Ice Packs for coolers?

[Steve Stinson]

Have any of you guys tried the Ice Pack type things they sell at Home Depot for in your fishing coolers? They seem a little expensive, but the idea of not having to buy ice is appealing as well. I normally put ice and a little saltwater on my fish in one cooler, then food and drinks with ice only in the other cooler. I am not sure if these things would work in both situations.

Thanks - Steve Stinson

[FishWithChris]

...just looked at these online (HERE - 5pack / and HERE - Single)

That is definitely on the pricey side, but I can see it being beneficial for the NON-fish cooler. It keeps any unneeded water seeping into food, while keeping the internal temp of the cooler down. For the fish cooler, however, nothing beats that "SLUSH" as Capt Pat McGriff calls it

[silverking]

Yes, I have several (singles and double) that I use mainly in my PolarBear cooler bags. They stay frozen for most of the day, especially if you're not opening the cooler every 2 minutes. Work well for pre-cooled drinks and keeping food cold. Not as effective for fish since they aren't totally surrounded. The saltwater/ice slurry works best for that.

Ace Hardware sells the ice blocks/packs. Can't remember the costs but they weren't too pricey. You might also check at Big Lots or Dollar General. I've seen them there too.

Another option is to use empty plastic soda bottles filled with water and frozen. As they melt, you can drink the water, but they're not as compact as the flat ice packs.

[relicshunter]

We use frozen juice bottles for our cooler bag. They are more rectangular then soda bottles, so more compact per say. Look around before you throw out stuff maybe you'll see a nice shaped thing for freezing, or dollar general for ice packs.

[red_yakker]

I've used Ice-packs, frozen water bottles and frozen zip-lock bags of water. They don't chill your drinks as cold as crushed ice would, but they keep it cool most of the day in a soft cooler. The hard part is remembering to freeze it the day before you go, though I guess you could just always keep a few ready to go in the freezer.

I agree with the others that you don't want to do this in the cooler you're keeping fish in. The saltwater slush is the only way to go there.

[Steve Stinson]

I appreciate everybody responding. Seems the consensus is that I shouldn't use them for fish. I have an old ice machine that has been on it's last leg for a while. It has been shut down for months while I had a metal building constructed and then power put in. I guess I am going to have to get it running one more time.

Jumptrout needs to get ready for a bunch of questions on his cell phone....

[silverking]

850-525-PFFFFFTTTT.

Seriously, if he can't get it working again, nobody can.

[FUTCHCAIRO]

BACK WHEN CARL BROWN AND I WERE FISHING SEVERAL DAYS A WEEK WE USED 2 QT. PEPSI BOTTLES FROZEN IN THE FREEZER, PUT SEVERAL IN THE COOLER BOX AND ADD ABOUT A GAL. OF SALT WATER, THAT KEPT THE FISH FOR SEVERAL DAYS WITH NO PROBLEMS. WHEN WE WOULD GO DOWN STATE FLA. FOR SEVERAL DAYS THIS IS ALL WE USED AND WE NEVER HAD ANY PROBLEMS
BACK THEN WE SUPPLIED FISH FOR THE GOLDEN (K) FISH DINNERS AS WELL AS COOKING THEM, NEVER HAD ANY COMPLAINTS AND NEVER HAD ANY FISH LEFT AFTER THE FISH FRYS.
PA
SEMPER FI