When upgrading your camping setup with a Fridge or a cooler, the question begs ‘how far do you need to go to make sure the food is fresh and the beers are cold, whilst saving money and getting the best bang for your buck?’

The choice isn’t as simple as a portable camping fridge or an icebox, factors like price range, how much you intend to bring, what needs to be kept cold, how available ice is, how regularly you go traveling and camping have a massive impact on which option you should choose.

So we are going to break down the factors between deciding whether you need a 12v fridge, or an icebox for your camping setup, to help you make up your mind on which solution is best for you!

Trip style

The first step to making your decision, is working out exactly what you need to keep cool, and where you are going to be heading too!

If you are planning on quick weekends away, with next to no additional gear, there is certainly nothing wrong with a good quality icebox.

If used correctly a quality Icebox you can keep your ice for over a week, but if you plan on grabbing refreshments all weekend then the superior insulation offered compared to some lesser quality icebox’s (available in big departments stores) will have more trouble trapping in the cold air, and after a few days you’ll have to replace your ice with a new bag or 2. It can take a conscious effort to get the best performance out of your icebox often yielding a rewarding result for the effort.

A powerful solution to replacing ice every few days particularly on longer trips away is a reliable 12v fridge like the Adventure Kings 60L Fridge Freezer with set it and forget it temperature settings and an internal compressor system a 12v fridge/freezer allows you to simply plug and play. This means your contents stay colder for longer with no more bags of ice.Tthis means having a 12v fridge/freezer allows you to travel for longer times, further from civilization and you won’t have to go fishing for your food and drinks inside the icy cold soup in the bottom of an ice box once your ice has melted.

Once a portable fridge/freezer is cold it uses very little power, however if you are staying at camp for a while you may need an auxiliary power source like a dual battery and solar panel. A dual battery system and a 160w solar panel or 120W solar blanket, are the perfect power solution for longer camp setups and will keep your fridge running flawlessly no matter how long you are on the road or staying at your favorite campsite.
BUDGET

With all the benefits of both setups the obvious question springs to mind. What are they worth, this deserves a more complicated answer than just reading off the price tags.

In the Adventure Kings range, there are a few sizes of icebox, the 40L, 60L, 80L & 100L. Bang for buck these are one of the most affordable ways to keep your food and drinks cold and if used correctly and maintained will last you nearly a lifetime!

As an alternative the 2 sizes of 12v fridge in the range of Adventure Kings Fridge Freezers, offer you the versatility to travel further with less reliance on local amenities.

This independence easily opens up trips into the outback, and across deserts, and up into remote areas like South West Tasmania and the far reaches of Cape York, without needing to worry about if the milk is going to go sour.

The cost of 12v fridge/freezers is becoming more and more affordable, and with the Adventure Kings 60L Fridge freezer being priced somewhere in the realm of 1/3 the cost of similar products from competitors, makes this car fridge an extremely cost-effective solution to keeping food and drinks cold, that is all readily available at an extremely affordable price.

There are many other factors that play into why you would purchase a 12v fridge/freezer over an Adventure Kings Icebox or vice versa, but your final decision will reward you with an excellent value way to keep your food and drinks, fresh and chilled and at the ready, wherever you are and whatever you do on the weekends!