Alcademics

These are the ice tools that I have used and recommend. I decided to put them all in one place. These links go to Amazon and you can view them all together at this link.

If you're coming to this page fresh, you'll want to check out the Index of Ice Experiments here on Alcademics.

Cooler: 

I use the Igloo Island Breeze 9 pretty much every day. It took about 8 years before I accidentally froze it solid too many times and had to replace it. 

I have not used the Igloo Legend 6 but it's a little smaller if you have less room in your freezer. 

Ice Picks:

Three-Prong: Most of the time I just use a 3-pronged ice pick for cutting up blocks of ice. This one from Uber Bar Tools is generally excellent, though eventually the center prong can come loose. Note that these don't seem to be resupplied so I'm not positive they're still being made. There is another brand that looks identical called Fortune Candy. I have purchased one of these but not used it yet. This is another one of the same style.

I have used this more popular and less expensive three-pronged pick, but mine quickly rusted. 

Single-Prong: I use this one from Uber Bar Tools, but as of 8/18/2020 they are out of stock on Amazon.  I also have the Anvil Ice Pick and it's well-made (at least the version I have) but I prefer the Uber pick. 

Clear Ice Balls Using a Thermos

As I wrote about here, I typically make ice balls using a Thermos Funtainer and 2.5" ice ball molds. The links for the ice ball molds keep changing so make sure to double check, but for now here is one that looks like what I buy. Just be sure to buy 2.5" ones that are separate rather than stuck together in a 4-pack. 

I have also made Death Star ice balls using this mold. 

Clear Ice Cube Trays

There are now a lot of trays that make ice without hacking! I think the Clearly Frozen tray gives you a lot of bang for your buck. 

For spheres, I like the Dexas Iceology tray.  It's well-built and the ice pulls out more easily than with any other tray. It makes slightly smaller spheres than I would like. The brand's square 2-inch cube trays are also excellent. 

For Larger Programs - Bars and Events

The Ghost Ice Tray fits into a large Coleman Party Stacker cooler and can fit in a walk-in freezer and some chest freezers. It makes 48 2-3-inch cubes in about 2 days. I tried out a smaller version here but it's really priced to use in the bigger cooler. The big system seems built to last. 

Small Ice Balls

In this post, I showed off some fun colored ice balls using this tray and this tray. 

Patterned Ice

Make patterns on ice with the ice designer ($160) or a meat tenderizer ($13), or cookie stamps ($27). 

DIY Ice Cube Trays using this method

Ice cube trays - Any of the large silicone ones from Tovolo, CoccktailKingdom, etc. 

Drip Irrigation Standard Tubing Hole Punch ($6)