Cooler With Built-In Lunchbox: Ninja FrostVault Review

When my refrigerator went out the day before Easter, I was in a pickle. I don’t usually host holiday gatherings, but my partner assured me, “It’ll be fun to have your parents over!”

With less than 24 hours until Greg and Cindy arrived with armloads of meticulously crafted Easter brunch dishes, I was surprisingly eager to tackle this challenge. While I have no shortage of coolers to help relieve a downed fridge scenario, I saw the Easter fiasco as a perfect chance to try the latest cooler innovation from Ninja.

Well-known for its super blenders, Ninja dove into the cooler fray with a novel solution to a purported problem: A slide-out drawer to separate and protect some items from the icy chaos in the main chamber. Not quite sure what to expect, I gave my mom the green light to whip up her patented deviled eggs, confident they would help confirm whether the “FrostVault” feature really had merit.

In short: The 30-quart Ninja FrostVault cooler is a perfectly sized option for picnics, tailgating, or days on the boat. The FrostVault tray adds dry storage for snacks that helps prevent smushing and wetness from the main compartment. Folks who’ve been frustrated by finding items in a sea of ice and cans may see the most value in this $200 cooler versus more affordable alternatives.

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Ninja FrostVault Cooler Review

Like the cooler itself on Easter Sunday, I won’t spoil the surprise. My mom’s deviled eggs nestled perfectly into the Dry Zone tray and kept for the 2 days that it took to finish them.

By itself, that’s a resounding win for Ninja and its design. I had some brut and orange juice wedged into the nearly 20 pounds of ice in the main compartment above, and then delicately placed the eggs and few light snacks in the dry storage drawer. Some ice remained in the main compartment after 48 hours as well.

Of course, a 30-quart cooler can’t shoulder the burden of a refrigerator’s worth of cooling. I also deployed a battery of other big-name, burly coolers to take on other foods and liquids. For extended days or big groups of people, a larger option would be necessary (Ninja makes a 50-quart FrostVault as well).

Relative to the other coolers, the Ninja lost ice a little more quickly. However, it had a smaller volume of ice, which plays heavily into overall ice retention, and we had to access the coolers throughout the day. Overall, the Ninja’s ice retention is competitive and on par with other high-end coolers.

That said, the FrostVault is not an airtight cooler, and that’s by design. A tiny bit of air leakage prevents the Ninja cooler from creating a vacuum, which, as anyone who’s yanked on a stuck lid can attest, can be frustrating.

Size, Portability

I opted to test the 30-quart FrostVault instead of the 50-quart, and I’m glad I did. This proved a perfect blend of capacity and portability. Especially as part of the dry storage system, this size cooler is ideal for single-day exploits. It will hold a case of 12-ounce cans and plenty of ice, which will be necessary to cool the Dry Zone drawer.

At about 20 pounds empty, the 30-quart FrostVault is light and small enough for one person to move around. It also fits in a small backseat and won’t take up an obscene amount of storage space when not in use.

But once packed, it’s just heavy enough that you’d want two. I think the size and design would benefit from a collapsible handle and wheels, and in its FAQ section, Ninja hinted a future iteration might receive that upgrade.

The FrostVault doesn’t employ dual latches like most major coolers these days. Instead, it has a center-mounted, snap-shut latch. It’s a tossup whether you find this simpler or more complex. In testing, it proved dependably secure.

FrostVault Cooler With ‘Dry Zone’ Drawer

The DryZone drawer — the hallmark of the FrostVault cooler — has some upsides and some potential drawbacks. Let’s start with the pros.

At about 10x11x3 inches, it’s just big enough to hold a variety of items. At one point, I managed to squeeze in a container of strawberries, some hummus, a roll of summer sausage, and a wedge of cheese. It’s no mighty meal, but it’s nothing to sneeze at snack-wise.

What’s more, the drawer can lock shut easily, to prevent any potential mishaps when in transit. And like the shelves in your fridge, the drawer will slide out all the way for cleaning (more on this below). Overall, it’s a simple and well-executed design.

If there’s a downside, it’s that the drawer works almost too well. All that summer sausage, cheese, and hummus I mentioned — well, it all spoiled when I forgot to take it out. If you use the Dry Zone drawer, DO NOT forget to empty the Dry Zone drawer!

It’s a small but important point to remember with this novel feature. Everyone knows to empty and drain the main compartment, but it might be easy to overlook what’s hiding in that drawer. And if you do forget items there that spoil, you’ll need to pull out the drawer and completely sanitize the compartment. Ninja makes this very accessible, but it’s one more thing to manage.

Who It’s For, Durability

When you combine the features, specs, and price, the FrostVault appears to be targeting folks who like the idea of a more premium cooler, but don’t need the absolute grizzly-proof bombast of premium rotomolded options.

I strapped this cooler onto a hitch-mounted cargo tray and drove across four states. It’s plenty durable for the average camper’s needs. Folks who need a seriously rough-and-tumble cooler for long fishing expeditions, or who expect to drag, drop, and abuse the heck out of a cooler, may want to look at spending more for a purpose-built backcountry option.

This is a better fit for those who want to pack their cooler into an SUV, plop it at the campsite, and maybe use it as a bench around the campfire.

Final Verdict

It’s cool to see some real design innovation in a category that is beyond saturated by look-alikes and rebadged alternatives. The Ninjac FrostVault takes a swing at adding real utility to the cooler world.

As a debut into the category, Ninja comes out with a solid offering. The FrostVault cooler adds a feature that some folks will certainly appreciate — namely, those who want to pack snacks or lunch along with some beverages for a day outside.

It’s competitively priced at $200, if not squarely in the budget category. So give it a look if you want a little more than the standard cooler and aren’t concerned with the big-name options.