Portable Medication Fridge: What to Check Before You Buy

This checklist holds for any portable medication fridge, also known as an electric medication cooler, even if you buy it somewhere else. In each section we wrote what to check, and then what our own product has, The Secrets Box, a portable medication fridge by Practi, including what it doesn't have.

Active or passive cooling, and what does a 2 to 8°C range mean?

This is the first check, because it decides whether the product produces cold or only holds on to cold you put into it.

• Passive: a cooler bag or an insulated pouch. The cold comes from ice packs, and the insulation only slows the warming.
• Active: the product produces cold by itself, as long as it has power.

Even among active products there's a difference that's easy to miss. Some products are built to stay within a defined range, and some only cool a number of degrees below the surrounding temperature.

What to check: that the spec states a range in degrees, and not "cools up to so many degrees below ambient". The range commonly used for medication that needs refrigeration is 2 to 8°C (36 to 46°F). What your own medication needs is written in its patient leaflet, and you can ask your pharmacist.

What ours has: The Secrets Box produces cold by itself and stays within 2 to 8°C (36 to 46°F) as long as it is plugged in to a wall outlet or a power bank. The power bank is sold separately. A smart system prevents freezing, and the temperature doesn't drop below 2°C (36°F). The XL 2.0 model reaches the range within 15 to 20 minutes, and the base model within 20 to 30 minutes.

We wrote separately about the difference from a cooler bag with ice packs: Medication cooler bag or portable fridge?

Does it have a display that shows the temperature?

Without a display you assume it's cold inside. With a display you see a number.

What to check: that the display shows the temperature itself, and not just a light that's on. It's also worth checking whether there's an alert when the product is disconnected from power.

What ours has: a digital temperature display. What it doesn't have: a disconnect alert. So it's worth glancing at the display now and then, especially after you've moved your bag or switched to a different outlet.

Rechargeable medication fridge: does it have a built-in battery?

The word "rechargeable" is confusing. Sometimes it means a built-in battery, and sometimes it means a product that runs from an external power bank.

What to check: whether there's a built-in battery, what power source the product runs from, how much power it needs, and what's in the box and what you buy separately.

What ours has: no built-in battery. The fridge works from any USB source: a wall outlet, a power bank, or a USB adapter for the car's lighter socket.

• In the box: a USB to USB-C cable, a wall charger and a bio-gel ice pack.
• Not in the box: the power bank is sold separately, and the USB adapter for the car's lighter socket is sold separately too.
• Which power bank: 10W of power. 20,000mAh or more is recommended, and 10,000mAh also works.

That's an extra expense, and it's worth factoring in when you compare products.

What happens when there's no power?

A day trip, the beach, an overnight ride. With any active product it's worth asking what the backup is.

What to check: whether there's a backup without power, and whether the figures published for it come with the ambient temperature and with their source. A number of hours without an ambient temperature doesn't say much.

What ours has: a bio-gel ice pack that's included in the box, as a backup for when there's no power. According to supplier data, with the ice pack the fridge stays within the cooling range for 33 hours at an ambient 30°C (86°F), 30 hours at an ambient 35°C (95°F) and 28 hours at an ambient 40°C (104°F). These are supplier figures and not our own measurement, and they describe the fridge, not any medication.

The display works only when the fridge is plugged in, so in ice pack mode there is no temperature reading.

• Freeze the ice pack at least 12 hours ahead.
• The medication doesn't touch the ice pack directly. Put it in the protective case, or wrap it in another insulating material.
• Either power or the ice pack, never both together: when the fridge is plugged in, you don't put an ice pack in it.

How many pens fit, and how do you check?

This is where it's easiest to go wrong. Capacity depends on the size of the pen, not on the family of the medication: two pens from the same family can have completely different widths.

What to check: that there's a list by pen name, and not just a general number like "up to so many pens". And if your pen isn't on the list, that there's someone to ask before you buy.

What ours has: you look up your own pen in the pens list, by model. The inner width of the cooling chamber is 5 cm in the base model and 6.2 cm in the XL 2.0 model.

Small medication fridge: what are the size, weight and noise?

A fridge that stays at home because it's bulky doesn't help on a trip.

What to check: height, width and weight in numbers, the noise level in decibels, and how you carry it. An active product needs air, so it's worth checking where the vents are.

What ours has:

• 26 cm (10.2 in) tall, 8.5 cm (3.3 in) wide.
• The base model weighs 800 grams, and the XL 2.0 model weighs 900 grams.
• Noise under 40dB.
• You carry it like a water bottle: it fits in the bottle pocket on the side of your bag, and the vents on the top stay uncovered.

Can you take it on a flight?

Yes. The fridge travels with you in the cabin, not in your suitcase.

What to check: that the product is small enough to board with you, and what the official guidance says about medication on flights. Clalit Health Services, an Israeli health fund, writes on its site (in Hebrew) that it's advisable to keep medication in your hand luggage and not in the suitcase that goes into the hold. It also says there that at security screening you declare medication to the screener before your bag is scanned.

Source: Clalit Health Services, Medication to take abroad (Hebrew)

In the United States, the TSA publishes that medically necessary liquids and gels are allowed in reasonable quantities for your trip, and that you declare them at the checkpoint. For gel ice packs it adds that the final decision rests with the officer on the spot.

Source: TSA, Medications (Liquid) · TSA, Gel Ice Packs

What ours has: The Secrets Box meets TSA rules for medication on flights. There is no "TSA approval" for medication fridges, so don't look for that kind of badge on any product. The rules for power banks are set by the airline, so it's worth checking its policy before you fly. More on this question: Medication in your suitcase or your hand luggage?

What about warranty, returns, shipping and who the seller is?

What to check: who the seller is and where they are, how long the warranty is and what it doesn't cover, whether you can return the product after opening it, and who pays for shipping.

