Originally Posted by
Spudd
Sorry to butt in on your thread, but can folks tell me why you're so anti-cooler? We're leaving for a month long tour in a week or so and were planning to bring a small soft-sided cooler for putting fruits/frozen dinners/etc in. (Will be touring in Sweden, where a common feature of campgrounds is a communal microwave.)
I guess it depends on how weight conscious you are, how far ahead you need to shop, what you plan to buy, and how often you will do it.
For us we have only bought frozen dinners or that kind of thing once in a while and when they could be bought fairly close to when they will be consumed. Fruits really don't need refrigeration. Frozen dinners will typically remain at least cool for a few hours in a pannier and won't spoil for a a longer period than I would every carry them on tour. Fresh stuff like bag salads keep as long I ever carry them without a cooler.