4.10.2017

Before I bought this coolbox, I read many of the reviews as well as reviews of many other alternative cool boxes. I was struck by how much the reviews varied but most products seemed to be more positive than negative. The main theme, understandably, was how long they kept food and drink cold or frozen, as the case may be, and opinions varied hugely from only a few hours to several days. Given an identical, undamaged product, they cannot all be right. I chose this particular box because of the mainly positive reviews and because it had wheels.My experience was definitely somewhere between the two extremes. My first experience was to use the coolbox for a long journey over about 36 hours.I had 8 ice packs, but these were mostly small (four about 15 x 10 cms x 1.5 cms, two about 15 x 10 x 3 and two about 25 x 15 x 3) and I then packed frozen food (including a pack of ice cubes, various meat items, some frozen peas and two 600 ml bottles of frozen chicken stock) at the bottom with the ice packs surrounding it and then various items of dairy and other perishable food products (milk butter cold meats etc) on the top. At the very top I put two very cold 600 ml bottles of Pepsi max. The box was completely full. I did not pre-cool the box (other than leaving it in the coolest room with the lid open). Many have talked about pre-cooling the box but unless you have a very large chest freezer, which is largely empty, I see no way of doing this. The box is too big for most domestic freezers even if said freezer is totally devoid of contents. In the winter you could just leave it outside of course but in the winter there is less need to pre-cool anyway. In summer pre-cooling the box is close to impossible for most people I would suggest.I found that after 36 hours the food remained very satisfactorily cold. The frozen food was still frozen but with evidence of the very beginnings of a thaw. The pack of ice cubes and the bottles of chicken stock were still pretty much frozen solid with only the slightest evidence of slight thawing on the very outside. The meat products had a very slight give to them when pressed firmly with the thumb compared to their rock solid form with no give whatsoever when fully frozen. The peas had suffered the worst and these showed greater evidence of thawing around the outside of the pack. However, even these were still mainly frozen.On the whole I was pretty much satisfied with this but sometimes I do similar journeys over 48 hours and then I think the results might have been less favourable. In particular, I think the notion that frozen food would stay frozen for up to 5 days is a bit fanciful. I am not familiar with the physics of these things but I assume that the box is more efficient when completely full and I suppose more or larger ice packs is also preferable compared to those that I had (but of course the more space taken up by ice packs the less space for contents.)I opened the box only twice on the journey and then for less than 10 seconds each time for the purpose of retrieving the Pepsi Max. This drink was still ice cold so I really cannot complain about that. The box was stowed in the boot of my car and was never in direct sunlight. Ambient temperatures varied from about 10 degrees up to 32 degrees but mostly in the range of 15 to 20 degrees C.I had exactly similar results on a return journey. My overall conclusion on the performance of this box is that it is good, even very good, but not spectacular. If you want to keep frozen food properly frozen in a way which is safe from the possibility of bacterial infection my view is that 36 to 48 hours is about the maximum period for this box and possibly less in high ambient temperatures.On other features of the box it seems to me very solidly built. The wheels work very well to haul a full box along. The lid fits very snugly. Indeed I found it quite difficult to open but in a way this was reassuring. The box shape is a little bit unwieldy, but that is unavoidable I suppose. When full it is heavy to lift but their are good grab handles on the sides to facilitate lifting. The box is tall enough for large bottles to stand upright. My only real compliant is a minor one. It would be useful if there was some kind of catch on the pull-handle so that when fully retracted it could be locked into place. I found myself habitually using the retracted handle to help lift or handle the box but, in so doing, the handle continually extends so that you get nowhere. The lid will not open with the handle extended which makes this problem worse. I am sure a simple catch mechanism would overcome this little difficulty.

