Best ice coolers

By Stuart Johnston 

Choosing the best ice cooler for your next trip is very much a matter of what your needs are, and your budget.

For a R100 or so you can buy a small cheap Styrofoam cooler with rope handles, but realise that it will probably only last for a few trips  at most before careless handling sees it suffering the “chip-off-the-old-ice-cooler” syndrome.

Go for trusted brands

Far better to go for one of the more durable plastic coolers, and to go for a trusted brand. Moderately-priced plastic cooler boxes start at a couple of hundred rand and for R500 upwards you can get a good deal on one from some of the discount hyper stores, like Makro, Game, or some of the bigger hypermarkets.

But our advice is to go for a specialist durable ice-cooler. Then best places to shop are at outdoor stores like Cape Union Mart, Outdoor Warehouse  or smaller specialist outdoor and 4X4 or camping stores, where the people who stock these items are serious about their leisure time.

There are far too many ice cooler brands to mention all of them here, but these are the ones that have caught our eye in compiling this quick guide to what is, literally, cool!

Stanley Adventure Cooler

Priced at above R1 700, this is a seriously cool box to stash your cold ones in. It has a 15-litre capacity, and is formed of durable outer plastic with an inner foam insulation that will make your ice long last into the day, even longer at night. We like the flip-up handle that makes carrying it easy (on your own, or with a friend). But also, that the handle doesn’t act as latch catch. The lid, recessed into the box when closed, has its own latches. The lid also has a proper gasket for sealing.

Cadac  451 Cooler Box

This is a cooler box of the “semi-durable” variety, and moderately priced to suit, in the region of R500. It has a moulded body with  polyurethane walls and a lid that features a rather rudimentary catch for sealing, which is better than no-catch. Cadac is one of those brand names in the outdoor field that has a reputation for quality, so this should be a good buy at the price.

Igloo Maxcold Island Breeze Roller

Hot wheels on a cooler box? It’s a good idea, as lugging a heavy cooler box for a long distance is something that can really take the edge off a relaxing picnic or trip to the beach. The Igloo Maxcold  Island Breeze Roller comes with large rubberised wheels and a telescopic handle, along the lines of typical airline carry-on luggage. It is said to hold 69 12 ounce cans, or enable your two-litre drink bottles to be packed upright.

The wheels won’t always be that practical, such as in soft beach sand or on very rutted trails. Good thing, then, that some comfy-looking moulded handles are included in this very durable looking package. Priced at  R1 700 at Outdoor Warehouse.

Coleman Stainless Steel Belted Coolerbox - 51L

Toting along a Coleman Stainless Steel Belted Cooler Box to a braai has the same sort of effect as casually tossing a set of Porsche or Ferrari keys onto a bar counter, as you chat up the local talent.

This is certainly to be last word in cooler boxes at just about any outdoor gathering. Coleman has a huge reputation in the field of cooler boxes, and this is one of their flagship models, dating back in style to the early 1950s, when this company started keeping an icy lid on things.

It has stainless steel handles, a stainless steel lid latch, and a so-called have-a-seat lid, guaranteed to take the weight of even the most serious of braai-side enthusiasts. It also has a leak-resistant draining channel to enable you to empty out melted ice (water) without having to tilt the cooler.

It’s a show-stopper, all right, and the price reflects this at somewhere in the region of R5 000.

BEST CARGO COOLER

Our choice for the best cargo cooler, or ice cooler, goes to a South African brand. “Rogue” used to be the name of a proud South African-exclusive  lager, but now it is exclusively associated with cooler boxes of the highest, almost indestructible quality. The Rogue company, based in the KZN North Coast region, produces its coolers in sizings of  18 litres, 45 and 75 litres. The box section is made of polyethylene moulded using the so-called roto-moulding process, which produces the rugged boxes and lids without seams. Apparently it’s the same construction process used for competition-level kayaks.

The polyurethane insulation, necessary to keep your drinks and perishables ice cool,  is then injected into the double-skin cavity-panels on the lid and the casing, to form a really superior insulation.

Rogue says its construction is so tough, that their cooler boxes have survived test-tosses off two-story buildings with no ill effects. Neat touches are the leather straps and handles, although these can be exchanged for rubber if lots of use in and around water (such as fishing) is envisaged. Typically,  Rogue Coolers are finished in army-green, to compliment  your rugged outdoor lifestyle.

Rogue coolers are priced at about R200 for the 18 litre box, R3 300 for the 45 litre box and R 4300 for the 65 litre box.