Do you remember the Coolbox, the “world’s most advanced tool box?” It was a crowdfunded tool box with a built-in rechargeable battery, power cord, bottle opener, LED flood light, USB charging ports, Bluetooth speakers, and more.
Back in 2015, the Coolbox was offered via Indiegogo, for $179 for backers that missed the early adopter price of $169. The $179 was said to reflect $120 savings, which suggested an eventual retail price of $299.
Fast forward to 2020, and you can now buy the Coolbox on Amazon, for $150 including shipping.
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The current version is a little different, featuring an 11.1V and 3Ah rechargeable battery, rather than the 20V and 5Ah battery originally advertised. It does not look like much else has changed.
But wait, there’s more…
There is also now a Coolbox Entertainment Cooler, available in blue, green, and white.
Instead of a powered tool box, the Coolbox is now a cooler.
It features a rechargeable battery, clock, smartphone and tablet holder, USB charging ports, marine-grade speakers, Bluetooth music streaming connectivity, rubber wheels, top and side handles, and a drain plug.
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The Coolbox cooler can hold up to (22) 12 oz cans with a 2-to-1 ice ratio, “so you can maximize your chill.”
There was apparently a crowdfunding campaign for the Coolbox Entertainment Cooler as well, back in 2018, with a speical price of $169. The retail price was expected to be $299.
The design looks to have changed a little bit, with the current retail model looking to sport fixed side handles rather than a telescoping handle.
The Coolbox cooler is currently available on Amazon for $180. It’s an interesting progression, and I have to say – the Coolbox makes a lot more sense as a cooler than a “cool advanced tool box.” Now, the cooler is the Coolbox and the tool box is simply a tool box.
Price: $180
John
I couldn’t be married to her.
(Watched the video)
Wayne R.
I only managed 7 seconds.
Tom
Discount for Portland residents?
Jim Felt
Stuart.
It is an interesting progression for sure. I wonder how many others have even gotten this far? Maybe half the photo-centric ones I’ve participated in certainly haven’t.
Thanks for the “memories”!
Frank
HAHA! I rather enjoyed the video. It was pretty funny cause it was obviously making fun of other product intros. The cooler still seems like crap though.
Stacey Jones
Yeah the video was max cheese, gotta love it! ?
jason moses
I backed the cool box when it launched ok kick stater. Took like 3 years for it to show up. It not bad. And not perfect. I use it for my hobby / model tools. The white board always falls off the top.
Joe S
I agree, seems odd. Makes it seem like they didn’t factor the volume of the ice until too late in the design process.
Nathan
so the battery there is only for device charging – doesn’t nothing to help cool items
Is there still a light of some form I might have missed it.
Smartphone holder doesn’t look big enough for a modern device but pictures are deceiving.
neat idea I’d consider one.
Plaingrain
Only 4 reviews, they must not sell a lot of them.
Aaron
Lol at 22 cans capacity. 12,18,24,30 would make sense.
The theme in these seems to be not having familiarity with the basic use case and problem statement of your customer base.
David Zeller
I don’t see it as too weird to offer 22. Besides the fact that people bring different types of beverages (beer, soda, water, tea, etc) that don’t add up to sixes, a lot of great local brews come in 4-packs anyway.
Joatman
Why hasn’t Dewalt or Milwaukee come out with a cooler/radio combo? Would be great for float trips if they can make the battery compartment waterproof. I’m sure something is in the making.
MikeIt
DeWalt does have something like this- They have a Tough System and Tstak version of a cooler and a radio that latches on to the cooler. Its not as integrated as the coolbox but I would take it over the coolbox since I can still use the radio when I don’t need the cooler and vice versa.
Joatman
You make a valid point.
