Pre-chilling a cooler is worth the ten minutes.

Yes, it helps—a lot.

The trick is simple: fill the empty cooler with ice or frozen packs at least 12 hours before you need it, then drain the water and add fresh ice right before loading. You’re not trying to freeze the cooler, just drop its internal temperature so the first batch of ice isn’t fighting hot plastic.

If you’re short on time, even a few hours of pre-chill helps. Just dump a bag of ice in, close the lid, and come back. Pour out the melt water before you pack—cold water is still better than warm air, but draining gives you dry ice that lasts longer.

Also, pre-chill your drinks and food in the fridge overnight. Warm cans thrown into a pre-chilled cooler will murder your ice much faster than cold ones.

Your beer deserves the extra step.