We had a big BBQ yesterday with 5 coolers filled with beer. All of the coolers pissed me off.
This morning I got up at 6:00am for a 20 mile run. I picked the only one of the coolers that had wheels and wheeled it to the edge of the driveway. At this point all that was left in it was a few wine-coolers and a bunch of Cokes. Both of which are completely worthless if you ask me.
I pulled out a bunch of the Cokes and rounded up as many bottles of water as I could find – which was 6 – and put them in the ice. Next to the cooler I put a towel, a candy bar, and a bottle of Advil.
I found myself a nice 5 mile loop and used the cooler as my water station. It turns out I would have been better off making it about a 3.5 mile loop because I kept running out of water and having to finish the last 1.5 miles dry. By the time I got to the cooler I was ready to chug a whole bottle. Which I did, then took a fresh bottle with me. After the second loop I ran in the house quick and refilled the 3 bottles I’d already been through.
The lid of the cooler kept falling off every time I opened it. The hinge it was resting on wouldn’t hold up. The pegs holding it in would pop out and the damn lid ended up on the ground every time. I was thoroughly annoyed with having to be delicate while opening the lid on this fucking thing at miles 5, 10, 15, and 20.
This particular piece of shit was a 75 quart Coleman with the wheels on the long side of the cooler, which also made no sense to me. The way the wheels were situated made transporting this thing very awkward and difficult to maneuver through doors.
None of the other 4 coolers had wheels so they aren’t even worth mentioning in this situation. Even if it only has melted ice water in it, a 75 quart cooler is still a two-man job. Having gone through 5 coolers full of beer the night before you can be sure you’ll be all alone at 6:00am to move that fucker out to the end of the driveway.
I’d suggest looking in to this 40 quart Coleman. At least it has the wheels on the correct end. But, it’s also made by the idiots who can’t figure out how to keep the damn lid on the fucking thing, so who knows.
After my run I opened up the old fashioned styrofoam cooler which had nothing in it but ice, dragged it to the bathroom – wheel-less – and filled the tub full of ice for a nice cool-down.
So, based on the 5 beer coolers we had available, and the functions I wanted it to preform, I’d say there is room for a great deal of improvement in the modern world of outdoor beer storage.
