Thermos 165781 Cool Box, Blue, 28 L

We've had one of these for 20 + years, and it's survived countless holidays to the Continent, camping trips with my Girl Guide unit, taking food parcels to my aged in-laws ( a 5+hour car journey) and many other shorter day-trips to the seaside etc - and being 'abused' by a growing family of four children. And the lid acts as a useful 'table top' at times for cutting food whilst having picnics. The handle does come dislodged on the rare occasion, but slips back into place easily enough, and we've never had a spillage or accident due to this. It has now lost a small piece of plastic from it's side (see photo) which may affect it's insulation, but it has served us very well and I will have no hesitation in replacing it with the same model again. NB. having seen further reviews about the newer model since submitting my original post, I may research this further 'in the flesh' rather than online before buying the same again. Can't complain about the old one, though.

This cool box is great and we'd definitely recommend it. It's a good size and did us (a family of 4) fine for 2 weeks camping in France. We like the dual function of the lid where you can invert it and use to hold drinks but we only really use it when we take the box on day picnics. Negative comments we've seen posted concern the 'locking' of the lid. We found it no problem at all! The handle has a closed side and an open side and depending on which way you lay it the lid is either free to be removed or locked on to the box. You just flip the handle to the open side to access the box and then make sure you flip the handle over the other way to secure the lid once you've finished with it. It is also in the locked position when the handle is upright so has never slid off during transportation. One tip I'd offer that we've recently discovered is to wrap your freezer blocks in a plastic bag to reduce the condensation inside the box but I guess that applies with all cool boxes!

Bought this as a replacement for an old cool box that we had for years, before the handle finally gave way and snapped. For the price it's perfect, holds everything we need and keeps everything cool for a really long time. Looked for quite a while for new box, lots of others around have a lid that's made of two pieces of plastic and therefore cracks and breaks easily. The lid for this is one moulded piece so very sturdy and robust.My only niggle is that, whilst the handle does lock the lid in place this is only when the handle is down. If you pick the cool box up with the handle the lid is no longer locked and although it stays put, it is quite easy to knock it when you carry it, which obviously lets the warm air in. More of a problem for me as I am quite small so generally struggle with it :). Having said that my husband also found that he knocked it off on a few occasions.Overall though I'm really pleased with it and I'm pretty sure it will last us a long time. The quality and price make it a must buy if you are looking for a decent cool box.

Purchased this cool box to take camping for a 4 day break. I was very happy with the performance of the cool box.I froze meat (wrapped in foil), milk, a couple of small freeze blocks & 1 freezer board. Then packed butter, cheese, salad & other vegetables from the fridge. By the end of day 1 everything was still frozen.Day 2 morning, some milk had started to defrost around the edges of the bottle. Meat still frozen at end of day 2.Day 3 morning, milk mostly defrosted, small frozen lump in the middle of the bottle.. Meat thawing, but still frozen in the centre. Cheese & butter still cold. Salad & veg still fresh.Day 4 am. All remaining items cool.Packing lots of frozen things really helped the performance I think. It did make the box quite heavy, but it was great to take our own food away with us as we were quite a distance from shops/restaurants etc.. I did not find any problems with the handle as mentioned in a few other reviews. It's good that the lid locks.I found it easy to clean.

I looked at the 12v electric models but eventually figured (after reading the reviews) that there was more to go wrong with them so bought this type to take around Europe on a 12 day, 12 country driving tour, it kept things very cold for about 12-16 hours (outside weather was around 25-30c but in car was around 15-18c) and cool for over 24 hours (Cheese and milk was fine over 24 hours), it's lightweight, locks shut well and is strong enough. I just bought ice from service stations and dropped a bag in each day and it was fine, just a case of pouring out the water in the morning, sometimes the ice would last until late afternoon the next day depending how full the box was with food/drinks etc.

I've been using this cool box for a while now. Overall great product to have especially when i go fishing. It fits perfectly in my boot, not too big but fit enough to travel with. The box is very light to carry depending on how much you put inside. After i go out fishing and take out the fish that i have caught, this box is very easy to clean with is very handy and quick to use for another trip to be used elsewhere. One good feature about this product is, it's got the top of the lid to put your drinks on. I have used it sometimes whenever we are around it and i use it as a table.