Seductively cute retro seems to be and beautiful colors, make this little cool field an irresistible selection, however how properly does it truly work? Learn on to learn how lengthy it stored meals and drinks chilly for in our newest subject take a look at.
What’s it?
Polarbox Retro Cool Field 20 Litre RRP: £39.99
Total Score 
(4 / 5)
Options
- Adjustable leather-based strap
- Lid that flips over to create a tray or tabletop
- Hold meals and drinks cool for as much as 24 hours
- Light-weight and moveable cooler that matches as much as 20L
- Retro trendy design that wipes clear
In terms of cool bins, I do know my stuff and I’m a demanding buyer. From Coleman to Igloo, Outwell to Vango, I’ve owned loads of cool bins over my tenting lifetime.
I at all times take contemporary substances tenting with me which incorporates loads of fish, veggies and salad, and naturally, a great deal of drinks and bottles of Prosecco which I refuse to drink in the event that they aren’t ice chilly!
I used to frequently attend camping-based occasions that meant I wanted a full 5 days of ice retention from my cool field and located with out fail, Coleman coolboxes constantly delivered (when packed and prepped fastidiously), with my Igloo coming in a detailed second (regardless of their usually larger value level) and Vango and Outwell performing neck and neck after that.
I’ve loved a few years of use from numerous cool bins, which usually want retiring after 6-8 years of heavy use, and I at present have a big Igloo Maxcold 58L wheeled cool field, and a smaller Vango Pinnacle 30L wheeled cool field.
For in a single day journeys nonetheless, or brief solo tenting breaks, a bigger cooler is overkill, not least as a result of to stay efficient, as a lot inside area as attainable needs to be used, so utilizing a bigger cool field that’s solely half full, mechanically means a discount in effectiveness.
Ideally then, I wanted a smaller cool field of round 15-20 Litres, appropriate for a few bottles of wine, bottled water and a few meals value of meals.
Having seen the retro cool bins from Polarbox, it was a completed deal that this may be my selection no matter cooling energy – this was undoubtedly a purchase order resolution based mostly totally on type!
When mine arrived, I used to be initially alarmed (however not shocked) at simply how mild these are, main me to conclude there aren’t any apparent indicators of clever insulation supplies getting used between the plastic partitions.
Bear in mind these rectangular cool bins that had been low cost as chips that our mother and father would take alongside on household days out to the seaside within the 80s? The texture of it jogged my memory of these – and having began my tenting life utilizing that type, I do know they’re barely able to retaining the contents chilly for 12 hours, not to mention the couple of days life I hoped to get from this.
For sure, I didn’t maintain out a lot hope. I took it together with me to a weekend retreat on the finish of July, in heat and muggy climate reasonably than blazing warmth. I packed it as full as attainable, utilizing ice blocks, frozen bottles of water and meals to cook dinner that I’d frozen prematurely too.
Efficiency
Firstly, I’m properly conscious that the official blurb says it would hold meals cool for as much as 24 hours, so I wasn’t anticipating a lot, and but packing this for a solo weekend tenting journey, I used to be nonetheless hopeful.
The image under exhibits you ways I packed my Polarbox at 9am on a Friday morning earlier than setting off on a 2-hour drive to my residence for the weekend.
I stored the Polarbox inside my tent out of direct daylight (truthfully, there wasn’t very a lot of it anyway) and all of the ice was melted by on Saturday.
All the things I positioned contained in the field was both chilled or frozen to start with, together with 3 small bottles of frozen water. On Sunday morning at 9:00am, I used to be delighted to seek out that my closing remaining bottle of water nonetheless had a tiny chunk of ice inside it!
I used to be shocked as I had wholly anticipated to be ingesting heat water by Sunday, nevertheless it actually did give me a stable 48 hours of efficiency, which was much better than anticipated.
I ought to add, that I used to be cautious to not hold opening and shutting the lid and I additionally moved it to the good attainable place in the course of the day so it prevented any direct daylight.
Verdict
This cute little cool field holds benefit for in a single day tenting journeys and a couple of night time journeys at a stretch. Anticipate a really stable 24 hours of chilly from this which might be prolonged to a different 24 hours with cautious packing and freezing earlier than you fill the cool field.
It’s tremendous straightforward to wash and appears lovely, although It’s essential to level out that because of the inclusion of a leather-based strap, this isn’t a vegan-friendly product.
Investing just a bit extra will offer you extended efficiency so if you happen to want a stable 48 hours plus, you would possibly wish to take into account the Igloo Tag Alongside Too Cooler. These with extra cash to splash would possibly wish to have a look at the Yeti Roadie 24 Cool Field as one of the best compact various.
The Polarbox Retro 20L Cooler is a superb selection for day journeys, and it’s additionally excellent if you happen to’re taking meals and drinks to another person’s home for a summer season barbecue, backyard occasion or if you happen to’re off on a 1-2 night time tenting journey.
Our general ranking of (4 / 5) is fairly respectable although, significantly if you will discover this on provide for under RRP.
DISCLOSURE | The featured product was privately bought and isn’t supported by any model(s).
The place to subsequent?
From open water swimming, snowboarding and kayaking to hill walks and meditation, Shell shares her travels and microadventures right here on the weblog and in numerous publications she’s written for, Shell has a specific curiosity in selling wellbeing and the various advantages of nature remedy.
