Ninja - FrostVault 30qt Hard Cooler with Dry Zone - Lakeshore Blue

I've had several ninja devices from blenders to grills to ice cream makers and now I have the 30 quart cooler. I didn't even know they made coolers but I jumped at the chance to own one. When I think of the brand Ninja, I think of durability and quality because every Ninja product I have is still operational and in use. *Design & Build Quality* The first thing I noticed about the Ninja Frost Vault is the size. It's approximately 2 feet by 1.5 by 1.5 feet and feels like it weighs about 15 pounds, although its specs list that it actually weighs 20. The lighter weight feel might have to do with the ease at which one person can carry this cooler. Most coolers require either a really large person or most times two people, one on each side. There are 2 nicely built handles allowing one person to lift with no problems. The handles are also large enough to tie-down in the back of your truck or SUV to prevent sliding. The cooler design also prohibits excessive sliding The plastic feels tough and it's smooth without being slippery. There's the classic wet area on top that holds ice and is perfect for beverages or sealed goods. There's a bottom compartment that is designed for items that you want to keep cold but dry. It measures about 1 foot by 1 foot by 3 inches so it's great for a picnic, lunch or snacks. The cooler's walls are about 3 inches thick providing excellent insulation. There's a hand at the top center that operates much like a toolbox and it feels secure each time you close it. My one year old couldn't figure it out so it passed the toddler test. The dry goods compartment has a lock that keeps it secure from popping open. Ninja claims goods will stay a little less than 40 degrees in this dry storage area. There's a large drain plug on the side (a little larger than standard cooler plugs) that will literally drain out all the water in about 20 to 30 seconds. *Performance* I loaded it up with about 15 pounds of ice and a few beverages. The top compartment is a little smaller than I would like but if it got much larger it wouldn't be so portable. The dry good area is something I haven't seen before; it's a great idea. We have all had those experiences where something gets wet in the cooler or smashed by ice or other items. I found it perfect to throw a few sandwiches, cheese, and snacks. The ice melted a little faster each day until it completely melted 4 days later. Surprisingly I measured the dry compartment with a thermometer each day and it held at 40 to 41 degrees every day. That's impressive! Cleaning this cooler is a breeze. The dry compartment pops right out kind of like a dresser drawer. The top compartment is just as easy. The plastic is smooth and easy to clean or scrub. *Suggestions* A few tips I've learned after a few rounds with this cooler: 1.) The best way to keep the ice cold is to load up about 20 pounds of ice, and fill the top compartment full. The cooler performs much better and the ice melts much slower. If you fill it half full the ice melts faster. 2.) It's also important that you load the ice in straight from the ice cabinet. Don't let the ice sit around in your vehicle or outside. Get it in the cooler immediately. The Ninja Frost Vault excels at keeping ice frozen, but struggles with slushy or partially melted ice. 3.) The dry compartment will absolutely hold 40 degrees no matter how much ice is melted in the top compartment, as long as the water is ice cold. 4.) Make sure you put cold items in the dry vault, not room temperature, and it will help keep them cold *Final Thoughts* It's nice to see Ninja enter the cooler category. As I mentioned before, in my opinion Ninja makes products that perform and last. The strengths of this cooler are portability, ease of use, and the unique chilled dry compartment. I would recommend this cooler for picnics, road trips, and weekend camping, fishing, or hunting. If you optimize the setup, ice will last for 3 or 4 days. It's a fresh, innovative approach to the premium cooler category and I believe it's a great value in the medium to premium cooler category. I recommend it. *Pros* *Portability - One person can easily carry *Protects dry goods *Slick design *Solid handles and locks (You can one-hand open and shut easily) *Best drain plug I've seen on a cooler *Needs Improvement* *I would love to see wheels on this cooler *Ice melts a little faster when it's not full

The Ninja FrostVault Cooler is a great cooler that offers plenty of storage, but it can get extremely heavy. The FrostVault cooler is one of the nicest coolers I’ve yet to see, in terms of build quality. The inside of the cooler is lined with a glossy finish, that keeps everything super cold for a long time. The lower half of the cooler has a dry zone compartment that is both very convenient and functional. The dry zone storage lets you store things in the cold, but it keeps it completely dry. This worked great for sandwiches, fruit and meats. The cooler has a great seal on it that keeps everything airtight which prevents leaking, it also has a very nice latch that creates a firm lock on both the main compartment and the dry zone. This cooler is pretty heavy, even without anything inside its still weighs a pretty good amount. The handles on the side are very sturdy and make it easy to grip, but having wheels and lever to pull it would have been nice, especially when it’s full. There is also a valve to drain liquids on the bottom side of the cooler, making it easy to empty without having to tip it over. When I first got to use the cooler, I instantly fell in love with how much I could store inside of it, and how well everything was able to keep cold. I also liked how I was able to store my cold meats and bread in the dry zone, to keep them from getting wet and soggy. The main compartment was the perfect size to store all my drinks and ice, plus some extra frozen foods. Needless to say, the cooler worked great. Overall, I really love the Ninja FrostVault cooler. The one thing I so with it had was wheels and a adjustable arm, as it does get really heavy. The quality of the cooler is superb, making it able to withstand the most extreme environments. There was the right amount of storage for my wife and I, and the dry zone is a great feature to keep foods cold, but dry. I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a solid cooler.

