Three out of five starsManufacturer: P&P ImportsPrice: $19.95Web site: www.kegfun.com/n-icerack

When it comes to beer pong, there are some things that are just plain inconvenient.

One is how easily this favorite college pastime facilitates the spread of communicable diseases — mostly as a byproduct of our insistence that the ‘rinse cup’ will rid the ping pong ball of any conceivable amount of filth it managed to accumulate on its wild bounce around a house party. Another is warm beer.

Luckily, the folks at P&P Imports have figured out a way to solve the latter problem. Their solution is a product called the N-Ice Rack.

Essentially, the company’s creation is a blue plastic water container formed to hold up to 10 plastic cups in that familiar triangular formation so many college students know and love. Players fill the Rack with water and freeze it. By placing the cups in the Rack during play, it’s supposed to keep beers cold no matter how bad your opponents are at the game.

I have to say I was skeptical at first.

The slots for the cups aren’t very deep, about an inch or so, so I was initially worried that any thermal benefit from the ice underneath wouldn’t count for much.

But after an extensive period of testing over the weekend, where a few colleagues and I experimented by playing with and without the N-Ice Rack, it’s clear that these things keep the beer cold — ice cold. I was actually a little shocked by how low the temperature was, since I’m used to guzzling down a room temperature beverage while I play.

The product also conveniently sets up a perfect rack in every conceivable formation, from the ‘Power-I’ to ‘The Triforce.’ Some of these reracks, however, require players to rotate the N-Ice Rack itself, but this is often easier than shuffling cups around anyway.

Much to the appreciation of your landlord or anal retentive roommate, the Rack also makes the cups more stable and less likely to fall off the table, spilling cheap beer all over the carpet or linoleum. As one casual observer put it, using the N-Ice Rack is a lot like “bowling with bumpers.”

But the product does have one drawback — it’s size. The Rack is made for 10-cup games, which unless you’re a burgeoning alcoholic, are neither popular or frankly that much fun.

While owners of top freezers won’t suffer the size much, the 10-cup Rack means it will barely fit in a standard side freezer. We had to shuffle a few frozen pizzas around before finally cramming the two Racks inside. And if you’re planning on shelling out twenty bucks for a set to go in your dorm room’s compact freezer (assuming you reside in one of the on-campus residence halls that permits the consumption of alcohol), you might as well forget it. Otherwise, I would say the extra four spots in the back make great nongame beer holders (which they do).

The N-Ice Rack is definitely one of those gadgets that college students can live without. But nevertheless, it’s a fun idea and would probably make a great addition to the toolkit of any serious tailgater/party host.

And despite it’s Carolina blue color, the N-Ice Rack would be right at home on top of any N.C. State-themed custom beer pong table.

Do you have a gadget you want the Technician to review? E-mail your suggestions to scitech@technicianonline.com.