But the thin, plastic lid would bow underneath someone’s weight and I knew it wasn’t doing the cooler any favors. It also has a decent gash on the exterior bottom–no idea how it happened and it hasn’t cracked the plastic, but it has definitely weakened the area. It’s also worth noting coleman instant tent that the Coleman 316 Series Insulated Portable Cooler has also earned high praise from Yeti cooler loyalists. One impressed shopper said that it kept their food “nice and cold” on a camping trip and noted that the “Coleman kept up pretty well” with the Yeti cooler they also packed.
Rovr pegs the capacity of its $400 Rollr wheeled cooler at 60 quarts, but I could only fit 52.8 quarts of water inside when I measured for myself. The $219 RTIC wasn’t as spacious as expected, either, holding just 39.6 quarts of water before overflowing with the lid closed. Different types of insulation work in their own ways to minimize heat transfer into a cooler. Open- and closed-cell foams act as coleman camping chair insulators to reduce heat conduction, while fabrics and liners, such as coated polyurethane and reflective Mylar, create a radiant barrier that reduces and reflects heat radiation. If you’re wondering what kind of foam your cooler has, a good rule of thumb is to try to squeeze the foam with your fingers. If your fingers can compress the foam more than 75%, you’re probably dealing with open-cell foam.
If the foam feels denser than that and doesn’t compress much at all, you probably have your hands on closed-cell foam. Similar to any other true roto-molded cooler, the RTIC 65 is practically indestructible, which makes it great for tougher outdoor environments. In our testing, the RTIC 65 kept ice frozen for 10 days with some periodic draining. We’ve also used this cooler for nearly five years for grocery runs in Hawaii, and it’s still going strong. One charm of the RTIC 65 is its reasonable price, which allows us to be far less careful with this equipment than we are with something as expensive or desirable as a Yeti. Keep food and drinks cold as you head out to a tailgate party, a camping adventure, or anywhere else you may go with a new Coleman cooler from Kohl’s!
Another example came up last year during a power outage, as one of our staff members was able to store most of the contents of a fridge in a 70-quart cooler, along with the necessary ice to keep it cold. We’ve tested Polar Bear coolers for seven years now, buying them or receiving test units from Polar Bear. Recently, however, we’ve been let down by the lifespan of its soft coolers (though not this backpack in particular). But with care, you can extend the lifespan of any soft cooler—the number one rule seems to be not to leave it out in the sun.
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As for performance, the was one of the better options I found for less than $50. Of ice into it and recorded the minute-by-minute ambient temperature inside for 48 hours, it pulled temperatures down by about 20 degrees, which is pretty good considering that 3 pounds of ice really isn’t a lot. I also took each cooler’s design and features into consideration as I tested and kept an eye out for durability concerns. I wasn’t impressed with the lid on the Igloo Latitude wheeled cooler, for instance. Give it a modest yank and the whole lid comes right off — and the cheap plastic wheels didn’t leave me impressed, either.
Many companies have spent an astronomical amount of money and time to convince people that they need to spend ridiculous sums just to keep a drink cold. Coolers aren’t complicated, which is a good thing to remember in the face of all that advertising. After spending many years evaluating more than 40 cooler models, we’ve chosen eight that are well made, well insulated, and well suited for a range of outings.