Just got Coleman Xtreme Cooler
Marty
Just got my 50 qt Coleman xtreme cooler yesterday and am a little
disappointed in the construction. Due to the higher price, I expected
REAL hinges and a gasket around the lid. Not. It looks just like my
regular Coleman cooler except that the walls and lid are thicker. I
searched the group archives for others experiences with the
performance of the cooler but only found 2 or 3 comments right after
the cooler first came out. Any xtreme cooler owners out there care to
sound off as to if they are satisfied with their cooler's construction
and performance?
Thanks,
Marty
rb608
Marty <postto...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:fa8a6ea7.01082...@posting.google.com...
> Just got my 50 qt Coleman xtreme cooler yesterday and am a little
> disappointed in the construction. Due to the higher price, I expected
> REAL hinges and a gasket around the lid. Not.
I'm curious, it sounds as though you received this via mail order, but I'd
have thought such a bulky item would be less suitable for shipment
(especially since so many retail places sell Coleman stuff).
Joe F.
Dutch
over the Coleman or any other brand.. for the first time in camping I found
that Igloo keeps ice longer then any other brand on the market.
"Marty" <postto...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
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Clyde Patrick
We have both the Coleman and Igloo high speed coolers. The Coleman is
a 32qt. and the Igloo is a 40 qt. For kicks and grins we put a bag of
ice in each and anchored a thermal coupling in both leaving them in a
shaded but warm-hot warehouse for a couple of days. The smaller
Coleman ran a few degrees cooler and had ice almost a day after the
Igloo. Out camping we we use the Coleman for food stuffs so we don't
go into it very often. The Igloo is bigger but lighter so we use it
for cold beverages. An old river runner trick to help out a cooler is
to keep a wet towel draped over it.
Stay Safe...
Clyde
F-150 Loaded with bikes/canoes/kayaks
Coleman Sun Valley
Matthew S. Whiting
>
> Greetings All,
> We have both the Coleman and Igloo high speed coolers. The Coleman is
> a 32qt. and the Igloo is a 40 qt. For kicks and grins we put a bag of
> ice in each and anchored a thermal coupling in both leaving them in a
> shaded but warm-hot warehouse for a couple of days. The smaller
> Coleman ran a few degrees cooler and had ice almost a day after the
> Igloo. Out camping we we use the Coleman for food stuffs so we don't
> go into it very often. The Igloo is bigger but lighter so we use it
> for cold beverages. An old river runner trick to help out a cooler is
> to keep a wet towel draped over it.
That makes sense assuming the ice bags were roughly the same size. The
40 qt. cooler will have a fair bit more surface area (exact difference
depends on the shape of each cooler) than the 32 qt. so it will allow
more heat in per unit time. You didn't say what the goal of your test
was, but if it is to measure which one has the better insulation, then
you would need to put different amounts of ice into each cooler. The
larger cooler should have more ice in a ratio identical to the
difference amount of surface area.
Matt
Dave Johnston
We got our 32 qt Coleman Xtreme right before a week long trip, after the
guy at the local oxygen plant wanted to charge me about 35 bucks for
enough dry ice to last a week. All we wanted to do was keep some meat
frozen. Well I bought the Xtreme and we pre-froze everything in the deep
freeze, and everything was frozen solid for the first five days of the
trip and still really cold for the next three (we only opened the cooler
1 or 2 times each day). I've been really impressed with it - we've used
it on a number of shorter trips since and it works really well.
- Dave
<dave.j...@NOPSPAM.usa.net>
'90 Sequoia
'95 Explorer
Tom Warfield
>Just got my 50 qt Coleman xtreme cooler yesterday and am a little
>disappointed in the construction.
>Any xtreme cooler owners out there care to
>sound off as to if they are satisfied with their cooler's construction
>and performance?
My wife has a habit of pulling harder if the lid doesn't come up on
the first tug so she has already compromised the latch on my 32 qt
Coleman Xtreme, but it still seals and hold the cold well. I'm not
impressed with the latch on my new Igloo Ultra 40 qt but so far the
wife hasn't compromised it.
How well do they keep the ice? We took both coolers on our Crater Lake
trip 3 weeks ago (7 nights). The temps got into the mid-80s every day.
I did not buy any ice during the trip and dumped some on the driveway
when we got home.
We left home with them totally full (and I mean TOTALLY). The Igloo
had drinks in the bottom with pudding cups & juice boxes above (all
pre-chilled). The Coleman had a layer of ice on the bottom, a layer of
frozen food with more ice on top. All possible air space was filled
with ice cubes. I had to jiggle the coolers and remove some cubes to
get the tops to close. Once or twice a day these were opened to get
out that day's food for transferring into the pop-up's fridge or to
replenish a third cooler that held drinks. On about the 4th day I had
to move some ice from the large coolers to the drink cooler because
all that was left in the drink cooler was cold water. On the 6th night
I combined the remaining contents of all three coolers into the Igloo.
