Seal your food before it swims

Keeping food dry in a cooler comes down to one thing: never let the melted ice water touch the food.

Ice always melts. Even in a good cooler, it will eventually turn into water, and that water will find your sandwich. The trick is not to fight the melt—it’s to control where the water goes.

Put everything in waterproof containers. Ziploc bags work fine for most stuff, but for anything you don’t want re-crushed, use a hard-sided container or a leak-proof Tupperware. If you’re packing raw meat, double-bag it and keep it at the bottom so drips don’t contaminate anything else.

Use ice packs or frozen water bottles instead of loose ice. They melt slower, and they don’t turn the bottom of the cooler into a puddle. If you do use loose ice, angle food so it drains to one corner and crack the drain plug. Some coolers come with a basket or tray that keeps food above the melt line—use that.

Pre-chilling everything before it goes in helps too. A warm six-pack of beer will melt a lot of ice fast. And drain the water as it accumulates instead of letting it slosh around.

Your sandwiches will thank