Besides quitting time, lunchtime is one of the best times of the day. Sitting around with your buddies, talking smack, and having some fun. At least that is what I enjoyed when I was in the trades, having some good food with good people. Back in the day, I had an Igloo cooler and really didn’t have many options. Today, the market is flooded with cooler options. Anything from hard coolers to soft coolers. You can buy a $20 cooler all the way up past a $200 cooler. So which cooler is the best option? Well, that really depends upon your needs. Today we are talking about the Milwaukee Packout Cooler Review as another option in the market.
Milwaukee Packout Cooler Review Overview
If you are not familiar with the Milwaukee Packout system, it’s a great way to organize your tools for the job site. While Milwaukee is usually first to market with product innovations, this was an area they were last to market. However, when they jumped into this segment, they went full force and now offer one of the best solutions. They have so many different options in regard to the sizes of boxes.
What makes these boxes so great besides having a lot of options and the boxes being tough, is the ease of use. Some systems you are trying to line up small holes and trying to lock the boxes with latches. Milwaukee is probably the easiest system to lock and unlock boxes together. So all said and done with the ease of use, the toughness and wide range of options, you can see why Milwaukee is leading in this crowded segment.
So let’s add one more to the cooler options with the Milwaukee cooler. Is this a good option? Is it easy to use? How tough is it? Let’s take a look.
Features
The Milwaukee cooler (model 48-22-8460) is a 16QT cooler made for the job site. The cooler is IP65 rated and will hold ice up to 16 hours.
- Interior Dimensions – 13.1″ L x 9.5″ H x 7.7″ W
- Exterior Dimensions – 16.3″ L x 12.9″ H x 9.8″W
- Weight – 6.2 lbs.
The cooler is part of the Milwaukee Packout system.
The cooler features all-metal bars for key pivoting points such as the latch, handle, and lid.
As you would expect, Milwaukee integrated a bottle opener into the lid of the cooler.
The handle runs the full length of the cooler and when not needed, it will fold into the lid so you can store boxes on top. The cooler can support up to 50 lbs.
As discussed above, there is a solid metal bar where the lid and cooler bottom meet. This provides extra strength and a needed feature in any durable cooler.
One reason this cooler can keep the cold in and the heat out is the rubber weather seal that goes all the way around the lid.
The lid opens a full 180° so no more trying to grab stuff out of the cooler only for the lid to shut on you.
If you have dry food, there is a removable plastic bin.
The bin doesn’t cover the whole top so if you have larger drinks, you can keep them upright and still close the lid.
Performance
Milwaukee claims this can hold ice for 30 hours. While we didn’t fully test the 30 hours, we ended up leaving it in the direct sunlight in the back of a truck bed with the sun beating on it for over 6 hours in 90° weather. We were amazed at how well the ice stayed intact and didn’t melt.
Check out the video below and you can see we pushed it off a truck, threw it in the air, and gave it more abuse then it will see on a daily basis. Overall, this held up like a champ. Primarily because Milwaukee built this like a tank with metal latches and metal pins at the pivot points. So for toughness, this is extremely tough.
In regards to use, the cooler is great. A single 7lb bag of ice is perfect which most gas stations sell. So there is no leftover ice. As you can see, since the cooler is long, you can store plenty of drinks and even have dry food with tall bottles and still pack it all in the cooler.
Value
You can pick this up for about $100 which isn’t a bad deal considering that it’s tough, keeps food cold for a long time, and can be integrated with your current Packout system. Heck even if you don’t have the Packout system, this is a great cooler.
Final Thoughts
The bottom line, this cooler is a great option for those looking for a tough cooler that will keep your food cold in the dead of summer. If you are using the Packout system, this is just an added bonus. Very impressed by the build quality. Milwaukee didn’t cut corners with this cooler. Overall, a great addition to the Packout line.
i’m sure you’ve heard this before but,
Very cool
Hope Home Depot has 2
The packout cooler i bought my husband the ice melts probably in less then 6 hrs and for a hundred dollar cooler im very disappointed.