Best Coolers for Camping, Beaching & Everything in Between TIME Stamped

While it looks a bit like a travel backpack, the Lotus isn’t built for distance, but if you’re walking a mile tops to the location where you’ll spread your blanket, it’s perfect. That said, before you purchase a cooler the size of an inflatable pool, consider the types of activities you are going to use it for. If you’re planning a day hike and want to pack some drinks and one meal, you don’t want a 70-quart hard-sided cooler.

Second, there is a removable dry storage box on the front of the cooler so you can and keep the phone/keys in there without fear of water or sand damaging then. Trailmate…the up-for-anything hardside and softside coolers — all high performing, easy to transport and crafted for the great outdoors. Coolers come with a lot of bells and whistles igloo soft cooler these days—it’s one of the reasons that prices can climb into the hundreds of dollars. To select the best coolers, we consulted with camping experts, avid hikers, sportsmen, and others who use coolers regularly to best gauge which ones perform best in the wild. In sharing their favorites, our experts focused on a few important features.

A dedicated slot in the lid holds your mobile device upright for easy viewing and access. There are four built-in cup holders in the lid for easy access to your beverages. Get this versatile, full-featured cooler today and discover why it is referred to as the Swiss army knife of coolers. Head out to your favorite picnic spot with your meal packed in the Igloo Trailmate™ Journey 70 qt. Designed with a padded glove box, a serving tray, a food basket and 2 accessory holders for versatile storage, this cooler offers oversize, never-flat wheels and a padded, telescoping handle for easy portability.

This is a pretty bold statement considering we have reviewed a ton of wheeled coolers in the past. However, this claim is easily defended considering the superior ice retention and the included features/accessories. In no event will Free Delivery benefits be available to you if reside outside the delivery service area of a Participating Beta Test Program Retailer. Ace Rewards Instant igloo soft cooler Savings amount is available to Ace Rewards members who are logged into acehardware.com (and have previously linked their Ace Rewards account). Where applicable by law, tax is charged on the sale price before application of Instant Savings. The Igloo managed to hold refreshing brew temperatures at or below 50º for an additional several hours, for a total of 3.4 days of cold beers.

“Just last weekend, I used it to come up to Vermont, where we knew we were cooking breakfast and one dinner, and it fit everything perfectly for that. It’s easy to carry with the shoulder strap.” The soft sides are weather-resistant, while a side pocket and built-in bottle opener round out the extra features. Plus, if you need to go bigger, this cooler also comes in a 30-can size. Beta Test Program memberships are available for purchase only on The membership fee is published on the Site and is subject to change from time to time in Ace’s sole discretion. Your membership is returnable for a full refund of the purchase price within forty eight (48) hours of purchase. To obtain a refund, you will need to visit your Participating Beta Test Program Retailer.

In our testing we had it going up trails, sitting out in the 90+ degree heat and opened and closed the door to keep grabbing beers. It kept some ice up to the 4 days even with all of these conditions! As always the ambient temperature and how often you open the cooler will dictate how long the ice will stay. Born from a modest metalworking shop back in 1947, Igloo has been instrumental in redefining how we live, work and play.

The removable butler tray placed on the telescoping handle provides the perfect space for serving food and drinks. When not in use, the butler tray can be stored away under the lid. Two built-in stainless steel bottle openers help you quickly and easily enjoy your bottled beverages.

Igloo designed the new Trailmate Series of hardside coolers with a focus on durability and better performance. A key member of our always-up-for-adventure Trailmate Series, this compact yet spacious 25-quart Trailmate ice chest will help invigorate your journey. A key member of our always-up-for-adventure Trailmate Series, this spacious 50-quart Trailmate ice chest will help invigorate your journey. As we mentioned in the opening, we feel the Trailmate is the best bang for the buck when it comes to wheeled coolers. This cooler others impressive ice retention, more features than most competitors, yet doesn’t break the bank.

With handles, shoulder straps, and backpack-style straps, soft-sided coolers are much easier to transport from place to place. What they have in portability, however, they lack in performance; soft-sided coolers don’t have as reliable ice retention and are not as durable as hard-sided coolers. “For car camping, we really like our RTIC Hard Sided cooler,” says McDuffie. “It has a similar design and performance to the now iconic Yeti line of coolers but costs a lot less. We think RTIC coolers are a great value that gets you top-of-the-line performance without costing a small fortune.” Indeed, this cooler promises up to eight days of ice retention, despite the fact that it’s lighter than most coolers its size. Lid latches, non-slip feet, and two different carrying handle options round out some of the other features.