SFR Cooler advice

[goinoregon]

I use an Igloo or Coleman for car camping. My “secret” is to make my own ice with a small tub. For drift boat float trips on the Deschutes, I made a cooler with closed-cell foam sheets that are an inch and a half in thickness. A large block ice made in a container that is just the right size for the cooler fits in the middle and generally will last for 5 days. All of the food that can be frozen is put in first and drinks are added as space becomes available. Been using this method for years. A key element for both the portable cooler and the boat is to make sure that the melting ice water drains continuously in the boat and frequently in the car cooler.

when i rafted the grand canyon, the outfitter would put the giant coolers into the freezer and freeze ice a few inches thick at the bottom. those coolers kept ice for days. one trick was to not use some of the coolers, until later in the trip, so they did not get opened until necessary.

 

[nwbobber]

20 some years ago I loaned a Gott cooler to a friend. Nice cooler, kept stuff cold through more than a week archery hunting in September. The friend let the lid slam back against the ridiculously weak hinges, ending said hinges usefulness. From that day on I bought the rigid type, ridiculously expensive coolers with bulletproof hinges, bear proof latches, etc. I only bought American made, never Yeti, although they are nice. Never a problem with any of them, and they hold cold things longer than anything I have owned. Unfortunately they can't be had anymore as they have gone out of business. Orca coolers is out of business, anyway. The first one was Ice station zero, and they still make the big rigid insulated totes that the commercial fisher people use. Maybe Orca would still be in business if more folks drew the line on spending money on imports. The Orca coolers were 30% less than a Yeti, every bit as good.
There's still some good choices.

12+ Coolers Made in the USA

We did the research to find all the coolers made in the USA and which cooler brands aren't made here too. Here are our findings.

allamerican.org