I have two Coleman coolers, one from the 1970s from my parents and one I found on the curb from an apartment down the street. They seem to work fine, although I wish I had a drain in them for letting out water. But I’m not going to replace technology that I have that already works. I typically use two coolers in the summer months, because about half of each is taken up by ice in summer months. One cooler is used for meat and milk which has to remain particularly cold, the other is for beer, cheese, condiments, and stuff that has to remain less cold.

For ice, I use two gallons of ice placed in each cooler, frozen in old milk jugs. The milk jugs typically last for 2-3 camping trips before they have to be replaced. I’ve looked at using blocks of dry ice for longer trips, but only one place locally, somewhat out of the way, sells ice. Dry ice has the advantage of lasting a lot longer and not melting into water, but I’ve heard it can food an off taste and you have to be careful handling it. It generally lasts 3-4 days, on the hottest summer days. After that I buy ice from local retailers, preferably block ice but if they only have cubes, that will work.

I also have a 12 volt piezeoelectric cooler, but I don’t use it much any more. For one I’m not all that impressed with it’s cooling ability, especially in a hot vehicle (I leave the windows shut in bear country and when I’m parked on the street, in shade, while at work before camping) and I only have limited cooling capacity.