When it comes to camping with kids, after the tent, a good cooler would be one of my essential items to pack. This is my Coleman 28QT Xtreme Cooler review but it is available in other sizes and also in a blue colour scheme.
Up until this point, we have been using a standard/budget cooler box that we picked many years ago and complaining that it doesn’t keep food cool for even 24 hours! I thought that if we wanted to keep our food cooler for longer we would need an electric hook up but this cooler has proved otherwise.
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Coleman 28 QT Xtreme cooler review
The Coleman 28QT Xtreme cooler is a passive cooler. This means it keeps food cool with the use of ice packs but without electricity.
The Coleman Xtreme coolers are different from the other cooler boxes available as they are insulated with Polyurethane insulation (PU). PU is a very dense and an excellent insulator, filling the entire internal cavity of the cooler, leaving no air gaps and so improving its insulating efficiency.
In addition, Coleman has found that 30% of cooling loss is through the base of the cooler being put on a warm surface. They have found that putting feet on the base of their coolers increases airflow around the base which acts as additional insulation, reducing heat loss from the base.
As well as being well designed from an efficiency point of view it is a very stylish cooler box. I love the grey and orange colour scheme.
It also has well thought out features like 2 cup holders on the lid so you can use it as a side table when camping. Additionally, the lid is strong enough to be used as a seat for a person up to 113kg.
The handle is ergonomically designed and the cooler is just 2.7kg before you fill it with food and drink. Coleman advertises that this box will keep ice frozen for up to 3 days.
The cooler is a spacious 26 L and is big enough to hold 2-litre bottles upright. We tested the cooler out on a weekend camping trip. I was advised (by a fellow camper who also has this cooler) to put the ice packs in the box a couple of hours before we add food and to pack the cooler as full as possible. We used 4 ice packs and we froze a 2-litre bottle of water too. There is plenty of room in the cooler for all the milk, drinks and food we wanted for a weekend away.
Over the weekend we tried to minimise the amount of time we had the cooler open to help it stay cool for longer. We were very impressed to still be able to have cold milk almost 48 hours after we left home.
Overall, we are very pleased with this cooler and it has improved our camping experience to no end. No more picking up milk from the shop every night for us!
You can find this cooler box * on Amazon here. It’s also available in * blue and in * 50 L, * 70 L and * 100 L.
You can also purchase it from * Go outdoors and * Winfields outdoors.
Now you’ve chosen your cool box, it’s time to find out how to prep it, fill it and use it so you can keep your food fresh for longer. Find out You’re definitely going to need a good camping cooler to keep your food fresh. Find out my best tips for how to keep your food cold while camping here.
More camping posts
- Ever wondered “What do I need for camping with a toddler?” Find out here.
- Find out all about our – Mazda Bongo campervan here.
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Disclosure: We were sent the Coleman 28QT Xtreme cooler in exchange for this review. As always, all words, photos and opinions are my own.