best camp cooler with wheels
4) shut the lid firmly and leave it shut. Max spends most springs harvesting maple syrup at an off-the-grid tree farm and uses ice chests to keep that tempting amber elixir from spoiling. This is a great 50 quart cooler. It managed to maintain sub-40º F temperatures for 2.6 days, besting the similarly sized Stanley Adventure by several hours and leaving the Pelican Elite 20qt in the dust (which had a disappointing performance of just 1.4 days under 40º F). It has a broad handle featuring comfortable and functional rubber grips on either end, making it a breeze to stroll down the sidewalk, through the grass, and across the beach with this box in tow. But pulling the Rovr with its air-filled wheels lets you glide over imperfections in the ground and keeps your hands happy. It got stuck on tree roots a few times, but otherwise, the cooler certainly met my expectations. When the fun is done, the leak-resistant drain lets you remove water without turning the cooler upside down, so you're ready for your next fun adventure in no time. Now the bad, lid hinge has a lot of play in it. Therefore, if you seek a mobile refrigerator, Cho Power Sports Portable Freezer Cooler is the best 12-volt refrigerator for you. The soft sides are more comfortable against your body. Every time we've used it over the past several years, it seems to pick up numerous extra scratches and dirt, though it still works the same. She spent eight years at Iowa State University completing two science degrees and teaching numerous college science courses, so she has a comprehensive understanding of the importance of rigorous and scientific testing processes. NO. Yes, in the back, between the two wheels, at the bottom of the cooler. A beefy, integrated hinge in the sturdy rotomolded exterior protects contents from the trials of all your outdoor adventures. Often replicated, we greatly enjoy the usability of these simple rubber T-grips. This multi-use cooler allows your food and drinks to stay cool and your hands to stay free. Those same results of our insulation testing, expanded to more clearly see the differences between individual performances. This is not one of them. Lastly, the bike attachment accessory is seriously impressive. So if you find a current lower price from an online retailer on an identical, in-stock product, tell us and we'll match it. She is an avid camper and even lived in her teardrop trailer for a hot summer. We also considered the overall shape and size of each competitor as part of its usability score. Coleman soft coolers are perfect for all outdoor events. Wheeled coolers may appear astoundingly portable, but we found that their actual usefulness in this metric is wildly dependent on their wheel design and clearance. The Rovr has a sizeable dry bin and tall interior with nearly vertical walls, making it much more comfortable than most models to pack it exactly how you want it and keep it organized. In testing the Yeti Tundra Haul cooler, we were impressed by Yetiâs attention to detail (but then again, we shouldnât be surprised after putting the Hondo camp chair through a thorough test). The Roadie 24 and OtterBox Venture both have plastic and rubber latches similar to the Xspec, but they're both exceptionally easy to use, requiring less finagling and feeling much stronger overall. A certification from the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee verifies that the product in question has been tested by said committee and meets minimum standards for design and structural standards that are considered "bear-resistant" by a team of grizzly bear experts. All trademarks property of their respective owners Equally as important, the Rovr's handle swings out far enough from the chest's body to avoid painful heel smashing. Once you arrive, the Have-A-Seat lid ensures you have an extra place to sit and relax, and the cup holders molded into the lid keep your drink close and prevent spills. We think the latches are a bit stiff to manipulate but can become easy to learn with some practice. We challenged every pair of wheels to roll not only over the smooth, paved driveway of your friend's house but also over the soft sand at the beach, the chunky construction debris that's strewn across the path to the park, and the lumpy uncut grass of your Saturday picnic spot. The OtterBox Venture is one of several coolers boasting a dry storage bin included with your cooler. If it required no effort at all, it wouldn't seal very well. 5) fill the cooler fully with ice and beverages - don't leave it half full to start with. Portable. The Camp-Zero Carry-All Backpack Cooler with detachable straps is the perfect companion for any outdoor experience. Rotomolded construction and an airtight seal lend ample insulation power to get through most weekend camping trips. We've tested 30+ models over 7 years in search of the best cooler. But this one does not. Bring fresh food and cold beverages just about anywhere with the right cooler. Additionally, this category of equipment has practically exploded with options over the past several years. To form a complete picture of each cooler's performance, we implemented