Avoid Tepid Drinks This Summer With the Best Coolers, Reviewed

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Packing a cooler should give you the same anticipatory buzz as packing for a trip, and just as you wouldn’t take a rolling duffel for an overnight getaway, you have to pick the best cooler for your beach, hiking, or camping excursions. There are tons of options when it comes to coolers—hard sided, wheeled, backpack styles—and the right one for you depends on how you’ll use it. Whether you’re planning a week-long excursion or just soaking up some sun for the day, there’s a cooler that will keep both you and your provisions chilled out.

Best Coolers

• Best Overall: Yeti Roadie 48

• Best Budget: Ozark Trail High-Performance Cooler

• Best Soft Cooler: RTIC Everyday Soft Cooler

• Best Wheeled Cooler: Igloo Trailmate Journey Wheeled Cooler
  

• Best Backpack Cooler: IceMule Pro Cooler
  

What to Consider

Insulation

Any brand can wax poetic on the proprietary technology it uses to keep things cold, but most popular cooler companies use the same methods for keeping things insulated. Hard coolers rely on thick, roto-molded plastic walls to reduce heat conduction, while soft coolers use coated polyurethane or Mylar to reflect heat.

Capacity

Capacity is the biggest determining factor when buying a cooler. For instance, if you want a cooler to take on beach days and tailgates, you probably don’t need a 70-liter cooler that’s meant to hold a week’s worth of food and water (though if your plans are with a large group, you’ll probably want about 50 liters). Soft coolers are great for keeping groceries cold in-transit or bringing beverages to the park for a couple of hours. Soft-sided cooler bags also make great lunch boxes.

Construction and Durability

High-end hard coolers are often roto-molded, a plastic manufacturing process that creates coolers without seams or stress points, making them extremely durable. The process also gives these coolers a smooth, premium look and finish. Roto-molding only affects durability—coolers that aren’t roto-molded have the same insulation performance. If you prioritize durability or are particularly hard on your gear, you should look for a roto-molded cooler.

Look for user-friendly details, too: A periscopic handle made of aluminum or heavy-duty plastic, oversized wheels for easy hauling, and lids with sturdy hinges will make your cooler more durable and easier to use.

How We Selected

We took into consideration coolers we’ve used firsthand, as well as consulted with our test team to make sure we understood what makes a good cooler great. We called in some of the most promising products and put them to use to get a feel for their insulation, durability, and ease of use. We also noted models that had unique features such as extra storage compartments and included accessories. Our list includes a range of durable, highly-insulated coolers that serve a variety of adventures across price points.

Roadie 48 Wheeled Cooler

Yeti’s Tundra cooler may be its best known hard cooler but the Roadie deserves equal—if not more—attention. The Roadie 48 cooler has the same insulating capabilities as other Yeti coolers and adds all-terrain wheels and a periscopic handle to make this a great companion for camping, roadtrips, and outdoor gatherings.

I used it for a Memorial Day weekend on Bolivar Peninsula, where you have to bring everything with you as grocery stores are scarce. We packed three days worth of both food and drinks into this and a small personal cooler—and we’re a large Mexican family, so this is no easy feat. The extra height on this cooler allowed it to fit stacked containers of barbacoa and queso, a carton of 18 eggs on top, several bags of sliced watermelon, and still have some room left for water and beer.

The all-terrain wheels make it easy to roll through the sandy beach and it’s built sturdy enough to serve as a stool when you’re low on seating. The integrated handles make it easy to lift out of the trunk and save a bit of space when packing the car—we slid our tent, bags, and other stuff next to the cooler without worrying about awkward handles.

It came with a dry basket that helped to keep things like fruit or prepared foods organized and easily accessible throughout the day. The quick drain plug made it easy to empty at the end of the weekend, and all you need is soap and water to clean it before air drying.

This thing is built to be pretty indestructible, but it doesn’t have Yeti’s famous bear-proof latch closures like you’ll find on the Tundra series. Still, the latches are easy for adults to open and hard enough to keep my nieces and nephew out, which was all we really needed.

High Performance Cooler

Roto-molded, stainless-steel lock plates, and rubber-sealed gasket—Ozark Trail made a cooler with the same bells and whistles of pricier models without the sticker shock. It also includes built-in cupholders and fish ruler on the lid.

Our deputy editor, Zoë Hannah, can attest to the insulation and durability of this model, which she uses for car camping. While it won’t keep your ice frozen as long as a Yeti, it’s a great dupe for an excellent price.

Integrated handles at the side and one at the top give you options for comfortable toting, and there’s a drainage spout at the side. Customers are impressed by the insulation and durability of this cooler and find the top handle to be the most comfortable way of carrying it, saying the side handles are a bit narrow.

Reviewers noted this cooler is bigger in person than it looks for being just 25 liters, but that didn’t bother customers who say its sturdiness and the quality of construction justified the extra weight.

Everyday Soft-Sided Cooler

RTIC’s Everyday cooler is good for day trips, golfing, or even keeping groceries cold while you run errands. It collapses into its semi-rigid top for compact storage so it’s great to keep on-hand in the car or toolbox of your truck bed. It has multiple zip pockets on both the inside and outside to stash napkins, utensils, or condiment packets.

