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carlosg
Senior Nomad
Posts: 504
Registered: 5-28-2012
Location: chula vista, ca
Member Is Offline
Mood: Just like in Baja: No Bad Days...
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BEST BAJA COOLER
Hi Nomads,
Has anyone input regarding a GOOD ice cooler that will store ice for at least a week in the Baja heat? I have been considering the Polar Cap Equalizer
by Cabela, it seems a good buy:
http://www.cabelas.com/product/cabela-s-polar-cap-equalizer-...
Any experience or comments or other suggestions are highly appreciated.
Much grass...
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DirkEXC
Junior Nomad
Posts: 64
Registered: 12-14-2006
Location: Sherman Oaks, Ca.
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Field and Stream did a test on about 15 coolers last
month and this one was their best pick
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willardguy
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6451
Registered: 9-19-2009
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looks like an excellent choice! 
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BajaGeoff
Super Nomad
Posts: 1727
Registered: 1-11-2006
Location: San Diego and Campo Lopez
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Mood: Heading To Baja!!!
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www.yeticoolers.com
They aren't cheap, but the quality is top notch and people rave about them. I haven't seen a warm drink come out of a Yeti thus far...
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weebray
Super Nomad
Posts: 1094
Registered: 7-19-2010
Location: La Paz
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Mood: lleno
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You will have the best success if you follow these rules. Use the largest piece of block ice you can fit. Keep your cooler out of the sun and
insulate it with your sleeping bags or ????. Keep the lid closed. Know exactly what is in your cooler and where so you can quickly grab what you
need. No opening the lid and "looking around". Drain off the melted water. Never add anything warm to the cooler. Cold food and drinks are a
luxury. Consider dried foods and powdered drinks to relieve the pressure on your coldness. All drinks should be in aluminum cans. Use the
refrigerators of friends, motels, stores and strangers to your advantage. I'm sure there are other tips I've forgotten.
Every beautiful beach in the world needs a few condo towers - NOT.
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AKgringo
Elite Nomad
Posts: 5807
Registered: 9-20-2014
Location: Anchorage, AK (no mas!)
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Mood: Retireded
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I capture the water I drain from the chest, and use it to water my dog. That is both in her water dish, and wetting her down to help her cool off!
It would also have been great to offer it to the two women near El Rosario who were flagging traffic down with an empty water jug! Seriously though,
it did come in handy for the radiator of a local resident near Cabo Pulmo once.
If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space!
"Could do better if he tried!" Report card comments from most of my grade school teachers. Sadly, still true!
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Pacifico
Super Nomad
Posts: 1299
Registered: 5-26-2008
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There are some interesting tests on You Tube regarding coolers.
Check this one out; RTIC vs. Yeti:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yaTmfV_c8A
"Plan your life as if you are going to live forever. Live your life as if you are going to die tomorrow." - Carlos Fiesta
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Pacifico
Super Nomad
Posts: 1299
Registered: 5-26-2008
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Here is the link:
http://www.fieldandstream.com/articles/fishing/2016/03/ice-c...
"Plan your life as if you are going to live forever. Live your life as if you are going to die tomorrow." - Carlos Fiesta
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carlosg
Senior Nomad
Posts: 504
Registered: 5-28-2012
Location: chula vista, ca
Member Is Offline
Mood: Just like in Baja: No Bad Days...
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Thanks Nomads,
Very valuable information you all have provided, I'm now sure of purchasing a Polar Cap Equalizer to use along or instead of my old (6 years) 12v
portable freezer (http://www.whynter.com/productdetail/refrigeration/portable_...), I usually take one or two coleman smaller coolers (36 qts?) for daily use and
use the freezer to keep things frozen and put them into the coolers to thaw and cool down the cervezas, or milk, vegies, eggs or...
but for sure the cervezas...!!! 
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PaulW
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3005
Registered: 5-21-2013
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Same subject with more info
http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=80336
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64479
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Quote: Originally posted by weebray  | | You will have the best success if you follow these rules. Use the largest piece of block ice you can fit. Keep your cooler out of the sun and
insulate it with your sleeping bags or ????. Keep the lid closed. Know exactly what is in your cooler and where so you can quickly grab what you
need. No opening the lid and "looking around". Drain off the melted water. Never add anything warm to the cooler. Cold food and drinks are a
luxury. Consider dried foods and powdered drinks to relieve the pressure on your coldness. All drinks should be in aluminum cans. Use the
refrigerators of friends, motels, stores and strangers to your advantage. I'm sure there are other tips I've forgotten. |
TRUTH! 
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redhilltown
Super Nomad
Posts: 1130
Registered: 1-24-2009
Location: Long Beach, CA
Member Is Offline
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I use the water I drain off to "pre chill" warmer items to add back into the cooler. Have also watered a few wild burros with it in the searing heat
of the Mojave summer...they pretend not to care, but once in a bowl anywhere near them...game on!