What ours has:

• The seller: Pack It Smarter is an Israeli business.
• Warranty: the product comes with a warranty on design and manufacturing defects. The warranty doesn't cover breakage or damage caused by use. If there's a fault you contact us, and we handle the repair or replacement.
• Returns: you can return the product even after opening it, arranged over WhatsApp. Return shipping is paid by the customer, unless the product arrived defective. Your pen doesn't fit? You can return the product, even after opening.
• Shipping: free shipping in Israel. Delivery takes 10 to 20 business days, so it's worth ordering well ahead of your trip.
• The full details: the exact terms are written on the policy pages of our website: the refund policy, the shipping policy, and the warranty terms in the terms of service.

Which solution fits which trip?

Not every trip needs the same solution. The table compares four types of solution, not specific products.

	Cooler bag with ice packs	Insulated cooling pouch	Hotel fridge	Active portable medication fridge (electric medication cooler)
Source of cold	Ice packs you froze ahead	Insulation, sometimes with a small ice pack	The fridge in the room	Produces cold by itself
Can you see the temperature?	No, unless you add a thermometer	No, unless you add a thermometer	Depends on the fridge, usually no display	Yes, if it has a display and as long as it is plugged in. Ours does
Needs power?	No	No	Yes, the hotel's	Yes: a wall outlet or a power bank
How long it works	Until the ice packs thaw	Until the cold inside runs out	As long as you're in the room and it has power	As long as it is plugged in (the power bank is sold separately). Without power: according to the backup
Moves with you on the road?	Yes	Yes, and the lightest to carry	No	Yes
When it fits	A short outing, or a backup	A very short outing	Days when you stay at the hotel	Flights, long journeys, a trip with several stops

You can also combine them: the hotel fridge for the nights, and a portable solution for the road.

It sounds expensive, heavy and dependent on power: what's the honest answer?

The price: a portable medication fridge sounds expensive

True. A portable medication fridge costs more than a cooler bag with ice packs, and you need to add a power bank to the bill. You'll see the current price on the product page.

What we put against the price is what happens when cooling fails in the middle of a trip: replacement medication you have to get hold of in a foreign country, a hospital visit, travel days spent on errands. We know this up close. In the first week of a long trip in the East, our medication froze in a cooler bag with ice packs. In the end we got medication at a hospital in Thailand, the route changed, and it was a lot of headache. We didn't invent this fridge: we came across it after a lot of searching, started using it, and we've been travelling with it since. And beyond the money there's peace of mind: seeing a number instead of guessing.

Is it heavy?

You feel 800 or 900 grams in your hand, and we won't pretend otherwise. But the fridge travels with you in the cabin, not in your suitcase, so it doesn't add to the suitcase's weight. Both models come with a carrying bag, and the XL 2.0 is carried on the shoulder.

Does it depend on power?

Yes. It has no built-in battery, and without a wall outlet or a power bank it doesn't produce cold. That's what the bio-gel ice pack is for, as a backup for when there's no power. And since there's no disconnect alert, glance at the display from time to time while the fridge is plugged in: a dark display means it is not getting power.

Who doesn't need a portable medication fridge?

Not everyone needs one. If you're going out for a short time, if there's a fridge everywhere you're going, or if according to its patient leaflet your medication doesn't need refrigeration, a simple cooler bag with ice packs may be enough for you, and you may not need anything at all. The ones who answer that are the patient leaflet and your pharmacist, not us.

An active fridge starts to justify the money and the weight on long journeys, on flights with a layover, and on trips where you sleep somewhere different every night.

Questions that keep coming up

Which portable medication fridge is recommended?

It depends on your trip and your pen. Look for a product that answers the checklist: active cooling with a range in degrees, a display, a clear power source, a backup for when there's no power, a pens list by model, and warranty and return terms in writing. If an item is missing, ask the seller before you buy.

Is it a rechargeable medication fridge? Does it have a built-in battery?

No. There's no built-in battery. It runs from a wall outlet or from a 10W power bank, and the power bank is sold separately.

What's the difference between an electric medication cooler and a regular cooler bag?

An electric medication cooler produces cold by itself, and a regular cooler bag only holds on to the cold of the ice packs. The second difference is the display, which shows the temperature as long as the fridge is plugged in.

Can you leave it plugged in all the time?

Yes. It stays within 2 to 8°C (36 to 46°F) as long as it is plugged in to a wall outlet or a power bank (the power bank is sold separately). In continuous use of more than 4 days, it's recommended to unplug the fridge for a break of 20 to 30 minutes now and then.

Have you used it yourselves?

Yes. We used it continuously for more than four months, travelling in Thailand and Japan, in ambient temperatures between minus 3 and 37°C and above. Throughout that whole period the display showed 2 to 8°C.

If you've gone through the checklist and The Secrets Box answers what matters to you, all the details are on the page of the Practi portable medication fridge. And if it doesn't, this checklist will serve you with any other product too.

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How this article was written. We gathered this information from public sources online and brought it together in one place. We are not a medical body, we have no medical or pharmacy qualification, and no medical professional has gone over this article.

Accurate as of the update date shown at the top of this article. Information may change. Security procedures, airline guidelines, medication leaflets and product specifications change from time to time, and the information here may no longer be up to date. It is the reader's responsibility to verify every detail with the official source before acting on it.

This article is general information, not medical advice. For questions about your medication, talk to your pharmacist or doctor. It contains no recommendation on medication storage, dose, method of use or how long a medication stays usable. The only sources for those questions are your medication's patient leaflet, your pharmacist and your doctor. Responsibility for storing and using the medication lies solely with the user and their healthcare provider. The Secrets Box is a cooled carrying case for medication and is not a medical device.