Eskies- Fibreglass V Poly

[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. (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

[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.