keeping ice frozen

[Lake Alice]

Does anyone have tips on keeping a block of ice frozen longer while out on trail? I use a Cool Baby cool/dry bag and keep it in the shade, does anyone have any special secrets on this, like wrapping it in something, etc.? I can get it to go about 4 days before it is completely melted.

[IFallsRon]

Try a couple layers of small-cell bubble wrap and then wrap that with several layers of newspaper or damp canvas.

I really like the Extreme coolers. I have two sizes and can keep ice frozen in different size jugs for over five days.

[This message has been edited by IFallsRon (edited 06-22-2004).]

[Lake Alice]

Thanks alot. Who carries the Extreme? Are they fairly lightweight? This year I kept the ice in the plastic milk jug I used to freze it and wrapped it in aluminum foil.. That seemed to work alitlle better than having it exposed in the cooler. I'll try the bubble wrap.

[bdavid1157]

I also use coleman extreme coolers. My question is if you are wrapping your milk to insulate it and keep it from melting is the jug really cooling the items you want cold?

[IFallsRon]

Wrapping the ice only slows down the process. The key component is keeping the cooler lid closed and in the shade. Adding a blanket to the top for insulation from the sun helps.

You can get Extreme coolers at Fleet and Menards. They're about the same weight and composition as a regular cooler only with thicker walls and lid.

Last year I experimented with frozen stuff. I got a small foam cooler to hold the frozen meat and put it inside the Extreme with the other stuff and ice jugs. The frozen meat stayed frozen a lot longer than having it exposed to the other items in the cooler. And having it sealed with its own lid helped, too.

[This message has been edited by IFallsRon (edited 06-23-2004).]

[Lake Alice]

My stuff stayed plenty cool. Even after the ice was comepletly gone, and it was just some ice water in there, it stayed very cool for another 8-10 hours. But, the few fish I packed out would not have made it another day.

[BUSHWAC]

Use dry ice in conjuction with the normal ice. The dry ice will keep the other ice from melting for about 3 days or so. Then you have the additional 4 days with the normal ice.

[bdavid1157]

The cooler in a cooler idea is a cool idea. ( no pun intended ) I can see this working real good. Kind of like having your foam cooler in 40deg. weather versus whatever the actual temp is. I can also see how wrapping your ice would make the ice last longer. The only question I have is if the ice is suppose to cool the food why would we insulate the ice from the food?

[Lake Alice]

It still throws off enough cold to keep things cool.

My specific use is to keep a few things cold that I freeze, and eat in the first few days (eggs, bacon, brats, etc.). Then I stick the cooler in the shade so I have a block of ice to pack out a few walleyes.

Or, say we get some eyes on slip bobbers at dusk, and want to eat them the next night (because we've already had dinner). I can keep them cool for a day. It's a nice little luxury if you're not paddling in too far. (This is all for BWCA trips)

Of course you can always chip a little piece off to float in a plastic cup of you preferred beverage, as well.

[great fishing 4-U]

dry ice, dry ice, dry ice, Don't leave home with out it.

------------------
great fishing to all

[Guest]

Go on the trail in the winter. I've had pretty good luck keeping my ice frozen then.

[Lake Alice]

Ha. And the stoves and everything else. Not again without a wall tent. Sleeping in snow caves is behind me.....

[Lake Alice]

IFallsRon

Thanks for the tip on the bubblewrap. I was up on Crooked for four days last week and I wrapped it in that stuff. It worked great.

LA

[IFallsRon]

Nice. If the temp isn't too hot, you can get some pretty good performance from the bubble wrap.

[irvingdog]

Coleman 5 day cooler + dry ice = 7 days.

[metro 1]

Here is a link to Alaska's outdoor site and there is a tip or two on "extending the ice age" cooler Etiquette and tips for keeping ice .

http://alaskaoutdoorjournal.com/Departments/Tips/iceagetip38.html

metro

[This message has been edited by metro 1 (edited 09-11-2004).]