One of the most popular questions posed to us in store, online and at trade shows is often, “How long do your coolers hold ice?”. We like to break this answer down to one that makes logical sense and doesn’t mislead customers.
There are many, many factors that can drastically alter the ice retention on your GATR Cooler, such as – type of ice used, where you’re storing the cooler, how it’s loaded, and so forth. Below, are our top tips for maximizing ice retention.
Pre-chill: Our rotomolded coolers are manufactured with a 2-3” layer of foam insulation, depending on the size. With this in mind, try to store your cooler in a cool place the day before use, when possible. Loading a cooler down that’s been resting in say, your home that may be 72º, versus your garage that may be 95º, will offer you far more ice retention. When planning for extended use, packing your cooler with a bag of ice the night before can be used to maximize your ice retention and get the foam down to its coolest point.
Location: Think shade. If you’re out at the ball field, you feel cooler when under the bleachers, right? Same basic practice should go for your cooler. During a 3-hour product test, results showed that coolers that sat in the heat versus in the shade had a surface temperature difference of over 55º.
Ice Quality: As silly as it sounds, not all ice is created equal. For longest lasting ice, opt for the solid brick pellets versus the lower quality hollow tube pellets.
Volume: Load your cooler up! Having a cooler tightly packed with ice and products will give you far better results than a cooler with empty space. Think about it - you’re depending on less ice trying to cool a larger area.
Conserve: Remember when we were young, and our parents use to tell us to stay inside or outside during the summer because the AC was running and we kept opening the door? Same concept, here. Try to limit the amount of times you open your cooler while in use. With each open, you’re forcing your ice to work harder.
Color: As with most other things, darker colors attract more heat than lighter colors. Keep that in mind when selecting your new GATR Cooler. If you are looking for absolute maximum ice retention, you should probably stick with white or a lighter color - such as our purple, tan or blue.
Put these tips to use on your next adventure and let us know how they work out for you!
