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. The major draw is that it easily fills the gaps between your food and beverages, cooling them quickly and efficiently. However, crushed ice is also the fastest to melt and you’ll likely need to replace it fairly frequently. Blocks of ice, on the other hand, take much longer to melt than crushed ice.
Like the venerable YETI Roadie above, Pelican’s 20QT Elite here is a lower-capacity option for day trips on the water, strapping to the back of an ATV, and other short outings away from home. Stacked up against the Roadie, the Pelican is $50 cheaper lgloo Cooler (albeit with slightly less storage) but comes with functional extras like integrated cup holders, easier-to-use latches, and a more robust carry handle. We also like the unique assortment of multi-toned colorways that add a nice dose of flair.
The Roadie 24 is just over 13 inches tall inside, which allows standard wine and 2L bottles to stand upright. The Roadie also outlasted all other personal-sized lgloo Cooler models in our insulation testing. Just as its name suggests, this little box has proved itself to be our go-to road trip companion.
Its taller, narrower shape is also more comfortable for a single person to carry from the car to the beach. Though these won’t last you an entire week in the desert (unless you chill the cooler and its contents beforehand combined with mostly ice), it is an excellent option for weekend trips or day excursions. Both models are rotomolded with freezer-style gaskets designed to keep cold air in and hot air out.
Whether you’re taking a day-trip to the beach, heading off for a weekend camping adventure, or relaxing at an afternoon cookout, you can count on Igloo to have an ice chest cooler to fit your needs. Hard coolers make the perfect option for safe, reliable storage that will keep your snacks and beverages cold all day. And all of our hard coolers made in our USA facility incorporate THERMECOOL™ insulation. This innovative foam lowers CO2 and VOC emissions, so we’re lowering our environmental impact while creating coolers that can last a lifetime. The RTIC Ultralight and RovR RollR are two more of our favorites among the crowd for their ease of use. The RovR has a sizable dry bin and tall interior with nearly vertical walls.
It offers solid insulation to keep your peak-bagging beverages chilled until you reach the summit and an easy roll-top design that’s beyond simple to use. Made of thick, waterproof material, this backpack cooler proved itself more than capable of holding its integrity through all our backcountry rough handling. Sure you can buy one that costs double and may keep ice a day longer but it probably weighs double this cooler too. It was easy enough for two men to carry, performed well, and cleans up easily. A cooler’s latch or closure system is one of the defining characteristics of a premium model and plays a significant role in overall cooling performance.
The Pelican 20 isn’t very enjoyable to carry, with a hard plastic top handle and a tall, gangly shape with too many rigid edges that smacked our legs and ankles as we walked. 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.
Its dual drains make cleaning it a breeze, and the flexibility of this model’s rubber latches means it’s easier to open and close with a single hand than other rubber-latched models. The most important metric for most of us is how well an ice chest keeps food cold and fresh. This metric is also the source of many extraordinary claims from manufacturers. From models with “5-Day” in the name to stickers boasting up to 16 days of ice retention, it seems that just about every product out there will knock your socks off. While all these things will help extend the life of your ice and, therefore, the freshness of your food, it’s unlikely that every consumer will follow these stipulations for each use.
Though they’re comfortable and easy to use, they proved to be less secure when jostled or dropped and occasionally popped open during our testing. The 50ºF threshold we highlight represents the average maximum ideal temperature to serve beer. The American Homebrewers Association breaks down the optimal serving temperature range for different types of beer, which we based this threshold on. Our new Igloo cooler features THERMECOOL™ foam, a cleaner, eco-friendly insulation, and a push-button lid designed with our CA Dreamin’ sunset. Lots of ice chest , cooler bags, rugged hardside coolers, the Party Bar, our entire Retro Collection and more.