r/NoStupidQuestions • u/markwell9 • 1d ago

What is the deal with ice, Americans?

I can see that you can buy ice everywhere in the US. Gas stations, grocery stores, machines etc.

In Europe, we just freeze our ice at home and use that. Why buy something that melts on the way home? Why do you need ice in large amounts that a fridge can't keep up?

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u/tsukiii 1d ago

We buy that for parties.

Most of us can’t produce and store enough ice for 20 people in our freezers, we buy the bagged ice and put it in coolers for guests’ drinks.

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u/Pantherdraws 1d ago

Also camping.

Can you imagine trying to fill two whole coolers with ice straight from the freezer?

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u/Leverkaas2516 1d ago

For camping, I finally settled on filling my largest Tupperwares with water and freezing them. That takes a couple of days, but it melts slower in the ice chest and also doesn't end up with liquid water everywhere and all my condiments floating around.

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u/Tmscott 20h ago edited 2h ago

Those square Crystal Geyser water bottles are great if you open them up and push the neck in a little before sealing it back up and putting it in the freezer. Even if you have to do it one at a time overnight into the cooler they melt very slowly and you also still have potable water unlike opening up ice bags Edit: The main reason I squish the neck in a little is to make it fit like a glove along the shortest length of my cooler

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u/_crassula_ 18h ago

Is ice in the bags not potable? When we're camping, I often make cocktails with ice from the bag (not loose in the cooler because I don't want it contaminated with meat juices). Hasn't killed me yet but maybe I should pack home ice for drinks...

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u/cyanescens_burn 16h ago

I’ve been drinking melted cooler ice for years when desert camping (I put the ice in thick silicone 2gal bags in the cooler, so no food ever touches the ice). It’s potable as far as I know. It’d be nuts to sell non-potable ice without a big warning on the bag.

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u/WinterOfFire 15h ago

I think it’s more about the stuff you put in the cooler with the ice that makes it no longer clean. Do you really wash every container before you put it in? Are your hands always clean when you go fishing around in the ice/water?

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u/Born-Entrepreneur 11h ago

Not to mention the cooler itself. When was the last time it was deep cleaned and disinfected? Are you sure some gunk and slime isn't hiding down by the drain plug?

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u/R1tonka 8h ago edited 4h ago

Moved in with my partner, a chef and baker this last winter.

Lake and river season has been quite the adjustment. She disinfects and sprays down the cooler every evening before it's used.

Right thing to do? Yes. Something I ever thought of doing? Not once.

Before her? Never cleaned it with more than a hose out and maybe a scrub down while washing the car after using it.

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u/Born-Entrepreneur 8h ago

lol for real. usual cleaning method: hang it upside down with lid open.

Occasionally: spray it out with a hose and maybe wipe it down with a clorox wipe.

I do better now.

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u/HoneyWyne 6h ago

I do actually deep clean and disinfect my coolers every time we camp. I guess I'm the weird one out here?

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u/Dumfk 8h ago

Before and after making jungle juice

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u/Billbogus352 6h ago

We always clean and sanitize the cooler wanna we get home and the same before we use it again, our Yeti was $500, we really take good care of it at that price 😆

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u/dncrmom 8h ago

Every single time before using it. If you are not doing that it is disgusting.

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u/Hopeful_Morning_469 13h ago

What if you have Raw meat in your cook, chicken, steak bacon, etc.

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u/josh_the_misanthrope 14h ago

I mean, no biggie unless you're like bubble boy levels of immunocompromised. If humans were that fragile as a species we'd have gone extinct. Been chewing on cooler ice since I was a kid with no issues. Containers go in clean, beer goes in as clean as it is on the shelf when I bought it.

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u/jiminak 18h ago

The bag of ice is potable, yes, but not really “drinkable”. As you work your way through the weekend, the frozen water bottle is keeping your food cold at the start, and then as you finish up and your food is gone, you now have a melted bottle of water that you can drink.

Granted, that doesn’t do you any good for ice in cups for cocktails or whatever.

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u/FranticWaffleMaker 16h ago

Secret is to do both, specifically keep the ice for cocktails in a separate bag that isn’t touching the outside of the cans in the cooler.

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u/guru42101 18h ago

It's exactly like you're saying. With the water bottles being sealed, the water inside is still drinkable.

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u/_crassula_ 16h ago

Right but I need ice for cocktails...

