Dometic Coolice CI 55 – High Quality Ideal for Fishing and Hunting Passive Cool Box Mini Fridge with Ice Box in Heavy Duty Quality, Capacity 56 L

PROS:1) Really works, keeping everything at the right temperature, for multi-day road trips, unlike most others.2) Keeps your beach/picnic food at the right temperature for the whole day even at 37degC air temp.3) Incredibly high quality construction4) Size5) Looks very expensive and serious6) Doubles as a two person seat or good sized table7) Simple and effective locking mechanismPROS:1) Size2) You may need an additional smaller one for shorter trips3) Price (though this is no more than similar priced, built inferior American coolboxes.I bought this Dometic Cool Ice CI-55L after assessing the alternatives using video and written reviews. One of the considerations was the quality construction as befits a division (Dometic) of Swedish consumer products manufacturer, Electrolux. The fact that this cool box utilises the same insulation as they use in the Electrolux refrigerators helped confirm my convictions. When you inspect rival (imported) American coolboxes these are mostly blown/extruded plastic. They also don’t have expanded foam in the lids nor do they have proper hermetic, rubber seals. This Dometic cool box has triple seal which keeps everything nice and cold. It also has two rubber/silicone stretchy fastenings which work very well. The lid only opens to the vertical position, but it requires no hands to keep it there as its perfectly balanced.I needed this cool box not just for beach activities but to maintain the temperature of my anti-TNF alpha injections. These need to be stored between 3-8degC and a month’s supply costs around £1000. Thus, with a 48 hour drive planned, I had to be certain that these medications were safely maintained at the correct temperature. I considered buying a specific medicine transporter, but then it dawned on me that for a little more (ok....£120 more!) I could have something more useful. Originally, I looked at the 33L, but assumed this would be too small. So I decided to go up to 42L, but I noticed there was only a few pounds between the 42L and the 55L. I also preferred the cube shape of the 55L to the oblong shaped 42L which would be a problem for sitting on the back seat.When it turned up I was shocked by how big it was! Despite numerous one dimensional tape measuring, it was impossible to gauge how massive this box is. My wife was unimpressed with what she saw as excessive spending on something as mundane as this box. However, the fact is, you can spend a whole day at the beach with your family and friends and have plenty to eat and drink out of this cool box.The secret of using any cool box is to pre-chill. I started chilling mine 2 days before we left. I changed ice bottles (salted water frozen in bottles) every 12hours. By the time we packed it ready for our trip the inner walls measured 3degC. The floor was -4degC.We packed it in layers placing the ice frozen bottles of water we would drink at the bottom. We stuck 4pints of milk in one corner, next to butter and a 1.5L carton of orange juice. Air is the enemy of a cool box, so I placed a bath towel over the ice bottles, and then added chilled sandwiches, chilled fruit and chilled drinks on top. Then two more bath towels on top filled the space to the brim.We drove 700 miles over 13hours and everything was the same as when we filled it up. 11 hours after arriving at Puy Du Fou (if you’ve not been you missed the best theme park in the world 2016) everything was still perfect despite repeated openings and 30degC external temp (God knows what it was in the car).A further 500miles to Bayonne in South West France and an additional 19hours (from when we arrived in Toutlemonde, our overnight stop) and the ice bottles had lost about 30%of their ice, but everything chilled was still chilled.My syringes I wrapped in bubble wrap and placed it in a large chambered air pack which Amazon delivered something in. I checked them after 44hours and they were still at 3.5degC.Of course the great problem with this cool box is it’s size and thus weight when full. I solved this for the beach by buying a Meerweh Wheeled Lounger (available on Amazon too). This doubles as a beach trolley with 9in diameter chunky wheels which get it over the sand and kerbs, steps etc. loaded up with the Dometic CI 55L, two camping chairs, and the Easthills Outdoors pop up beach tent deluxe XL (also on Amazon) and some beach bags.The cool box doubles as a very sturdy seat, or as in our case, a great sized table. In 32-35degC temperatures on the beach it keeps everything chilled and frozen easily for a 14hr visit. Whilst the size is excessive, my towel trick really works to reduce the air space and thus it’s eadily viable for 24hrs at 1/4 or 1/2 capacity.If you buy this you’re buying something whose build quality puts other so called expensive premium coolers to shame. I can’t imagine ever buying another one in my lifetime. Though at least 5years of my life is covered by Dometic’s warranty. Go get yourself the best cool box, much better than the American competition by far.