Block ice rules. I will usually round off whatever the tab is with the Gardena Ice Co with some dry ice. Bang for the buck I love my Coleman
Extreme...but no true latch to close it and still has coyote opener teeth marks and those large Sierra fillets are just a memory.
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Santiago
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3499
Registered: 8-27-2003
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| Quote: Originally posted by redhilltown |
Block ice rules. I will usually round off whatever the tab is with the Gardena Ice Co with some dry ice. Bang for the buck I love my Coleman
Extreme...but no true latch to close it and still has coyote opener teeth marks and those large Sierra fillets are just a memory.
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I also bought the Coleman Extreme after the flurry of testing a year ago, @ $50. I wouldn't throw it out of my pickup at 40mph but it is far superior
to the average Walmart cooler and it works well on our trips. I wish they would have included it in the testing as I suspect it would preform just a
little under the average in this test setting.
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willardguy
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6451
Registered: 9-19-2009
Member Is Offline
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how about build your own?
we're talkin pretty low tech items here.....after adding additional insulation to all my chest freezers with the leftovers I lined a milk crate with
2" of hard foam insulation, covered with FRP and sealed with 5200. this is also one of the seats in our blow-up boat. its an extremely strong box and
insulates better than any of our ice chests.
if you could find an appropriate size crate to start with you could build a really efficient ice chest on the cheap!
[Edited on 6-23-2016 by willardguy]
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Bob H
Elite Nomad
Posts: 5867
Registered: 8-19-2003
Location: San Diego
Member Is Offline
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This is almost like asking 'what kind of tires should I buy for off road used in Baja'? The thread will explode !!
Had not been on this Forum for some time. It's good to see lots of old familiar folks on here again and read some of the posts.
The SAME boiling water that softens the potato hardens the egg. It's about what you are made of NOT the circumstance.
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mtgoat666
Select Nomad
Posts: 17295
Registered: 9-16-2006
Location: San Diego
Member Is Offline
Mood: Hot n spicy
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I have an engle and coleman extreme. Both keep cold for same duration, but engel costs way more! Get the coleman!
There are no grizzlies in baja, so why do you need a grizzly-proof cooler???
| Quote: Originally posted by Santiago | | Quote: Originally posted by redhilltown |
Block ice rules. I will usually round off whatever the tab is with the Gardena Ice Co with some dry ice. Bang for the buck I love my Coleman
Extreme...but no true latch to close it and still has coyote opener teeth marks and those large Sierra fillets are just a memory.
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I also bought the Coleman Extreme after the flurry of testing a year ago, @ $50. I wouldn't throw it out of my pickup at 40mph but it is far superior
to the average Walmart cooler and it works well on our trips. I wish they would have included it in the testing as I suspect it would preform just a
little under the average in this test setting. |
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64479
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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I also have the Coleman Extreme 5 day rated chest.
It has lasted 5 days in summer... using block ice but with careful location (in the shade or covered up), daily draining of melted ice water, limited
opening or seal it while using another chest for normal use until its ice is gone.
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bajagrouper
Senior Nomad
Posts: 964
Registered: 8-28-2003
Location: Rincon de Guayabitos, Nayarit, Mexico
Member Is Offline
Mood: happy and retired
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BEST BAJA COOLER
BEST BAJA COOLER = a Margarita
I hear the whales song
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TMW
Select Nomad
Posts: 10659
Registered: 9-1-2003
Location: Bakersfield, CA
Member Is Offline
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I have a 35 QT and a 55 QT Canyon cooler. Made in Flagstaff, AZ. Not cheap, $250-300. Two off road mag. tested a bunch of coolers not long ago and the
Canyon was rated the best by one and tied for best in the other mag.
In April on our Amigo trip down Baja I took the 55 Qt with two blocks of ice and the rest cubes/crushed in it. I drained and added crushed ice every
couple of days when I got home I left the cooler in the garage for a couple of days keeping my beer cold. After 8 days the two blocks of ice I had put
in it were about half size along with a good amount of the crushed ice when I tossed them out.
The best cooler I've ever had, but like I said they on the expensive side. If you are only going for a couple of days or if you are near a store that
sells ice they're probably not worth it.
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AKgringo
Elite Nomad
Posts: 5807
Registered: 9-20-2014
Location: Anchorage, AK (no mas!)
Member Is Offline
Mood: Retireded
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The best Baja cooler? The one in your buddy's truck. It's EXPENSIVE keeping those things full of goodies! 
If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space!
"Could do better if he tried!" Report card comments from most of my grade school teachers. Sadly, still true!
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