I am going to jump straight to the answer and save you all time. The answer to the question of which is better a cooler, an electric cooler, or a fridge? The answer might shock you….

….. whatever you feel the most comfortable using and whatever you have will work just fine.  I said what I said I will stick to it.

There is no better answer for anything gear related than this. I have considerable experience testing and selling outdoor gear and I would always use that answer even when working for the gear shop. The gear shop was about selling gear but also training and educating. It is all about those repeat sales.  To this day family and friends constantly ask me which product should I buy if I wanted to go do X.  

Many times it shocks them that I suggest going to Walmart, Target, dicks sporting goods, or any big box chain that you have close by and buying what they have.  If it is a backpack, shoes, boots, or something you will be wearing test the products out.  Do more than just walk around the store for 5 min. Take them home and wear them around the house for a few days to ensure comfort and fit.  Many stores have decent return policies just make sure to ask what that is and follow them. When  I was working at the gear shop we would take back just about anything except underwear as long it was clean and never used outside. 

My tried and true gear method has always been to buy something, use something, retire it, and get something that can serve me better than the item before.  I have camped many weekends using coolers of every kind even the grocery store styrofoam ones. Did they work for their intended applications and for the time needed, absolutely!  It was not until I was spending more than a couple of days in the camp that I began to realize that the one thing that always caused issues was ice.  I tried using the freezer blocks but Ice always seemed to work the best in coolers especially in the southwest or in the midwest in the summers.

The Reasons why I switched from a cooler to a fridge: 

  • Soggy food.
  • Accidental messes with water.
  • Loss of space from freezer blocks and packs. 
  • Much less of a chance for spoiled food or drinks.
  • Ice melts and what do you do with the water?
  • Peace of mind about raw meats or products causing sickness while on the road. 

Sure there are methods of keeping this from happening but my greatest concern was less about the soggy food and more about a drastic change in temperature that might cause the items in my cooler to spoil leaving me with a need to have to head home early or go into a town to stock up on groceries again.  Living and camping in the southwest also made things interesting while coolers would work for a day or two anymore past that an ice run was needed. 

See also  Tips for Taking Care of Your Overlanding Gear This Summer

I made the switch to the fridge based on temperature control honestly.  While driving it is powered by the vehicle and then by a battery when parked/camping. The last thing I want is a dead vehicle battery after a weekend of camping. 

Quite a bit of research was done prior to purchasing the fridge. I did spend a considerable amount of time watching youtube videos, reading reviews, and shopping around at prices. I eventually settled on a smaller-sized fridge but works well for me. 

Products I have used/suggest

Each product has its own pros and cons but they all worked great for their intended uses when used. Each also served a purpose at their price points and there are no regrets about using any of them looking back.  I suggest that you do research on each product prior to buying them. 

Disclosure: This is not a product review nor was any of the products used in this post provided to me as a gift. All items were purchased with my own money.  This post uses affiliate links. Purchases made using these links help keep the lights on around here. Thanks for your help! 

 

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