Oyster Tempo is Literally the Most Chill Outdoor Cooler Ever Designed

If names like Yeti, Tundra, and RTIC strike a chord, you’ve likely gone through the sticker shock associated with deliberating between very large rectangular blocks of insulated plastic. Ice coolers fall under the product category of “you wouldn’t believe how much these things cost,” at least when considering options amongst a top performing tier of coolers attached to price tags of hundreds of dollars. Oyster, a new Norwegian brand will still set you back $500, but it introduces a uniquely smaller and more efficient design aiming to suck out the air from its larger and bulkier competition.

Even the best hard cooler requires pouring large amounts of ice to retain a cold drink temperature for hours, making for a laborious haul, ironically heating the carrier while attempting to keep the contents cool. The Tempo proposes something a bit wild: subtracting ice out of the equation. That is, if you start off by throwing in cold drinks or food to begin with. The Tempo’s patented double-wall vacuum insulation technology is so efficient in preventing heat transfer from occurring – keeping cold temps within from escaping and warmer ambient air from intruding. The cooler can keep cold foods or drinks chill for hours without ice… or for much longer aided by two included ice packs.

The sleek extruded aluminum cooler essentially works just like those popular double-walled metal flasks you might already carry around everywhere to keep your coffee hot or water cold throughout the day, creating an insulated and vacuumed sealed interior large enough to fit 36 cans of beverages within. The only caveat of the design is if you dent it, it’s going to wear the signs of your mishaps forever (but that’s what strategically placed stickers are for).

The cooler’s rectangular shape is in itself an innovation; previous attempts to manufacture anything beyond a cylindrical vacuum-insulated shape would fail to retain their shape over an extended span of time. Oyster stands by their design so confidently, not only will they replace any broken parts, they claim their replacement policy even extends out to damage if your cooler is “mauled by a bear.”

Outward appearances may give off the impression the Tempo is designed only for modest loads. But because of the thin-walled design, the Tempo offers three times the capacity compared to other rotomolded coolers of similar size.

As the owner of an enormous and unwieldy rotomolded cooler, the Tempo’s manageable size is revelatory, and to be frank, suitable for more than 80% of our typical hiking, camping, or picnicking adventures. Pair that with the Tempo’s extraordinary ability to keep contents cold without bagfuls of ice, the quick-switch handle or strap carrying system, superior portability, and its subjectively standout industrial good looks, and the Tempo is arguably the coolest cooler on the market.

This post contains affiliate links, so if you make a purchase from an affiliate link, we earn a commission. Thanks for supporting Design Milk!

Bruce Willis’ wife to paparazzi: Stop with the "yippee-ki-yays" and yelling

Follwing the "Sixth Sense" star's dementia diagnosis, his wife pleads for some common decency when he's in public

"A damn legend": Outpouring of love and admiration for Bruce Willis

The revelation of the actor's dementia diagnosis inspired many to share their support and memories of his work

Marcel Wanders’ Skynest Lighting Doesn’t Use a Single Bulb

When we think about a light fixture – whether it’s a wall sconce, floor lamp, or ceiling pendant – we often conjure up an image of a bulb and some sort of covering, like a lamp shade or glass orb. Marcel Wanders’ Skynest lighting for FLOS checks off none of these characteristics. Instead, the Dutch designer employs filaments of light to illuminate both the fixture and the space it is placed in. Twenty-four LED light sticks are woven like thread with 48 tubes of textile. Like a spirograph made three-dimensional, Skynest attracts your eyes with its geometric design and challenges the idea of the typical bulb lighting archetype. In other words, the basket-like “shade” is actually the light source. Available in four colorways (Almond, Blue Tormaline, Brick, and Anthracite) and various models (including Pendant, Ceiling, Wall, and Ceiling-to-Floor variants), Skynest creates an unforgettable moment in any space.

For more on Marcel Wanders’ Skynest, visit flos.com.