Unless the vast majority of the food you take (by volume) needs to be refrigerated, I'd say the BWJ insulated system is overkill.

I bring fresh steaks and quite a few other items that benefit from being frozen to start a trip.  One small soft-sided cooler holds plenty for a party of 4:

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(The above is not my ad, it just shows the cooler I use)

REI and Cabelas have similar products.  If you need more than one, get two.  You can supplement the coolers with Sterilite or similar plastic boxes to hold your non-perishable foods.  For a party of four, I use 3 sterilite boxes that stack in my pack plus the soft cooler for frozen items.  I pull items out of the "freezer" as needed in time for them to thaw.  I can keep foods frozen for 2-3 days and refrigerated for at least a couple days past that.

I've had to give steaks time to thaw even on day #3 of a trip after pulling them from the cooler in late June...they were still soft-frozen in the middle.  Your mileage may vary depending on air temperature and how much sun-exposure your food pack gets. 

I get maximum benefit by packing the cooler pre-trip and putting it in my freezer at home (left open to allow max cold penetration) until the moment I'm ready to leave, then zip it up tight and throw it in an ice chest for the drive up to the park.  If the  cooler is stuffed full of frozen food there's no need for ice.  The food *is* the ice. Put the least perishable items (or items to be used first) around the edges and the most perishable items (or items to be used last) in the center.

This works well for me and I'd hazard a guess that it weighs a few pounds less when empty than Stu's massive insulated box.

That seems like a lot of money, unless you absolutely want fresh food in the middle of hot summer trips and are willing to pay out the money and put up with the hassle.  My book: it's not worth it. 

Being an experienced tripper, you know food spoilage isn't an issue in Fall and Spring.  We have fresh salad every night on our Fall and Spring trips! 

For all my trips I pre-cook any meat, like breakfast sausages, brats, and even hamburgers, then seal the meat with a foodsaver vacuum seal.   They stay good for 2 or 3 days, and longer on Fall and Spring trips.  Fresh cheese gets slimy after 4 days or so on August trips.  But it's manageable.  I bring in 2 smaller chunks rather than 1 big one, so one stays sealed for as long as possible.  I'm thinking about going to freeze-dried cheese, but haven't done so. 

Good luck! 

prouboy

I do trip with a BWJ pack cooler and it is something that I absolutely love. I deep freeze two gallon jugs of water, put them in the corners of the pack and it keeps all my frozen stuff cold for the better part of a weeklong trip. It is common for us to have chops, pheasant, etc. 4-5 nights into an August trip. Fish caught on one day can be filleted up and eaten the next.

Another real nice thing about it as the ice inside melts it becomes ice water that really slakes that deep down thirst. By switching the contents of the jug we can have ice cold oj for screwdrivers or ice cold bloody marys.

Another really nice part about it is that it's hard sided. Contents stay true to original form (bagels, crackers, tortilla chips, etc.).

It is the perfect size to hold two crazy creek chairs in between the hard box and the outer fabrtic pack. My filet board, sven saw, hatchet and grill grate fit snuggly on top between the box and the pack also. My maps in their their plastic case slide into the outer pocket on portages.

The pack itself is comfortable on the trail, stays behind me and does not swing side to side like the small soft sided coolers that I used to sling over my shoulder.

Is it worth $400 smackers? I don't know, I received the pack from a friend who moved to Taiwan. Would I buy another if my friend moved back and asked for its reurn? I probably would (with the ok from mrs. butcher of course).

thebutcher

I know Kondos makes this pack. You can usually check their website to possibly get a better deal. Sometimes they have soem spring clearance items.

CCS makes a similar pack that you soemtimes find on sale at one the spring expos.

I don't use this pack and bring a lot of fresh food, but I am sure it would work fine. The color makes a difference as well, gray would not attract the sun/heat as much as a dark green pack. I don't know if you would really need all of the stuff liek the poly box. The pack itself  would proably be an upgrade for your fresh food.


Tim

Never used the food packs-I suppose that is a throw back from my backpacking days and the investment that i have made in my foodsaver and dehydrator...I would hope that it would be the BOMB for 400 smackers....You could by a pack frame and affix a cooler to it. I have great luck and am completely content with the cheese in my pack after ten days and I actually enjoy dehydrated sweet potatoes more than fresh...but that is me and my backpack days and I like good food...it is part of the adventure for me and the people that i travel with. To each their own....what ever turns your crank-the pack frame and the cooler maybe half Heck why couldn't one just pick up a barrel harness and affix it to a cooler-or poly cyano foam a barrel-inside of course and bedline the inside of that?