The cool history behind Igloo’s ice chests

Made of a mixture of pulp and paraffin, Houston-based Igloo Products recently introduced Recool cooler is a sturdy, reusable, biodegradable option to inexpensive and fragile expanded polystyrene foam coolers Made of a mixture of pulp and paraffin, Houston-based Igloo Products recently introduced Recool cooler is a sturdy, reusable, biodegradable option to inexpensive and fragile expanded polystyrene foam coolers Photo: Courtesy Igloo Products Corp. / Igloo Products Corp. Photo: Courtesy Igloo Products Corp. / Igloo Products Corp. Image 1 of / 6 Caption Close The cool history behind Igloo’s ice chests 1 / 6 Back to Gallery

Millions of Texans anticipate heading to wild and not-so-wild destinations as Memorial Day holiday weekend approaches, a stunning diversity of outdoor-related activities and recreation on their collective agendas.

Fishing. Hiking. Camping. Boating. Picnicking. Maybe just a backyard cookout, or a long drive to visit relatives or friends. Maybe an early trip to the deer hunting lease to begin work on food plots or just spend time afield.

The gear they bring with them will reflect this great range of outdoor recreation. But almost every one of them will share one item, a piece of equipment so universal and almost requisite to just about every outdoors activity that its presence and importance often is taken for granted: the ice chest.

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Those portable insulated containers, usually made of hard plastic, range in size from just big enough for a half-dozen cans or bottles of liquid refreshment to gigantic enough to hold a field-dressed, 200-pound feral hog or enough food and other perishables to sustain a family of four for a week.

“Ice chests” are what those of us of a certain age learned to call them. “Coolers” is the later-arriving term most-used today. Whatever they are called, these insulated containers have become an almost indispensable item for almost all outdoor recreation and a lot more.

To read the rest of Shannon Tompkins' column, click here.

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shannon.tompkins@chron.com

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