A built-in walk-in cooler at your home or hunt shack is a great convenience, a luxury really. The only potential downside I can see is that once it’s set and hooked up, it’s there. You must go get your gutted deer, drive them to the cooler and hang them up. No big deal for whitetail hunters east of the Mississippi.
First time I saw the Koola Buck I got to thinking: While you could assemble and set it at your home or deer camp and run it throughout the season, you could also take it to the deer or other animals you hunt. For Western hunters especially, I can see real value in hauling this collapsible, portable cooler into a backcountry camp, where you might hunt deer and elk for a week or more and often early in the season. Would be good for big-game outfitters too.
Folded and ready to transport, Koola Buck measures 4’ by 4’ and weighs 345 pounds. At camp, assembly looks easy (I have not tested it so I cannot say with certainly “assembly is easy”). Fold out the platform deck, set the aluminum poles, attach the ceiling, and fasten and secure the industrial-strength blue insulated bag (walls) onto the frame.
Plug the attached commercial refrigeration unit into a socket or a generator and you’re up and running and ready to hang and chill meat to a perfect 34-40 degrees. The assembled cooler is 6’6” tall, and they claim it is large enough and strong enough to hold 4 gutted deer, or some elk quarters.
When I saw the price tag of $3,495 I thought, That’s steep. But when you compare it to a standard built-in refrigeration unit it’s not bad, though how the portable cooler will hold up long term would be something to think about.
Still, a portable walk-in cooler that hangs, chills and protects 4 deer is no doubt a kool idea. What do you think…want one? If you and several buddies pitched in and split the cost for your camp, that would make sense.
