Eskies- Fibreglass V Poly

[Sparks]

I am looking at upgrading my esky and dont know whether to go f/glass or poly ie. icekool etc. I know glass is the best but just wondering if anyone out there has had much experience with poly. Esky mainly for camping.Appreciate any feedback.
thanks,
Graeme

[craigie]

Sparks,

Fibreglass will hold your ice longer than polly but will also be more expensive. Block Ice will last 3 - 4 days easy in a quality glass box.

Guess it just boil down to your budget :-/

If you can afford it, spend the extra and get a 'waeco' or an 'Evercool' or similar.

Cheers
Craig.

[Big_Kev]

Glass all the way.
I'm with Craigie there.
You might as well go to Kmart and buy a couple of cheap as willows if you want a poly.
Ice lasts the best in the Glass and you don't need that much to get it cold.
If you watch the classifieds and keep an eye out there are some bargains to be had. sometimes they might be seconds but if you don't want to pay retail this is still the best way to go.
I picked up a custom 100 liter for as mate off this site at christmas and he is rapt with the glass and the price.
Cheers Kev.

[beatle]

Their right mate I have had a Baileys glass ice box for 15 years one of the best buys I have ever made.-Beatle.

[sharkbait]

Dunno what the problem with poly is there..? No comparison with the kmart crap. As long as you keep it out of the sun mine keeps 2 blocks of ice for 3 or 4 days easily, We've got a glass one (downunder) 62 or 65ltr which hold ice a little better, not enough to warrant an extra 150 bucks though. glass scratches, dings and bends easier as well. tropical arent bad either.

[buggerit]

Have had my Baileys for 10yrs held a lotta ice , a good few fish , a lotta ,, no maybe a whole lotta beer . Has definetly stood up to trips better than I have , in fact it was only just asking me when I was taking it fishing again .

[Big_Kev]

If you look in the classifieds Caveman (Gary) has one for sale made out of cold room material which is pretty good as well.
It is big but would be a bloody great beer fridge.
Cheers Kev.

[goodoo]

If its a good esky you are looking for i have made a number out of freezer sections off old fridge freezers these i use for camping hold about 100l and keeps party ice for 3days ioften bring it home and stuff it back in the chest freezer for next time best of is their price get it for nothing from the fridge repairer he doesnt have to pay tip fees on it cover the open section with the skin off the fridge and poprivet it into place screw a couple of bungie loops and buttons on total cost :$5 fuel to pick up two fridges and return home :$4 bunjie loops and buttons from upholsterer :50c one dozen poprivets :time about 4 hours -------------------------------- total cost about $5 each if you want handels $10 each

[Big_Kev]

Sorry Kris didn't mean to say the wrong thing with the Kmart comment.
The poly eskies are a bit better than that.
But I think that the glass ones are the best.
Cheers Kev.

[krazyfisher]

I have had a F/G esky and now a poly as you dont have to worry about it breaking and is kinder on boats if it slides around I have a 100l poly type went to cardwell put a block in the bottom on fri about 1pm used it for food etc no fish to put in and after fishing all day sat and left it in the boat for the trip home sunday I cleaned out the esky at about 5pm sundayand took out about 1/3 of the block still solid. that was being used all the time in the sun and it was fairly hot and did not add any ice.

[mackmauler]

last trip to fraser a dingo chewed the corner right off a mates poly ice box :o ive had the evakool banging around in the boat for around 7 years and its in need of a new hinge and gel coat repairs, still keeps the catch cold but at 400 bucks these days not cheap, check the handles are right and the lid fastenings practical, there are some shoddy ones around.

[Billo]

If your going by cooling ability alone ...it's obvious a F/G will outgun a poly 3 days to one ...but the added extra of a F/G esky is the fact you can use dry ice for longer stays were a poly would crack from it .
You can get a good block of dry ice and one bag of party ice and keep meat FROZEN for 4 or 5 days without adding any extra ice.....can keep it edible for a couple of days longer still .

The one thing noted though if your doing long trips offroad with F/G ...make sure it is tied down hard as any large hit / jump / bang will fracture the glass.....they are quite fragile !

But for carting around on a boat or were ever ..poly could be the way to go ....lets face it , an expensive F/G esky is a waste if it will get busted up in no time ...a poly can take a beating .

I have a 120 litre EVAKOOL for camping and to have in the car when i come back from offshore or whatever....but also have a 30 litre Willow that i use for those trips i think will be a little rough...

[sharkbait]

Kev you'd have to do better than that to offend me ;) just thought you might have had a bad experience with a poly one. Billo, is that for real about the dry ice, I've used it on long trips twice without a problem, should i not be doing this?