17.9.2012

I purchased this product through Amazon and read the reviews a lot in deciding which coolbox to buy and how to use it.Having just returned from a 4 night camping trip I thought I would add my own comments to help others.First of all pre cool the box, I froze 2 bottle of water and put in 2 days before which did the trick really well, I placed 2 cans of coke in there and they were as cold as the ones in my fridge after a day! This got the temperature of the box down nicely and I was surprised that the bottles still had ice in them when I took them out.Now the box is big and yes the walls are thick making its capacity not quite seem as big as it should be but this is surely what makes it work so

15.8.2018

Bought this for camping holidays for two adults and two children, 9 & 4. Both kids have severe allergies, so having access to food we know is suitable for them is key especially when shops can be small or distant.Have used it so far for one trip of 6 days and was very pleased. The cooler is large and needs a lot of ice packs or bags of ice to get it cold initially - if you can load up at home and have some frozen food (sausages, pre-prepped chili, Spag bol, etc.) in that helps. Once chilled it maintains temp well. We used about 10 no-brand freeze packs initially when we left home, then moved to a bag of ice or topping up with four or so ice packs from the campsite each day when they thawed.

2.9.2014

Just as it claims, it keeps food COLD for five days. Using one 2kg bag of ice, by the fourth day of camping in warm UK conditions of 23c daytime temps, plus the long drive (7) hours with the cooler in the very warm back of the van, the ice lasted all four days with ice left when we came home. The butter was hard enough that it had to be removed from the cooler to stand and soften. Ham and cheese were as cold as when first packed, and by using the ice bag asa separator, there was room for chilling drinks.The walls are quite thick, which means a slightly reduced interior, which is why we purchased the 33l box. It comfortably holds enough food for the three of us for camping without having to shop for anything for the four day trips.

17.9.2013

I bought this on the back of the other reviews & it does what it says. On a recent camping trip this kept very cold forFour days & it was really hot. I followed the tip of getting it cold before I put milk & food in. I did this by putting in oldMilk containers full of frozen water. These were still frozen after 12 hours so it looked promising . I put my food in withSome ice packs & two small milk containers of ice. Another tip is buy 2ltr bottles of milk as 4 ltr bottles standing upDon't allow the lid to close & seal. After two days my beers were still really cold & the burgers still frozen solid.After four days I was going round showing off just how cold my beers still were but more important my milk was stillCold.

11.8.2014

We used this for the very first time very recently. I pre-chilled the cool box for a couple of days beforehand with 2 litre bottles of frozen water, then packed with food and drink before topping off with two bags of ice that you can buy from the supermarket for a pound. This was on the Thursday. We went to a festival and it was really hot at times, with the coolbox remaining in the boot of the car where it was even hotter - temperatures of 25C during the day and even hotter in the car.Three days later, about 30% of the ice remained and I am convinced that ice would have remained after five days. The food in there was in perfect condition, very cool, with no evidence of spoilage.

26.8.2014

Used this for the first time this weekend on a camping trip. We used two Thermos Freeze Boards (800g), packed it full of food and then tipped in a bag of crushed ice. Now it wasn't the hottest Bank Holiday weekend ever but I packed this on Friday morning and by the time we got home on Monday afternoon there was still ice in there and everything that was still in there was fridge-cold. You need to remember to drain water out of it each day if you're using crushed ice and to put anything that isn't sealed into a water tight container or bag but apart from this it was great. It is quite large and the capacity inside isn't massive but that is because its extremely well insulated.

15.2.2016

I absolutely love this cool box. It is very large and stores everything we need to take for a week camping. It keeps things cool for a really good amount of time and if you freeze some drinks such as bottles of water or Juice you can pack them in the cooler to defrost slowly which also keeps your food cooler even longer. We take cool blocks and use the camping site freezer to replace for cool blocks every few days but all in all it stays cool fantastically. The box is so sturdy you can use it to sit on with no problem at all. The carry handles are great and despite the fact that when packed this can end up really heavy, they have withstood the weight no problem at all and with one person on each handle it is still so easy to carry.

