In the late 1980’s and long before anyone had even mumbled the words "extreme cooler", outdoorsmen in Flagstaff, Arizona, were cranking out hard-core coolers for their rafting experiences. Right here in the good old USA, they were way ahead of their time.
Canyon Coolers has picked up the torch and have been cranking out top of the line coolers for the last eight years, and their all-new 150-quart Navigator has been put to the test here at Sportsman’s News for the past few months.
A 150-quart cooler is a beast and not something you are going to load by yourself when it is loaded. It weighs in right at 55 pounds empty, but with internal measurements of 34.5” x 14.5” x 15.5” you have the ability to put an entire quartered elk into it, which means you won’t be moving it around very easily. It is a rotomolded polyethylene cooler made with environmentally friendly pressure-injected HUNTX foam insulation. This sounds like a bunch of technical jargon I don’t fully understand, but I will vouch for its ability to hold ice. Completely filled with ice, it outlasted our ten-day vacation. We used it strictly for ice storage and kept it in the shade most of the time, but we dumped ice out when the trip was over with (80° days being the norm).
It is obvious that this cooler is designed by people who actually use the product. There are multiple tie-down slots (10 total) which even when in use will still allow you to access the contents of the cooler. You don’t want to have to remove your tie-downs to get a drink out of the cooler, especially if you are floating downriver. The built-in lip for easy frame integration on your raft makes this cooler a big hit for the river warriors. There are additional tie-down points which will allow you to secure a padded seat cushion to the top of the cooler. It has an airtight seal and the latches are some of the best I’ve seen. Even the smallest of children can operate these latches easily. It has two-inch insulated walls and incorporates no-leak and no-spill drain plugs. The basket system within this cooler deserves a special mention as well. It will hold a total of four baskets and keeps your food items up off the ice, but still cool. They are designed to be turned one direction to fit on the bottom level or rotate again to fit on the top level. This provides you a ton of versatility in packing for a long trip. This cooler is bear-certified and also holds a lifetime warranty.
A quick tip on how I like to use this size cooler. When I leave for a hunting trip, I often have it empty and in the bed of my truck to store gear. I have the ability to lock it to the bed with a cable using some of the tie-down slots. I can also lock the cooler closed with a padlock. When I get to my destination, I have a 150-quart cooler to use throughout the trip and when I’m successful, I can haul my entire animal home for processing.
The Canyon Cooler 150 Quart Navigator is an excellent piece of equipment for the hard-core outdoorsman. The Canyon Navigator is 100% made in America and offers a "no questions asked, no-fault" warranty. It is available in a limited number of Sportsman’s Warehouse store locations, but check with the Camping Department for availability.
