Arctic Chill - 2" Silicone Ice Cube Trays - 8 Cube Trays - 2 Pack - Make 16 - 2 Inch Cocktail Ice Cubes

At last, Arctic Chill has finally perfected a way to make decent ice cubes without the tray exploding.I've been know to freeze 2 inches of water in a Styrofoam cup and then place the cup in a bowl so when it burst open it wouldn't mess up the freezer. Then I'd have to peel shards of Styrofoam off of my nice-size ice cube before I could use it.Ice cube machines make wet ice that melts quickly. That might be okay for people who use the ice as soon as it falls into the basket but it's still dripping wet. If you put a basket of ice in the freezer, it must be chopped up after about 15 minutes or else you'll have one huge ice cube. Chopping ice is a pain.Running back to the freezer every 15 minutes for ice is also a pain.The $125.00 ice cube machine I used for 2 months before discovering these fantastic silicone trays made cone-shaped cubes. A one-inch cone has more surface area than a one-inch cube, as a result, it melts faster.I filled two, 20-ounce Styrofoam cups with ice cubes. One cup contained three, 2-inch cubes frozen in the silicone trays and the other cup was filled with the ice from the machine. I left both cups on the kitchen counter in 75-degree room temperature.The ice from the machine melted in 2 hours. After 6 hours, the three, 2-inch cubes were still large enough to chill a 12-ounce drink.Three large cubes in a 20-ounce Styrofoam cup is the perfect size for a 12-ounce drink. It fills the cup right to the brim. I can enjoy two refrigerated 12-ounce drinks, place my cup with 3 ice cubes in the freezer and do the same thing for 2 more days on the same 3 ice cubes.Ice machines have to be drained and wiped dry after use or they will mildew. That's a pain.My ice machine is now stored away waiting for the next garage sale.Now, back to these great silicone trays. It took me a bit of trial and error to find the best way to empty them.The method that works best for me is to firmly grasp the tray with both hands and push the 4 center cubes out with my thumbs. Unless you have strong hands, it might be necessary to place both thumbs on the same cube. Just bend the tray backwards and push. Pop the end cubes out last. The more I do it the easier it gets.My wife does have a bit of trouble getting the cubes out but she can do it.Weak hands might have a bit of difficulty at first. If that's the case, allow the trays to sit out on the counter for about 5 minutes and they will pop out fairly easy.At the end of the day, I have thrice the nice ice at a fraction of the price.

I like these. Unlike the veritable legion of fortunate reviewers on here who got these gratis, I actually paid money for mine, but nevertheless I'm mostly happy with them. I'm just wondering how one gets on the "free stuff" mailing list. Obviously not by writing brutally honest reviews, as I have sometimes done... Ahem. But I like these, I do.Be aware that they do not make perfect cubes; there is a bevel on the bottom edges. If you're OCD about perfect cubes, you will find this horrifying, but most people probably won't care at all, and I bet it makes the "cubes" easier to release even as it robs their very cubiness, which is not a word. These do not actually defy the laws of physics, as advertised. They melt at the same rate as other ice, and the only way you can have a cold drink in the summertime for hours on end without your ice diluting your drink is if you're sitting in a walk-in freezer, which removes the attraction of a cold drink, now doesn't it? The amount of surface area might have a little to do with it, but I don't think it's much of a factor, if any at all; I think it's mainly a question of x amount of drink at temperature a meets y amount of ice at temperature b, and all of that mixes and encounters air at temp c, and a sort of dynamic equilibrium results as the system bleeds heat to the room, or vice versa. I don't think it really matters whether it's one big ice cube, several smaller ones, or a handful of snow, as in a slushie... I think they'll all melt at the same rate, all else being equal. I think what these large cubes do is to get you to put more ice into your drink, which then lasts longer, giving you the illusion that it's melting slower. [Edit to admit: I was wrong. Everybody else was right. Surface area matters. Thanks, everyone, for the basic education in physics and thermodynamics!]In any case, these are worth buying if you're interested in making water into cubes barely big enough to fit into your glass. Silicone is good stuff, tough and nonreactive. In addition to water, all sorts of other things can be frozen into large(ish) cubes if you so desire. And of all the things you're going to do-it-yourself this week, I absolutely guarantee that making your own set of silicone ice cube trays is not among them. So you'd better buy these, while your bucks still have some bang!

The ice cubes themselves are great, and the lid is super nice for stacking and stuffBut man is it a pain to get the icecubes out sometimes.Gotta run it under warm water for a minute and it still tricky

UPDATE: after i noted in my first review how difficult it is to get the ice cubes out of the tray right out of the freezer, a response suggested that i would have a much easier time if i left the tray out for a few minutes (thanks to the seller for diligently checking reviews and offering useful suggestions). i did that, although it seems sort of antithetical to my idea of ice cubes (letting them melt), and it worked very well. having a little water separated the ice cubes from the silicone nicely. these ice cubes are big enough that it's okay to let them melt a little bit. and the hard plastic trays can also be difficult, while at least with silicone i don't need to worry about breaking the tray even if i do wrestle with it. i'll stick with these trays.the size is nice, but it's nearly impossible to actually get the ice cubes out of this thing, which i find useful, even crucial, to actually using the ice cubes. i have to wrestle with this thing for 10 minutes to get any of the ice cubes out, so i generally just say no thanks. i expected silicone to be a bit easier.

You know what? LOVIN' this ice cube tray. Mammoth cubes, minimal 'tipping out' fuss. That's with a week's usage, mind.

Very decent love the large cubes that it makes . made of thick silicon so that when you fill with water it does not bend ,

I would give these 10 stars if I could. I purchased these trays 3 years ago and have used them non-stop ever since. They are so easy to use, as long as you don't overfill them which can make the first couple of ice cubes harder to extract. Otherwise, they pop out, very easy on the hands. The ice cubes themselves last much longer than regular sized cubes; I put one in my Contigo travel mug and it lasts all day. Very impressive. Also -- I travel a lot and love my ice, so these trays have travelled to many countries with me which ensures I have/make safe, accessible ice for keeping my water chilled throughout the day. So easy and light to pack. Highly recommend.

Massive and brilliant for setting things in as well as huge ice,

Work quite well. It is easy to take out a single ice cube without emptying the entire lot in the tray.