I have been looking at the Coleman steel sided coolers, some of them are called "steel belted." I usually only camp for three days at a time in 50-90 degree weather. Does anyone have first hand knowledge of the performance of these coolers? I think they just look cool.

The old ones were pretty good. I'm curious about the new ones.

The new ones don't hold ice worth a damn..... The igloo marine ultra coolers are as good as a yeti at holding ice and don't weigh 75 lbs.

We had one for many years, but it finally "disappeared". Cool, yes, but over time the metal latch got rusty, and the drain leaked. I think the steel made it a bit heavier as well. They just don't have the insulation of the better coolers these days, so I doubt it would keep ice for 3 days in 70+F weather. On the other hand, mine fell out of the bed of a pickup at 30 MPH, and survived without much damage.

I still have my old one from 1973. It could have a better latch which I had to fix.

I think the later all plastic foam filled with good sealing top are probably better since there is more insulation or looks that way.

I have about three different sizes of the plastic ones as required.

They claim this one keeps ice for 6 days with outside temperature of 90 degrees.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00J0RZQJ4/ref=dp_cerb_2

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Coleman brought back that 'classic look' about 15-years ago, mainly to stir the 'heritage' selling angle. They'll perform (like most decent coolers) so long as you pre-cool the insides before use and use enough ice (lots cubes or, big block) to keep things chilled. Beyond 36-hours, its a crap shoot.

The problem we have around here is in a salt water environment rust gets to them pretty quick. I prefer the regular igloo coolers nothing to rust, replacement parts are available, if you want the cool to last a large no time, pre-cool before use then use large block ice and open the lid as little as possible, and make sure that everything that goes in is already cold.

quote:

Originally posted by Airpusher:
I have been looking at the Coleman steel sided coolers, some of them are called "steel belted." I usually only camp for three days at a time in 50-90 degree weather. Does anyone have first hand knowledge of the performance of these coolers? I think they just look cool.

I have one from the sixties,metal lid and sides,still going strong.
That cooler came up in my divorce thingy decades ago,I kept it.