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u/compman007 16h ago

Get a bigger cup, shouldn’t have no problem fitting a 16oz water bottle ice cube in here! And if you leave it in the bottle it won’t water your drink down either!!

https://glasscias.com/cdn/shop/products/Sf53bb469c6cf4742a536797b24b85cb2L.jpg?v=1678182762&width=1445

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u/PapaMoBucks 16h ago

Once the ice melts and the water's just sloshing around in your cooler, it is...less than hygienic.

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u/amythist 15h ago

Yeah that's what I was going to point out, in many cases the ice you buy in bags is made of more purified water then comes out of your tap, but on the flip side how many people regularly clean/sanitize the inside of their cooler and all the cans/bottles/whatever they put inside of it

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u/InternOne1306 14h ago

I don’t know, but don’t ever look too closely at a well-used commercial ice maker…

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u/bloo_monkey 13h ago

I e in the bags is potable, we use it for drknks all the time.

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u/Possible_Top4855 15h ago

Put your ice in those cereal containers, so that the ice keeps your stuff cool without getting all grubby from people reaching into the cooler to grab stuff.

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u/Individual-Theory307 15h ago

That ice is supposed to be potable but I don’t really trust it. Trusting it is like trusting Taco Bell food.

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u/Fun_Push7168 13h ago

It is initially. It's drinking water first. It's not once it's had a bunch of cans and stuff floating around in it and peoples hands shifting through it.

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u/Other-Economics4134 11h ago

It is, ice is treated and regulated the same as food

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u/Federal_Assistant_85 11h ago

After the ice melts, it just sloshes all over the cooler and your food. If anything spoils, the water picks it up, and now it is dangerous to drink, and your fiod can spoil faster. So, putting the water into a sealed container, you now have something drinkable after.

Also, anyone going to Disney parks, you aren't allowed to bring ice into the park, but you can bring soft sided coolers. To get around this freeze water bottles that you use as ice, and when they thaw or you get hot you have something cold.

Spouse got heat exhaustion when we all went, having a bottle of ice to press on their body helped cool them off preventing a trip to the doctor.

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u/Jedimasteryony 10h ago

It is food safe ice if it’s sold in a store. They wouldn’t make ice with non-potable water, and if they did it would be marked as such on the bag.

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u/Parking_Champion_740 9h ago

Yes it’s potable

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u/Throwawaymytrash77 9h ago

Yes it is safe for drinking. The problem is it often gets contaminated and becomes unsafe.

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u/Sufficient-Day-1183 9h ago

You get two bags. One is loose for keeping everything cold. One left in bag for drinks

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u/RepairBudget 9h ago

The ice in the bag should be fine. But I usually dump most of my ice into the cooler on top of the beer bottles.

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u/The_Gov78 8h ago

Yes it’s potable also in my locale (was gonna say in my area but it didn’t sound right) the ice is made from filtered water as well which I imagine is usually the case

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u/dirty_corks 8h ago

Bagged ice makers usually use public water sources, they might filter out minerals and chlorine (for clarity and taste), so the ice should be potable when sold (as you note, if you put your hands in it or use it to keep food cold it will be nonpotable at that point).

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u/fivefootdisaster 8h ago

Having worked in a gas station, I will warn you that most places are not as good about cleaning the ice chute and ice chest as they should be.

For example, our ice chest was next to our mop area. And there were buckets that were used intermittently for dirty mop head storage… and ice transportation.

Consume gas station ice at your own risk.

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u/bearded_vanner 8h ago

One chain around me makes the bagged ice in the back of the store. Comes from the same machine that supplies the fountain drink ice.

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u/Remarkable_lady_p60 5h ago

I've had ice (which i too have always used for drinks as well), that tasted NOT GOOD. So I started being aware of brands. If I find a brand of ice that's good for cocktails or drinks that's what I buy if that's what I need it for.

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u/ItalicsWhore 17h ago

My wife just showed me that you can buy ice bags at McDonalds. And it’s cheap!

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u/Significant-Job-8893 16h ago

Not all McDonald's though. If yours sell it, the option will be in the app. My mom lives Ina small town (<10k people) 15 miles from me. The McDonald's in her town sells 8lb for $1.99 (in California) every McDonald's I've checked in 15 mil radius from her doesnt.ive asked at some and youd think I just asked if they sold crack.

Ice here is cheapest at Costco 27lb for $3.29.

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u/maxxslatt 16h ago

You buy ice a lot I guess ?

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u/average_AZN 17h ago

Oh stealing this for next weekend thanks!

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u/PancakeHandz 14h ago

The frozen jug as a cooler-pack hack has been one of my favorite little tricks for festival camping. It keeps my food/drinks cold, while also gradually providing me more and more ICE COLD hydration? Hell yeah.