[MarcusD]

I was a bit sceptical about fibreglass eskys until I bought an Evakool just before my christmas camping trip. Just as an indication on how good they are, I froze 2 x 10 litre water bottles for the esky. I also topped up with a bag of party ice every two days and drained the water every day. 15 days later the 10 litre bottles still had some ice in them!

Compare that against the poly Coleman esky I had next to it. Same ice, same treatment but the ice was fully melted in 3 days.

[neptune]

It all depends on how long you want the ice to last and what conditions you will be subjecting the ice box to. Remember there are poly eskies and then there are poly eskies. The more expensive ones have a better seal, thicker walls, better hinges and can keep good block ice frozen for a week. A lot of them are starting to make the poly eskies in white now which doesn't absorb as much heat. They are the way of the future, and if you go camping for more than a few days I reckon your better off with a fridge freezer anyway.

[Billo]

the poly boxes don't have the extra insulation that allow them to hold that cold a temp .
I have known people to get cracks in them whilst using dry ice ...i have never used them myself with dry ice ..but i have heard many a story of the boxes coming to greaf ...and seen the results

aside from that , even if you have a good poly , it is not going to get the time out of a dry ice box that a F/G would ,
But if yours has done the job .,....i guess your one of the lucky ones

[Moffy]

Fibreglass eskies (good quality ones) are definitely the ducks n*ts in keeping ice for long periods - but if you are in them every 5 minutes no esky is going to keep ice for long anyway.

However, for me, I have a tropical Ice box (poly), which i throw in the back of the ute and don't have to worry about it getting hurt or scratched (had two in the back on trip to the tip of cape york last july and you'd hardly know they'd been used. (Mates fibreglass one from similar trips has plenty of cracks in the gelcoat.)

as for ice keeping ability - i'm pretty happy with the Tropical for my purposes (from fishing to long camping trips) - as an example - to still have the frost on the outside of a milk bottle of ice at least 12 hours after filling the esky - you can't complain about that.

good quality ice (not cheap compressed party ice blocks) and good esky management (e.g we use the water we drain from the esky to chill down beers before putting them on ice on longer camping trips, not diving in every 5 minutes and keeping the esky in the shade) will extend the life of your ice by a long way..... or you can just buy a trailblaza. ;D (my next plan)

[JB]

There are some good pro's and con's of both there, i was thinkin of gettin a new esky myself now that decision is a lot harder!! But the poly sounds more practical, and cheaper ;D

[MarcusD]

Just keep in mind that you can get seconds of Tropical and EvaKool. Most of the seconds have very minor problems like scratches or overfilling and are about $50-$100 cheaper than the full retail product.

[JB]

where do you get the seconds marcus?

[MarcusD]

You can get the seconds EvaKools from EvaKool themselves or Campmart. I can't remember the name of the store I saw the seconds Tropicals. It was on Moss St, right next to Campmart.

[Sparks]

Thanks guys, for your thoughts. Some good points have given me something to think about.
Just like to clarify by poly I refer to Tropical, Icekool( by Evakool) Iceytek etc. I am already the proud owner of a Coleman and it is like putting ice in a plastic box and watching it melt ie. waste of space.

[Yamala]

Goodoo got the right idea. We have done the same with a couple of old freezers and there brilliant. What is also not bad is a beer keg. You take the top off with a disc grinder and then weld on a sturdy hinge. Line the cut edges with a bit of garden hose and weld a small latch and your away. These are bloody good and they can cop a hiding!!

[adamleah]

Evakool actually sell there better quality seconds under the name " KeepitKool" The stickers are a light blue colour.... They usually have a bit of gel coat bubbling or sometimes some yellowing stains ... They are usually $50 cheaper then the standard EvaKool..
I myself just purchased a 85 litre Evakool after I saw how well they worked going out in Rob;s Boat..

I got it from Campmart at Capalaba for around $420 and he threw in a extra plastic shelf worth $30 for free....

Now All i got to do is fill it with some mackerel...

Adam

[Kev_McC]

I've got both types and prefer the glass. However, from a practical point of view the poly has some advantages. Poly is a lot tougher, no comparison if your gear is going to cop a flogging. And really, for most fishing day trips, there will be no difference in the ice holding abilities of the poly vs the glass. So, if this is your primary use then save yourself the hundred bucks and get a poly.

The glass eskies are definitely better if you need to keep ice for more than a day or two. The other big plus is that they are easier to clean - that fish smell is not as easy to get off a poly esky. The glass eskies also come in more fish and boat friendly shapes and sizes, generally speaking.
cheers

[davo189]

I've got an Icey-Tek which is Poly and definitely much heavier construction than the IceCool ones. As for durability, much better than f/glass-gelcoat and keeps ice for days!
Davo.