Instant Ice Packs?

[jakee25]

I tried to search for threads on this topic, but I couldn't find anything like what I was looking for. So either I suck at searching or not many people have discussed this.

I plan on a solo camping trip in the lowcountry of SC this summer and bringing fishing and hunting gear in the hopes of getting hogs, coyotes, fish, etc while I'm down there. I would ideally like to be there for 5 or so days, and would be doing my best to catch/kill my all my meals. My budget is tight, so I've been researching how to handle meat in warm weather and how to avoid any spoilage. For that, I know I'll need ice. However, I cant drop big bucks on a cooler that MIGHT keep ice for the duration of my trip. If I end up not getting anything worth saving until my last day, I'd be SOL because I'd have no ice, and a long hike + drive would certainly provide enough time to ruin my harvest.

So that gets me to my question: Have any of y'all ever used chemical ice packs as temporary coolant in a cooler that lasts long enough for me to go get ice? I can travel with them at any temp, and they will be ready to rock when I need them, regardless of how long I wait. All I'd have to do is activate them. I can't foresee any drawbacks right now, but maybe y'all can enlighten me.

Thank you in advance for the help!

 

[sram9102]

Buy a good cooler. There is no "might" about it holding ice for 5 days if you get it chilled first and then fill it full of ice. The rotomolded coolers today are a big investment but totally worth it. I would worry about throwing your chem ice in a warm cooler and having it be very effective.

 

[rayporter]

a big old Coleman filled and covered with a pad and a blanket will do it. set it in the shade and don't open it. if you really want it solid stop and buy a 5 lb chunk of dry ice and add to it. that might get you a single solid piece of ice how ever.

 

[WCB]

a big old Coleman filled and covered with a pad and a blanket will do it. set it in the shade and don't open it. if you really want it solid stop and buy a 5 lb chunk of dry ice and add to it. that might get you a single solid piece of ice how ever.

I agree, I have used cheap coolers and kept Ice for days in high temps by following the advice above. #1 DO NOT OPEN #2 place in the shade #3 wrap in a packing blanket or similar #4 stuff full of ice. As the other poster said...get it chilled down first don't put the ice into a hot cooler.

While I have 2 high end coolers I also have 4 or 5 cheap Colemans that I use for meat and ice storage. My "good" coolers I store food and drinks. Spent many week long trips in August and September in the Dakotas and the cheapos hold ice if you follow the steps above.

 

[fmyth]

I bought a Walmart Lifetime cooler before going to WY for archery elk last year. I filled it with block ice and my food. When I left Phoenix on August 28th it was 114 deg out. The first few days in camp it was high 80's. I set the cooler in the shade with a cheap blue tarp over it. It held ice for 10 days. Cooler was under $100.

 

[jakee25]

Wow, I guess I've been using coolers all wrong lol. Sounds like I'll be picking up a coleman and just being disciplined with it (covered, shade, dry ice, not opening it, etc.).

I'd like to get a high-end cooler, but I really don't need (and frankly cant afford) one right now. So it's nice to get a budget friendly solution to my problem. Thanks guys.

 

[jdubrr]

the biggest thing is to pre chill them first as WCB already mentioned. I use frozen 1 gallon water bottles to bring them temps down then replace the ice with"fresh" frozen gallon jugs before leaving on my trip

 

[DBlack]

As jdubrr stated jugs rinsed out work very well to make your own block ice especially the 1/2 gallon juice an milk cartons with the small plastic screw off caps on the sides. They can be filled and laid on there sides in the freezer making them very stack-able.

 

[SCLawyer]

I tried to search for threads on this topic, but I couldn't find anything like what I was looking for. So either I suck at searching or not many people have discussed this.

I plan on a solo camping trip in the lowcountry of SC this summer and bringing fishing and hunting gear in the hopes of getting hogs, coyotes, fish, etc while I'm down there. I would ideally like to be there for 5 or so days, and would be doing my best to catch/kill my all my meals. My budget is tight, so I've been researching how to handle meat in warm weather and how to avoid any spoilage. For that, I know I'll need ice. However, I cant drop big bucks on a cooler that MIGHT keep ice for the duration of my trip. If I end up not getting anything worth saving until my last day, I'd be SOL because I'd have no ice, and a long hike + drive would certainly provide enough time to ruin my harvest.

So that gets me to my question: Have any of y'all ever used chemical ice packs as temporary coolant in a cooler that lasts long enough for me to go get ice? I can travel with them at any temp, and they will be ready to rock when I need them, regardless of how long I wait. All I'd have to do is activate them. I can't foresee any drawbacks right now, but maybe y'all can enlighten me.

Thank you in advance for the help!

What time of year are you planning on going? Are you going to go in August to make deer a possibility? Or earlier where your only meat options are hog/small game (I’m assuming you’re not going to eat coyote)?

Not to be a debbie downer, but I’m just not sure how realistic your plan is on the hunting side of things that time of the year. It honestly will probably be hard to even find a place where you can *both* hunt and camp. I don’t hunt WMA, so maybe you can camp there, but I definitely wouldn’t after August 15 bc people that hunt WMA here can be reckless and shoot anything that moves.

Have you considered doing the upstate of SC/NC mountains instead?

