While a new member here, I figured there seems to be enough discussion about these fancy high end coolers that I could add my own input in hopes that it may be useful for someone looking to splurge on a quality piece of equipment.
First of all, I purchased this from Ceylon here on the forum, and he had completely changed my outlook on customer service. I can't say enough good about him, and hope that any of you looking for gear give him a look. There was a minor issue with my order and he went above and beyond to rectify it to make sure the cooler arrived before my 5 day trip into the CO mountains.
Typically I use a smaller Coleman cooler that was relegated for use as water storage for this trip. We put a couple of frozen water jugs in the cooler the night before we packed it to "precool" the 75qt Brute. We then filled it to the brim with food for 5 days of camping and somehow managed to fit almost 20lbs of ice into the crevices after some jostling around.
We tried to limit the amount of entry into the cooler just to help preserve the ice, and to be honest, after 5 days we still had a mix of water and ice in the cooler that was plenty cold. It's sitting in my kitchen now just to see how long the ice will last (heading into day 7 now). It's worth noting that the vehicle was moved into and out of the vehicle a few times a day, but temperatures never really exceeded 70°F or so for this trip.
The cooler may be overkill for most, but I like overkill. I used it as a stool and bench over the weekend, but didn't try to break it or test how "bear proof" it may or may not be. It's definitely solidly built, and I should have no need to replace it from what I can tell. For those extended camping trips where you have a need to keep items cold for the duration, I feel it is more than up to the task.
It also keeps those Happy Camper IPAs from Santa Fe Brewing Co nice and cold for anytime the need arises...
A poser photo of the weekend warrior in the mountains near Ouray/Silverton, CO. I believe this one was Hurricane pass on our way through Poughkeepsie Gulch.
A view of little lake Komo, somewhere around 12k feet.
I forgot to take more picture of the actual ice in the cooler, but as of today, the cooler has retained ice for 6+ days. Thumbs up to Brute and Ceylon!!
First of all, I purchased this from Ceylon here on the forum, and he had completely changed my outlook on customer service. I can't say enough good about him, and hope that any of you looking for gear give him a look. There was a minor issue with my order and he went above and beyond to rectify it to make sure the cooler arrived before my 5 day trip into the CO mountains.
Typically I use a smaller Coleman cooler that was relegated for use as water storage for this trip. We put a couple of frozen water jugs in the cooler the night before we packed it to "precool" the 75qt Brute. We then filled it to the brim with food for 5 days of camping and somehow managed to fit almost 20lbs of ice into the crevices after some jostling around.
We tried to limit the amount of entry into the cooler just to help preserve the ice, and to be honest, after 5 days we still had a mix of water and ice in the cooler that was plenty cold. It's sitting in my kitchen now just to see how long the ice will last (heading into day 7 now). It's worth noting that the vehicle was moved into and out of the vehicle a few times a day, but temperatures never really exceeded 70°F or so for this trip.
The cooler may be overkill for most, but I like overkill. I used it as a stool and bench over the weekend, but didn't try to break it or test how "bear proof" it may or may not be. It's definitely solidly built, and I should have no need to replace it from what I can tell. For those extended camping trips where you have a need to keep items cold for the duration, I feel it is more than up to the task.
It also keeps those Happy Camper IPAs from Santa Fe Brewing Co nice and cold for anytime the need arises...
A poser photo of the weekend warrior in the mountains near Ouray/Silverton, CO. I believe this one was Hurricane pass on our way through Poughkeepsie Gulch.
A view of little lake Komo, somewhere around 12k feet.
I forgot to take more picture of the actual ice in the cooler, but as of today, the cooler has retained ice for 6+ days. Thumbs up to Brute and Ceylon!!
