A Cooler Cooler

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A Cooler Cooler

by Dave Shultz

I travel…a lot! I also eat…a lot! Traveling with food and beverages has always meant packing a large, clumsy, heavy cooler. Not any more. I found the greatest cooler from California Innovations called The Incredible Collapsible Cooler. You won’t believe how light it is and it collapses into a very small package.

Ever tried to travel on an airline with a cooler? Imagine slipping this in your suitcase on your next trip to a tropical island. When you get there, you can fill it with your favorite deli foods and cold drinks and toss it in the back seat of your rental car for a picnic far from the tourist crowd.

California Innovations advertises that their revolutionary Therma-Flect Insulation will keep food frozen for more than 16 hours. That’s a pretty tall order for such a lightweight product so I decided to put it to the test. My wife Geri was going to visit her son and daughter-in-law John and Agnes Lofton to log a little grandmother time with their one-year-old son. It just so happens that they love New Mexico chili and Agnes’ mother packed and froze both red and green chili for them. We loaded a Thermawhiz Classic Collapsible Cooler with frozen baggies of chili. We didn’t add any ice and the bag went into the trunk with the luggage.

Twelve hours later, when the car was unloaded, the chili was still frozen solid. No indication that it was even starting to thaw. That’s pretty impressive for something so thin and light.

It has some other impressive features also, a lifetime warranty and a leak proof inner liner that zips out for easy cleaning. How many times have you hauled a cooler outside and hosed it out when something leaked? I was also surprised how comfortable the shoulder strap was even loaded with a years supply of frozen chili.

The coolers work just as well with hot food. Throw your casserole for the church dinner into the Thermawhiz and it will still be steaming when you put it on the table. It even has handy outside pockets for serving utensils.

Several sizes and styles are available and you can read more about them at California Innovations website. Golfers, be sure to check out their 18 Hole Survival Packs.

I’m going on some dive trips this summer and you can bet I’ll have this cooler full of cold drinks and waiting on the boat when I surface.

-Updated 3-2-99-