New esky / ice box

[Live2DieTrying]

I am currently thinking about buying a new esky. One that will actually keep ice frozen.
A friend of mine has a techni-ice 40lt, and I was really impressed by it. They're in Frankston, but are sold out of just about everything atm. Their prices are the most reasonable too.

After searching, other reputable brands appear to be 'tropical' , 'chillco coolers' and 'big chilli coolers' as well as waeco. All of these are much more expensive, especially the waeco and the tropical brands.

Anaconda have some, but the guy I spoke to suggested any of these other brands over them.
Rays outdoor also have these 'frosty' iceboxes for 20% off, but after a little reading, it appears they are a waste of money.


So which ice box do you guys have for your boat or camping? Which to recommend?
I am leaning towards the techni-ice as they are the cheapest, I can drive to collect it, and they come with free ice packs, but I can't get one until probably late jan according to their website.

 

[Jon]

I have any 85 and 55 litre Tropicals and they are excellent. Nice thick walls and lids.
With any polyurethane foam filled esky, look at the wall thickness as this is what mkes the difference between a good esky and a shit one. Look at construction quality ie do the lid and body match up, does the gap close to the seal, does it even have a seal?

The other thing is any esky will be no good if they are not pre cooled before hand with some ice or freezer blocks.
Also if you are storing drinks to be accessed often, put them in a seperate esky to your food that you should only access 3 times a day.

 

[lockieoc]

I have any 85 and 55 litre Tropicals and they are excellent. Nice thick walls and lids.
With any polyurethane foam filled esky, look at the wall thickness as this is what mkes the difference between a good esky and a shit one. Look at construction quality ie do the lid and body match up, does the gap close to the seal, does it even have a seal?

The other thing is any esky will be no good if they are not pre cooled before hand with some ice or freezer blocks.
Also if you are storing drinks to be accessed often, put them in a seperate esky to your food that you should only access 3 times a day.

+ 1 on the tropical ice boxes, borrowed one for a week and only used two bags of ice keeping in mind that the first bag goes very quickly with warm drinks. Worth the extra money

 

[sam705]

Go the Techni Ice.
I've got a large one, can't remember the exact size, i think its 120lt from memory.
I've had it for nearly a year now and it's been excellent for the price.
Before i purchased it, i researched into iceboxes as there seems to be bad ratings for some, everyone seemed to have a good review for techni ice!
For what i use it for (storing drinks and food for camping) i would have been better off with a smaller size, but for the cheap price it's too hard to resist!
If you're going to sit on it often, try to steer clear of the longer boxes as they tend to bow in the middle, no matter what brand they are. If it's going to need to be tied down, i recommend the straps you can buy through the same mob, they're made for keeping them still.

Then go sticker happy.

 

[Live2DieTrying]

I went ahead and ordered a 60lt techni ice this morning. $129 and I will pick it up in 3 weeks when they have stock ready. I might buy their tie downs when I go to collect it.

 

[tu plang]

I've been stalking a techni-ice ice box for a while now. They sell online and also on ebay, where you can generally get them a bit cheaper still... but due to the xmas rush people were paying more than the standard price on ebay... idiots. Before that though, 100L boxes were going for 160-170 which is even less than the already low $200 from their website. I've got a couple of mates with them and they are very happy with them.

 

[coolcampman]

My 2 Cents Worth - Ice Box

Hi,

I'm a die hard camper/fishermen and have been for over 35 years.
I must say that up until a few years ago, I used to buy Techni Ice and Tropical Ice boxes. I have been quite happy with them however I have just purchased a few ice boxes from Chillco Coolers because they were one of the rare few that had cushions to go on top of the lids so it doubled as an extra seat in my boat.

I must say that after testing out my new Chillco Cooler compared to the Tropical and Techni Ice, I'm happier with the Chillco. I can see that it's built tougher and the thickness of the lid and walls looks a little thicker.

I think the Chillco may be $10-$15 dearer than the other brands but for the extra few bucks it's worth every penny and it held ice in my 160l box for almost 2 weeks. I was extremely impressed. I have now been converted permanently to the Chillco and I highly reccommend using the Chillco.

Waeco's are good as well however for price, I would rather buy 2 or 3 Chillco Ice boxes for the same price.

Don't even touch the Outermark range that Bunnings and Anaconda have, they are a waste of time and double the market price. Only an idiot would pay that much for a crappy box like that.

So that's my 2 cents worth.