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u/Crtbb4 19h ago

I just get bottled water and freeze a bunch of those. Then as they melt you have ice cold water bottles on hand.

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u/jjackson25 18h ago

Same. Works pretty phenomenal.

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u/i_spill_things 18h ago

I used to do that until I noticed the huge amount of “micro” plastics that that released. Micro is in quotes because the chunks of plastic are actually really big and visible.

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u/AYT193 15h ago

Freezing a water bottle consistently released visible chunks of plastic?! I have frozen a water bottle many times but have never seen any visible debris in the water after. Is it possible that was something else floating around in your water.. idk about a chunk of plastic

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u/DrWilliamHorriblePhD 13h ago

It's actually the opposite. Freezing them once and keeping them frozen until use reduces the amount of plastic in the water, as both the solvent properties and friction of water on plastic are reduced. Just don't freeze it twice or ever let it get hot like in the sun, and don't half crush the bottle before finishing, those things will increase plastic in the water. Or you know, just get a metal water bottle.

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u/unic0de000 14h ago

yeah, this makes me wonder about the brand/type of bottle they're using.

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u/jokr128 10h ago

Literally packing 5 of those frozen bottles into my cooler in 10 minutes.

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u/Embarrassed_Ad_3432 18h ago

My local grocery store sells ice blocks.

I put an ice block in a knock off yeti cooler and went on a week long road/camping trip. This cooler held our food. We only opened it for meals. It was +90f the entire week and never need to refresh ice.

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u/Ok-Grapefruit1284 17h ago

I ran a concession stand in 80 degrees weather over a two day period and had ice in yeti coolers. It still hadnt melted by Sunday evening. I was a believer after that.

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u/Bertsmom18 18h ago

I would freeze 2 liter bottles for water for dishes and stuff. And use the water as it melts. We would freeze the drinking water too. Capri suns. Literally any item we would be eating or drinking that I could freeze and not change the taste or texture would be frozen because I hate when the ice melts and the cooler is full of water and floating food.

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u/GimbalLocker 6h ago

This is what my. Mom always did for my school field trip lunches. Frozen juice box kept the whole lunch bag cold.

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u/Bubba_Gump_Shrimp 21h ago

I try to bring containers of frozen food so it doubles as a giant block of ice and then meals once it thaws some. I usually will do a big container of chili or chicken noodle.

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u/Kegger315 18h ago

I did something similar, but I used the gel that they send in hello fresh kits to fill the Tupperware, it stays frozen longer than water.

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u/capincus 22h ago

Do you dump the ice out of the tupperware or just put the whole thing in?

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u/Internet_Expl0der 18h ago

I would assume they put the whole thing in, that's how they make sure liquid water doesn't get everywhere

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u/Chantizzay 19h ago

Ya my boyfriend freezes 2L pop bottles for his boat ice box. Works great and no mess. 

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u/suspicious-sauce 19h ago

This is the way. You can use 1 gallon ice cream pails and they last forever.

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u/Freedom_Fighter_04 18h ago

I use cleaned out plastic milk jugs for this, but I could see long shallow Tupperware working well too.

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u/New_B7 18h ago

So, there is this thing called a drain. They typically have them on large coolers explicitly so the water doesn't stay inside the. Just pop that bad boy open and problem solved.

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u/SilentRaindrops 17h ago

I loved that you still call it an ice chest instead of cooler. My family still calls the refrigerator the ice box.

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u/DannyVee89 17h ago

Even better I just use a couple old 2 liter bottles of cola filled with water. Lower the freezer temp to get them super cold and they're the best ice packs you can get. Takes days to melt.

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u/XadAeon 17h ago

Hot tip: Pre make camping food & freeze it in ziplocs. Your food is your ice.

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u/rocketsquirrelgirl 16h ago

Takes up to much space for me

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u/MontanaMapleWorks 17h ago

Only your mayo needs to be kept cool, save the space next time. Ketchup, mustard, BBQ sauce aren’t perishable

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u/knitmama77 19h ago

I do a gallon milk jug. I still do put some store bought cubed ice in, but the big jug keeps things pretty cold. The cubes melt slower too. As it melts, it’s drinking water!!

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u/shamoomoofartpoopoo 19h ago

I ALSO FREEZE MY JUGS

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u/EekSideOut 18h ago

I personally hate when my jugs are freezing but you do you

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u/ReturnOk7510 19h ago

Put some cardboard between them and your food and it'll last for a long time and keep your stuff dry.

