Hi-Gear 28 Litre Electric Cooler Box powered by 12V in-car Socket or 240V Mains with Integrated Handle, Portable Electric Cool Box for Camping and Festivals, Camping Equipment

Product Information

The size of the EcoCool is 52 x 32 x 43 cm and it weighs around 8kg which is fairly substantial. There is a great swing handle for lifting the box and it does not struggle with a fully laden fridge. On its warming and cooling capabilities, the lowest the fridge can go is 3°C, while the highest is 65°C. It’s worth mentioning the noise the fridge makes too – it doesn’t! It is almost completely silent which can be a godsend when it’s running in your tent and you’re trying to sleep.

Although at Camping Secrets we always try to offer value-for-money recommendations on gear, the truth is that sometimes it’s worth buying from a reputable manufacturer – we’ve found that this is especially true for powered items. You may pay slightly more than the cheapest Chinese imports (which can often be built in the same factory!), but you get peace of mind that the company will stand behind their product. We think 20 – 30 litres is the sweet spot for a camping trip away for one to four people. It can store just enough stuff to keep you all going for a few days, and the fewer of you there are, the longer you can last between reloading! The EcoCool could also be called the EcoHeat as the cooling action can be switched to heat for temperatures up to 60°C higher than ambient. This is plenty for keeping soup or pies warm whilst you go out for a late night winter walk. This cool box has all year round use! It has a hot/cold, eco and max setting. The switches are at the top of the lid under the round cover, where the power cables are concealed. However, if running from a car battery, it will drain it on average in under 8 hours.There’s so much information available online when we’re shopping now, that it’s easy to find lots of detail about products like Hi-Gear 28-Litre 12V 240V Cooler. This is of course really helpful, but there’s almost too much information available, so it’s important to know exactly what you’re looking for. That got us thinking though, that we’re looking at every possible item from Hi-Gear so it would be good to narrow our search down even further and only look at Hi-Gear branded products within the Plug-In category. The cost of Hi-Gear Plug-In A 20 litre capacity is not going to set the world on fire if you’re planning a long trip, but it’s ample for a night or two away. Hi-Gear make cheap, dependable equipment and we were impressed with the quality of plastic used on this cooler. It looks more expensive than it is! The cheapest cool box in our recommendation is the HI-GEAR 20L Cooler. It is another 12V only system which can cool food and drinks to around the 10°C mark. For the money, it’s excellent value and has a few extra little design touches we like.

The Vango is expensive, but it is worth the higher price for the additional extras. The lid has indents for holding 2L drink bottles in place. The base has 3 circular sections that support the bottom of a bottle providing extra height. However, not all fizzy drink bottles will fit into the circular sections. If you are away for an extended time, consider using two cool boxes to keep food frozen for longer. It will provide you with the space to divide food and drink, which will help keep food frozen longer. They do not have to be thermoelectric; one can be a passive cool box. It has both power supply leads—one for easily charging in a cigarette lighter and stored for transport in the rear passenger footwell. The inside power lead is about 1m long, so you need to plan where your electrical mains adaptor is in your tent. Insulation: From our testing, not all electric cool boxes can reliably keep food and drinks sufficiently chilled if it’s warm outside. This can be due to a puny fan or, more often poor insulation. Like most thermoelectrical cool boxes, there is no built-in area to store your mains or car charger connection. You must keep safe during transport and your trip when not in use.

Build quality and materials are surprisingly excellent for the price you are paying – it oozes class and excellence. In particular the matte glass door on the front closes snugly and looks fantastic. Hot and cold settings on electrical cool boxes allow you to control the temperatures inside. The cold setting will reduce temperatures inside 18°C below outside ambient temperatures. It works by drawing out warm air from the inside via a fan.

If you are camping for long periods in high temperatures, having an electrical cool box will help keep food and drinks cold. As well as prolong the length of time food will remain frozen. However, if you often camp without an electrical hook-up, an electrical cool box is not worth buying.They use the Peltier method, which transfers heat between two electrical junctions, which creates the cooling function. Thermoelectric cool boxes have a fan that can either draw warm out from inside via a vent or draw warm air inside via another vent—allowing food to be kept cool or warm to outside temperatures.

The handle, which can also help keep the lid in position when you need the box open, is super-strong and handy. As for the interior of the Hi-Gear, it isn’t partitioned – however, as a result it can easily be cleaned using water and a small piece of cloth without any fuss. Dimensions are reasonably compact at 26.9 (W) x 32.2(D) x 38(H) cm, and we found this an excellent size for a few nights away in our tent. It’s a great option for a mini-break or an afternoon retreat as it is small enough to be easily carried using the ergonomic handle on top. However, it’s probably more of a fridge than a coolbox to take picnicing – just bear this in mind!Cooling is by the thermoelectric effect and again is a little limited. It will get you to around 10°C in our experience on a standard UK spring day (i.e. not too hot outside). Vonshef actually suggest 12°C as the minimum temperature which is way off from where we would prefer to be – around 5-6°C. Still, it can definitely chill and is great for cooling drinks in this respect, when you don’t have to be completely ice cold. Quite frankly, few items are as important in a camp environment as having a top-performing electric cool box. From our experience, it is important to carefully examine the features of a particular product to make sure it will match up to the conditions under which you will be using it. There are however some methods that you can use to determine a product’s quality without needing to physically have it.