Best cooler to use..........

[IslandElle]

Besides Polar Bear. They are all sold out and wont have any in stock until May 15th which wont work since we leave in a few weeks. I should of got on this earlier but I didn't think I needed a month to get a cooler! lol

So what is my next best choice here. We need one that will keep our meet nice and frozen for the plane trip from Dallas and I prefer a soft sided one that would double as our beach cooler. I have looked at AO coolers. They seem to be good but a little more expensive than Polar Bears. Any thoughts?

[Margy Z]

For Polar Bear Coolers, try ebags.com, I just looked and they have some 12's in stock - delivery as early as next Wednesday.

[bevm]

Amazon.com sells Polar Bear coolers and usually has free shipping. We got ours in four days.

[IslandElle]

Thanks guys. I think the 12 pack is going to be too small. We are going to be there for 3 weeks so we are taking a fair amount of meat. I am looking all over for a 24 pack and I cant find one anywhere. Anybody want to sell theirs? lol

[mahojim]

Elle-
How long is your flight?
I just got home from work, so I'm relatively fuzzy...
I'm a bartender who has the somewhat luxury of getting 'soft-sided coolers' from liquor/beer distributors that travel very well.
Freeze any meats, then let the coolers give you a hand.
If your food is frozen I wouldn't worry about how it holds in the fridge down there. - Makes it easier to thaw/cook on the grill.
My experiences in the villas on STJ is that the freezer rocks, while the fridge is on "Island Time".
Best to use the coolers packed with ice than the fridge for chilly drinks.
Might be me-
Hope to run into you & yours.
Smiles-
MJ
P.S.-
Sorry- fuzzy...
Long night

[Bigcheeze]

Pack half as much...food and clothes wise...and take twice as much money.

Jim is right...the freezers work great... fridges, just ok. Always buy another bag of ice at the store for your coolers to keep the beverages cold...whether for beer or to have ice for drinks.

FYI, we took no meat this year. Dry goods yes

Have fun...how exciting to be a few weeks away. We're planning for Oct and next year's Spring Break...been home 4 days...lol

[Gromit]

Elle,

For the December sailing trip I took charge of all the meat. I bought a WHOLE beef tenderloin, 24 large chicken breasts (that I marinated), bacon, ground beef, hamburgers and hot dogs.

Froze everything in advance, lined the cooler with a trashbag to prevent leakage and put all the frozen stuff in and then tied up the bag.

I have a soft sided, rolling, collapsible cooler that looks something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Columbia-High-Per ... B00194JDGIand this worked very well.

We fly from DC and got down there and everything was still frozen solid.

Of course the cooler doesn't work as a carry on and has to be checked. But we just lie it with a new trash bag and fill it with dirty clothes for the return trip so we make use of it.

Hope this helps!

[IslandElle]

Thanks for all the help guys. I have found a 24 pack polar bear cooler due to a very gracious member here who was willing to sell hers! Yay! Things are moving right along now. 2 weeks from today we will be on island for the first time!