A No-Ice Cooler? Oyster Tempo Keeps Drinks Cold Without the Mess
The only thing this $500 vacuum-insulated aluminum ice chest lacks is a drain. But why would you need one?
Oyster Tempo cooler.
Photographer: Janelle Jones for Bloomberg Businessweek
Patented in 1953, the modern ice chest has undergone many changes over the decades, swapping out tin and zinc for Styrofoam and plastic, as well as sprouting wheels, shoulder straps and Bluetooth speakers. Copious ice was always an essential part of the equation, at least until now. The $500 Oyster Tempo cooler nixes standard foam insulation and instead takes a page from Thermos-style bottles, which keep drinks cold via a thin vacuum layer between the inner and outer walls—no air, no heat transfer. While the interior 24-quart cavity stays cold, the outside exudes classic cool in the form of a picnic-basket-shaped aluminum body.
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