I tend to stick with the the Blue Ice type freezable packs and blocks for just that reason. If I can't use those, I don't empty the ice out of the bag and that contains a lot of the water in many cases. Maybe you can keep a plastic bin containing loose ice/water for the milk and soda. I tend to use the Glad or Ziplock semi disposable ones and ziplocks which are imperfect as you have found. When I was stocking the sailboat with supplies I looked at waterproof containers on Amazon for documents, electronics, towels/clothes. Look there and see if anything looks suitable to you.

Here is a link that might be useful: Waterproof containers.

Yes; I do the exact same thing. I don't like to find water in my food either! During menopause, I switched to Lock N Lock containers to save my marriage (don't ask), and found they are pretty waterproof. I even bought their travel pitchers (The travel lids have no spout, and you can change the lids to one with a spout when you want to pour). This is how we take our cold brewed coffee (toddy coffee) along with us, which works very well. I also take along a lunch bag that holds two small Lock N Locks when I go into a restaurant, so I can transfer food to them when the plate comes as there's always too much of it. The smaller sizes are easy to find here in the local grocery stores. If you want to order the travel pitchers, I got mine from QVC.

Claire, I cannot NOT ask. "During menopause, I switched to Lock N Lock containers to save my marriage (don't ask), and found they are pretty waterproof." HA! How did they save your marriage?

I am glad you asked this. We like to take food to the pool, but stuff is always soggy when we pull it out of the cooler. I'll be watching to see what other say.

I have no experience with the travel pitchers, but I second the Lock N Lock containers. Mine get carried to work full of soup, tossed in the back of the Jeep, taken to the farm, stuck in coolers or not, and I haven't had one leak yet.

I do know that Cooks Illustrated just did a test on containers and Lock N Lock was second, I think I remember it was because they were harder to close. I'd never heard of the first choice, but I'll look tonight and see what they were if no one else has that information before then.

Annie

Rob, my DH who is ''almost perfect'' in many ways, is a prince for helping me in the kitchen. He makes breakfast every day, which typically involves a metal spatula and cast iron pan, a toaster or blender. Great. But he suffers from ''droppage''. For years, while I was an antique dealer, most of my storage containers were antique glassware; refrigerator dishes etc. My fridge looked fabulous whenever I got in there, for all the great see-through, stackable storage containers I used. Rather like a magazine ad for food storage. I liked using bowls with pedestals (at different heights) and could store a mountain of food in a small space with just a little reorganizing. Enter my DH, and my supply of old, expensive, collectible glassware started dwindling. Not only that, there were horrendous noises coming from my kitchen, from glass banging, chipping, and screeching.

OH YEAH...I forgot; that was ME doing the screeching.

Menopause screeching is inevitable when loud, clanging, banging, breaking help is being administered. So...you see....Lock N Lock came to my rescue.

Annie, I think the glasslock Lock N Locks are harder to open and close than the plastic version; I can still manage it pretty well and think it's great stuff.

Too funny CdL!! I'm lucky if my DH can FIND the kitchen.

Three things:
1) I have two electric coolers (large & small). Ooops, I have three, the latest is a soft side.

2) I take the gel from the freezer paks that come in the mail from food purchased on-line and fill tall slim water bottles with the gel. I keep some in the freezer and others in the pantry ready to be frozen for longer trips.

3) FoodSaver zipper bags with the manual (vs electric) vacuum. Of course this would be for selected foods like cheeses and meats.

**I have recently downsized my uhhh...collection of coolers from 15 to 10. You know how it is, you've got to have the right cooler for every event.

I've always camped like this too. I find glass too heavy. Do you have drains? My trick is a Ziplock carefully perched on top of tall things so it stays out of the water, but I do drain off the melt every so often and add more ice between proper cleanings.

Tupperware!
And the Rubbermaid plastic containers with red lids.

My problem is only slightly different in that I'm trying to keep the liquids IN rather that OUT. In lunches!

I finally broke down and bought some Tupperware containers the size I wanted. Not cheap, but effective!

In coolers, I use frozen water bottles, milk jugs, etc.
That contains most of the water and can also be used as drinking water when it does thaw.

When I camped, I used to freeze as much of the food as possible and eat it as it thawed.
Another option is to package things in regular ziplocs, etc., then place them in a larger, tall container that keeps the top above water. Only one expensive container (maybe) to buy that way and use cheaper options for the internal packaging.

Deanna

Is there a way that you could fit one of those wire racks into the cooler where certain things could sit on top? You know the wire racks they make to go in your cabinets, something can sit on top, something underneath.

It might take some hunting to find one thats the right height and width to fit the cooler. I found some for my freezer at Target. It has 6 inch tall legs on it - maybe they make them even taller.

I'm wondering if the cooler people have ever thought of making a cooler with a wire rack tray they would sit on a "ledge" inside the cooler. That would be the way to go.

Beth

Put your ice in zip lock bags. THen when it melts, it's contained. Did someone already say that?

