I have a standard coolbox (weekend trips without EHU), a powered coolbox (1-5 night trips with EHU) and the CombiCool. (Longer trips, with or without EHU.)
Why not take the CombiCool all the time? Well basically it's the size of the thing. I don't have nor do I want a trailer or roof box so when we go tent camping I only have the boot of the Mondeo estate to pack into and the CombiCool takes up a quarter of that easily. Either of the cool boxes on the other hand will fit in the middle belt of the rear seat, between the kids. When our trips exceed the 5-7 day mark it starts to be worth taking and erecting our trailer tent. We can carry a lot of gear in the TT so it's no problem to have the CombiCool in the boot.
I do dislike shopping every day but find with careful freezing of supplies a coolbox is fine for a long weekend. Obviously this also depends on the weather but in the UK it tends not to be that hot that often! We only go abroad for the longer trips and we take the TT for that.
The other thing that we need to take into consideration is Hubby's beer supplies, bah. In the UK he drinks bottled brown beer (Deuchers IPA) and that doesn't need chilling...a bowl of water and a towel keeps it at cool room temperature. So the beer doesn't need fridge space in the UK. Abroad though it's these stubbies of lagery beer which do need chilled. (Or so I'm told...I don't drink!) So we "need" the CombiCool. The beer takes up too much space in the powered coolbox for that to be an option on the longer trips abroad. Anyway a powered coolbox doesn't cool as well as a 3-way fridge. And it's nice not to be totally dependant on having EHU.
If I had to choose between keeping only my Icey Tek or my 3way fridge, and I rate their cooling performance as equal, then I would choose the Icey Tek.
That is because these days the majority of my camping is just me and the dog and although I could lug the 3way about I'd rather not if I don't have to. It also makes the car fuller when travelling. The 3way demands that you are either on ehu or take the big gas bottle with you every time and I don't want to be tied down to ehu and don't take the gas bottle for any other purpose eg cooking. I don't put up a kitchen tent just for me, so the 3way has to live in the main tent whereas the Icey Tek lives outside, taking up no internal space.
So its a very personal decision for me.
If you had a big car/trailer, always took either ehu or a gas bottle (most people do have one or the other), had plenty of kitchen space on site, were happier carrying heavy weights than me (not difficult), would find it difficult to top up the ice in the coolbox every four or five days, or would get fed up with doing this over a long trip - then 3way might be the better option.
Hope that helps.
------------- Tackling life the Western District way
We've used a powered coolbox for years, and its worked fine, but we blew up a second transformer just as we were about to go away this summer. We had to take the regular coolbox and pay for ice pack freezing on top of the EHU, not the plan at all! So I'm thinking about a 3 way fridge instead; do they run directly from the mains? I'm not sure we could run it on gas safely in a tent with a ZIG, and we don't ever use 12v, but I think it might be my best option performance wise, is that right?
Yes, they can run direct from the mains. I leave mine on gas the whole time but do leave it in a porch outside the tent. I think i'd be happy to leave it inside the tent though, as long as there's a little ventilation. It's only a tiny pilot light type flame.
------------- 01/06 - 06/06: Alston Farm, Salcombe
20/07 - 22/07: Wyke Down, Andover
13/08 - 18/08: Bracelands, Forest of Dean
Outwell Nevada M
Coleman Columbus 8
Vango Venture 500
Quechua 3 second
I have to say I am a 3 way fan I got mine second hand £50 from Tamworth Camping (pick-up only) it has been used and usedand used.
My daughter live in a room in a place for 4 months and used (plug in to wall electric) saved her a fortune.
Used for BBQ's, kids party overflow, Christmas, Camping of course and just about anything else
Out scout group has 2 for on site storage of food as the type of sites we use for scouting are pretty short of facility's (never a EHU that I have noticed) they would not be without them.
------------- The meaning of life the universe and everything = 42 or camping?