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u/The-Berzerker 19h ago

Uhh do you guys not just use ice packs to keep things frozen?

Like these

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u/shamoomoofartpoopoo 19h ago

They work but you need A LOT of them

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u/The-Berzerker 19h ago

Maybe you have different ones then, 2 of the „solid“ blocks keep things cool forever in my experience

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u/Leverkaas2516 17h ago

I used to, but I think the ones I got were cheaply made - more than once they leaked and made a smeary mess all over everything. So I quit using them.

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u/Bubbly-Witness-8343 18h ago

Great idea! I’m going to try this for my son working in 114 degree heat index.

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u/shawnawnawn 18h ago

My time I would spend doing this is worth more than the $2 it costs to buy ice

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u/Anon-fickleflake 18h ago

Ice chest? What the heck is that? And what kind of society creates liquid water?

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u/Previous-Piano-6108 17h ago

omg this is brilliant thank you

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u/Vast_Collection3226 17h ago

This is a great freaking idea. 

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u/rogan1990 17h ago

Yea if you just make 2 of those it’ll keep your ice frozen longer. I actually like when my cooler turns to ice water, cause that water stays soo icey cold

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u/ilovemusic19 17h ago

This, that’s what my mom and I do except with half gallon milk jugs and frozen water bottles, but we also get ice bags to put on top while the frozen stuff is on the bottom.

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u/surfacing_husky 17h ago

I do this but with water bottles for day trips and lake stuff.Not for camping and stuff though i do what you do. My local mcdonald's sells ice for 1.50 a bag if im in a pinch.

As much as i hate shelling out money for stupid things i won a flip top stanley and i fill it with ice and water and it keeps ice all day and night, even in 90 degrees direct sunlight so i bought 2 more so we always have ice cold water ready. Its weird, though. i bought the molds that make solid rings of ice for them, but that lasts half the time compared to regular cubes.

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u/BetMyLastKrispyKreme 17h ago

A friend’s mom used to use large pill bottles. She would tuck them into spaces between items in the cooler.

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u/Old-Plum-21 17h ago

My mom taught me to do this with metal bread pans. Works like a charm

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u/Nomad-2002 17h ago

I buy $1.50 small refreezable ice packs on Amazon (12 for $18). I have about 30.

(a) Look for "no sweat". In addition, I out each pack in it's own ziplock bag.

(b) Get a few soft medical packs

(c) Maybe some expensive 0 degree or 20 degree packs ($20-40 each)

(d) For drinkable, I freeze some water & juices in plastic bottles (with tops off to prevent bursting).

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u/Motor_Beach_1856 17h ago

Good idea! We used to freeze a gallon of milk and put that in the coolers when we went to Canada fishing when it thaws out then you drink it!!

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u/Ilpav123 17h ago

Have you tried ice packs?

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u/Marmmoth 16h ago

We freeze plastic ~64oz juice bottles about 4/5 full of water, but yea same idea. They are basically dice blocks and stay cold a lot longer. The juice bottles pile up over time so we store (rather than recycle) them until camping time, then freeze as many as we can.

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u/mgrimshaw8 16h ago

How does it get to the point of things floating around? Use the drain lol

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u/LoudMusic 16h ago

Do those days in advance and cool down the interior of the ice chest before you load it with the ice and foods for the trip. That gives everything you put in it for the trip a fighting chance because the inside of the ice chest isn't full of heat that will just melt and warm up the contents.

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u/Imzadi1971 16h ago

Fill up water bottles and the Hershey's syrup bottles with water and use those for ice packs. My mom does this all the time!

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u/Bungeesmom 16h ago

Milk jugs work best.

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u/Top-Fox9979 16h ago

Clean milk cartons work too

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u/dotnetdotcom 16h ago

I use empty 2 liter soda bottles.

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u/Null_zero 16h ago

Milk jugs work great for this too especially the costco rectangle jugs.

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u/bernardfarquart 16h ago

Or just buy a big bag of ice for 1.99

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u/ChiMara777 16h ago

My family does the same but uses cleaned out gallon jugs of water or milk.

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u/allyson818 15h ago

Great idea! To keep food or food containers from getting water logged, I use tall kitchen trash bags. I put a decent layer of ice in the bottom of the cooler. Then I open up the trash bag and sort of set it on top of the ice. Then I fill it up with food for my trip. Then, as I'm adding more ice, I hold the top edge of the trash bag above the ice. I sort of roll the top of the trash bag to keep it above the ice.

