Pro tip: Switched from a soft cooler to a rotomolded one for car camping

I used to just toss everything in a cheap 50-quart soft cooler for weekend trips, thinking it was fine. Last summer at Big Bear Lake, I realized my ice was melting by noon on day two after fighting with the zipper for the fifth time. Picked up a rotomolded unit from a brand I'd seen online, and now ice lasts a solid three days even in 90-degree heat. Anybody else deal with soggy sandwiches before making the switch?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_hayden16d ago

Soggy sandwiches hit too close to home lol." I read a thread on some backpacking subreddit where this guy did a side by side test with a soft cooler vs a rotomolded one in the same heat. He filled both with ice packs and left them in his trunk for a full day. The soft cooler was basically a puddle by 3pm and the rotomolded one was still holding ice chunks. That sold me. I had the same problem at Big Bear actually, zipper stuck halfway through a trip and I just wanted to cry over my warm beer. Now I use a Yeti clone I got on sale and ice lasts like three days no problem.

william_henderson16d ago

The zipper thing is brutal, man. Had a cheap Coleman cooler fail on me at Joshua Tree once and the zipper just split right open. All my ice melted by noon. I ended up drinking warm Gatorade for two days. That rotomolded test you mentioned makes total sense. I grabbed a knockoff brand on Amazon about a year ago and it holds ice for a solid 48 hours even in 95 degree weather. Never going back to soft coolers after that.

umathompson5d ago

I mean is warm Gatorade really the end of the world though? People act like their whole trip is ruined over a beverage that's still drinkable.