r/camping • u/Useful_Ad_8735 • Jul 14 '25

Gear Question Coolers

Been camping and anytime I put food that needs to stay cool with ice the water from the ice gets into the ziploc or bowl.

Is there any cooler that you can have food in that isn’t touching the ice?

Is there any tip to avoid this?

Thanks in advance

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u/Administration_Key Jul 14 '25

Some coolers have trays or racks that sit up above the ice layer, just for this purpose. The best option by far, though is to switch to a 12V fridge -- they can be expensive, however. Still, it's a game changer.

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u/Standard-Tension-697 Jul 14 '25

Yep, I have 2 yetis and a couple of other coolers and it was always such a pain. My wife got me a 12v fridge for xmas a few years ago and I have never looked back It is dual zone so can be all fridge or all freezer or a combo. It is a bougerv and has held up great and not super pricey.

Also it can hold more food and drinks since you don't have to worry about filling it with ice so my 37qt fridge holds more than my 70qt yeti. Plus I can take ice cream if I want.

I can plug it into the outlet in my truck or I usually carry a power station which I can top off with a solar panel when I camp.

I also us it for mor than just camping, if we are doing errands and I want to go to the grocery store and pick up some things and not go straight home I can, and not worry about ice. Road trips are easy to take drinks and stuff and not worry about keeping ice in it.

It also cools down quick, I can plug it in and have it to below 40 in about an hour.

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u/Administration_Key Jul 15 '25

I have two Anker EverFrost coolers which I love because they're battery powered (and rechargeable via solar) as well as very fast to cool down. I've heard really good things about BougeRV too, though.