Even though we’ve made it through the statistically hottest day of the year — July 19th — how the heck are we going to keep our beers cold for the rest of the summer? Until you can finally get that self-cooling beer can or special solar beer-can insulating tech in your hands, if you want to savor your brew, it would be worth it to use a cozy. The geeks at My Science Project wondered just how well the various styles of cozies work, so they set out to do a scientific test in 92-degree summer heat, keeping their 47.3-degree beers cold as long as they could.

The winner of the competition was the Thermos Thermax Can Insulator, a $13.25 cooler (see it above with the Cohiba cigar logo) that kept the beer the coldest over an hour, ending up at 53.4F, beating out a foam cozy at 58.6F, a pewter/foam model at 58.2F, and the naked can at 69.2F. The guys also tried out some homemade insulators, with an awkward block of styrofoam doing better than a traditional cozy, cardboard coming in second, and aluminum foil, LEGOs, bagels, Rice Crispies, wool knit, wristbands, doughnuts and a space blanket making less difference.

For us, when it’s 92 degrees outside, we’d rather just imbibe a frosty mug of the suds inside where it’s cool. If it’s that hot and we must go out, we’ll just leave them in the fridge or cooler until it’s time to quaff, and then chug-a-lug. Never mind all that if you’re European — just leave that can out in the sun for a while so you can enjoy drinking it boiling hot.

Via MyScienceProject