Its upgraded cooling tech doesn't stop there, as Qool ditches bagged ice for frozen inserts containing special phase change material (PCM) formulated to keep contents cold (or even frozen) for days, without the melting or mess. Long story short, this passive but intelligent cooler doesn't just threaten to knock off other coolers on its way to the top, it could even replace powered fridge/freezers for shorter trips and events.

Yeti made headlines for introducing the "first-ever" vacuum-insulated cooler in November 2019 when it revealed the steel-skinned V Series. But the Qool Box was already out there by that point, in Germany and environs, at least, winning awards like the ISPO Gold it took home in January 2019.

Qool is a spinoff of Vac-Q-Tec, a German-based international supplier of commercial-grade insulation for various industrial and business applications. Vac-Q-Tec's products include insulated packaging for keeping sensitive medication and healthcare supplies at proper temperatures during transport. As such, its technology goes beyond just keeping a tub of beer cold enough to drink on a summer day and is instead designed to keep products within precise temperature ranges.

With Qool, Vac-Q-Tec brings that advanced temperature regulation tech to the consumer cooler market, offering a cooler that doesn't just keep food and drink chilled in an ice bath for a couple days or week+ but keeps it within a desired temperature range, right down to frozen below -15 °C (5 °F). The two-part design starts with ground-up vacuum-insulated construction – the Qool Box's walls, lid and floor are all made using vacuum insulation panels, rather than the cheaper solutions typically used in coolers, such as foam.