As with all soft coolers, you shouldn’t leave the RTIC Soft Pack Cooler out in the sun or resting on very hot surfaces like the back of a pickup truck or on top of a picnic table for a long time. Although the exterior of the cooler is made of a durable, thickly coated nylon—waterproof and tough—the sun and heat will degrade the material and slowly wear it out. It has taken us a few years to recommend a wheeled cooler simply because none have seemed built to last longer than a season or two—especially in the handle. Once loaded with ice, drinks, and food, a 37-pound cooler can more than double in weight. When someone then tilts the cooler up, all that weight goes into the wheelbase or leans into the handle hinge.
We also considered the overall shape and size of each competitor as part of its usability score. Models featuring a compact, packable shape and handles that hide away easily are easier to pack into a vehicle for your next adventure. On the flip side, those products with large handles and awkward shapes that are difficult to Tetris into the back of the minivan, along with everything else you need for the party in the park, don’t score as well. Of course, the internal dimensions and capacity also make a big difference in what you can bring with you in your icebox and how many extra bags and boxes you’ll need to bring along. And the proportion of these dimensions to one another also makes a big difference. A low and long model is easy to find things in but harder for one person to carry.
Throughout her time earning multiple science degrees, she has been trained in taking a non-biased approach to research. This, along with her never ending love for the outdoors, gives her the necessary skills to create honest and trustworthy gear reviews. This team of dedicated testers and reviewers understands the power of a great cooler’s value, whether for off-grid living, celebratory summit beers, road trips, or coleman sundome backyard barbecues. The Coleman® 30 Qt Performance Cooler has everything you would want in a cooler. The insulation keeps food and beverage extra cold, the hinged lid includes two molded cup holders for quick access to your beverage, and the new, stylish outer casing will impress all your friends and co-workers. With better insulation, a cooler can maintain lower temperatures for longer, thus consuming less ice.
That is not to say, the Coleman won’t do the job, as it will in almost any environment except extremes. Also, it is worth noting that this is one of the most affordable thermoelectric coolers available. I was able to fill the Lifetime High Performance Cooler with 62.4 quarts of water without causing it to overflow when I shut the lid. I did my best to account for those size differences as I evaluated each cooler’s relative performance, but first, I needed to be sure that I had accurate measurements. That meant putting those manufacturer capacity claims to the test, and I wanted a better, more universal metric than just counting how many cans I could cram into each one.
The paper pulp of the Recool composts easily in the backyard, and it performs basically as well as any cheap single-use cooler. Coleman Xtreme 50 Quart Cooler weigh up to about lbs when completely filled with ice and cans. Coleman Xtreme series have a very even design, you almost get the same width at the bottom as at the top, and it makes it much easier to fill and stack the cooler.
For soft coolers, we recommend anything in the 20- to 24-can range. That’s enough to hold plenty of ice, drinks, and food for a family of three. Anything smaller, and you end up carrying a lot of bag and not carrying much of anything else. There just isn’t enough room in those smaller sizes for them to be functional for anything except an individual lunch or a few drinks. Finding the right size cooler mainly depends on what you’ll be using it for.
We’ve tested over 40 coolers since 2016 in search of the best, most well insulated models. We started in the lab with rigorous insulation testing and continued assessments through a wide range of real-world uses. From picnics in the park to beach BBQs, we carted these models everywhere we went to learn which models were most coleman screen tent portable and enjoyable to use. We also went through hundreds of pounds of ice and frosty cans in our rigorous insulation tests. Whether you’re setting out on a road trip or a hunting trip, we can help you choose your perfect icebox. Another great portable cooler option is this 42-can Coleman soft cooler with wheels.
That’s important, especially if you, like most people, don’t have a freezer that can produce enough ice to fill a cooler and you tend to resort to buying bags of ice from the grocery store or liquor store. As committed cooler enthusiasts know, the type of ice you use heavily impacts how much you’re able to store and how long it stays cold. Crushed ice is the most readily available—you can find it at most gas stations and supermarkets for fairly cheap.
This cooler has extra wall insulation and an insulated lid for days-long cold retention even in 90°F weather. Large, durable wheels help beach-goers roll this cooler on sandy paths, and two-way side handles make it easy to lift it in and out of the car and wherever rolling is impossible. The 62-quart Coleman Xtreme also has molded cup holders and an easy-to-use drain.
So to help you pick the most suitable cooler for you I will be covering everything you should be looking for in each brand. Larger wheels are typically sturdier, but the material the wheels are made from also matters. All-terrain wheels are coleman sundome the ideal choice, especially for large, heavy models. Also, consider looking for a cooler with treaded tires for more maneuverability on sand or gravel. Coleman electric coolers are also a force to be reckoned with in the cooler industry.