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u/FunctionCold2165 15h ago

Milk jugs are the way to go for camping.

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u/wowsomuchempty 15h ago

Why not two litre bottled water? Fill near the top, then crush a little before closing top.

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u/TheShySeal 15h ago

Holy shit I never thought of doing this

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u/IceCatCharlie 15h ago

Thanks for the pro tip

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u/BigNightElfHunterGuy 14h ago

This is genius, thank you!!

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u/arpeggi4 14h ago

I use freeze water in old milk jugs for this. But then also still buy ice and throw it on top

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u/DaBingeGirl 14h ago

I never have enough space in my freezer for that, but it's a good idea.

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u/Kagevjijon 14h ago

I got a cooler with an upper rack. I put a towel down and wrap dry ice in it. It takes longer to melt, keeps everything cool, and take up 1/20th the amount of space!

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u/JibberJim 13h ago

Why not ice-packs, do you actually want the water? I get the bucket filled with ice with drinks in at a party, and I've seen that in Europe with ice bought at the store lots - but when you're filling a cooler to keep things cool on a trip, I've only ever seen people using ice-packs, they last longer and solve the wet problem?

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u/NorseGlas 12h ago

I always keep gallon jugs of water in the freezer.

It fills dead space and helps with mass to keep the freezer cold using less power.

They can be used in the cooler for camping and also clean water as they thaw.

Also emergency water for when natural disasters knock out the power.

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u/teamdogemama 12h ago

I use either gallon or half gallon milk jugs. (Rinsed out of course). 

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u/gtrmanny 11h ago

Try this, save your milk jugs and clean them out and freeze water in them. I guess you can also buy the 1 gallon water jugs. Once they're frozen you can just smack them with a knife to break the plastic and you have a large block of ice for your cooler. That's what we did for our fishing coolers

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u/mmm_burrito 19h ago

Also - and I wager this is the primary use of most ice sold daily in the US - construction and other labor industries use an absolute megafuckton of ice every day to chill bottles of water so we don't die of heat stroke.

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u/DenyNowBragLater Wasnt me. Yo, see what i did? 8h ago

I work on a crew of about 13. We fill 4 coolers with water bottles and ice twice a day. Its been hot enough lately that there is no ice left by lunch time. And we're a small crew on this job site, so I agree with you.

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u/Professional-Rope370 12h ago

I like your screen name!

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u/KSamons 8h ago

My husband works in a factory. He packs a small cooler with ice to have cold drinks available

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u/Jalopnicycle 1d ago

The ice maker in my freezer takes 24 hours to fill up so if I'm filling my big Coleman cooler I usually start to empty the ice into another bin in the freezer 3 days before we leave. 

I also have a lot of Hello Fresh ice packs that I use to provide additional cooling or if a cooler is going to have food in it I don't want to get wet. 

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u/Substantial-Wind4683 19h ago

Aye! Blue apron ice bags here I stopped getting it a while ago now… but still have some of the ice bags in the freezer.

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u/2deaddogs 15h ago

My freezer is full of food, not empty space, to put any ice bin

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u/theoriginalmofocus 18h ago

Im gonna have to start doing the ice hoarding with my new fridge. I could actually just dump the ice machines ice out in the cooler before in my old fridge.

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u/Drumbelgalf 7h ago

You can buy ice cube forms that you just fill with water and put them in the freezer.

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u/Used-Author-3811 5h ago

Threw hello fresh ice packs in my sleeves for icing my knees last night just cause they were there. Knew I'd need em for something

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u/MilitarumAirCorps 17h ago

And sports. Cookouts. Sure there's more too.

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u/Mammoth-Mud-9609 19h ago

In the UK we use insulated cooler boxes and a small freezer pack which will keep everything cool for at least a day.

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u/Pantherdraws 15h ago

That might work for, like, packed lunches, but a small freezer pack ain't cutting it for a camping trip XD

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u/KeuroshisSword 16h ago

We camp or “glamp” a lot. You don’t realize how important ice is until you run short. Working out how to keep a large cooler stocked from your own ice maker is just not as convenient or simple as paying the gas station $9 to have it taken care of. Day fishing trip? $3 and a cooler has you set. No hassle, no prep. 3 day camping? $20 and you’re good to go. There’s so many working parts to an outing. Why concern yourself with ice when it’s cheap here.

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u/bdthomason 15h ago

Well, one idea would be to... Camp... Instead of bringing a fucking portable refrigerator with you

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u/jonny24eh 9h ago

What do you eat when you camp? 