a wide range of tests over six different, mutually exclusive metrics. Still, it lags behind the best performers that achieved over six days of keeping food below that USDA safety threshold. When choosing the best camping chair, we have a lot of... recommended maximum acceptable temperature by the FDA to ensure food safety, certification from the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee, be sure to always check local regulations, the world's most carefully tested and objective gear reviews, Excellent insulation, super durable, easy to use, great size, Excellent insulation, great drainage, durable, compact design, Very durable, good insulation, comfortable handle grips, Pretty good insulation, convenient size, comparatively lightweight, good price, The best wheels, very durable, comfortable to pull, useful accessories, Good insulation, great features, useful shape, reasonable weight, less expensive, Sturdy construction, easy-to-use latches, good insulation for its size, multiple ways to carry, User-friendly latches, large capacity, decent insulation, durable walls, Excellent insulation, easy to use latches, large capacity, Lightweight, excellent insulation, relatively inexpensive, thick and durable walls and lid, comfortable handle, Good drain, included basket, removable handles, durable, Plenty of features, beefy construction, solid insulation, Super lightweight, decent insulation for the price, surprisingly large capacity, inexpensive, Easy to use, large capacity, feature-filled, Easy to use latches, fits very tall objects, built-in bottle opener, Very lightweight, useful medium size, simple to use, inexpensive, Good drainage, convenient shape, large capacity for a personal cooler, Expensive, no leash for plug, smaller than claimed, Tall narrow shape is hard to dig through, expensive, not our favorite handles, A bit large for one person, no leash for plug, latches are scarily stretchy, Handles uncomfortable, not our favorite latches, Not amazing insulation, awkward latches, expensive, on the heavy side, Handle gets in the way of opening, no drain, not totally airtight, Hinge not most durable, awkward shape, expensive, Heavy, not enough clearance, expensive, awkward shape, Doesn’t seal against water/air, hinges not sturdy, rubber latches catch against your leg, So-so insulation, details less well-executed than others, harder to carry, Bulky for its internal capacity, doesn't seal, poor drain design, Not airtight, not particularly durable, uncomfortable handles, Uninspiring insulation, low quality seal, shape difficult to use, Not overly durable, unimpressive insulation, poor drainage, Lackluster insulation, questionable durability of lid clasps, single carry option, expensive for what you get, For the toughest, best insulated, and highest all-around performing cooler; the Tundra is where it’s at, Top-notch insulation in a long-lasting, compact design, Great, long-lasting performance in a premium and functional cooler, A less expensive option that still performs well in the face of some stiff competition, Wheels that work and features you didn’t know you couldn’t live without, With reliable performance, this cooler is a great shape and is easy to use - and a solid value, A sturdy, handy personal-sized model that's great for extensive use in the car and outdoors and pretty much anywhere, A good performer though with an odd shape, A large, oddly shaped cooler with less-than-impressive rolling abilities, A great value for a solid personal cooler, An okay cooler that just isn't quite as good as we hoped it would be for the price, Adequate insulation at a lower price as long as you're okay with extra bulk, A low cost for a decent cooler. ), it makes for a vastly better system of pulling. Wherever you're headed campgrounds, tailgate parking lot, or across a ball field the heavy-duty wheels and locking telescoping handle let you roll over almost any terrain with hardly any effort. Our cooler is a large thermos cooler, and now I get at least an additional two-three days from the ice. We bought some ice, filled them each around ⅓ full, and loaded cans into them. The following day, about 72 hours after packing the cooler, I unpacked it. The Igloo IMX and Igloo Trailmate wire baskets are a tighter wire weave, making it much easier to keep small items contained than most other models. While camping, the temperatures were in the mid to upper 80s. I needed food and drinks to stay cold for only 2 days, so I figured a 5-day cooler would work. Easy to use latches combine plastic clasps with rubber security for an easy opening and closing experience aided by a pressure release push-valve. the lid closes fine. Unlike the rubber latches of many of their competitors that you stretch into place, Pelican's latches are a simple push design, featuring a release button in the middle that 'unlocks' the lid, allowing you to lift the latch away from the body and raise the top. As the market continues to grow, many manufacturers have stopped including specific number-of-day claims or have started adding asterisks to those claims that require limiting conditions to exist for them to be met. Still, others have specific slots