I’m not a survivalist but every so often it’s good to get some gear that will help you survive the coming apocalypse. If there is one. And even if not, hey, next tailgate party at the stadium parking lot or next hunting trip to the back woods, I’m ready to roll. Because I’m equipped with the gold standard for coolers and additional gear, thanks to OtterBox:The Venture rugged cooler setup.
In fact, I received a Venture premium rugged cooler along with just about all of the cool accessories, and as you can see from this photo, it’s pretty darn sweet stuff:
The cooler itself is hefty, with thick walls, a multi-piece plastic design (the two-tone you can see) and ample interior space for food, beverages, fruit, and whatever else you want to tote along with you. The above shot also features two darn useful accessories, the separator (note the slots, you can put it anywhere you want in the cooler) and the dry storage tray for the fruit.
Actually, the Venture is insanely well engineered and doesn’t miss a trick with its accessories and flexibility. Check out this closeup of the latch mechanism itself:
It’s not only super bear proof but they’ve even thought about the need to sometimes lock your cooler: it’s easy to run a cable or special lock through the hole once it’s properly latched and there ain’t nuthin’ getting into your cooler without a blowtorch or laser. Handy if, um, the apocalypse? Or just a desire for your grub to make it to base camp without being pilfered.
Both the front and back have exterior reinforcement strips that offer clip spots for additional accessories. Like a cup holder, because, hey, don’t you always want your beverages handy?
As with the previous, this shot highlights multiple accessories: The double cup holder, the gorgeous Elevation 20 stainless steel cup and the tumbler sleeve. This cup can do triple duty on your hunting or camping trip too, there are optional lids that turn it into a cocktail shaker, french press for coffee, flavor infuser lid and thermal lid to keep its contents hot for hours and hours.
You can’t really hide all the accessories inside the cooler, but when it’s closed, it’s pretty streamlined and very easy to carry (though it’s going to get heavy with all your food and beverages inside):
One of my favorite parts of the whole line is actually something that’d be just as useful even without the Venture cooler: The drybox. Roughly the size of four iPhone 8 Plus phones inside, it’s tough enough to survive being thrown out of a truck, run over, dropped in the lake or kicked across the goal line:
Otter says that it’s waterproof up to 90-feet down for 30 minutes, which is pretty darn impressive. How you retrieve your drybox when it’s in 90-feet of water for a test they don’t explain, but perhaps if you’re a deep sea diver you can do some tests.
All in all, the Venture cooler line is really pretty amazing. It’s also a bit of overkill if you’re just looking for something to keep your 12-pack of Coors cold at the next Packers game. If you need the best, however, and can appreciate fantastic engineering and design, then it’s really one heck of a line of gear. Check it out at your local Best Buy too; they have a big display featuring just about every one of the zillion accessories too.
Disclosure: The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy gift card and received the products featured for free. Which is darn nice of Best Buy, really!