Soft sided coolers used for airplane travel

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yackittysacks

yackittysacks

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I am taking the family to Mexico in a couple weeks for a week of fishing. We are planning on bringing home some fish, but not sure of the best way. There is not a company there that ships the fish home, so I must bring it back with us. I am looking at buying a collapsible cooler that I can pack with frozen fish and check on the plane ride home. I have done some research and can't find much info. Any of you folks have any experience or suggestions you would care to share? Thanks in advance for the help
 
Oh wow, sounds like a great trip. I know the Yeti makes some very good freezers that can keep things cold longer than normal coolers can, but not sure if they have any collapsible ones, and not sure on their sizes, and they are a tad expensive.

---------- Post added at 05:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:05 PM ----------

I guess something like this, although as I said, they are costly, but I hear they can keep things cool for way longer than most.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/YETI...20&gclid=CNmVpofHrc0CFQl6gQodAoYLkg&gclsrc=ds
 
Check the USDA website regarding region specific import of fish. I don't know what the rules are regarding Mexico, but you'll find them there (as an aside from the logistical part of the equation).
 
anderson said:
Check the USDA website regarding region specific import of fish. I don't know what the rules are regarding Mexico, but you'll find them there (as an aside from the logistical part of the equation).
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And I don't know much about the Airlines. But were I one, I'd be highly averse to having a sack of frozen fish somehow melting om my equipment. I say this from the POV of a moron who once spilled a quart of fish stock in a (fortunately old) beater, that I tried to clean for a week and then just threw it away.

Cheers, BostonTim
 
yackittysacks said:
I am taking the family to Mexico in a couple weeks for a week of fishing. We are planning on bringing home some fish, but not sure of the best way. There is not a company there that ships the fish home, so I must bring it back with us. I am looking at buying a collapsible cooler that I can pack with frozen fish and check on the plane ride home. I have done some research and can't find much info. Any of you folks have any experience or suggestions you would care to share? Thanks in advance for the help
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We brought over 60 lbs, of mahi mahi from the Keys. We used styrofoam coolers, ice packs and boxes only be cause of the amount, but the collapsible would work just fine for smaller amounts. Still frozen when we got home. Just keep in mind it's going to be heavy and make sure you know the max weight the cooler can carry. Your better off checking it. We had the fish filleted and frozen and we picked it up shortly before we were leaving for the airport. It cost less to bring it then to overnight it. I would also check with customs to make sure you can bring it over. Other then that is pretty much considered a suitcase, so get the weight limits and plan accordingly.

~Dee~
 
Make sure you weigh it before returning back home. A checked bag over 50 pounds (most of the time) will result in some significant extra charges. Also, use dry ice (frozen CO2), and not regular ice. Dry ice weighs less, and it evaporates when it thaws, so you don't have to worry about water spilling, and stuff.

I don't know how much fish you are planning to bring back, but if you can do it as carry on bags, it might be better. Legal & customs issues aside.

FWIW, I don't know what the Customs regulations are about bringing food items (like fish) back into the US from Mexico, but I'd take a real good look at those before the trip.
 
yackittysacks said:
I pulled the trigger on this cooler. I'll let you know how it works. The plan is to load it up with 45lbs of Mahi, pargo, ahi and more in Los Barilles, fly to Salt lake from Los Cabos, then a 5 hr drive home. This should put a test to the new cooler.
https://www.aocoolers.com/coolers/vi...oyal-blue.html
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After talking to my son, who did the packing, he said there are airline rules and security rules you should probably check with the airlines. But the general rules are make sure you use dry ice or gel packs, you can't use water based ice or packs. Also as a general rule you can only use 5.5lbs of dry ice per person/ bag again make sure you clarify with the airlines. Try to keep it under 50 lbs otherwise it gets expensive, we used 3 separate containers. He also suggests you use plastic containers or zip lock bags to insure no leakage. He did say you can bring it as a carry on, if the cooler meets the size limits but it may be a challenge getting it through security depending. His suggestion would be to check it, much less hassle and the cargo areas are cooler then the passenger areas. He's done this a number of times and has never had a problem.

~Dee~
 
deec77 said:
After talking to my son, who did the packing, he said there are airline rules and security rules you should probably check with the airlines. But the general rules are make sure you use dry ice or gel packs, you can't use water based ice or packs. Also as a general rule you can only use 5.5lbs of dry ice per person/ bag again make sure you clarify with the airlines. Try to keep it under 50 lbs otherwise it gets expensive, we used 3 separate containers. He also suggests you use plastic containers or zip lock bags to insure no leakage. He did say you can bring it as a carry on, if the cooler meets the size limits but it may be a challenge getting it through security depending. His suggestion would be to check it, much less hassle and the cargo areas are cooler then the passenger areas. He's done this a number of times and has never had a problem.

~Dee~
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Thanks for the info. We are going to Rancho Leonero. It caters to fishing. They have a flash freezer. I guess it quickly freezes the fish. So The plan is to pack the cooler as tight as I can and hope the frozen fish work to keep the pack frozen. We leave 3:00 from Cabo and will get home roughly 8:00 the next morning. We'll see how it goes. Again, thanks for the suggestions.
 
yackittysacks said:
Thanks for the info. We are going to Rancho Leonero. It caters to fishing. They have a flash freezer. I guess it quickly freezes the fish. So The plan is to pack the cooler as tight as I can and hope the frozen fish work to keep the pack frozen. We leave 3:00 from Cabo and will get home roughly 8:00 the next morning. We'll see how it goes. Again, thanks for the suggestions.
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Once you've gotten back to your car stop and get ice bags/packs for the drive, then and you'll have zero problems. Cabo is beautiful have fun.

~Dee~
 
Hi all. Just an FYI and if any of you care, below is a link to the cooler I bought for the trip.
https://www.aocoolers.com/coolers/vinyl-series/36-pack-vinyl-cooler-royal-blue.html
This cooler did it's job and did it well. We ended up bringing home about 35 Lbs of fish. We left yesterday at noon from the resort we were staying in and got home today about 2pm. The fish were frozen solid, I packed them in the cooler and packed the remaining space with dirty laundry. We got to Salt Lake City Airport last night about midnight and drove home today. By the time I got back, the meat was still partially frozen. Exactly what we wanted. If you need a solid cooler, and a good price, I would highly recommend the AO coolers.
 
yackittysacks said:
Hi all. Just an FYI and if any of you care, below is a link to the cooler I bought for the trip.
https://www.aocoolers.com/coolers/vinyl-series/36-pack-vinyl-cooler-royal-blue.html
This cooler did it's job and did it well. We ended up bringing home about 35 Lbs of fish. We left yesterday at noon from the resort we were staying in and got home today about 2pm. The fish were frozen solid, I packed them in the cooler and packed the remaining space with dirty laundry. We got to Salt Lake City Airport last night about midnight and drove home today. By the time I got back, the meat was still partially frozen. Exactly what we wanted. If you need a solid cooler, and a good price, I would highly recommend the AO coolers.
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Great! Hope you had fun!

~Dee~
 
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