Some things just sneak up on you. There I was today, carrying my lunch into work in the same cooler I've been hauling around since roughly 1986, and it hit me like a bucket of cold water. Forty years.. I've been using this cooler for forty years!
Let that sink in.
It's a 'Coleman Personal 8' and it still looks pretty good. Here's the thing that gets people. In that same stretch of time I've bought and thrown away dozens of coolers. Nylon ones, cloth ones, soft-sided ones. Every last one wore out, fell apart, or just plain quit doing the job. Most didn't last a season, let alone a decade.
People laugh at me sometimes. They look at this old cooler and ask why I'm still using that thing.
Why wouldn't I?
It's insulated. Throw a couple of blue ice packs in there and your lunch and drinks stay cold all day. Want to carry around some hot breakfast Burritos? Just wrap them in some dish towels, and the cooler keeps them warm for hours.
It's easy to carry and not too bulky. It's got an indestructible hard shell which keeps sandwiches and chips from getting crushed. Something spills, you wipe it out and you're done.
I toss it in the car when I'm picking people up from the airport and load it with drinks and snacks. It's perfect for fishing or a day at the park. Just flip the lid, and there's a little table for your food & snacks.. and ridges to keep your cups from sliding around.
No reason to get rid of this thing as far as I can see, unless it gets run over by a semi. And honestly.. I'm not sure that would finish it off.
This cooler has fallen off sawhorses, out of cars, and off roofs. It even fell down into an oil-changing pit back when I worked at a Grease Monkey many moons ago. Every time it comes back for more and doesn't look any worse for wear.
That's what makes it stand out these days. We live in a market full of disposable stuff, things designed to be no good after a few uses. This old Coleman is a classic from a time when things were meant to last. It wasn't designed to be replaced. It was designed to be used.
Odds are good this cooler will outlive me. Forty years and counting. Why would I ever trade that in? Here's to 40 more years with my Coleman Personal 8.
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