Blog Post

Cooler Tricks

Campfire Travel • April 3, 2019

Easy ways to make ice last longer when camping.

Here it comes: summer's boiling heat. Temperatures that will bake a cooler and melt ice faster than you can drive to the nearest quick-mart for $3-a-bag reinforcements.

Whether you're out for a quick overnight at the lake or a week-long expedition to some distant desert oasis, here are six proven ways to keep ice longer, keep drinks cooler and keep meats and veggies safe from spoilage day after day.

Go tandem
Keeping hot air out, and cold air in, is as much a matter of keeping the lid closed as anything else. Cut the number of times someone digs through the cooler by packing a separate, smaller cooler dedicated to drinks and snacks.

Pre-chill
Dump ice into a cooler that's been roasting in a hot car or campsite and you might go through a couple of bags just to lower the temperature of the cooler itself. Always store a cooler in a shady campsite nook or corner of the basement just prior to loading with ice and food. And consider sacrificing a single bag of ice to pre-chill the cooler: Just toss it into an empty ice chest, close the lid and give it a few hours. You can drain off the meltwater and add to the remaining ice.

Cuddle your cooler
Direct sun will cook the cool right out of the icebox. To blunt the sun, wrap or cover the cooler with some kind of reflective shield. A white towel will work OK. Covering the top with a foil windshield screen works very well. Or wrap the cooler in a lightweight emergency space blanket. The difference is amazing.

Go big
The larger the block of ice, the longer it takes to melt. Splurge for block ice when you can find it, or simply fill milk jugs (cleaned well) two-thirds full of water and freeze at home.

Dry ice bath
Precautions are required for safe handling, but dry ice is so cold (almost minus 110 degrees Fahrenheit) that using it is a go-to strategy for folks on long camping trips. Dry ice is frozen carbon dioxide, and you have to handle it with heavy gloves and vent cooler lids so the sublimating ice can escape. It's best used to keep frozen items frozen, as anything stored nearby will freeze like a rock. Mix a 4-to-1 ratio of regular ice to dry ice to make the standard stuff last for days. Just wrap the dry ice in newspaper and layer it on the bottom of the cooler. Cover with a layer of frozen ice, then the food and drink items.

Cut a gasket
To prevent cool air from escaping seal the top of the cooler with a DIY cooler gasket. Cut a sheet of thin closed-cell foam the exact dimension of the cooler interior. You can find such foam at most sporting goods stores. Or recycle an old foam sleeping pad. Just place this cooler gasket on top of the loaded ice chest. No foam? No problem. Several layers of newspaper will work wonders.

https://www.cabelas.com/category/Camp-Cabelas-Cooler-Tricks/729578880.uts

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