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Whether you're camping, picnicking, or simply packing your lunch for a day at work, having a reusable ice pack keeps your food at a room safe temperature until you're ready to eat it or pop it in the fridge. If you're currently shopping for the best ice packs for coolers, there are three things you should consider: durability, longevity, and freeze time.
Between getting tossed around in the cooler or thrown around on the ground, they receive a lot more wear and tear than you'd think. Before you make a purchase, be sure to read the reviews so you can get a sense of how tough they are.
And, of course, there's no point in having an ice pack if it can't keep your food cold for very long. Most outings will take at a minimum of a few hours, so your ice pack needs to be able to last at least that long. Since most brands don't provide timeframes on this quality, this is another area where reading the reviews can be helpful.
In a perfect world, your ice packs would always be in the freezer, ready and waiting for you. But in the real world they often get left in the cooler overnight or tossed on the counter. Having an ice pack that can re-freeze quickly is a big asset.
Now that you have a better idea of what to look for, here are the best ice packs for coolers, according to these criteria.