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Almost unbelievably, the bank-holiday weekend looks set to be a scorcher, which of course means that most of the country's inhabitants will emerge from a Netflix-induced stupor, blinking into the sunshine to gambol in and around our glorious parklands and countryside. Which, all this sounds lovely, of course, but if this is the plan then – and we cannot stress this enough – you're going to need to have cool drinks on hand.
With this very climate-based beverage problem in mind, we went out to test the finest foam-free chillers around. How did we do this? In a simple but effective study, four bags of ice cubes were emptied into each cooler, warm cans of beer were then added and a timer set for 30, 60, 120 minutes and then finally at 12 hours. At each stage we checked the chill imparted to the brews in each coolbox. (Confession: we cannot guarantee the number of beer cans in each cool bag remained the same throughout the test.)
Quechua Fresh Compact 36-litre Ice Box
This smart cooler will no doubt sell by the truck-load thanks to the self-inflating design, which insulates well on all sides using a layer of air, and the fact it also squashes flat for storage. Designed to accommodate supplies for four people, there’s loads of space (33 x 42 x 43cm) and it weighs 1.5kg unloaded, so you won’t loath lugging it back from the beach.
The Quechua is not waterproof, so be warned it will leak if you don’t use the special liner – a £7 waterproof baggie that will keep the cooler dry, and lets you fill it with a mix of water and ice.
In our timed test, the Quechua managed to keep pace with and then outperform the Hydroflask. After 30 minutes the temperature had dropped significantly, at 60 minutes it was by far the coldest of the three, although the Hydroflask had less meltwater. Impressively, by the morning there was plenty of ice for the Bloody Marys.
Score: 9/10 | £39.99 (bag); £7 (liner) | decathlon.co.uk
Hydroflask 22-litre Unbound Soft Cooler
With its adjustable backpack straps, semi-rigid walls and use of advanced YKK AQUASEAL zippers and welded seams, this is an exceptional-looking, impressive piece of leak-proof design. Up until this point we’d not thought of cool bags as being designer accessories, but the Unbound Soft Cooler is a cut above.
The interior is made using an FDA food-grade BPA-free liner, the outer is made from dry-bag style 420D nylon, and the lid opens nice and wide for easy access. When fully loaded, the weight is well distributed across the shoulders, too, so carrying beers and fizzy pop over distance should be a breeze.
For the price, however, we’d expect nothing short of perfection from Hydroflask. Like the Decathlon, it chilled quickly and trapped the cold well, with significantly less melting than the rest, especially after the first hour in the blazing sunshine. This meant is kept our ice solid the longest, and only lost marks due to being very expensive.
Score: 8/10 | $200 | hydroflask.com
Igloo Recool
A welcome, and long-overdue antidote to foam and polystyrene cool boxes that generally end up in landfill, the Recool is made from recycled tree pulp and AKD wax, which not only makes it completely biodegradable, but also waterproof. It’s a simple, surprisingly rigid tub with plenty of capacity for a family day at the beach.
It would have been terrific if the Igloo had smashed the competition out the park, but despite trailing in third place for each of the tests, we were still hugely impressed with its performance and resilience, especially given it costs less than some cans of craft beer.
After half an hour it was difficult to tell the can temperatures apart, and after an hour our beer was deliciously cold. Overnight, despite the dew, the box remained cold and there were even a few ice cubes left come morning – and the cardboard walls still showed no sign of waterlogging or sagging. Environmentally friendly, disposable and at this ridiculously low price, you cannot go wrong.
Score: 7/10 | $10 | igloocoolers.com
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This article was originally published by WIRED UK
