The last third of the can, still cold.

Thirty-six degrees on the back deck at five in the arvo. Two cans come out of the same esky at the same moment.

One goes into a foam stubby holder. Its owner sets it down to turn the snags, gets talking, and when he picks it up again the last third is warm and flat. It goes on the garden and he gets up for another.

The other goes into a Frostgrip with the lid screwed down. He sets his down too, for just as long. When he picks it up the beer is still cold, the steel is dry, and there is no ring of water on the table. He hasn't left his chair.

Same esky, same beer. What's wrapped around the can decides which of them finishes it cold.

Why the foam one gives up

Foam and neoprene are a jacket. They slow the warming for a while, then the condensation soaks them through and the heat walks straight in. The Frostgrip is two walls of thick-gauge stainless steel with a vacuum sealed between them, the same principle as a good thermos. Heat needs something to travel through, and a vacuum gives it nothing. The cold stays in with the can, and the heat of the afternoon and of your palm stays outside.

The outer wall never takes on the cold, so it never sweats. Your hand stays dry and so does the table.

Three sizes, so the can sits right

A one-size stubby cooler has to take everything, which is how a 330ml bottle ends up rattling around in one and a lid refuses to screw down over a can in another. The Frostgrip comes in three sizes, and you pick the one built around what's actually in your esky:

• 12 oz / 355ml: 355ml cans and short stubbies. The most compact in the hand.
• 14 oz / 414ml: the 375ml can. A bit more room inside.
• 17 oz / 503ml: tallboys, slim cans and the larger bottles.

Fit comes down to the shape of the can or bottle as much as the volume. Caught between two sizes, go up one.

The one to get

14 oz / 414ml, 2 Pack, A$59.95. It's the size for the 375ml can, and as a pair it works out at A$29.98 each, A$1.95 less than two singles. One for your hand, one for the chair beside yours.

Nothing to assemble. Drop the can in and screw the lid down, then twist it off when it's time for the next one. Free shipping anywhere in Australia, PO Boxes and Parcel Lockers included, delivered in 3 to 8 business days. If it isn't what you wanted, you have 30 days from delivery to send it back unused.