The bottom has a water-resistant coating so it can handle slick docks and boat decks, and the nylon construction makes it durable, yet lightweight. Its zipper isn’t leakproof and the brand suggests only using it with ice packs, but customers didn’t have any spilling issues as long as they kept it upright.

The interior is waterproof, so condensation won’t leak through the bottom. A lot of customers say this also makes a great lunch bag.

Trailmate Journey Wheeled Cooler

The Journeyman is a large-capacity cooler that’s packed with features to keep provisions cold and your crew comfortable. Oversized wheels and skid rails give it a high ground clearance so it’s easy to haul over any terrain. These also keep the cooler off the ground which can help keep contents cool since it won’t be sitting on hot sand or dirt.

The periscopic handle sits horizontally to make pulling the cooler easier when it’s full.

It has a dry storage compartment at the front for electronics or wallets, plus bottle openers on the sides. There are two sturdy pole slots at the back to hold a beach umbrella or fishing rods and tie-down hooks on the sides to make bungeeing such equipment on top.

One of the handier features is the butler tray that attaches to the front to hold your food and drinks; when not in use it stows neatly into the lid of the cooler so you can always have it on hand and at the ready. Four self-draining cup holders on the lid also serve as an extra table-top space, and a food basket is also included to keep contents organized.

Igloo’s Journeyman is a large cooler that’s long on features that are meant to keep a party going. If you prefer a large capacity cooler with less frills consider the brand’s Latitude model.

Pro Cooler

The Pro Cooler was our number one pick for the best backpack coolers because of its sturdy construction, ergonomic design, and—of course—its insulating capability. There’s no zipper to hassle with or potentially snag and break, and the bag is collapsible for easy stowing in cars or with your other camping gear.

There’s a sternum strap to distribute weight easily when toting a full load and the mesh shoulder straps are padded for breathability and comfort. It floats, so it’s ideal for tubing and rafting trips, and will hold up to 24 cans with ice. There aren’t extra pockets but the external bungee straps can cinch down to hold bottles, water shoes, or a small dry bag.

Insulated Tote Cooler

This tote cooler is as functional as it is stylish—it can hang on a golf cart, pack up for beach and park days, or live in the trunk for groceries. The freestanding design keeps the opening easily accessible and the durable straps have a long enough drop-length to comfortably carry in your hands or over your shoulder.

The coated PU fabric construction makes it durable, waterproof, and easy to wipe clean. The interior is fully lined so you can use this with ice packs or ice—note there’s no drain spout but the manageable size makes it easy to dump out.

The exterior zip pocket is a nice bit of storage to have your keys and phone easily accessible. The capacity is enough for day-long ventures to pack food and drinks but don’t expect to carry a campsite’s worth of food in this.

The tall height allows for longneck bottles, and 16-ounce cans but you still need to lay down a standard size wine bottle. We were able to pack two Nalgene bottles, a six pack, and snacks for my two-year-old nephew who crushes berries like you’ve never seen.

Brutank Rolling Cooler

BruMate’s can cooler is a fan favorite and the brand brings that same versatility with this model. The BruTank performs as well as other wheeled coolers with its insulation and portability, but includes a unique feature that’s worth a triple take—it has a 2.8-gallon drink tank with a built-in tap. That means you can have your favorite mixed drink chilled and served directly from the cooler without constantly opening the chest and letting the cold out.

Not a big drinker? You can fill the tank with ice water and save space since you don’t have to pack a case of water bottle. To put it in perspective: We’re supposed to drink 64 ounces of water a day and the tank holds 364—enough for water for five people for a day. Even when it’s full, you can pack the rest of the 52-liter capacity with food.

While on a Reddit deep dive, I read multiple posts saying this is on par with Yeti’s Tundra Haul in terms of ice retention, with the only minor difference being Yeti’s bear-tested durability. This cooler is also on the heavier side with an empty weight of 44 pounds, but customers say the wheels make it manageable even when it’s full.

It might not have the IGBC seal of approval, but if you mostly plan to be on beaches or adventuring in the less-than-wild, the BruTank will keep your trek going.

Tempo Bundle Cooler

Oyster’s Tempo cooler impressed our expert team by living up to its promises of lightweight portability and vacuum-sealed insulation that requires no ice to keep cold contents cold for days.

Double-walled vacuum insulation is nothing new—you’ll find it in a lot of your favorite drinkware—but it couldn’t be used in coolers because of problems posed by vacuum sealing the aluminum construction. The Norwegian brand found a way to do it, though, and the end result is a more nimble cooler that doesn’t rely on thick, heavy plastic walls for insulation—and it performs even better. In testing, the Tempo’s internal temperature dropped and kept cool for seven times longer than a Yeti Roadie 24 just using its included ice packs.

The sleek aesthetic complements the clever design, like a lid that can be opened from either side and a shoulder strap that can be easily swapped with the included handle. The aluminum can dent easily if this falls off the back of an ATV or jostles around in your truck so it’s not one we’d recommend if you’re particularly hard on your gear.

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