Cooler size for flying?

MTGomer

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I am going on a hunt, and I am curious if anybody has an idea of what size of cooler would be best for a total weight of 100 pounds. I can pay an overweight fee for up to 100 pounds, but I cannot exceed 100 pounds without shipping as cargo which would cause a delay.
To save weight, this will be a non-Roto molded type of cooler. So, let's say it will weigh 15 to 20 pounds empty.
What size of cooler would be right for about 80 pounds of meat?
 
IIRC most normal 70qt coolers are as big as allowable without going into oversize baggage fees. I've loaded a 70qt right up to the 100# limit with frozen meat. I've used Igloo's and their price is easy to absorb. Toss a partial roll of duct tape into your bag to tape them shut as most only have a friction fit lid.
 
Normally, I wouldn't throw a answer out that doesn't aswer the question, but have you considered softsides? When I flew home from the redezvous this spring I had a Rtic 40 Softside cooler (weighs about 5lbs) loaded with 40lbs of moose meat. It kept the meat rock solid for over 24hours, and I seemed guess is could have gone days longer without any risk.

I am not sure how much extra $$ is will cost you to ship meat home, but it might be more cost effective to invest in some softsides and pay for extra check bags.
 
I bring my meat home vacuum sealed and frozen, placed inside of a down sleeping bag and then inside of a large dry bag.
 
If you go with something like this https://www.amazon.com/Coleman-Quart-Performance-Cooler-Holds/dp/B0000DH4LT/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1497368751&sr=8-1&keywords=48+quart+cooler you have a 7 lb cooler 48 quart cooler available just about anywhere. Meat is roughly the same density of water which is 2 lbs/quart so the maximum weight of meat would be 96 lbs and a max loaded cooler weight of 103 lbs before duct tape. Realistically you can probably pack to 80% efficiency by volume. Larger 60-70 quart coolers are tend to weigh closer to 12-15 lbs so you wont be packing much if any more meat, but with a little less Tetris.

My plan for 2017 is to fly meat back with a combination of soft sided coolers loaded to 50 lbs and the 48 quart coolers loaded to 85-100 lbs.
 
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