to tie them down in your boat, backseat, or truck bed. We also tested Yeti's bear locks on the Tundra in Yosemite National Park. If that's not enough, it also comes standard with some of the most useful features we've seen (no extra purchase required), including a large, removable dry bin and a giant dry storage box that attaches to the lid and literally doubles the amount of stuff you can haul. In the realm of incredibly tough ice chests, the Xspec 60qt emerges as an impressive model with a price tag that offers some respite from the rest. A low and long model is easy to find things in but harder for one person to carry. The list goes on and on. It's important to note that we do not factor the gear's price into its performance scores or overall score. cardboard box would work just as good. Though the OtterBox Venture isn't rotomolded, its insulation performance outstrips many coolers that are, proving that rotomolded construction isn't the only important factor when it comes to insulation prowess. I wish the tires were a little bit bigger, because we ended up dragging the cooler through the sand for a bit. Built to handle the abuse of outdoor adventures while keeping your food and drinks icy cold, the super-rugged YETI Tundra 45 Cooler provides 32.9 liters of cold storage for your camp. Feeling fancy? What are the types of cooler or ice chest? It also attaches to the side of the interior with a simple hand screw, which means it won't move during transit like all the other baskets are wont to do. The Stanley, as the largest of the small coolers, is the toughest to carry. She ropes in friends and family to her testing to gain perspectives from all ages and abilities. -- So no problems with it popping open. We camped out at the lake where the temperatures were around mid-90s during the day. Please take a minute to review our Privacy Policy. The Xspec 60qt is a great example of a high-value model, offering above-average insulation, rugged construction, and impressive usability for just over half the cost of some of the competition. Upon opening the cooler that first meal in the evening, I found that food I had refrigerated (fruit, butter) had frozen in the 4 hours it had been in the cooler. Sorry, this webpage requires JavaScript to function correctly. It also only comes with a short 30-day warranty—not exactly awe-inspiring up against competitors' 5-year, 10-year, and even lifetime warranties. The two 3-gallon bottles of water were still about 2/3 frozen. how long it keeps items cool depends on several factors. If you follow those steps, you will still have a speck of ice, a bunch of really cold water, and very cold beverages five days later. And you get these impressive capabilities from a cooler that is only 18 inches long, 12 inches wide, and 13.5 inches tall â weighing only 5.3 pounds. Like many of the models we tested, the Tundra still has a little lip on the inside the bottom of the drain, making it challenging to 100% empty without flipping the whole thing on its end. Maggie doesn't underestimate a great cooler's value, whether it's for off-grid living, celebratory summit beers, road trips, or backyard barbecues. On the lower end of the price spectrum, wheels and axles are a major point of failure, one of the first things to go on a cooler. It's the only model we tested that has actual pneumatic tires instead of cylindrical plastic chunks labeled as wheels. Soft sided: A soft-sided cooler usually has a carrying strap. Rubber T-grip latches are popular as a durable, easy to use solution for keeping your ice chest closed. What a DIFFERENCE this has made! Even after regular use over several years, the Tundra works just as well as the day we bought it. Little things that make a product easier to use, more conducive to your lifestyle, or help you not have to carry so much stuff with you can make a difference in how excited you are to use it. The 50ºF threshold we highlight represents the average maximum ideal temperature to serve beer. When it comes to rolling coolers, the Rovr is easily our favorite. 12 Volt Coolers & Camping Fridges â Comparison Table 1) precool the cooler. Electrode, Comp-b506fe56-f91c-4fd2-9abb-d609a7ed47de, DC-scus-prod-a13, ENV-prod-a, PROF-PROD, VER-20.0.43, SHA-a12e9567312ae30bac89cb57d430342bb81604b1, CID-e9431606-007-177f202237ae26, Generated: Tue, 02 Mar 2021 08:16:02 GMT, Actual Color. This button opens a dialog that displays additional images for this product with the option to zoom in or out. This fit between our two chairs perfectly under a 10x10 canopy at the beach. Current selection is: Black, Coleman 70 qt Heavy Duty Marine Cooler, 100 Can, White,
