Compare cool boxes: passive, electric and compressor

A cool box keeps food and drink fresh on the campsite, in the car or on a day at the beach. In this category you compare cool bags, passive cool boxes, thermoelectric cool boxes and compressor cool boxes, with the capacity and the current price at the shop. All camping gear together can be found under camping.

Which cooling type?

• Passive: cool bags and cool boxes that stay cool with ice packs or ice. No power needed, such as the Coleman Xtreme and the Dometic Patrol.
• Thermoelectric: runs on 12 volts in the car and often on 230 volts too, and cools to a fixed number of degrees below the outside temperature, such as the Campingaz Powerbox and the Mobicool ME models.
• Compressor: works like a small fridge, holds the temperature you set and on many models can also freeze, such as the Dometic CFX and CFF models.

Capacity and size

For a day out, 10 to 20 litres is often enough, for a weekend for two people around 30 litres, and for a family or a longer holiday 40 litres or more. Also check whether 1.5 litre bottles fit upright. The capacity filter shows the cool boxes by size. Keep in mind the space you have in the car, as a larger cool box also takes up more room when it is full.

Power and use

An electric cool box on 12 volts uses power from the car battery. Do not leave it on too long with the engine off, unless the cool box has battery protection. On the campsite you connect it to 230 volts if you have power at your pitch.

Keeping things cool for longer

Let the cool box cool down in advance, fill it with items that are already chilled and put it in the shade. The fuller the box, the longer it stays cool. An electric cool box needs space around the ventilation. Open the lid as little as possible, and after use clean the box and leave the lid ajar while it is stored.