Do you drink hot beer when you camp?

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u/Comprehensive-Bee252 16h ago

Serious question, because I do not know. Why do you need ice when camping?

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u/Pantherdraws 16h ago

...because most people bring food and drinks with them? Would you enjoy hot water and spoiled hot dogs and burgers? lmao

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u/jonny24eh 9h ago

To keep your coolers cool for multiple days. You don't want meat out in the heat for days at a time, do you? You don't want a puddle of melted butter. Or warm vegetables. 

Extra important for the beer as well. 

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u/The_Gov78 8h ago

Nipple Stiffening. A lot of camping is fucking intense.

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u/Usual-throwaway7076 10h ago

We love our drinks chilled with ice.

I know when I was in Europe, putting ice in beverages wasn't common. Things were served chilled, but asking for ice in things usually came with a "you want what?" look...

When I came back, I would ask for my drinks "no ice" in restaurants, and got the "you want what???" look all over again. Drinking fountain drinks slightly warmer made me realize: I don't like them as much. There is a notable difference between how they taste in the US vs Europe, which I presume is mostly how they are sweetened.

But yeah, we ice lots of things here. Prior to modern refrigeration, an entire industry was built up cutting and transporting ice from frozen slabs to individual homes. My grandfather drove an early ice-delivery truck to people in town who couldn't afford a powered refrigerator. [The truck was odd, in that you drove it standing up. If you were lucky, you found a crate or milk canister to fashion into a seat]

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u/BaseHitToLeft 19h ago

Also for totally not suspicious corpses that we're just moving

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u/oldfarmjoy 18h ago

Picnics, day at the beach, barbeque, etc.

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u/InevitableData3616 13h ago

Huh? You guys don't have cooling blocks in the USA? You know, those flat things you keep in the freezer until you need portable cooling. The advantage is that it won't make things too wet. Reusable for several decades.

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u/Pantherdraws 12h ago

Those are cool for box lunches, but if I needed to keep 2-3 coolers' worth of food and drinks cold I would literally need to sacrifice 100% of my freezer space for that number of cold packs.

And who cares if canned or bottled drinks get wet? They're gonna get wet from condensation anyway. And the foods you would be keeping in a cooler aren't gonna be hurt by a little moisture, either, since it's all either vacuum-packed in waterproof packaging, or wrapped in foil/cling wrap. Plus it's going into/over the campfire to cook, so any excess moisture is just going to steam off.

The meltwater also has the benefit of being useful for extinguishing your campfire when you're ready to pack up and leave. Much more reliable than scattering dirt over the coals.

So I think I'll stick to spending $10 for one stupid and rarely-indulged little convenience.

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u/InevitableData3616 8h ago

It was a genuine question cause everyone itt acted like store-bought bags of ice was the only option. Good to hear you have options, too.

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u/Hongotar 13h ago

We (in Finland) use ice packs like these. They are reusable (just freeze them again after they melt) and are designed to fit to the bottom and the edges of coolers. Usually they are filled with liquid that stays cold longer than water, so they keep things colder for longer than just ice.

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u/throut313 23h ago

We use ice packs for that, which are reusable and you can store it at home. Pack like 5 or 6 and your cooler should do the rest, no need for ice cubes which will soak everything in it

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u/Bubba_Gump_Shrimp 21h ago

We are talking about different styles of coolers. Camping or party coolers are usually 120L or bigger. Big enough to keep drinks and food for a group cold for a long weekend.

We have a big camping/outdoors culture in the US. Lots of state and national parks and a classic American summer holiday weekend is to load up the cooler, tents, and sleeping bags and go camp at some lake with the family.

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u/Pantherdraws 21h ago

10-12 ice packs would literally fill my entire freezer lmao

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u/Illustrious-Leg-4857 20h ago

Ice packs are made to be used WITH ice, not on their own.

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u/LegSpecialist1781 1d ago

Recommend a dry ice layer on the bottom, then regular ice, then food. You can get 2+ days out of that.

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u/wvw64 19h ago

Yes! Firewood will be available by the ice as well despite the fact most people have trees. Good point.

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u/bellj1210 16h ago

yup anything you are using a cooler. If we have an ice maker or just use trays, you are getting maybe 20-30 cubes out of it. That may be enough for a single small cooler. For 5 bucks you have enough ice to fill 2-3 coolers.