Food, drinks and the fun last longer, when you roll in with the Coleman 50-Quart Xtreme 5-Day Heavy-Duty Cooler with Wheels. With that said, it does fall short in some areas. While this comes in handy for its ease of use, it does concern us a bit that they might stretch out over time. It also has a pair of indented handles hiding underneath both sides of the top for two-handed carry. So your cooler works. Attachment is easy, and the flexible, pivoting arm allows for freedom of bike movement and no loss of turning radius or steering ability. My other freezer packs I threw in were either thawed and cold or still partially frozen. I've owned other 5 day coolers that worked. Sometimes you don't need that much space, but you do need excellent performance. We overextended hinges, jumped on lids, yanked on latches and handles, and dropped full chests from a carrying height. The thermometer was reading 38 degrees. The Igloo Trailmate Marine has a long list of included features, though most of them fall far short of our expectations for both durability and usability. And for wheeled models, of course, we considered how that pair of spinning discs affects the chest's usage when you're not actively pulling it around. It's built to be a seat when you finally reach your destination (Yeti even sells a seat cushion to go with it). The Rovr's dry storage goes above and beyond since it has a large dry bin that extends to the bottom of the interior. Spring is coming -- and if you want frosty drinks on hand for outdoor gatherings, you'll need a reliable cooler to hold the cold. Its handles, hinges, and latches don't inspire confidence in their ability to last the years in the same way as the high-end, IGBC rated, and rotomolded models do. The Tundra is a reasonable weight for its size, and its shape has a low profile that makes the last beers easy to find while still being narrow enough for a single person to load into the truck. Overall, the contenders with the most durable combinations of design, construction, and features are the Roadie and Tundra, with the Orca and Rovr not far behind. This review covers 17 top ice chests available in 2021 we bought and tested side-by-side. We only make money if you purchase a product through our links, and we never accept free products from manufacturers. It also comes with a removable dry basket inside the top to keep sensitive items above the ice and can be outfitted with loads more accessories for all kinds of activities. We also aren't in love with the comfort of its narrow, plastic handles in the shadow of some of the broader, more cushioned options utilized by its competitors. But not all features, add-ons, and extras are created equal, and their value may depend on how and where you intend to use your gear. While all these things will help extend the freshness of your ice and, therefore, your food, it's unlikely that you'll be able to do all those things while relaxing with your buddies on your annual fishing trip. Also, I further insulate the TOP of the cooler with folded newspaper (ten or so sheets) that fit to the edge, overlapped if necessary. It also lacks a rubber gasket around the top or lid, bringing up questions of its ability to remain sealed through the years. You can pump them up just like your car or bicycle tires, giving you the freedom to run over the same types of terrain. The Rovr is the only one with actual rubber tires filled with air (aka pneumatic tires), the same as a vehicle or bicycle. Best coolers of 2021: Cabela, Igloo, Yeti, Coleman and more. With a wide span of prices across the cooler market, it's helpful to know which ones are a great value and which ones are just expensive/cheap. Still, several have unfortunately paired this with a large lip or other obstruction that then stops your drainage progress before it's 100% complete. The lid closes fine, it seems to have a good seal. We dragged our test subjects through the gravel, sand, mud, and grass while road tripping, tailgating, camping, and hanging out on the beach. Choose a wheeled cooler with sturdy wheels and handles that allows you to easily transport the cooler from your vehicle to your picnic or camp site. While it used to be true that spending more money on a mobile icebox got you an all-around better functioning unit, the relationship between price and performance is no longer so linear. I also froze the lunch meat we brought, yogurt tubes, and apple juice boxes. Sorry, but we can't respond to individual comments.If you need immediate assistance, please contact Customer Care. And while the Xspec does have several features we love, it's missing a handy dry basket that now comes standard with so many others. It's okay, it serves the same purpose. While competitors may point to this as a downside (more maintenance, the potential for flats, etc. For the time being, though, this is just a concern and not something we witnessed during our extensive testing. When it's time for storage, or you get to your destination, the dry bin folds down flat and can easily and securely be stored on the top of the lid. Knowing your investment will last through years and years of adventures is important for any piece of gear you own, and these products are no exception. When asked by a four-year-old which model she thinks is the easiest to open, she picked the Pelican latches, hands down. We ended up emptying the cooler the next day and The ice was still all through the cooler. It's one of the best insulators out there and outcompetes all the rest in overall performance. Restrictions apply. Yeti also continues to diversify the colors and personalization options available for this cooler, providing more choices to match your style better.