packs in that bag I often find the ice packs are still frozen at the end of the day.
|
|
|
|
Post by beanbuddymom on Jul 12, 2016 14:33:04 GMT
I send my kids to summer camp (day camp) every year and always got the soft side bags for ease of not having a bunch of stuff, but this year I got them both the mini Igloo coolers that a number of campers have carried and got the bricks that fit inside - it fits a large water bottle, sandwich, fruit, chips and keeps it cold all day - in fact the next morning when I am packing lunch the brick is STILL cold though I replace it with a fresh one from the freezer. That's staying out in the sun, 90+ degrees all day. The soft side was never still cold that long. Link to the Igloo cooler - Playmate Pal cooler plus the Igloo ice block - I got the one that is large enough that covers the entire bottom of the cooler. Igloo Playmate Pal cooler |
|
|
|
Post by bianca42 on Jul 12, 2016 14:47:14 GMT
I send my kids to summer camp (day camp) every year and always got the soft side bags for ease of not having a bunch of stuff, but this year I got them both the mini Igloo coolers that a number of campers have carried and got the bricks that fit inside - it fits a large water bottle, sandwich, fruit, chips and keeps it cold all day - in fact the next morning when I am packing lunch the brick is STILL cold though I replace it with a fresh one from the freezer. That's staying out in the sun, 90+ degrees all day. The soft side was never still cold that long. Link to the Igloo cooler - Playmate Pal cooler plus the Igloo ice block - I got the one that is large enough that covers the entire bottom of the cooler. Igloo Playmate Pal coolerThanks for the link. I think I'm going to get these for my boys for summer day camp. |
|
|
|
Post by littlemama on Jul 12, 2016 15:47:07 GMT
A hard cooler makes a huge difference. I would not use a soft cooler for baseball tournaments.
After a full day at the ball field, my ice is barely melted
|
|
ginacivey
Pearl Clutcher
refupea #2 in southeast missouri
Posts: 4,685 
|
Post by ginacivey on Jul 12, 2016 17:24:01 GMT
A hard cooler makes a huge difference. I would not use a soft cooler for baseball tournaments. After a full day at the ball field, my ice is barely melted unless it's a yeti!we have a hopper 30 - and it's the best cooler we've every used it's expensive - but it does the job better than any other cooler we've every owned - at any price point gina |
|
SweetieBsMom
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,612
|
Post by SweetieBsMom on Jul 12, 2016 17:30:58 GMT
I have 3 different igloo Max Cold coolers that I swear by. LOVE THEM.
|
|
|
|
Post by kkooch on Jul 12, 2016 18:00:10 GMT
I definitely agree that 31 thermals don't keep things as cold especially if you have an older style one (I use to sell them so I have a bunch of years worth). I do believe that the hard coolers keep your things colder/frozen longer.
|
|
|
|
Post by beachbum on Jul 12, 2016 18:06:45 GMT
I like a hard sided cooler best. We have one we take to the beach, it keeps drinks and food cold all day, ice is still frozen at the end of the day (I pack ziploc bags of ice so we can pull some out to use in glasses) Ours has a flat top - we put it between our chairs and use it as a table. I got it at Walgreens when I had $$ to spend from points from their rewards card.
|
|