Beth, To your question, I have a cooler that has a wet side and a dry side. Ice and drinks on one side; bread and other foods on the other.

I also have one with a rack; it's plastic with holes in it and sits down in the cooler but above the wet items.

How about an ice blanket? I have a couple of these...

Here is a link that might be useful: Cryopak Flexible Ice Blanket

I agree about using Lock and Lock containers, they are just great. I think Rubbermaid has come out with something similar, but I don't know how good they are. I use my L&L for everything, and the kids know they better return them after they've eaten the leftovers!

Like Beth, I use the racks. One of my ice chests has a tray that sits on a ledge at the top, and that works very well for me. So, yes, Beth, the cooler people have thought of that, thankfully. I haven't found anything else that was 100% leak proof when mixed in ice water with ice, even when I double bagged things.

Lars

Not sure what kind of vacation you refer to. Camping? Road trips stopping at motels? Staying in one location like at a hotel?

I travel a lot in the car and was gifted with one of those coolers that plug into the cigarette lighter and run off the car battery (used a lot by campers too). No ice or water issues. But I don't usually take a lot of food with me. Mainly just drinks and small snacks that get me from here to there without having to stop a lot. I wonder if there is a larger, but still compact, type that could be plugged into a regular outlet for using in hotel/motel rooms while on the road?

Dragonfly, Two of my electric coolers have AC Wall Plugs and 12V DC Auto Plugs so I can take if from the car to the hotel room and maintain the cold.

Interesting suggestions. I am going away for two weeks, to SC and GA in June. I buy ice daily in hot weather. I have tried tall containers and shelves but if the outside temperature is nasty hot, the food within the cooler that is not in contact with the ice or cold water is often luke warm. If I leave the car to explore, the inside temp becomes horrendous in the summer. I usually change motels every day. I also stay in the cheapest places I can find. They don't always have a microfridge and the freezer compartment is never large enough to refreeze a substantial amount of water in containers. I am very interested in treating the ice and not the food! Containing the melt is a great idea. I don't know if I can find zip lock bags large enough to hold a block or large bag of ice. I will definitely look into doing this. Bags of cubes are usually frozen solid and it is difficult to break it into smaller chunks. If I could do this, I could then place the broken ice chunks into gallon storage bags. When I researched car refrigerators they usually said the device will cool to 40 degrees cooler than the car. If the car is 100 the contents will be a lukewarm 60 degrees.
Nancy

Nancy, you can buy the Ziplock Big Bag, which might be the size you're looking for. Sometimes I can find these at my local Target. I know what you mean about buying ice; I find ice the easiest thing to get my hands on, so I go that route myself.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ziplock Big Bags

Camping we just use a supply cooler that is full of just ice to restock the other coolers.

Traveling we use the blue ice things. Or water frozen inside empty milk jugs..

For the particular issue here, why not dry ice?
Maybe you all can't easily obtain it but up here any dairy has it and most towns have somewhere that can order some in for you.

When the kids were little we often took dry ice along, not for cooling, but for doing neeto stuff with, playing at the campsite.

Nancy,

Lots of good solutions here but ultimately you need a good cooler for the conditions you're asking it to perform under. We are off-shore boaters. We've got an apartment-sized, side-by-side refrigerator & freezer onboard but still need additional room depending on how many people are on board & how long we're going to be underway. Other times, we just don't want to run the generator or don't have shore power at a transient dock & need a cooler. Other times, DH is fishing & we need excellent cooling capabilities.

So, I'm tossing this out just so you know they are available. I've linked to the coolers we use. Sitting on the dock in direct sun two bags of ice last a full 5 days with temperatures in the upper 80s. Obviously, you have to use restraint in how many times you're opening the cooler & how long the lid is left open.

As for the tipping issue in the car...West Marine also sells mats. They are a necessity on a boat with a cooler for safety reasons. In the back of a hatchback...they are are marriage savers. Your cooler won't budge sitting on one of these mats. At the West Marine website just search "Non-skid Cooler Mats".

I know Ice Station Zero coolers are expensive. It may not be a viable option. But it will hold your ice. Then just pack in Lock 'n Lock & you're good to go. Layer your foods in order of how cold you want them. It will freeze whatever's on the bottom near the ice quickly so pack accordingly.

/tricia

Here is a link that might be useful: West Marine

Try a plastic basket that could sit on something above the water level for those items like sandwiches that you don't want to get wet.

Rubbermaid does it for me. Also, I always try to stay in hotels that have a microwave and very small fridge in the room.

I actually did what denise suggests for my cooler, and found a basket from Office Max that sits in the top half of my cooler. There are times though when the basket doesn't have enough room for everything I want to put in the cooler, so I find the Lock and Lock really works for me.

I also keep ziplocks in my lunch bag with the smaller Lock and Locks, so I can get a cup of ice ''to go'' with my meal, and ice the container top and bottom. The ziplocks work for a while, until I can get home, or put the containers into cold storage elsewhere.

