I’ll admit, when I first saw the various 12 volt refrigerators in various overland vehicles I was skeptical. Why spend hundreds of dollars on a fridge to keep stuff cold when I’d done fine using a beat up old Igloo ice chest forever? Ice is cheap, readily available and I could throw pieces in my drink to boot. It just seemed…expensive and a solution looking for a problem.
Good grief, was I ever wrong, and my best friend Jared Chavez, Director of Brand Management at PROJECT X, was determined to show me why.
Jared approached me shortly after I purchased my 2022 Jeep Wrangler JL in November of 2022. PROJECT X was gearing up to develop a product line for the JL platform, coming off the success of their JK Wrangler and 6G Bronco product suites. He asked if I would be interested in testing out a Blizzard Box so they could determine two things:
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First, could their most popular fridge size, the 41 quart, fit in the back of the JL
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Second, would their in-house developed fridge and utility slides fit in the JL
Now, I’m not one to turn down free stuff, and my friend was asking me for his help as well. I did warn him I would give him honest feedback, that if something sucked I would tell him so. Anyone who has ever met Jared would tell you he doesn’t shy away from constructive criticism, so naturally he was game.
Fast forward to seven months, two fridges and probably four revisions of slide mounts when I produced the above video review.
The first fridge lasted about a month before inexplicably dying. After a lot of troubleshooting, we came to the conclusion the main board must’ve died and so I submitted a warranty claim via their normal website RMA process. The return went off perfectly with zero interference from Jared since he wanted to use the opportunity to test their customer service center. A few days later I had a brand new fridge sitting in the Jeep where it was subjected to constant abuse for six months.
During those six months, part of which was during summer, the fridge ran pretty much non-stop without a hitch. From weekend trips to Paso Robles, days at the beach, rock crawling in Big Bear, and everyday errand running the fridge continued to prove it’s usefulness over and over again. What started off as skepticism quickly turned into, “Where the hell has this been my whole life!?”
Lunch date with your significant other and she wants to go shopping afterward? Toss the leftovers in the fridge, not the trash. Picking up cuts of meat from the grocery store on the way home from work? Fridge. Hot summer days and your son is worn out from summer camp? Ice cold Capri Suns make dad the hero, and all that is just the day to day use. On the trails, the fridge shined. No more melted ice water sloshing around in a cooler making for water logged sandwiches, let alone bags of fresh ice taking up half the space. We could pack generous lunches, snacks and drinks for us and friends with room to spare.
You’re probably saying, “Ok, we get it, it keeps stuff cold. What about features? What makes the utility of it?”
The 41 quart size, to me, is the perfect size for a fridge like this. It’s just large enough to hold a couple days of food and drinks without sucking up your entire cargo area. The lid design of the Blizzard Box is unlike the traditional hinged, lift up styles on other fridges. Thanks to dual latches, one on each end, it functions not only as a lift up lid, but can also be completely removed with ease. This is especially useful if you have overhead cargo storage that would otherwise made opening a lid difficult.
The fridge also has a lot of the usual features you’d find on other 12v fridges such as:
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adjustable temperature settings, from 0* up
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voltage protection levels to prevent you from killing your vehicle battery
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an auxiliary USB charging port for devices
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sturdy carry handles
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interior metal baskets to make loading and unloading easy
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standard style two prong 12v power cord
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110v AC power cord
Accessory wise, I should add that PROJECT X and TYPE S Automotive (their sister company) offer an insulated cover for the fridge. I highly recommend one of these. The common misconception is they keep the fridge from getting too hot or too cold, which may be true for momentary temperature changes but if your vehicle is sitting in the hot sun for a while the heat inside the vehicle will overwhelm any insulation value these add. What they are important for is rapid temperature swings, and they do help keep the fridge from cycling more often. This does help with power consumption and I notice a difference when I run the fridge without the cover.
Also offered are replacement baskets, power cords and their utility slides!
Another feature of the fridge that, while not unique to Blizzard Box, is not as prevalent in competitors: metal lined compartments. I especially like this because, as we surely have all experienced, plastic coolers can “soak up” smells from their contents. This results in that lovely, stale, “old refrigerator at the weird, twice removed aunt’s house” smell that somehow also permeates your food. With the metal lining, this isn’t an issue. Throw in a baking soda odor absorber and you can go much, much longer between heavy cleanings. Which reminds me…it’s probably time for one.
You could say I’m a fan. My wife has remarked more than once, “I love this thing!”, and my nine year old son and his friends are always impressed when I bust out those cold, delicious Capri Sun pouches. If this fridge ever dies and I have to buy a replacement, I’d buy another Blizzard Box with zero hesitation.
If you are interested in buying a fridge, head over to PROJECT X and grab one there where they have sizes from 13 quarts all the way up to a monster 99 quart dual zone beast. You know, just in case you have to hydrate a small army.
By using the link below and using the coupon code “STAYREADY”, you get special pricing via my affiliate link which helps me to continue to bring you new content and also keeps some cash in your pocket.
BLIZZARD BOX by PROJECT X OFFROAD
Disclaimer - I was given this product by PROJECT X for testing purposes and review. The opinions contained in this review are my own and I was under no contract or stipulations to give a positive review in exchange for this product or other compensation.