2.12.2016

QualityThe cooler seems to be of really good build quality and its is also lightweight for its size.UsageThe top lit has got 4 holes to place your drinks(similar to a car cup holder) so it was very convinient to have them on top when the lit was closed.What amazed me was the capacity of the cooler and the time frame that the ice cubes did nit melt. I tried this cooler on a hot day 45° Celsius from 8:00-17:00 and the drinks were cool until late afternoon.PortabilityThe cooler is a bit bulky for one person to carry so i purchased a foldable trolley to move it around.Tip: I didn't want the drinks to be extra cold so i bought a bag of ice and didn't open the bag until the early afternoon.this helped the drinks remain cool but not cold.

1.9.2013

Bought this over the electric plug in ones after reading the reviews. Have used this on 2 camping trips in the last 2 weeks and would not be without it again. Does exactly what it says on the tin. Kept ice blocks frozen for 2-3 days but chilled for 5, kept frozen ice frozen for the full 4 days we were there. The cup holders on the top are very handy, and the drain plug is handy to drain any water out without having to empty the contents out. However The more times you open the lid, the box/ice doesn't stay as cool, and the the lid has to be pushed down tight to close properly. We stored our BBQ food in this, then (my Stella) when there was room, but when the missus kept wanting ice for her drink I kept finding the lid not shut properly.

7.6.2016

We were considering a camping fridge but having read some great reviews for the Coleman 100Qt Xtreme cooler we decided to get one as we were going camping for three days and didn't want the hassle of having to keep a fridge plugged in.This is a strong box and doubles up as a handy seat as well. We chilled the box down with bottles of frozen water 24 hours before we needed it. We froze the water we were taking to help keep the box cool while we were away. All food which could be frozen was, the bottle of vodka was left in the freezer and we packed it out with 4 bags of ice (for drinky-poos). The insulation on this is great as there still plenty of ice 3 days later.As functioning alcoholics we found there was plenty of room for our 6 bottles of champagne,

26.1.2019

All I can say is absolutely amazing. We went away in my converted van for a few days and used a few ice blocks, with one 2 litre bottle of water frozen. That was suffice that on the 3rd day it was still very cold inside. Best way to plan for trips is to cool first before you go with ice blocks. Then put cool food in and then the ice blocks. Stays colder for an extra day that way. Huge amount of space so could easily go with 2 x 2 litre bottles that are frozen stood up in corners and I think that would be good in uk weather for up to a week if planned right. I was choosing between this and a leisure battery to be fitted with an electric fridge. Glad I chose this option as wont need more.

7.8.2018

Bought this for a three day festival which was very warm and our tent where the cooler was was like a furnace. On the 4th day when we were coming home everything was still ice cold. There is still ice in it today on day 5 and we were constantly putting more cans into it throughout the weekend that it was chilling from warm to ice cold in a few hours. Honestly such a good purchase. It took around 12 supermarket bags of ice and I had a few ice packs too and around 20 cans to start. Was too heavy to add more but once we got there we added at least another 60 throughout the weekend and it chilled them all. We put chocolate in it and it froze it.

28.6.2017

This really is a great product. I was slightly sceptical to read the claims of ice remaining in there for up to 5 days, but as we go camping and go to rock festivals, I thought I would give it a try. I am very impressed to be honest.....we pre-cooled it first, then filled it with bags of ice, and loads of frozen items and cold drinks etc, and after 7 days of a very hot Glastonbury Festival, everything inside it was still very cold. The ice had all melted after about four days, but the cold water that remained stayed very cold right up until the end. Quite pricey compared to other cool boxes, but 10 times better in my opinion, we are really glad we bought it, and I highly recommend it !

10.6.2019

I bought this to store cake in when selling a fairs. I had a massive 2 day event on this weekend just gone and everything stayed ice cold for 11 hours!!!! I'm super chuffed with it. We went for the 66l as its was cheaper than the smaller sizes. The top is sturdy(but stiff to open but after few uses I'm sure it will give.) the inside holes 3 medium Tupperware across the bottom and at least 3 to 4 high!!!! With space around the sides for ice packs. Easy to wipe clean and love the valve on the bottom for easy drainage. During the day the kids sat on it and used it as a horse to play on. Everything was safe inside. I'm extremely happy with this item. A great investment.

Coleman 100QT Xtreme Cooler - Reviews

Info

Analysis

Detail