Camping and mountaineering are 2 different things. When you load up your backpack and head into the wilderness on a mountaineering expedition you’re going to be toting along freeze-dried food and a tiny stove to cook it on. By contrast, when you roll into the campsite with your family you’ll likely be staying near the car, perhaps have a multi-burner stove and use this area as a base of operations. Any such base needs to have food at the ready. To make sure that food doesn’t spoil and that the beverages are nice and cold you need a camping cooler. The cooler for camping is larger than the day cooler you might take on a picnic or to the kid’s softball game. It has to be. Chances are you’re going to be in the campsite for at least a couple of days, probably longer. And you can’t be running out to the nearest country store every time someone wants a hot dog or a cold drink. Keep in mind too that the cooler won’t be much good if you don’t pack it properly or if you keep leaving the top open.\r