The Coolest Pieces of Gear We Tested This Week

Have you noticed that coolers have gotten out of hand the last five years? Whatever happened to just packing your food and drinks with some ice and heading to the lake for a long weekend? Suddenly a cooler has to be able to hold a deep freeze for a fortnight. When do you ever need to just leave a cooler full of ice for two weeks without opening it? Why would you need that? Davy Crocket tamed the wild frontier with a pocket knife and a raccoon hat.

Now consider that Igloo’s competitor charges $500 for their similar cooler. The Igloo IMX 70 holds 105 cans. It has all of today’s standards like bottle opener, marine grade rubber latches, drain plug, food basket, cup holder, and a fish ruler. It’s also rated seven days for ice retention when you fill the cooler and leave it. But since we already established that such measures don’t reflect real use, I found that with two big bags of ice, drinks, and some food staples, opening at a minimum, there was still ice after five solid days of practical usage.

That’s a good cooler at a good price for your beach, fishing, and frontier needs.—Jon Coen, Men’s Journal Contributor

[$199; igloo.com]

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