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Table of Contents
Welcome to our blog “6 Best Camping Fridges & Cool Boxes to enhance your Camping Experience”.
Before we start the review we wanted to make sure your up to speed with the different types of Camping Fridges & cool boxes.
There are essentially 4 different ways to keep your camping food & drink cool enough to enjoy. These are:-
- Cool Bags
- Passive Cool Boxes
- Fan Powered Cool Boxes
- Powered Fridges
1. Cool Bags
Cool bags are generally the cheapest cooling option and are best for Car Journeys, Picnics, Day trips etc. They need to be used alongside Freeze packs to work best.
Quick info about Cool bags
- They use foam as their insulation to keep the food/drink cool
- They are best for day trips, Picnics etc
- They are used in conjunction with freeze packs or boards such as below
Our number one Cool Bag choice is
Mier Large Cool Bag from Amazon
This Mier Large Cool Bag is a great choice for a Cooling Bag has it has an amazing 16L capacity which makes it large enough for the family picnic or camping get together. It’s easy to access the goodies, padded, front pockets & side mesh pockets and waterproof. Cooler Bags don’t come much better than this and only around £14! What’s not to like?
Pros of buying this Mier Large Cooling Bag are:-
- 16L Capacity
- Ultra Thick Insulation
- Easy Clean with wet towel
- Handles or padded shoulder strap for easy carry
- Multi Compartments
- Waterproof inner
- Great for beach, picnic or a day journey
- over 300+ fantastic reviews giving it an amazing 4.8 star rating
- Great Value at around £15 offer price
Cons of buying this Mier Large Cooling Bag are:-
- None really, but it does need freeze packs or boards like these below for coolness!
Check out the reviews and current Amazon price here
2. Passive Cool Boxes
These are the classic Cool Boxes you might think of when someone mentions Cool Boxes. Hard shell with a foam insulation. Great for Festivals and some even come with wheels for easy movement.
Quick info about Cool Boxes
- Foam Insulation
- Hard Shell
- Use Freeze Packs to keep food & drink cool
- Works best when full
- Best for picnics, festivals, day trips etc
Our number 1 choice for Best Passive Cool Box is..
Coleman Xtreme Passive Cooler
This is a great Passive Cooler but a little pricey, but it will give you years of service and even acts as a seat at festivals & concerts. It can be wheeled about making life so much easier. It has capacity of 47 L and is tall enough to hold 2 x 1L bottles standing upright. We have personally used this box on a nice hot summers day and the food was still frozen the next day so proof it works. There are 325 Amazing customer reviews over at Amazon so that just enhances our view as the no1 Passive Cool Box
Pros to buying this Coleman Xtreme Passive Cooler are:-
- Hard Shell
- Wheels for moving around and carry handles for lifting
- 47L huge capacity
- 5 days cooling performance
- Dimensions 23 x 17 x 18 in (58 x 44 x 46 cm)
- Weights 12 lb (5.45 kg)
- Used in conjunction with freeze packs/boards
- Can even be used to sit on at festivals etc
- Over 2,600 Amazing customer reviews on Amazon with a 4.5 star rating
Cons of buying this Coleman Xtreme Passive Cooler
- Doesn’t really work if you keep opening lid
- Bit pricey at around £100 but will last years and does almost everything we can think of!
Our Cool Box Rating 10/10
Check out the current price & Amazon reviews HERE
A great alternative if you are on a budget is…
Large 24L Capacity Cooler Box was £25, now on offer at around £15
This is a Budget brand no1 choice as we know not everyone has a spare £75 for the top choice. In any case this is a very decent choice in its own right. Ok, it hasn’t got the massive capacity or the wheels of the Coleman Xtreme, but it is only around £15 so you gotta expect a few sacrifices. But still, it’s a decent enough Cooler Box that does what it’s supposed to do, keep food & drink cool
Pros of buying this 24L Large Cooling Box are:-
- Large 24L capacity
- Can hold 36 x 330 ml cans or 6 x 2L bottles
- Carry Handles for transport that also locks lid in place
- Easy to clean
- Uses freeze packs (2 supplied but you may need more)
- Dimensions 15 x 15 x 9 in (39 x 38 x 24cm)
- Available in different colours
- Lid can be turned and used as a flat surface
- Over 800+ Excellent customer reviews over at Amazon giving a 4.6 star rating
Cons of buying this 24L Large Cooling Box are:-
- Only half the size of the Coleman Xtreme
- Have to carry it everywhere if at festival or concert
Our Cool Box Rating 9/10
Check out the current Amazon price and the reviews HERE
3. Powered Cool Boxes
Contrary to popular belief powered cool boxes do not make warm food cool, they simply help keep food & drink cooler for longer, by using a fan powered by either the mains (Camp site) or 12v Battery (Car Lighter) As long as they are plugged in, they keep the items cool.