The Ninja FrostVault is a great cooler. I brought it with me when I took it to a Las Vegas road trip. Before leaving, I was curious about what I could fit. I was able to fit a half gallon of milk standing up. I then took a wine bottle. Although it cannot fit standing up, you can lie it down and it does fit. I took photos and attached it to the review. I spent 3 days and two nights. A good amount of ice was still left partially melted. The temps were nice and cool. There is a dry compartment. This is great if you want to keep things cool but dry. I was able to fit two packages of bacon without any issues. Overall, this cooler is not bad. There are two things I want to mention. I would prefer the drain to be lower. It is not an issue but I notice I have to tip it more over than my previous cooler. The other thing is the weight. It is noticeably heavier than my previous cooler even when empty. Even heavier with stuff inside. Both wet and dry storage has a lock so it won’t accidentally open.

I'm just going to get straight into what makes this cooler so unique, and the main reason I wanted to get this Ninja Frost Vault, and that's the dry storage drawer. I'm happy to say that it works as advertised. Anything you put in this drawer, you can be rest assured will stay both dry, and cold. The way it's designed, there's no chance for water from melted ice in the upper compartment to make its way into the drawer. Yet somehow the cold from the ice above it does find a way in, and I'm honestly not even sure how the engineers at Ninja did it. I tested out the drawer by putting cheese snacks, yogurt, and juice boxes in and after 3 days, using a temp gun, all the contents were still reading between 38-41 degrees, while remaining dry. As for the upper compartment, it stayed even cooler, which makes sense considering that's where the ice actually is. After 3 days, using my temp gun, cans of beverages that I placed in there were still reading in the low to mid 30s, and there was even ice still present. By the 4th day, the last of the ice was melted but temps were still pretty low and only went up a few degrees. The down side to having the drawer underneath though, is that the upper compartment is pretty small, especially given the size of the cooler overall. That said, Ninja does state that it'll fit 48 standard 12 ounce cans, which I tested out and confirmed that 48 cans will indeed fit. Of course that is with nothing else and includes putting cans in the drawer too. Also, there isn't much room for ice if you did try to pack 48 cans. Having a cooler this size can get heavy, and it would be nice if they had a wheeled option, but alas, it doesn't have any, so you will have to lift it up to carry it around. The handles though are probably the best I've come across on a cooler. The way they're designed into the main body you don't have to worry at all about breaking them and they're comfortable to grab. The latches work good and I like the fact that they even included holes to lock the top lid if you wanted. The height of the cooler is just right too, so that it fits in the bed of my truck under my tonneau cover. Another really nice design feature that I appreciate is the rubberized feet on the bottom. Unlike other coolers I have, this one doesn't slide around in my bed the way others do. Then we get to its one achilles heel, the drain plug. Ninja really needs to re-design this part as it's the one thing holding the cooler back from greatness. After first unboxing and cleaning the cooler, I opened up the drain plug and screwed it back in until it was snug, with about the same force I'd use with any other coolers drain plug. On the 3rd day of my test, I noticed a wet spot on the floor on the side of the drain plug, I moved the cooler and there was a huge puddle of water underneath it. I checked the drain plug and it was still on tight, but I could see water very slowly coming out of it a small drop at a time. I ended up having to crank on the plug practically with all my strength to get it to fully seal and stop leaking water. This is a big problem as I've never had any issue with leaks on any of my other coolers. Good news is that the dry zone drawer remained dry, it's just outside of the cooler that didn't. So as much as i love what this cooler does, I can't trust it. It'll be fine for a day out at the beach, but for those times I need a cooler for several days where I have to keep it in my truck next to luggage and other items that can't get wet, I honestly don't trust it and will just opt for my old cooler instead. It's a shame about the drain plug, because otherwise this would be a 5 star cooler all day long. Normally, for something so good with just one problem, I would only drop a single star at most, but the fact that I'm still probably going to use my old cooler instead most of the time, I feel I have to take it down to 3.

I was interested in this as I’m currently working full-time and going to school full-time which means I’m pulling 12 – 15 hour days. I’ve been trying to find a way to keep my food cool while I’m in class for 5 – 6 hours and away from a refrigerator so I don’t have to keep buying out. Using a normal cooler with constant plastic bags isn’t a good option, which is where the drawer for this guy comes into play. That way no more plastic bags and I can keep it in my car and eat between classes or on my way home. Unfortunately, the temps since I got this have been in the 50 – 60’s making it so I wasn’t able to fully test it. But I think it will perform fine seeing as they report 5 days of cool and I need a lot less than that. But from the testing I have done it’s kept my dinner cool for me and ready to consume whenever I want. Which is absolutely brilliant. Love the color too. OVERVIEW: As many others have mentioned, they report 20 lbs. weight. Recommend adding 15 lbs. of ice. That’s 35 lbs. before you add anything else to it. Making it quite heavy. Thankfully, the carrying latches are very robust and large making it a lot easier to move around. Additionally, both the top and the drawer have a locking mechanism. Making it so if it does tip you don’t dump everything. The insulin here is no joke at 3 inches. The top section is where you put the ice which obviously keeps that container cold. But also keeps the sliding door section at 40 degrees F. Allowing you to put food there without plastic bags and keep it dry and at food safe temperatures. This top section then has a drain. That I would assume fills some of the outside of the container (given enough water) adding extra thermal protection. As water is neat like that. The drain could be a bit lower, but I didn’t have a hard time emptying it out. Just near the end had to give it a little help. I didn’t notice any leaks either. Everything is lined in black plastic. Making cleanup easy if something were to spill. Based on specs they say it can hold ice up to 5 days. 30-quart capacity, 48 cans (no ice) or 26 cans with ice CONCLUSION: This thing is brilliant and I like it a lot. Drawer could be a bit more easier to lock/unlocking and smoother. But that is my only complaint.