I also have the ice mats Mustangs linked to, and like those very much for when I'm leaving from home for an afternoon, but they don't work as well for longer trips as they need a freezer.

I think I must prefer a low-tech, cheaper solution to cooler storage! I always need ice for my glass too, so I guess that's why the bag of ice works for me. :)

My best cooler is an Igloo, I think it cost somewhere around $60 and it will keep ice for two days at 80F, but it melts faster if it's hotter. Darn good cooler for the money, though.

Now, those containers. CI says the best were something called "snapware mods", the large 8 cup rectangle size is $6.99. It leaked a "few drops" on first use but sealed up after it was washed in the dishwasher, which improved the seal and the seal was still fine after 50 washings. They did not come open when dropped either.

The Lock N Lock 8 cup rectangular container was deeper, which they found less convenient, and stained a bit more in the microwave, and cost $7.49, but also passed the leak test and the drop test. Like the Snapware, it leaked a few drops on the first use but the silicone seal molded well after a washing in the dishwasher and was still leakproof after 50 washings.

Annie

I am interested in the Ziplock Big Bags and will try to find some to test. I actually want to keep some of the melted ice water because it is still very cold and food in contact with it is kept cold.
Nancy

Also, block ice melts less and seems to be colder, if you can make or find it, and you can improve the performance of the cooler you already have by covering it with jackets, towels or blankets--many layers--and putting a reflective or solid, not woven, white layer on top.

I know what you mean about the melted ice water. I don't drink milk. Mildly allergic. And I still remember coming off a hike decades ago and having a goodly slug of one of my companions' glass of milk, from a carton that had been in the ice melt. It was SOOOOO good! It's like a snow melt stream, the water is. But then when everything gets waterlogged and squishy, not so good any more.

Claire, you're too funny! Don't kill your almost perfect husband over containers. You'll miss him too much.

Make your own ice. Now that is an interesting idea. I can see some in certain shapes, form fitting for the cooler or the items. Haven't figured out what shapes, but I can see how that would be beneficial, but it seems like a good idea.

Rob, I always froze gallon milk jugs full of water for the camping coolers, they stayed frozen for a long time, and then I could dump the "loose" ice around things like drinks that I wanted to keep icy cold but that wouldn't get water logged.

It worked very well, as long as I didn't fill the containers so full they expanded and split when they froze, LOL. And, as they melt, the milk containers keep the water from leaking out.

Annie

When we are on-the-move on vacation, we use the large zip-lock bags (double-bagged), as several others mentioned above. Since you don't have the ability to re-freeze your Blue Ice or other frozen containers (milk jugs, etc.), you can either refill the bags with ice when your stop at a hotel and use their ice maker, or purchase a bag of ice when you stop for gas.

We also have a number of reusable water bottles that we fill with ice and water. Not only do they help keep things cold in the ice chest, but you'll have a supply of ice water for the day.

-Grainlady

Duh!!! I decided to look for Lock N Lock on the web. When I saw some pictures of them I realized I own the L+L bread keeper. I will give it an underwater test. I haven't had it for very long but have no idea where I bought it. Taking snips of advice from all the suggestions, I think I will have a drier ice box for this trip. Thanks all.
Nancy

The lock and lock are cheapest at amazon.

Really good suggestions so far.

Moni

A few more options:

1. An electronic refrigerator you can plug in the car costs from $50.00 to $500.00, depending on size.

2. You can buy dry ice in some places. Really keeps you food cold with no wetness.

3. When you drive around, you sometimes see white Styrofoam boxes being thown out. Those are boxes people use to ship medicine. They are the best for keeping things cold. Also, you will find cold gel packs that you can freeze in those boxes.

dcarch

Dcarch, That reminds me--I had a Styrofoam box from an online frozen food purchase (as you mentioned, they are excellent at retaining the cold). I cut it up to fit one of my coolers so I had double-wall insulation; this kept my contents cold for one-way of my road trip.

One more thing:

Those electronic refrigerators (solid state thermo couple device) are very interesting.

By flipping a switch, it becomes a heater to heat up your food.

dcarch

Scientific proof!!!!
I filled my L+L bread keeper with cans of soup and submerged it in water in my kitchen sink. I had to go shopping so I ran the test for only 10 minutes, but there was no water found inside the container. BTW, it really tried to float. I had to put a heavy jug of liquid laundry soap on top of the bread keeper in order to force it under water. While I was shopping I found L+L containers at Wegmans. I bought three different sizes and they weren't expensive. I like being able to buy only the sizes and shapes I want and not have to buy a set with sizes I may never use. I still have to find the Ziplock big bags.
Nancy

Way to go Nancy! I have no doubt your next trip will be ''moist-free''!

I agree, Nancy, that's a good choice. I've had the L&Ls go into the river while we were tubing and still keep Rice Krispie treats crisp, so I know mine are leak proof, LOL.

Nothing quite like personal experience. (grin)

Annie