Quick info about Powered Cool Boxes
- Use Powered Fan to keep items cool
- Use mains or 12v (Cigarette Lighter)
- Stays cool as long as plugged in
- Doesn’t make warm food cool
- Can be used over longer periods
Our number one choice for Best Powered Cool Boxes is…
Mobicool W48 DC Thermoelectric Cool Box
This MobiCool Thermoelectric Cool Box is our no1 Powered Cool Box choice. It’s a little pricey at around £150 but we think it’s great value. It will even hold a full case of beer 24 x 440 ml cans! It has wheels for moving around and a nice carry/pull handle for easy travel. And fits 2L standing bottles. Robust and sturdy. Very nice addition to your camping equipment!
Pros of buying this MobiCool Powered Cooling Box are:-
- Large capacity, will hold a crate of beer
- Wheels for easy travel
- High quality foam insulation
- Cable compartment storage in lid
- Fold away handles
- Fits 2 x 2L Bottles standing up
- Powered off 12v cigarette lighter or mains supply
Cons of buying this MobiCool Powered Cooling Box are:-
- Bit pricey at around £135 but great value and will last forever
Our Powered Cool Box Rating 10/10
Check out the Amazon Price and Review Here
A great cheaper alternative for Best Powered Cool Boxes is…
Janoon Electric Cool box at around £60
This Janoon Electric Cooling Box is a great alternative if your on a budget. At around £60 it hasn’t got some of the great features of the MobiCool Powered Cooler, but it does what it says, keeps Food & Drink Cool for long periods. Powered by mains or 12v (Cigarette lighter) it has a nice capacity of 24L and a removable divider to hold bottles upright if needed. A very nice piece of kit.
Pros of buying this Olypla Electric Cooling Box are:-
- Large 24L capacity
- Powered by mains or 12v (Cigarette lighter)
- Foam Insulation
- Dimensions: H: 44cm x W: 39cm x D: 36cm
- Carry Handle
- 7 Good customer reviews 4.2 star rating although new product
Cons of buying this Olypla Electric Cooling Box are:-
- Fairly new product with only 7 good customer reviews but we like it
- Opening lid can be a bit fidgety
Our Powered Cool Box Rating 8.5/10
Check out the current Amazon Price & Reviews HERE
4. Three Way Powered Fridges
Fridges are obviously the best way to keep your items cool. So it makes sense to use on your camping trips. They are more expensive than the other forms of cooling, but offer so much more for your camping experience. Camping fridges are usually called 3 way fridges as they are powered in 3 ways. Mains, 12v (Cigarette lighter) and gas.
Quick info about Camping Fridges
- Keeps food & drink cool but also cools warm food
- Powered by Mains, 12v (Cigarette lighter) or Gas
- Please check safety advice. If using gas will have to be kept outside of tent
Our number one choice for Best Three Way Powered Fridges is…
Domestic CombiCool RC Camping Fridge
This really is the Rolls Royce of Camping Fridges. It has a massive 41L capacity, uses Mains, 12v (Cigarette lighter) or gas cartridge for power and is so silent it won’t wake you up unlike some other fridges I could name! But beware, it’s a very heavy 35 lb or 2.5 stone (15kg) in weight. This is because of the gas cartridge design apparently. Apart from that it’s a great fridge. We have used it in Spain on a 35c degrees and it was just perfect.
Pros of buying this Domestic CombiCool RC are:-
- Massive Capacity of 41L
- 3 Way power source, Mains, 12v (Cigarette lighter), Gas cartridge (for remote locations)
- Dimensions 20 x 20 x 17 in (50 x 50 x 44 cm)
- Keeps contents 25 below ambient temperature
- over 120 4 star reviews on Amazon
Cons of buying this Domestic CombiCool RC Camping Fridge are:-
- It’s quite heavy at 35 lb (15 kg) that’s over 2.5 stone so be careful with your back!
- Pricey at £300 but you get what you pay for
Our Camping Fridge Review 10/10
Check out the current price & Amazon Reviews HERE
Now we have tried to find a cheaper alternative for those of you on a budget, but that’s proved very hard to achieve. There are some Fridges that are less than the cost of our selection but they aren’t very big capacity and still cost around £130. So our advice if you can’t afford the £300 for our selection is to maybe go for one of the previous Powered Cool Boxes like the MobiCool at around £130 or even the Oypla at £40ish. Especially if your only just beginning your Camping Journey!
Thank you for reading the review
You may be interested in our other Camping Review “10 Best Camping Stoves To Boost Your Camping Experience”
