Strive as they could with add-ons like pneumatic tires and vacuum insulation, the competitors hasn’t been capable of knock Yeti off its pedestal because the go-to for rugged journey coolers. Dometic might need an opportunity by delivering one thing that is each elusive and invaluable to campers: house. Its all-new Recon sequence of modular coolers stack almost as neatly as Legos, squeezing probably the most out of any pickup mattress or automobile trunk so you’ll be able to pack all the pieces you want and perhaps even just a few issues you do not.
Lengthy recognized for its hard-wired RV and marine {hardware}, Dometic has been stepping outdoors the RV field in an effort to raised equip automobile campers and day adventurers. Its haulable, cooler-style CFX fridge/freezers and Go series of parts are good examples. The Recon sequence builds on these efforts with an entire new ecosystem.
We have lengthy admired the Dometic WCI “insulation bins” (like this one) for his or her squared-off, neat-packing shapes. We’re unsure there is a sequence of coolers on the market that’ll match extra neatly collectively facet by facet, guaranteeing much less wasted house and more room for different gear and cargo.
The Recon sequence reveals the identical eye for space-optimized storage however in a multi-level means. The person hard-sided coolers are purpose-built to stack securely collectively, every utilizing its non-stick ft to nest into corresponding depressions within the lid of the cooler beneath. The folding handles shut away neatly into facet recesses to create flush sides that retailer cleanly facet by facet.
Dometic
Along with the aforementioned WCI sequence, it looks like Dometic has pulled inspiration from Entrance Runner, the South African overland model it acquired in 2021. Entrance Runner has a deep, long-running catalog of overland merchandise, however presumably its most seen and ubiquitous is its lineup of sq. Wolf Pack Pro boxes that stack and safe collectively to make dry storage as neat, safe and space-efficient as potential. The Recon lineup appears to do the identical for chilly storage.
Dometic is not the primary model to give you the thought of tight-stacking coolers. Coleman launched Party Stackers effectively over a decade in the past in a equally neat-packing ecosystem. Nevertheless it subsequently discontinued them, and now you will solely discover them on the secondary market. We thought it a disgrace that Coleman discontinued the sequence because it appeared like an awesome concept for transporting and storing a number of cooler sizes, however we’re glad one other title model of the outside is reviving the idea.
The Recon Sequence additionally goes a pair steps additional than the Celebration Stacker sequence. Along with the flush deal with design and nesting ft talked about earlier, the Recon lineup additionally includes each laborious and comfortable coolers, plus modular equipment.
Dometic
With hard-sided fashions that vary between 16 and 69 L (18 and 100 cans with out ice), Dometic goals for rugged, lug-anywhere efficiency and eight-day chilly retention. As a substitute of the rotomolding course of Yeti and others, it opts for an injection molded building for a smooth however rugged type.
The laborious cooler lid can open in a number of instructions or take away utterly, including comfort whether or not you are simply attempting to seize a chilly drink on a fast pit cease or fast-loading a full grocery journey’s value of meals. The latches double as bottle openers. Dometic additionally plans to supply a spigot that swaps in for the drain plug and turns the cooler into a conveyable water jug optimized for ice-cold drinks.
Dometic
The soft-sided Recon coolers vary in dimension between 12 and 21 liters (19 and 35 cans) and have been designed for squeezing into car areas like backseats and footwells. They use zipper-free lids with dual-hinge latches for opening from both facet. A bolstered stable base and abrasion-resistant 840D nylon TPU-coated outer shell ensures that they do not rip or fold below laborious use.
Wanting on the Recon fashions, the one miss for us is that, in contrast to these aforementioned WCI insulation bins and Entrance Runner Wolf Pack Professionals, the our bodies on the Recon coolers seem like barely tapered. Meaning pointless wasted house, like you’ll be able to see within the photograph beneath, a small inefficiency in a system designed particularly for effectivity.
Dometic
That stated, nearly each cooler and storage field design offers up just a little house (or power/perform) someplace. As an example, each the Celebration Stacker coolers have handles that stick out off the perimeters. Recess these handles, and also you might need to surrender just a little inside cooler house or insulation. The Recon fashions will nonetheless group and stack extra tightly than common coolers.
And perhaps Dometic may observe up with some appropriate cargo bins so much more of 1’s base tenting haul can match collectively like a high-efficiency 3D puzzle. Immediately’s announcement does spotlight a wide range of equipment, together with totes, so storage bins do not look like that a lot of a stretch and will show fairly particular for messy, overloaded small campers, SUVs and pickup vans in every single place.
Dometic
The Recon line hit the market right now, with all coolers retailing between US$225 and $425.
Supply: Dometic
