Fresh Fishing field test
£55 Lidsters Cool Box.
Wayne and Foxy put the 25-litre model to work on the bank. Here’s the honest early verdict after its first 24 hours.
We had been meaning to add a proper cool box to the Fresh Fishing kit for a while. With warm-weather sessions, food to keep fresh and the occasional social to stock with cold drinks, the 25-litre Lidsters Fishing Cool Box looked like a practical size at a sensible price.
Watch Wayne and Foxy’s full bankside review
A solid bit of kit
Sturdy, sensibly sized and already doing exactly what we bought it for. Our drinks and food stayed properly cold through the first day, while the flat lid proved useful as a bivvy-side table. These are early impressions, but so far we are impressed.
Why the 25-litre model?
Lidsters offers the cool box in a range of capacities, but the 25-litre version felt like the sweet spot for us: large enough for a session’s food, drinks and ice packs, without becoming another oversized item to haul to the swim.
We paid around £55 on Amazon using the channel’s own money. Delivery was quick through Prime when we ordered, although prices, availability and delivery terms can change.
Carpy looks, reassuring build
The muted grey-green colour fits naturally alongside carp-fishing luggage and bivvy gear. Foxy called it “carpy”; Wayne reckoned it could be even carpier. Either way, it looks at home on the bank.
More importantly, it feels robust. The body has a reassuringly solid feel, the main handle is substantial, and the side handles pull into place to lock the lid down securely.
How cold did it stay?
At roughly the 24-hour mark, the inside still felt seriously cold. Drinks taken out the previous evening had been properly chilled, and the food—including chicken, shakes and vegetables—was being kept fresh as expected.
There is a dedicated area beneath the lid for one of the supplied ice packs, with the others placed inside the main compartment. It is a simple detail, but it helps spread the cooling rather than leaving everything piled around one pack at the bottom.
For a first session, it kept everything cold and doubled as a genuinely useful bit of bivvy furniture.
More than just a cool box
The flat, sturdy lid makes a surprisingly good table next to a bedchair. There are two moulded drink holders, plus a 14-inch measuring guide across the top that can be used when tying or checking rigs.
Those additions are not essential to the cooling performance, but they make the box feel designed for anglers rather than simply adapted for them.
What about the RidgeMonkey alternative?
We also considered a similar RidgeMonkey cooler. At the time of buying, our impression was that the comparable option would cost roughly £10–£15 more. We have not run a controlled head-to-head test, so this is not a claim that one performs better than the other—only that the Lidsters looked like strong value for what we needed.
Ideal for sessions and socials
The 25-litre box should get plenty of use on regular overnighters, but it will be just as welcome at Fresh Fishing socials. Being able to keep a proper supply of food and drinks cold without relying on flimsy bags is exactly why we wanted one.
Final verdict
After its first outing, the Lidsters 25L has made a very good impression. It is solid, practical, easy to carry and thoughtfully laid out. The cooling performance was strong over our first 24 hours, and the lid features make it more useful around the bivvy than a basic cooler.
Long-term durability still needs to be proven, but if you are looking for a sensibly priced fishing cool box, this one is certainly worth considering.
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