MikeIt
This is one of the worst promo videos I have ever seen. It is poorly scripted, poorly acted and poorly produced. Not to mention the product it is selling is, well, not very well conceived. The spokeswoman has some of the worst lines and acting and overall comes across as quite objectionable. The producers of the video couldn’t dub over the car audio to make it cleaner but then chose to dub the music audio so you can’t really hear how it sounds live. This cooler is one of those products that tries to do many things but ends up being not very good at any of them. You would be better served by getting and individual cooler, radio, and USB battery pack. As a cooler for the beach those wheels are far too small to use on the sand, you’ll probably be dragging it around instead once you pack it with ice and drinks. There is no mention of its capacity or how long it can keep its contents chilled or if it is leak proof. Lots of coolers have built in bottle openers so I doubt the guy really one upped “Bob” with that. As bluetooth speakers I imagine they may not sound that great since the speaker audio was dubbed over. Also, for speakers to sound good they need room, so either those speakers eat in to the cooler space or they have no room. Also, its just a bluetooth/aux in speakers. It really should include at least FM radio. As a battery pack, that feature is common place and nothing really new by itself. I guess they needed to do something with the batteries that powered the speakers. Overall as a product, I think it is a poor compromise and I am sure many others on this site would rather buy individual products that do each job well. I am also sure this product will sell some units. How many? Probably not as many as they wished but some will sell. The commercial or promo video is not helping it any. I can see this video as an ad that plays before a Youtube video and I would skip it as soon as possible because it is just so awful. They could do themselves a favor by pulling this commercial and creating a new one that highlights its features as part of the beach outing. For example, they could work in a line that says it keeps three six pack bottles cold for two days or that there is no need to worry about tipping it over because the lid is leak proof. It could also say that it can fully recharge an iPad 5 times or that you can charge up the battery while you drive with a standard car power port. I don’t know if these things are true or not, I am just saying how they could work in some facts and give you a better idea of its features in the commercial. Ads need hook you in the first few seconds or they lose those eyeballs. The promo seems like a homegrown effort. They could have gone for simple and used sex appeal to sell the product. You know, a bunch of young, good looking guys and girls in small outfits having a good time at the beach with their coolbox. Instead it seems they were trying to go for that “viral” and “non-scripted” feel. If they want to sell more units they should get some professional marketers to re-do their sales campaign. Advertising works. Maybe not on everyone and maybe not for everything, but it works. It will cost money but there is a reason all the big brands pay big bucks to advertise and sell their products. **Looks in drawer at all the red and teal power tools.**
Bob (not Newson)
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Carter,
My cooler doesn’t have a radio but it is full of beer. And IBC rootbeer doesn’t count. Lame!
Sincerely,
Bob (not Newson)
Hahaha
I got a small cooler (held about a 6pack) with a built in am/fm radio for free as a bank promo. Was reasonably loud. Ran on AA batteries. Lasted for a few beach trips till it got left out in the rain. My beach partying days are over but I would drop $20-$30 on a replacement if it can pick up the ball game while I enjoy a few cold ones on the beach. $150 too steep for me.
If I wanted to go high end I’d go with DeWalt tough system cooler and jobsite radio 1.0 till they fix all the 2.0 bugs. I would go red or teal or orange if I was in those battery platforms.
Skye A Cohen
I thought it was mildly annoying before I watched the video, like made to be sold at Sears in the mall around father’s day or something, but then I saw the video and I want it all to go away and get out of my head, holy s%%t that thing is annoying, I dislike everything about it
Plaingrain
You can add two Packout coolers on top of the packout radio. Then you have a radio/ cooler combo.
Jay
Looks pretty cool the cooler boot the video lol. I personally hate people who bring music to the beach. People who force there opinion on others. Like I drove 4 hours to the beach to hear your blasting radio. For the love of God get some headphones.
Sam Garage
I bought it a long time ago when it was on Kickstarter.
It is the dumbest thing ever! Seeing it in my garage makes me feel shame of myself.
It is heavy, bulky, tiny space inside, poor B/T system, and the list go on and on.
Link to see more details of this garbage box!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/104052024/coolboxtm-the-entertainment-coolertm?ref=discovery&term=coolbox