One of the things that helped the ice last that long (besides not
openning the coolers very often) is that I used home-made ice cubes.
They are larger than the store-bought cubes. They are also probably
much colder. I figure I used well over 100 trays of cubes for that
trip.
Another thing that helped is that I did not add anything warm to the
coolers. With just the two of us and the amount of drinks that we
consumed on that trip we returned with some cans to put in the fridge
at home.
Our Labor Day trip will be longer (11 nights) so I expect to be buying
ice at least once since it won't last that long and I'll probably be
putting warm cans into the drink cooler before the trip is over.
Something to keep in mind if you are considering packing your coolers
as full of ice as I do: Take along some plastic shopping bags to hold
the ice that you have to remove to get to the stuff underneath it (or
put it in bags to start with).
*****************
-Tom Warfield
> 2000 Coleman Mesa
> 1999 Ford Ranger (4dr supercab, 4.0L, 5sp AT w/OD)
> In the great Pacific NorthWest (sw washington)
http://communities.msn.com/PopUpTrailerCamping
Marty
in a big box. Total cost was $47 with shipping and handling.
Marty
"rb608" <fleis...@NOSPAMworldnet.att.net> wrote in message news:<RSth7.58896$gj1.5...@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net>...
Marty
did some checking and the 32 qt has a latch and ref. type gasket in
the lid whereas the 50 qt does not. Also Coleman's website says the 32
qt holds ice "for" 5 days. It says the 50 qt keeps ice "up to" 5 days.
This leads me to believe that the 32 qt hold ice better than the 50
qt. I may return it and get the 32 qt instead. Anyone out there got
the 50 qt model? Does it keep ice significantly longer than a regular
cooler?
Thanks all for the replys
Marty
twarfiel -at- hotmail -dot- com (Tom Warfield) wrote in message news:<go6dotctnfr6la975...@4ax.com>...
popaPete
cooler I have, coleman or igloo ( the cheap kind). Ice doesn't usually last
us for 5 days, probably about 3 here in S Fl, but then again we're in and
out of it alot and steal some ice for drinks for fishing or beach trips. All
in all, I'm very satisfied with it, bu I only paid around $30 on sale right
after last Christmas.
popapete
"Marty" <postto...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
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Russell
> qt. I may return it and get the 32 qt instead. Anyone out there got
> the 50 qt model? Does it keep ice significantly longer than a regular
> cooler?
I've got both Coleman Xtreme coolers. They both hold ice very well.
32 qt - pros: latching lid, gasket seal, easy to carry. cons: no drain plug,
limited capacity (small).
50 qt - pros: large capacity, rolling wheels, nice handle, drain plug. cons:
does not latch, no gasket, heavy when loaded.
They are both great choices but for different purposes. If you carry a lot of
drinks and food get the 50 qt. If you want a small "daytrip" cooler get the 32
qt.
A neat trick I learned was to freeze 1 gallon water jugs. The solid ice lasts a
long time and after it melts you have cold drinking water.
I would buy another Xtreme if mine ever wear out. I've had the 32 qt over 2
years and the 50 qt about 1 1/2 years.
Russell
Dallas, Texas
01 SunnyBrook/Mobile Scout 2708SLE
99 Chevy Express
North Texas Pop-Up Camping Association
Matthew S. Whiting
>
> > This leads me to believe that the 32 qt hold ice better than the 50
> > qt. I may return it and get the 32 qt instead. Anyone out there got
> > the 50 qt model? Does it keep ice significantly longer than a regular
> > cooler?
>
> I've got both Coleman Xtreme coolers. They both hold ice very well.
> 32 qt - pros: latching lid, gasket seal, easy to carry. cons: no drain plug,
> limited capacity (small).
> 50 qt - pros: large capacity, rolling wheels, nice handle, drain plug. cons:
> does not latch, no gasket, heavy when loaded.
>
> They are both great choices but for different purposes. If you carry a lot of
> drinks and food get the 50 qt. If you want a small "daytrip" cooler get the 32
> qt.
>
> A neat trick I learned was to freeze 1 gallon water jugs. The solid ice lasts a
> long time and after it melts you have cold drinking water.
Yep, used to carry my drinking water that way when I worked as a
logger. On a hot day the water melted at just about the rate that I was
consuming it ... about two gallons in an 8 hour shift.
Matt
Lester Higgins
performance, I have been unimpressed with the construction quality of the
cooler. The white inner plastic has separated from the gray outer shell,
exposing the foam insulation. My cooler is about a year old.