Cheers

 

[skwiz05]

Go to BCF and check out the range of Eva Cool fibreglass iceboxes and the Ice Mate plastic ones. I have both, and do regular trips up North, (Broome, Port Hedland etc) where it is hot and there aint much shelter.
Ive had Ice for 6 weeks in my 140Litre EvaCool. Loaded with blocks on the bottom, Topped with crushed as needed, a month long trip is no prob.

Dont go cheap, you get what you pay for.

 

[coolcampman]

Go to BCF and check out the range of Eva Cool fibreglass iceboxes and the Ice Mate plastic ones. I have both, and do regular trips up North, (Broome, Port Hedland etc) where it is hot and there aint much shelter.
Ive had Ice for 6 weeks in my 140Litre EvaCool. Loaded with blocks on the bottom, Topped with crushed as needed, a month long trip is no prob.

Dont go cheap, you get what you pay for.

Hi skwiz05,

I also have an Evakool 150L Fibreglass box. The longest I have been able to keep ice in it is for 9 days so no idea how you got 6 weeks. It's impossible. Not to mention how heavy the darn thing is and how easy it is to damage a fibreglass box. I would stick to your normal plastic polyethylene ice boxes for light weight, durability. The only thing going for a fibreglass box is that it looks good. If you come to my joint, I have about 15 different eskies from various brands but I still swear by my Chillco.
From memory the website you can go to see them is www.chillco.com.au

Over and out.

 

[skwiz05]

Hi skwiz05,

I also have an Evakool 150L Fibreglass box. The longest I have been able to keep ice in it is for 9 days so no idea how you got 6 weeks. It's impossible. Not to mention how heavy the darn thing is and how easy it is to damage a fibreglass box. I would stick to your normal plastic polyethylene ice boxes for light weight, durability. The only thing going for a fibreglass box is that it looks good. If you come to my joint, I have about 15 different eskies from various brands but I still swear by my Chillco.
From memory the website you can go to see them is www.chillco.com.au

Over and out.

My Evakool 140 is lighter than my icemate plastic - you may have an old model if its heavier? And if you read my post, you'll see that with starting with block ice, and TOPPING UP with crushed, you can maintain a cold esky for weeks. I too, have a shed full of eskys from a lifetime of fishing and camping in outback, up-top and remote areas.
I often do month long trips, live out of eskys and ONE Waeco 80L fridge/freezer - to keep the steaks etc frozen, and make Ice. Careful management is the key, no matter what esky you own.
However, On test, 17 days is the longest my Evakool has kept Ice frozen until it all melted. My Chillco only has done about 12. Icemate -10. Coleman 40l -6 days. Its all a much of a muchness. If you pack carefully, with ENOUGH ice to begin with, living out of an esky for an extended period is no problem.
Many fishing trips Ive done, we've taken 200l eskys full of block ice, put fish in as ice melts and we can go weeks and keep fish fresh (also using the Ike-Jime technique).
NOTHING is impossible.............

 

[coolcampman]

My Evakool 140 is lighter than my icemate plastic - you may have an old model if its heavier? And if you read my post, you'll see that with starting with block ice, and TOPPING UP with crushed, you can maintain a cold esky for weeks. I too, have a shed full of eskys from a lifetime of fishing and camping in outback, up-top and remote areas.
I often do month long trips, live out of eskys and ONE Waeco 80L fridge/freezer - to keep the steaks etc frozen, and make Ice. Careful management is the key, no matter what esky you own.
However, On test, 17 days is the longest my Evakool has kept Ice frozen until it all melted. My Chillco only has done about 12. Icemate -10. Coleman 40l -6 days. Its all a much of a muchness. If you pack carefully, with ENOUGH ice to begin with, living out of an esky for an extended period is no problem.
Many fishing trips Ive done, we've taken 200l eskys full of block ice, put fish in as ice melts and we can go weeks and keep fish fresh (also using the Ike-Jime technique).
NOTHING is impossible.............

Good advice mate but I still have no idea how you got 17 days out of the Evakool and only 12 days out of the Chillco even with all the ice retaining techniques.
It was the opposite for me. I was able to get 17-18 days out of my Chillco Cooler and only 9 days out of the Evakool.

I would still much rather the Chillco for the price and the white cushions they have are the perfect seat for my boat.

All my mates have taken my advice about getting a Chillco Cooler and they all agree that it's a top esky.

It's quite funny, when my mates and I are fishing we all have our Chillco Ice Boxes in a row. We own the pier! I reckon I should take a photo and send it in to Chillco. Maybe they'll make it into a TV commercial or something and give me a few bucks on the side. Heck I would even settle for a few free Chillco's for the troubles.

Take it easy mate!

 

[MTB_91]

Coolcampman, I swear you work for chillco..

