IGLOO Maxcold 60-qt. Wheeled Cooler

On Friday some friends and I went car camping at Anthony Chabot Regional Park. As they didn't own a cooler I was in charge of bringing one which was a shame since the cooler I have is about eight years old and can't keep things cold to save my life. Drastic measures must be taken...

Those drastic measures took the form of an Igloo Maxcold 60-qt. Wheeled Cooler purchased from Target.

Why did I select this particular cooler? In truth it's only because my Target of choice did not have a decent selection in stock the day I happened to visit and this was the only one of a large enough size to support three people car camping through three days and two nights. Also, it was only a little over $40 at Target and I wasn't looking to break the bank.

The day I left for camping I loaded up the cooler with three seven-pound bags of ice and a moderate amount of food and beverages. There was still space left so I called my camping partners and asked that they bring more ice (which amounted to two bags). They also, of course, brought more food which required refrigeration. All told, thirty-five pounds of ice and a fair amount of food ended up in the cooler on Friday evening.

This cooler was opened frequently during the course of the weekend, as should be expected when three thirsty adults are spending a lot of time in the sun. On Sunday, while preparing to leave, I drained the water from the cooler and noticed that there was a heckuva lot of ice still in there. This gave me an idea... How long do you think the ice would last?

Today, Wednesday, I moved the cooler from the middle of my kitchen floor (where it's been sitting since I got home on Sunday) to the back porch. Even though it's been in there for FIVE DAYS there's still a respectable amount of ice left in the cooler. There's also a decent amount of water but as the entire mixture is, well, ice-cold I would have no problem with storing ice cream or poultry in this cooler even now.

To say that I'm pleased with my investment in this piece of gear would be an understatement. Its insulating properties are top-notch, even after it spent over forty-eight hours sitting out at the campsite, often in full sun. Add that to its perfectly-sized capacity (for my needs), the wide sturdy wheels and the pulling handle (large enough to allow two people to pull), and you have a very nice package which I recommend to anyone thinking of purchasing a new cooler.