Pelican Pro Gear Elite cooler….just few thoughts

I touched on yesterday’s blog post about new Catch and Release Photo Contest sponsored by Pelican Products. The prize for your submission will be a 45 quart Pelican Elite cooler.

I’ll get more into the contest during this upcoming week (you just keep taking pictures) but I wanted to kind of share few thoughts on the cooler itself. I have another Pelican cooler in my garage with about 25 bag of ice from 7/11. We filled it on Tuesday, tossed a rigged eel in there on camera and have not touched it since. On Easter Sunday, five days later, I will open it and see what the status of ice. Hopefully my son will help out again with camera work. Then we eat some lamb!

I didn’t want to use shaved ice or block ice for a reason. I wanted to fill it with stuff any of our readers (and myself) would do, stop by 7/11, grab a bag or two and go.

The thing is, when I bought my previous cooler at Costco (which at the time I though it was a great cooler) half of ice would melt by the time I got to Montauk. Keeping rigged eels cold for days at the time was a major PIA where I resorted in caring another small cooler just for eels. And even then, they would be swimming in the mildly cold water more than ice and it would necessitate frequent trips to the 7/11 for more ice

How is this Pelican cooler different than that one? It has ice retention up to 10 days. 10 days?

If I spent 10 days straight in Montauk not only would I not have a job, but the locks on my house would probably be changed too. That is just sick! I was told they are made in USA, here in the Northeast, which is always a plus. This thing is built like a tank with one continuous two inch thick layer of polyurethane insulation.

The dual Handle system is pure genius, simple yet it works great when needed.

I just loved the latch, press and pull, easier to operate on the coldest of nights and with gloves. Not like my previous cooler where after closing it half dozen times the latch would snap and I had to resort to bungee cord to keep it closed.

Once you see the Sloped Drain Design, you will say “why does not every cooler comes made this way”.

And yes, there is even a Life Warranty against defects. The freezer-grade gasket seals this thing like there is no tomorrow and there is even a molded, lockable hasp and stainless steel place to thread your lock trough and keep the contents secure.

I don’t think no one is going to run to buy this cooler to toss a big bass in it. Because of their overbuilt design and thick walls they obviously have less room on the inside then the coolers we all have. But if you are a guy who travels and likes to keep his food cold and safe for prolong periods of time, from overnight trip and keeping your brusky cold, to keeping your food fresh for days and yes, even, gasp, keeping your bait in the freshest possible state, I cant imagine that Pelican would not be my first choice when starting my research on what premium cooler to buy. Whoever wins this bad boy will be one lucky SOB.

I cant wait to open the cooler on Sunday and see how much ice is left.

And eat lamb!

Happy Easter