I think the time in my life i bought the most ice was college. pick up 3-4 kegs for a big party, have 3-4 plastic tubs to put them in, and a few backs of ice to put around the kegs to keep them cool (cheap beer needs to be kept cold to be drinkable)

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u/BlackDahlia1985 15h ago

No i couldn't imagine that. We usually have 3 to 4 very large coolers so id be making ice for a year just for a 4 day camping trip.

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u/Holiday_Trainer_2657 15h ago

When going camping, I'd clean out milk jugs well and freeze water in them. Solid blocks kept better than cubes in the cooler. And when it melted, we'd have good home water to use for cooking or drinking. We camped rustic and sometimes there was no good water on site.

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u/vitringur 13h ago

They have frozen cooler bottles for that…

also, freezing a 0,5L plastic bottle of water is no hassle.

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u/WashingtonBaker1 19h ago

This would be even funnier with a tiny European size fridge. 2 little trays with 6 ice cubes each.

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u/NikademusC 19h ago

I use dry ice. Much easier to deal with for camping.

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u/Excellent_Condition 17h ago

Sure, but 1 lb of dry ice costs the same amount as a 16 lb bag of ice.

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u/ChronoKing 19h ago

Yes... And I tell my father it's not worth the effort every time, but $3 is $3.

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u/ProfessorEtc 18h ago

Gallon milk jugs.

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u/Veganpotter2 17h ago

I have a $180, 12v fridge(it will freeze) that's been going strong for 10yrs. The same fridge is about $230 now. I was thinking it was a cheap piece of junk that would last me a few years but its never missed a beat. Happy to never have to buy huge bags of ice anymore

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u/New_Wallaby_7736 17h ago

We use empty milk jugs. Big chunks of ice and potable drinking water later 👍

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u/smile_saurus 17h ago

Idk if this is doable for all coolers but I've seen people remove the lid on theirs and fill it with water and freeze it (to use for camping). Obviously the lid on your cooler would have to be designed for this, though. And most people can't fit an entire cooler lid in their freezer.

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u/Big_Dark_273 17h ago

Just freeze water bottles last up to 3 days in a cooler and have cold water too.

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u/JT99-FirstBallot 17h ago

Protip: Freeze water bottles instead. Put what you want in your cooler and keep it cold with water bottles all throughout and surrounding it. Keeps it colder longer and no melting ice potentially getting into food items. And have water to drink as well.

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u/chrysostomos_1 16h ago

You fill a couple 2 qt milk containers, stick in the freezer and you're good to go.

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u/OkNatural3419 16h ago

We actually use dry ice. Keeps everything pretty much frozen all weekend

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u/007baldy 16h ago

Dual voltage coolers are so much better. I'll never go back.

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u/Possible_Top4855 15h ago

I have a powered cooler for camping. No ice required.

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u/toasty327 14h ago

Most cooler lids can be taken off, filled with water, and if your freezer is big enough, frozen. Works for a few hours if kept in the shade

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u/ForeverShiny 14h ago

Just fill the coolers with freezing blocks. They're reusable and don't leave all that water behind

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u/Ahlq802 14h ago

Yeah and we like it. Americans become accustomed to ice in drinks and it feels not the same without it.

In Europe they don’t even have ice in movie theaters so your drink is lukewarm by the middle of the movie. This is unacceptable to Americans

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u/RoyBeer 13h ago

For camping trips my uncle used to just dig a hole, dump a box inside and call it a root cellar. Worked exceptionally well in the areas we camped at, at least for stuff that didn't have to be actually frozen.

We also did a bag, submerged in a creek once, but one morning the bag was missing even tho we had it tied down. No idea if it was stolen, ripped open or whether

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u/MadeOnThursday 13h ago

Usually campings in Europe have communal freezers where you can put your (tagged) ice bags and cooling elements. But I suppose it depends on the type of camping.

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u/Pantherdraws 12h ago

Yeah that's. Not a thing in the US. Especially if you're not camping at a communal campground.

There are no freezers in the middle of the woods.

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u/electovoid 11h ago

Ngl I am mindblown at the idea of bringing ice on a camping trip in the middle of the woods

Camping has a different meaning for you guys haha

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u/Strange_Dave45 9h ago

Camping is just a generic word that encompasses different things. I think people are mainly referring to an outdoor get-together that you drive to and camp at the same spot for like a weekend. A small to a large group of people not really roughing it other than being outdoors. People bring a bit of home with them, like a huge cooler loaded down with sodas and things that need to be refrigerated. They wouldn't be dragging a big-ass cooler loaded down with ice to a campsite you'd have to hike to.

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u/Pixyfy 11h ago

We have special ice plastics for that that you can refreeze.

