For many years, I had been using a rigid cool box with some extra DIY polystyrene inserts on the sides and top. It worked better than the standard cool box; but I needed something better. In the summer (ok, so UK summers aren’t always that great !) I needed a cool box which would keep bait frozen for 3 days when in the boot of the car. Anyone who has tried this, will know that it is not easy.
I started looking around for cool boxes which would fit the bill. I saw several from Coleman and some from Igloo which were very good, but just not what I was after.
I had almost forgotten about the whole thing, when one day, I went to the Bath and West show (a large agricultural show in the West Country, UK). They have loads of stalls selling lots of great outdoor gear.
Whilst there, I saw a stall which caught my eye – it was called “The Cool Icebox Company” – they had some really great looking cool boxes on their stall. The cool boxes were called “Yeti” and they were serious bits of kit, designed for expeditions and medical applications. Some of the coolers had 3 inches of insulation and were designed to keep contents cold for 7 to 10 days – perfect ! However, I still could not see anything on the stall which was the size I was after. The owner could see me scratching my head and came over to help. I think her name was Tina. She was a mine of information and very helpful – she even went back to her van in the car park to pick up another box she had, which she thought would be suitable – now that is service you do not get very often these days.
I was so impressed, that I bought one there and then – it was alot of money, but I knew from my previous research that you get what you pay for with these things. The wife was also not impressed at me walking around the rest of the show with her, carrying a big white cool box – the things you do for the kayak fishing cause !
Ok, now down to the nitty gritty – basically – the Yeti appears to be indestructable. As well as being tough, the Yeti’s have the following features :-
- High Impact seamless construction
- Fully insulated polyurethane
- Marine quality grade stainless steel fittings
- Dry ice compatible to –89 degrees celcius
- Non slip/non surface marking rubber feet
- Locakble
- Internal wire good rack
- Tough carrying handles
- Removeable drainage bung
Lets have a look at some images….
You can see how the rubber latches which secure the lid (they stretch slightly to form a tight seal).
Side view showing the tough handles (you can also see the hole in the top corner that you could lock if you wanted to)…
Close-up showing how the latch works…
Closer view of the handle…
You get an idea of the thickness of the insulation (3 inches), and the quality of the rubber seal in the next image (you can also see the wire basket which lifts out)…
Bigger image showing the inside of the cool box – note the drainage hole at the bottom which uses a bung on the outside (see later picture)…
The drainage bung from the outside…
Close-up of the lid, showing the seal and the locking hole on the corner…
The company that I bought the ice box from also sells a number of accessories, like cushions which are specially designed to sit on top of the coolers – they fasten directly to the lids using push stud attachments.
They also sell medical grade gel ice packs – these are quite expensive, but they stay frozen for up to 4 days. I bought a couple of them, and they do last longer than my existing camping gaz ones…
I have used the box a fair bit last year and it performed really well – quality does cost, but this thing is definitely made to last – I would thoroughly recommend it, especially for fishermen (and kayak fishermen !).