Coleman Vintage 54qt Steel Belted Cooler, Keeps Ice Up to 4 Days, 85-Can Capacity Hard Cooler with Drain & Have-A-Seat Lid

(I left a shorter review of this cooler earlier, but after further use wanted to return to leave a more comprehensive review.) INTRODUCTION I purchased this cooler on the recommendation of a friend who had several at a tailgate party I attended. After searching around for the best price I settled on purchasing the green colored cooler (which was the cheapest at the time) from Amazon. As a prime eligible purchase, it arrived two days later in perfect condition. Absolutely no dings, scratches, or dents like other reviews mention. It was perfectly packaged in factory boxes. APPEARANCE The cooler is plastic encased in steel. The colored portion you see is steel whereas the white portion is plastic. Some people seem to believe this cooler is all steel. It is not. It is steel belted as the description clearly states. The latch is metal and plastic. The handles are also metal but with plastic grips. The cooler's appearance is stylish. Also, there is NO bottle opener on this version of the cooler. Some reviews allude to the presence of a bottle opener on the outside of the cooler. There is certainly not one on the version I ordered. FUNCTIONALITY AND USE Hands down this is the best cooler I have ever owned. I take a lot of road trips and travel a lot for work and used to carry along an old generic plastic cooler with me to keep snacks, water, and soda. This cooler has replaced my old beat up travel buddy. It fits nicely in the back of my Ford Escape and has more then enough storage space for meats, cheese, bread, yogurt, fruit, beer, and ice. I can stock it with enough food for a 3-5 day trip easily. The cooler keeps ice for about two to three days outside of extreme temperatures. Two or three two liter bottles of ice are enough to keep everything cold for at least 2 says. If necessary, the ice can be supplemented with a bag of two from the motel to get you through the last day or two of your trip. I do not use the chemical ice packs (except one small one, see below), but they might last a little longer. Now just one thing to consider before you purchase this item. The cooler can get heavy especially when fully loaded. Of course it depends on what you put in the cooler, but I have loaded mine up to what was probably more then fifty pounds. That can be a lot of weight to carry especially longer distances. Unless you are a large burly man don't plan on carry this cooler, fully loaded, around all day long. (The plastic grips do a good job of stopping the handles from cutting into your hands when carrying and it is on the heavy side). To get around this limitation, I keep a small cold pack in the cooler and a small insulated bag I got as a freebie at a convention. Whenever I need to take something from the car to a different location and do not want to lug the entire cooler I just place what I need in the insulated bag with the cold pack. TIPS 1. Don't waste your money buying bagged ice at convenience stores. Fill recycled two liter bottles 3/4 way full of water and freeze them. Use these bottles as ice packs. It will not only save you the mess of melted ice, but also a few dollars because you won't have to buy ice. 2. Make sure to chill everything that will go in the cooler at least overnight. This will help extend the life of the ice in the cooler. 3. It is useful to keep something like a bottle opener or cork screw in your cooler. Even a small folding knife can be a lifesaver when you need to cut open a package or some food. CONCLUSION This cooler is well worth the money. Yes, you can find cheaper alternatives in stores and online. But, the value of this cooler cannot be surpassed. You may save a few dollars by buying a generic plastic cooler, but those savings will quickly be lost with all your ice purchases and loss of food due to heat.

I did my research, and the Coleman 54-Quart Steel-Belted Cooler kept coming out on top. It isn't the largest or least expensive offering, and it isn't rated to keep things iced for more than four days. However, it is built like a tank with tough metal components and hard shell, and it does keep things iced for at least 3 days (dependent on usage). My candy red model arrived with a tiny cosmetic ding on the front, but was otherwise unblemished. The hinges, handles and lock are all constructed from sturdy metal, and the cooler feels as if it were built like a tank. It has a black, plasticized bottom that keeps it from sliding around and scuffing whatever surface it is placed on. The floor of the cooler features a channel for optimal drainage of melt water via the plug on the bottom right side. I just got rid of a bunch of older coolers that had outlived their usefulness. This is a perfect replacement. It is tough enough to handle use and abuse during road trips, and is a welcome addition to my hurricane season preparedness equipment. If you want a sturdy cooler built with premium components that keeps your food and drink cold for more than a couple of days, this vintage-styled Coleman is worth checking out. ~ Kort

Keeps things cold but it is heavy. Older people may want to consider this

This ice chest is great! Sturdy and reliable like I wanted. The size is also what I wanted as well and what I need for camping as well. I will say I do need to take a star off only because it came in with a dent in the corner, not sure if it was caused by shipping or from the factory.

Looks good and does a good job keeping things cool. Never saw the point of a yeti for things like short trips etc. this is perfect. Use for a whole week keeping drinks cold, only have to re-up ice a few times throughout. Handles are sturdy and have held up for quite some time now. Compact design fits wel in my car.

Been using this for several years and it still works like when I first got it. It has more space than the plastic coolers of equal size and keeps everything cool for my annual 3 day summer camping trips. Recommended.

If your the type of person that thinks you get what you pay for DO NOT BUY THIS!!! I paid over $100 on a cooler because I wanted a heavy duty one that I could latch shut. The latch was the main selling point for me because I wanted to take it on canoe trips and not worry about the lid coming open in case of a tip over. At first it seemed to work just fine, until I loaded it up then the weight rendered the latch useless.(I tested another one at the store same thing, its just a bad design) I contacted the coleman company which i must say there customer service was so bad I don't even want to start to try explaining the frustration they put me through. I was told to mail in the defective latch(at my cost) I did and after 8weeks still no word from them. When I finally got a hold of them I was told that I should of never sent the latch in. Finally I got them to agree to giving me a refund. I mailed the cooler with a copy of my receipt to them 6weeks ago and I have not heard a word from them, whenever I call there I get put on hold for 15 min then sent to a voicemail box that is full. A few more things to point out, the steel that surrounds this is very thin and cheap, and the logo on the lower right hand corner was poorly installed and falling off when I took it out of the box. Bottom line I paid a lot for a cheap cooler then they really stuck it to me when I sent it back to them and didn't get my refund.

This is it! I have arrived! My dad had a steel belted Coleman in the 80's and it went EVERYWHERE! And try as we might, my surly, juvenile delinquent friends (whom my father always insisted come on our river runs and camping trips in order to keep us out of reform school) could not destroy it! Only reason I bought my own is that his disappeared after he passed. (I figure one of those aforementioned friends lifted it!). So now, I have my OWN Coleman Steel Belted cooler!! I opted for the Big Red, since it reeks of retro coolness, but the real reason I purchased it, is that it is the pinnacle of camping coolers! My son and I took it for a test run the weekend we got it and it kept cool and kept ice for three days, all of which had temps in the high 80's! You can spend the price of a good used car on your fancy cryptozoologically named ice chest, but those of us who actually adventure know best. And the Coleman Steel Belted cooler- THAT'S the best. I can die happy, now that I own one!