 

[4WDcamper]

Esky

Ive just opened my unreal cooler from www.unrealcoolers.com , i found that they are the manufacturers of chillco boxes too. You can get the same cooler direct from unreal coolers for almost $30 Cheaper . Looks like all the esky are made by techniice because when i checked the senders address they were all the same as techniice , which is from frankston esky place. techniice website is www.techniice.com i would reccomend you guys to shop around. I Kinda regret not buying a techniice esky now, but i have an eye on one of their esky family packs which is good value , im planning to gift one to my old man and i keep the lunch esky. So guys just have a look around , my esky has just metal clips on it , not even the bungee cords which i think will be useful . Hope this was of some use cheers guys

 

[4WDcamper]

Good advice mate but I still have no idea how you got 17 days out of the Evakool and only 12 days out of the Chillco even with all the ice retaining techniques.
It was the opposite for me. I was able to get 17-18 days out of my Chillco Cooler and only 9 days out of the Evakool.

I would still much rather the Chillco for the price and the white cushions they have are the perfect seat for my boat.

All my mates have taken my advice about getting a Chillco Cooler and they all agree that it's a top esky.

It's quite funny, when my mates and I are fishing we all have our Chillco Ice Boxes in a row. We own the pier! I reckon I should take a photo and send it in to Chillco. Maybe they'll make it into a TV commercial or something and give me a few bucks on the side. Heck I would even settle for a few free Chillco's for the troubles.

Take it easy mate!

Mate , my old mans got a Evakool and ive just picked up an unreal cooler ,Techniice make unreal coolers and chillco coolers , take a look at www.techniice.com . I still think The Evakool is way better than my unreal cooler. Cant compare the chillco / unreal coolers to an evakool. The evakool which my old man has , has got much thicker lids and a better finished box but im planning to gift him a techniice box this time. Not really happy with the finish of the unreal/chillco box , Its kinda rough and the hinges have some metal screws in them trying to hold them together. Evakool is what i would suggest if you can afford one , else i would settle for a Techniice . Not sure if i would buy one these unreal/chillco coolers . I cant find the big chilli coolers any more, any idea where we can find them ?

 

[Sean]

I've got an 80 litre Techni Ice, can't recommend it enough.

 

[BillyGoat]

I bought a 100L Chilly Chest off the net not long ago for about $140 i think. Great cooler- used it for our engagement party a few weeks back, and there was still ice and drinks sitting in it the following weekend after being out on the front porch all week. Now my (soon to be) mother in law wants one for xmas, and had a few mates ask where I got it on the day. Very popular.

Made by a company called Big Terrain, they offer pickup or delivery. Got mine delivered cos I'm lazy haha, arrived in like, three days. (www.bigterrain.com.au)

 

[Live2DieTrying]

I'd never heard of the Chilly Chesy, but watching their video gave another great use. The treaded bung can be replaced with a tap, so the whole icebox can be turned into a giant drink dispenser..
I'm going to have to try this over summer

 

[BillyGoat]

Haha- Top idea!

 

[fishbt25]

Techni Ice / Unreal Coolers / Chillco Coolers / Big Chilli Coolers

It's funny about all the comments in this thread. None of you know what you are talking about. Especially 4WDcamper.
First of all, Techni Ice used to have another business called Unreal Coolers which is no longer around. I'm not sure why they started two businesses doing the exact same thing that there main business Techni ice is already doing but all i know is that unreal coolers is no longer around.

Another company called Big Chilli Coolers who used to be based up in QLD also went belly up but my understanding is that Techni Ice bought the name off them and their website because if you type in big chillic coolers it takes you straight to the techice website.

Another company out there called Chillco Coolers also manufactures their own ice boxes. Techni Ice is not affilliated with this company and they certainly do not manufacture their ice boxes. Techni Ice is not a manufacturer of ice boxes, they have them made by someone in Thailand and so do Chillco Coolers.

Techni Ice and Chillco Coolers both have their ice boxes manufactured by different factories in Thailand.

I personally have the Chillco Coolers esky, Techni Ice esky and Unreal Coolers esky and the Techni and Chillco are very similar in quality but there was definately a big difference with the quality of an Unreal Cooler. I think they must have used cheaper materials than the Chillco and Techni Ice cooler but it definately didn't pass my test.

Techni ice and Chillco Coolers both had lifetime warranties from what I could see but I liked the fact that Chillco had white lids. I hope this explains it better.

 

[keithr]

keithr

I purchased a techniice 60 lt ice box on the 30/11/12 and was told it would be delivered in 3 -4 business days. I am in the same state as the supplier and have waited 9 business days. They advised me today I will have it before Xmas. Anyone else have this experience?