I’m very, very familiar with hunting (and fishing) in SC. If you need any advice, feel free to PM me.


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[jakee25]

What time of year are you planning on going? Are you going to go in August to make deer a possibility? Or earlier where your only meat options are hog/small game (I’m assuming you’re not going to eat coyote)?

Not to be a debbie downer, but I’m just not sure how realistic your plan is on the hunting side of things that time of the year. It honestly will probably be hard to even find a place where you can *both* hunt and camp. I don’t hunt WMA, so maybe you can camp there, but I definitely wouldn’t after August 15 bc people that hunt WMA here can be reckless and shoot anything that moves.

Have you considered doing the upstate of SC/NC mountains instead?

I’m very, very familiar with hunting (and fishing) in SC. If you need any advice, feel free to PM me.


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Ideally I'd like to get a hog and have some success fishing, which like you said would be my only options for an early summer trip. I agree that the camping/hunting combo has been especially tricky to find. I have a spot in mind that I think might be eligible because it intersects wma land and state forest land, which means I might could camp on the state forest land and then hunt the wma. It is bordering the savannah river and is around Augusta GA.

I have also considered the mountains, but mainly reconsidered due to the availability of huntable critters up there in May/June. I would love to do a trip during deer season, but for early summer, I'm not sure how great the hunting/fishing would be.

On that note, I have very little experience fishing other than the classic worm, hook, and patience fishing I did with my family as a kid. So I would certainly pick your brain about it if you're willing! Thanks man

 

[SCLawyer]

Ideally I'd like to get a hog and have some success fishing, which like you said would be my only options for an early summer trip. I agree that the camping/hunting combo has been especially tricky to find. I have a spot in mind that I think might be eligible because it intersects wma land and state forest land, which means I might could camp on the state forest land and then hunt the wma. It is bordering the savannah river and is around Augusta GA.

I have also considered the mountains, but mainly reconsidered due to the availability of huntable critters up there in May/June. I would love to do a trip during deer season, but for early summer, I'm not sure how great the hunting/fishing would be.

On that note, I have very little experience fishing other than the classic worm, hook, and patience fishing I did with my family as a kid. So I would certainly pick your brain about it if you're willing! Thanks man

Would be more than happy to talk to you about some options. I’m new to the board and apparently can’t send PMs yet, but I’m assuming I’ll have the ability to do that after a certain period of time/# of posts.

You’re definitely looking at a good geographic area in terms of hogs. There are a lot of them down near Augusta. I hunt private land only so I only have a passing knowledge of the WMA regulations and rules on state forests. If you can find an intersecting area, I can see your plan working. I’m honesty not sure if you can have firearms on state forest land (even to camp with), so you may want to take a look at that. I haven’t hunted hogs in years since I’ve been fortunate enough not to have them on my land or any of my friends’ land that I hunt, but everyone I know who hunts hogs typically does so at night over bait (I think). So I’m not sure how practical a stalk for hogs would be on WMA. I’m sure DNR would be glad to talk to you about it. I find them to be very helpful.

You’d probably be fine with just live bait fishing for crappie/bream/catfish. In the past, I have done camping trips to areas on Lake Murray or the other lakes and just fished for catfish late at night and bream/crappie during the day. That has always been a lot of fun and kept my cooler full. So I definitely think you could plan a great camping/fishing trip. Just not sure how realistic the hunting aspect of it is. I can ask around to see if any friends have done anything similar to what you’re proposing, and I’ll PM you as soon as I’m able to.


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[jakee25]

Would be more than happy to talk to you about some options. I’m new to the board and apparently can’t send PMs yet, but I’m assuming I’ll have the ability to do that after a certain period of time/# of posts.

You’re definitely looking at a good geographic area in terms of hogs. There are a lot of them down near Augusta. I hunt private land only so I only have a passing knowledge of the WMA regulations and rules on state forests. If you can find an intersecting area, I can see your plan working. I’m honesty not sure if you can have firearms on state forest land (even to camp with), so you may want to take a look at that. I haven’t hunted hogs in years since I’ve been fortunate enough not to have them on my land or any of my friends’ land that I hunt, but everyone I know who hunts hogs typically does so at night over bait (I think). So I’m not sure how practical a stalk for hogs would be on WMA. I’m sure DNR would be glad to talk to you about it. I find them to be very helpful.

You’d probably be fine with just live bait fishing for crappie/bream/catfish. In the past, I have done camping trips to areas on Lake Murray or the other lakes and just fished for catfish late at night and bream/crappie during the day. That has always been a lot of fun and kept my cooler full. So I definitely think you could plan a great camping/fishing trip. Just not sure how realistic the hunting aspect of it is. I can ask around to see if any friends have done anything similar to what you’re proposing, and I’ll PM you as soon as I’m able to.


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I really appreciate the advice, and as I start to feel more comfortable with my fishing skills, the concept of a strictly fishing trip starts to sound enticing. Any fishing I'd do in that particular location would be directly on the Savannah river, which I'm sure changes what fish I'd encounter and the tactics id use, but my limited experience keeps me from knowing what to do. I'll try to continue to read about the subject as I go along. I have some time to plan, build my skills, and definitely scout. Anything you'd be able to share would be great! Having something to do all day and even at night would be a lot of fun.