Two other essential things to consider are the size and weight of the ice packs you want to buy. To make sure you’re investing your hard-earned money in the best ones, consider the size of your cooler, as well as its design.
Determining how much ice you need in a cooler can be tricky, but as a rule of thumb, aim to occupy no more than 30% of the cooler volume with your packs. Typically, smaller blocks are more convenient than bigger ones, as you can use them for coolers of various sizes.
Regarding their weight, keep in mind that hard-shell ice packs weigh more than soft ones, so try to avoid them if your goal is that of keeping the overall weight of the cooler as low as possible. On the contrary, if you couldn’t care less about weight and plan to drive straight to the campsite, hard-shell ice packs will last longer and are more convenient.