The Coolest Pieces of Gear We Tested This Week

I went to Florida a couple weeks ago and took along the OtterBox Venture 25 Cooler to put it through its paces. At 25 quarts, it’s the smallest of the three sizes (45 qt. and 65 qt. are also available) and totally fine to check on domestic flights without additional fees. I mostly used it to lug around rations on a boating trip, and to tote beer after a tennis tournament. It more than did the trick. It’s plenty big to hold a couple days’ worth of stuff for a couple people (or one day’s worth for a group). Use the separators and trays to partition off drinks food, ice, or fish if you’re on a fishing trip. As you’d expect from a premium cooler, everything works great. The latches create a strong seal, the handles make it comfortable to carry, the drainage plug is a nice touch, and it serves as an extra seat. For camping, the side table is a must. It promises to keep ice cold up to 10 days. And since I needed to leave the cooler with my folks, my dad verified that, after a week of sitting in the back of his car in the hot Florida sun, the ice melted but the Miami Weiss stayed cold. — Marjorie Korn, Senior Editor

[$230; otterbox.com]

Back to top