I last used my cooler: Loaded it with frozen food/water for a ten day trip,
then placed hard frozen ice cubes on top. Loaded cooler into my truck when
the temperature outside was over 100 degrees F. Drove a few hours in 100+
degree temps then got high enough in elevation that the temperature cooled
to about 70 degrees.
After two days of highs in the 80's and lows in the 50's, the ice on top on
the inside was frozen solid. I mean solid! I had to use a hammer to crack
this ice. My frozen food and frozen water lasted about 7 days.
My experience with the Xtreme cooler's performance is positive.
LH
"Marty" <postto...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
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Marty
anomally. I guess if it works good and doesn't come apart in a year, I
will be satisfied with the cooler. From what I am hearing it works
good. The jury is still out on whether it will last as long as my
other Colemans. Never had one separate. Had the plastic hinges break
after many openings and closings. That's why I wanted real hinges.
Thanks,
Marty
postto...@yahoo.com (Marty) wrote in message news:<fa8a6ea7.01082...@posting.google.com>...
VampToo
<whi...@epix.net> writes:
>That makes sense assuming the ice bags were roughly the same size. The
>40 qt. cooler will have a fair bit more surface area (exact difference
>depends on the shape of each cooler) than the 32 qt. so it will allow
>more heat in per unit time. You didn't say what the goal of your test
>was, but if it is to measure which one has the better insulation, then
>you would need to put different amounts of ice into each cooler. The
>larger cooler should have more ice in a ratio identical to the
>difference amount of surface area.
>
>
By any chance are you an engineer? You sound just like my husband! LOL
Cindy and Dan
Kids grown, no pets, free to roam
2000 Wanderer 255RK GS "EL"
2000 Dodge Durango
Matthew S. Whiting
>
> In article <3B868598...@epix.net>, "Matthew S. Whiting"
> <whi...@epix.net> writes:
>
> >That makes sense assuming the ice bags were roughly the same size. The
> >40 qt. cooler will have a fair bit more surface area (exact difference
> >depends on the shape of each cooler) than the 32 qt. so it will allow
> >more heat in per unit time. You didn't say what the goal of your test
> >was, but if it is to measure which one has the better insulation, then
> >you would need to put different amounts of ice into each cooler. The
> >larger cooler should have more ice in a ratio identical to the
> >difference amount of surface area.
> >
> >
>
> By any chance are you an engineer? You sound just like my husband! LOL
Well, um, er, uh, yes. :-)
How could you tell? ;-)
Matt
Steve Greer
com (Tom Warfield) wrote:
>One of the things that helped the ice last that long (besides not
>openning the coolers very often) is that I used home-made ice cubes.
>They are larger than the store-bought cubes. They are also probably
>much colder. I figure I used well over 100 trays of cubes for that
>trip.
>
>Another thing that helped is that I did not add anything warm to the
>coolers. With just the two of us and the amount of drinks that we
>consumed on that trip we returned with some cans to put in the fridge
>at home.
>
That is what we do also. If you have an automatic icemaker and
some space in your deep freezer, you can save up buckets of cubes
in advance of a trip.
Another great way to make some really long lasting block ice is
to freeze half gallon juice/milk gallon cartons (fill about two
thirds full of water). Then tear the paper away when ready to
use. The large blocks will keep the cooler cold for days and
make your regular ice last much longer.
Twaser
buy one but they were backordered for weeks, so I bought the Igloo for about
$10 less. Works great. Went on a 7 day trip in the Smokies about 3 weeks ago
and we added ice once. Went to the Coleman store the other day to check out
the deals and they had TONS of those coolers now. Oh well, the Igloo worked
great. Only thing that the Xtreme probably has on it is the wheels.
BTW, saw some posts on precooling. Very good idea. My wife put a few twelve
packs in the Igloo after we first got it and the ice was better than half
melted about 5 hours later. We finally figured out that she put in cans from
the warm garage and that caused the ice to melt.
Tom Waser
Sevierville, TN
<><
88 Coleman Plantation
93 Aerostar
75 'Burb
'62 Wife
'87, '91 and '99 kids
It's CAMPIN' time in Tennessee!
Marty
cooler. I prechilled everything and put in two frozen water filled two
liter bottles, 1 frozen quart bottle and 10-15 lbs of ice cubes from
my home freezer. Kept only prechilled pop, water, and other drinks in
it. Kept the food in the fridge. The ice cubes lasted just short of 4
days as it was opened quite a bit for drinks and such. This is roughly
double the time of my regular Coleman cooler. Did not have to buy any
ice. There was still some ice in the 2 liter bottles when we arrived
home Monday afternoon. I have to say I am pleased with the performance
of the cooler. Won't take too many camping seasons to recoop the cost
of the cooler with the savings on ice purchases.
Marty
postto...@yahoo.com (Marty) wrote in message news:<fa8a6ea7.01082...@posting.google.com>...