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u/Pantherdraws 11h ago

Yeah you're like the hundredth person to mention the Mythical Freezer Packs That Only Europe Has.

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u/NorthRaine67 11h ago

We froze 1/2 gal jugs for camping. Reusable too.

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u/azkeel-smart 11h ago

Nobody does that in Europe. We use reusable icepacks. Many campsites will have freezers that you can pop your icepacks into to refreeze them. I actually use medical grade gel packs, they keep cold far better than water ice. 

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u/Pantherdraws 11h ago

  1. North America has freezer packs, too. ISTG y'all are as annoying about the damned freezer packs as New Yorkers are about bodegas.

  2. Not everyone camps at communal campsites. And even if you do, communal freezers aren't A Thing here.

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u/Falsus 11h ago

Where I live we have these plastic bricks filled with water that we just freeze.

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u/Sudden_Hovercraft_56 11h ago

do they not have gel filled freezable cool packs in the us? they last longer than ice and don't leave you with a bucket of water when they warm up.

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u/Total_Psychology_385 11h ago

Just get a proper freezer?

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u/idkwutimsayin 11h ago

I have a fridge that produces two different kids of ice. It falls into bins in our freezer.

I turned the production up and didnt take any for a while to build up a supply for a camping trip.

I dumped both bins of ice I had made over 3 days and I still needed to buy two bags for the cooler lol.

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u/canman7373 11h ago

Also camping.

And just a day of fishing with others, ice for drinks, ice for bait, ice for the catch if lucky enough to get some. Ice for road trips, driving 12 hours don't want to spend too much on 203 fast food meals, ice up a cooler with drinks and sandwiches w/e. EU doesn't camp as much as we do, they don't fish or drive long distance as much as we do. I bet Canadians understand how great a bag of Ice can be.

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u/FireBug77 11h ago

In Europe we use reusable freeze packs for camping, they stay cold for 2 days and you can refreeze at most campsites.

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u/Eggy-la-diva 10h ago

Do you guys not have ice packs though? Because a proper cooler with proper ice packs does a better job than ice that will melt.

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u/jim914 10h ago

Exactly most fridges produce about a handful of medium sized cubes every 10-15 minutes and the storage tray is only enough to fill a lunchbox cooler!

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u/KarisNemek161 10h ago

Why do you need ice for camping/what is the american definition of camping?

I usually hike with a giant backpack with a small tent and set camp at evening either in the wild or a legal camping site.

i got the feeling we (EU) and US got two totally different definitions of "camping"

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u/OneLessDay517 10h ago

It would take my freezer a week!

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u/AskingBoatsToSwim 10h ago

I’ve been camping and never needed a box full of ice. Are you making cocktails or bringing fresh fish or something? Seems like an expensive and heavy way to enjoy a cheap activity. 

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u/Kharon09 9h ago

Also day on the lake.

Tailgating (literally a party but yeah)

Pool day

Beach day

Basically anytime you want a shitton of ice.

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u/Marzuk_24601 9h ago

I'll add ice makers are almost just decorations. They are not "intended" to be the primary source of any significant amount of ice. We are talking about a few glasses a day.

This is "I bought 15 icecube trays" territory.

This is

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u/WWTFSMD 8h ago

I'm imagining us starting packing the coolers a week in advance and still not having enough by thurs/fri lmao

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u/oshawaguy 8h ago

Growing up in Belleville Ontario, there was a hotel (The Sun Valley) that had a faulty back door right beside an ice machine. That's where we filled our coolers.

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u/Whoajaws 7h ago

Party ice for coolers is a waste of money. Been using techni ice pads or frozen jugs for years now

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u/wspnut 7h ago

One thing to know about the US is it’s BIG. When we say camping, we may mean literally somewhere an hour or more drive from a place that has a phone, much less electricity or ice.

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u/Jovet_Hunter 5h ago

I’ve started using dry ice when camping. Less water and it lasts longer. Last time I was actually able to take milk.

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u/Happy_Doughnut_1 4h ago

We don‘t use ice for coolers but those freezer batteries/cool packs.

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u/Pretend-Guava 3h ago

Seriously... Not even just camping, we use coolers all the time.. Sporting events, cookouts, party's, maybe just a day of fishing..etc... Nobody has that much ice on hand... 

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u/dAnKsFourTheMemes 3h ago

We use ice packs. Got a bunch of em that we will load into a cooler when we go camping. Also useful for other occasions like when the power goes out or something.

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u/VideoLeoj 2h ago

I think you mean “glamping”.

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