Everglades Exploration Network

Ok, here goes. As I've mentioned in posts a few months ago this coming dec I'm planning an extended trip leaving from Flamingo and heading ocean side around cape sable to the NW Cape for the gemenids meteor shower Dec 13-16 ... I would prefer to NOT eat freeze dried food for the whole 4 days so Here is my issue. I need a cooler that works as described. I have 2x small coleman stackers which are PERFECT size for the back of my kayak they are supposed to be 3 day coolers (ie: keeps ice for 3 days in 90degree temperatures) I don't know what environment they tested these in to advertise results like these but without dry ice in the cooler I'm lucky to get 12 hours before I end up with cold water. I tested a dry ice theory this past week and successfully got the ice to last for about 36 hrs, but that is still nowhere NEAR 4 days ... or hell ill even take a solid 60 hrs because that would give me water the last night which is fine because we can cook the last of anything perishable the last night.

so to my actual question.

What cooler do you all suggest which can be loaded on the back of a kayak, Necky Dolphin/spike . We will be on the ocean side of the cape most likely so it cant be overly top heavy. And i have no qualms about splitting food across 2 or if need be 3 squat coolers to keep the kayaks from being top heavy and prone to flip if its a little choppy. Just for reference to the size im looking at, I feel Ideally the colemans i have have are perfect size for stability and it is 19Lx13Wx9H (a cooler this size I would think 1 cooler per 2 ppl for 3-4 days)

Plz let me know what you all think.

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I can't help you with a cooler type. You probalby know these tricks, but here are a couple of tips I do to maximize the cool-time.  Bring my coolers in the house two days ahead of departure. They can cool to 75 degree A/C temp. Load them up with ice to pre-cool the cooler two nights before departure. Get them down to an inside temp of 40 degrees or so. Freeze every bit of food that goes into the cooler including drinks that are not carbonated. Put 30% of the space in block ice. Load the first night's dinner and first day cold drinks last so they are on top layer. Shove broken cube ice into every void in the food space. Put a layer of plastic horizontally half way up in the cooler to seal off the bottom half from heat exchanges when the cooler is opened during the day.Don't let the cooler sit in water in the boat. the water will suck the cold out. Put a white cloth over the top of the cooler. Most importantly minimize the opennings. I can get though the 3rd day and still have ice in a regular cooler. On day 4, the cool water will keep temps in the 55-70 degree range.  Day 5, head to the house.

I was thinking replacing the white cloth with a Mylar reflective blanket?

Bill pretty much summed up everything I've tried, but I can add two other ideas. First off, try to keep the surface of your cooler from contacting the environment: set it on some foam to insulate it from the bottom of the yak, and definitely cover it to keep the sun off. I made a form fitting cover for the sides and top out of some old windshield shades from my van, but ditched 'em quick 'cuz the mylar reflected light into my eyes.

Also, the last days stuff, on the bottom, can be really kept cold by covering it with crushed ice to fill all the voids, then a couple handfulls of rock salt. Like the old ice cream makers, when the salt melts it drops the temp even lower than freezing, and the bottom layer will freeze solid. Of course, you aint drinkin' your melt water if an emergency pops up!

Ya know... you don't have to go the freeze dried yuk food route. I manage to eat pretty well by selecting everything on the basis that it don't need to be kept cold. Enjoy the first nights dinner of cooler food, then hit the prepared, or non cooler stuff on the next couple nights. Fresh fish and vegetables are not a sacrifice if you ask me.

Some beers drink warm better than others.

I hadn't thought of the windshield screens thats a good idea... I think what I'm going to do is make something like that.... then cover that w/ white... it will bounce the UV but not reflect the light into my eyes... I'm gonna try that to start because all my research on good coolers keeps bringing me back to 1 place... yeti... the problem is... they charge good $ for their good products lol. I'm still about 1000$ out from being completely set up organized and prepared between picking up the last yak I wanna buy and all so every cheap and effective solution I can find is a boon.

Walk around your local grocery store. You'd be surprised the variety of stuff that ain't in the frdge or coolers. If it's on a rack or on a shelf, no refrigeration required...at least till you open it. That looks like dinner for the last days.

 

As for the earlier days, precook & freeze it solid, well in advance. Instead of block ice, freeze water bottles, once again, well in advance. You want it good & cold on the way in and cool & delicious days later!

 

As for the Yeti"s, they're good, but heavy & bulky. Lot's of dead space. I'd go soft side.

I made a cooler out of my 2 1/2 gallon screw top bucket because it fits better in my canoe. You might be able to experiment by making something similar that fits in the tankwell and is difficult for the racoons to open.  I usually freeze 3 nights worth of dinners in ziplock bags add frozen water bottles to fill empty spaces.  That is about the limit for cold fold in winter. And as Yakmaster said, there are so many options that don't require refrigeration in the grocery store a solution to the menu could be found there.

Here are some pictures of that DIY bucket using minicell foam and a windshield reflector around outside of bucket:

[IMG]http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a206/snook_/Hemlock%20Kestrel/IMG...[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a206/snook_/Hemlock%20Kestrel/IMG...[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a206/snook_/Hemlock%20Kestrel/IMG...[/IMG]

Here are all the parts that are removable and easy to store:

[IMG]http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a206/snook_/Hemlock%20Kestrel/IMG...[/IMG]

After food is consumed it makes a great trash bin and extra seat or table.

That is SWEET!

 

I would imagine that if you don't open it, it can hold cold for A LONG TIME...

 

If'n you have the room, you can make a couple of these, one for the early days & one for the later ones that doesn't get opened EVER, until # 1 has been used.

 

Multiple small coolers are better than one large one, because the open/close activity kills you faster than anything other than sitting in a puddle or in the blazing sun. The issue is space. I've always been a kayak man, but this is one area where a canoe kicks kayak ass.

 

That said, with kayaks, several small coolers are often better than a big one, because you can shove them into them nooks & crannies that our sexy boats seem to be made of! 

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