Bodega Electric Cooler: Traveling With Food Made Easier
One of the trickiest parts of traveling for me is dealing with my food sensitivities. They limit what I can eat, and I’ve learned over time that I feel much better when I cook my own meals. So whether I’m heading out for a quick overnight trip or traveling for several days, I usually bring food with me or plan to cook wherever I’m staying. It’s not always convenient.
I’ve had plenty of trips where I’m double-checking that a hotel room actually has a fridge or hoping friends and family have enough space to store my meals. So when BODEGA reached out and asked if I’d like to try their car fridge, I was genuinely curious whether it could make traveling with my own food easier, especially for road trips and car camping.
BODEGA
BODEGA describes itself as a company focused on portable and home refrigeration, developing cooling solutions for everything from outdoor adventures to everyday use. The brand was founded by a group of engineers who love the outdoors and wanted to improve on traditional coolers that didn’t keep temperatures steady. Their products aim to offer the performance of a refrigerator with the portability of a cooler. Their lineup includes portable car fridges, RV and drawer-style refrigerators, and beverage and wine coolers.
The 26-Quart BODEGA Electric Cooler
The 26-quart BODEGA electric cooler is designed for people who spend a lot of time on the road or outdoors. It uses a high-efficiency, ultra-quiet compressor that runs at about 31 dB and can cool anywhere between –4°F and 68°F. The company also highlights its fast cooling, compact size, and roomier interior, which is said to be about 20 percent larger than similar models. It is built with outdoor use in mind, with features like IPX4 water resistance, dust protection, and a corrosion-resistant exterior.
BODEGA also emphasizes convenience. The cooler can run off both car and household power (12V/24V for vehicles or 110V/240V at home), which makes it easy to use in different situations. Other features include adjustable temperature settings, battery protection options, a design that stays stable on uneven ground, and built-in hooks for securing gear.
Trying It Out
Since the BODEGA cooler arrived right before Christmas, in the middle of winter, I didn’t have a chance to immediately test it out while traveling. Instead, I plugged it in out in the garage and used it to store some of the overflow items we had during the holidays. With guests in the house, our main refrigerator filled up fast, so it was genuinely helpful to have a dedicated place for extra drinks and snacks. Being able to move those items out of the kitchen made holiday cooking so much easier, and it gave me an early appreciation for how convenient this cooler could be even when I wasn’t on the road.
A few weeks later, we took a weekend trip to Bemidji, Minnesota, which gave me my first chance to use the cooler for travel. A full weekend’s worth of food fit inside without any trouble, and bringing it into the hotel room was simple. I heard it turn on a couple of times, but the sound was soft enough that I didn’t notice it at all while sleeping. At one point, my husband accidentally set the temperature lower than intended and turned the cooler into a freezer for a few hours. I was surprised by how quickly it was able to reach freezing temperatures, which gave me confidence in how powerful the cooling system really is.
The following weekend, we drove to visit my son, and that trip confirmed how useful the BODEGA cooler can be for everyday travel. Instead of rearranging everything in his refrigerator to make space for the food I brought, I simply plugged in the cooler and kept everything organized inside it.
The only issue we noticed was that the plug is easy to switch out between a 12V plug and a 110v wall plug. Unfortunately, this also means that you risk unplugging the cord from the unit if you are not careful with it. Overall, I found the size to be just right. It was manageable to carry even when fully loaded, maintained the correct temperature, and made traveling with food far more convenient than usual. This cooler definitely makes the process of bringing my own meals along smoother and less stressful.
My Recommendation
Overall, I found the BODEGA 26-quart electric cooler to be both convenient and reliable. We plan to use it on our longer trips going forward, and I am especially excited to take it camping. It will be such a relief not to worry about constantly adding ice when we have access to electricity. The 26-quart size turned out to be just right for us. It held a good amount of food without becoming too heavy to carry, which made it feel surprisingly portable.
BODEGA also offers a wide range of electric coolers and refrigerators, and some of their larger models come with wheels to make transporting them even easier. If you are looking for a way to keep your food cold, whether you need a simple weekend solution or you are outfitting a van for van life, I recommend checking out their options. You can view their selections at https://www.bodegacooler.com.
Your thoughts on the BODEGA Electric Cooler?
How do you currently keep your perishable food cold when you are outdoors? Have you tried the Bodega Electric Cooler and if not, would this product be something that would assist you on your outdoor adventures? Please share your experiences and thoughts in the comments below.
Sara Baird
I am an adventurer at heart, always looking for the next opportunity to learn something new. I spend my winter days working with high school students to explore their interests and develop passions.
I spend my evenings and summers developing new hobbies and being outdoors as much as possible. I enjoy camping, hiking, cross country skiing, and biking.
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