Coolers are indispensable for car camping. Throw one in the boot of your car to make sure you have cold refreshments and fresh snacks for however long your cooler can retain ice. Problem happens when you equip your car with a sleeping platform, since it divides the cargo room in such a way that most coolers just wouldn’t fit. Unless, of course, you’re using the Hele Ice Box.
Designed specifically to fit under in-car sleeping platforms, the cooler has a low height that allows it to slide under most similar sleeping contraptions. That means, there’s no need to relocate the cooler somewhere else when it’s time to get some sleep, as it can sit in the same spot it’s always been this entire time.
The Hele Ice Box looks more like a trunk than a cooler. That’s because it has a long profile designed to maximize all that space under the bed. Instead of just one main compartment, it has two, each with separate lids, so you can open one without touching the other. According to the outfit, the idea is to keep commonly accessed items in one compartment (such as water and refreshments) and less frequently accessed ones on the other (such as meats or dairy). That way, at least one compartment stays cooler for longer, since you’re not constantly letting the cold air out.
The two compartments are differently sized, with one bigger than the other. Just put whichever side you will frequently use closer to the car’s rear door, so you can easily slide it out, open the lid, get your stuff, and slide the whole thing back in. The outfit, by the way, recommends using the smaller compartment as the one for frequently accessed items, so that you only have to slide around a third of the cooler out the back in order to open it. The lid on the smaller compartment, by the way, comes with two cupholders, so you can use it as a makeshift camp table if you need a steady surface.
The Hele Ice Box can retain for around two days, so it’s designed for weekend adventures rather than extended outdoor status. The outfit claims it uses rotomolded construction, so it should hold up to rough handling well enough much like Yeti’s coolers, although it clearly doesn’t use similar insulation. If you want the ice to last more than two days, the outfit recommends pre-chilling the cooler for 24 hours by filling it with ice, allowing the rotomolded walls to cool down, then emptying out any water before packing it for your trip. In case you need to know the dimensions to see if it will fit in your setup, it measures 34 x 9.5 x 14 inches (length x height x width).
The cooler comes with handles on the sides, although it’s a little tricky to carry because of the unusually long size. They do show product photos of one guy carrying it, so it should be doable. It comes with drains on each end, by the way, making it easy to empty out all the water in each of the two compartments. Other features include secure latches on the lid, an empty weight of 25 pounds, a built-in bottle opener, and slightly raised feet.
A Kickstarter campaign is currently running for the Hele Ice Box. You can reserve a unit for pledges starting at $189.
