Back in June I had a comment posted to the “Cooler Tips” post from Randy the owner of CoolerInsulators.com. I checked out the site as I always do before approving a comment and what I saw looked like a great idea. I shot an email off to Randy asking him if he would be interested in a review of his product. He promptly responded and asked what size cooler I owned and where to send it. I responded and soon a cooler insulator was on its way to my doorstep.

We had a trip planned for the end of July and I received the package a few days before leaving. The packaging was in great shape when it arrived. Once opened I looked over the insulator, they are well put together and have flaps on either end to allow access to the cooler’s handles. The flaps have a velcro closure to seal up the opening when not in use. I got out my standard 48qt Coleman cooler and the cover fit perfectly.

As you can see it has a silver, reflective surface on the outside to reflect the suns heat. The access for the cooler handles is also visible as is the black trim to finish off the bottom edge.

The day of our trip we packed the cooler with food and beverages all of which were cooled prior to packing. Once loaded with ice the insulator was placed on the cooler and it was loaded into the bed of our truck. We always take more than one cooler, it was also packed and loaded but without an insulator. The second cooler is a larger Rubbermaid 5-day cooler that has thicker walls and insulation than the standard Coleman cooler.

Once we arrived at the campground and got set up it was time to see how the ice was holding up in the coolers. Keep in mind that both coolers were in the back of the truck in direct sunlight for around 5 hours with a temperature in the 90’s. I opened up the 5-day Rubbermaid cooler and found that there was considerable melting, especially around the sides of the cooler. There was a good inch of melt all around the outside edges. I opened the Coleman cooler that had the insulator on it, and was pleasantly surprised to see that the ice had held up much better than in the 5-day cooler.

Normally during our camping trips I am constantly moving the coolers around to keep them in the shade and out of direct sunlight. During this trip I left the coolers in one spot all day long, resulting in at least 3 to 4 hours of direct sunlight everyday. I would say overall that we only went through half of the ice we would normally use on a trip of this length. If both coolers would have had insulators, we would have used even less.

Here are the advantages I see of using the cooler insulator:

• Keeps your food colder, longer
• You use less ice
• You do not have to worry about your cooler sitting in the sun
• Upgrades your existing cooler
• Helps keep your toddler out of the cooler(It kept our little one out, who likes to dig out the ice)
• Will pay for itself after a few trips

So if you are thinking about upgrading coolers or just want your ice to last longer I would recommend a cooler insulator. It will pay for itself in no time at all, and you will worry less about keeping your food and drink cold.