But if you consistently head outside for days at a time, the investment is well worth it. Rotomolded coolers like Yeti’s Tundra above are made out of a single piece of continuous plastic, which is great for durability but means they typically lack built-in features and mounting locations. Tack on a price that undercuts the similarly sized Tundra 65 above by a considerable $135, and the Xspec stands out as a very well-rounded design at a great value.
Companies like Yeti, Kong, and Rtic will happily charge $300 for a 70-liter cooler, so it can be hard to know what’s right for you. As long as Coleman offers the Xtreme 5 at $69.99 on sale, I have to think there are better places for your money (namely, the contents of the cooler) if your budget looks like mine. That price puts the Xtreme 5 in between the premium brands and the generic coolers that make me question their build quality. What sets the coleman cooler apart from its counterparts is the brand’s signature TempLock FX Insulation, which offers multi-day ice retention, according to Coleman.
The interior is rather roomy – Coleman claims 70 quarts, and we measured it at 68, which is pretty darn close. As the cooler with some of the thinnest walls we tested, the Coleman doesn’t blow us away with an amazing insulation value. During our insulation tests, the Coleman was able to keep below 40º, for 3.7 days — which wasn’t the best. However, considering we tested all of these coolers in the harshest and warmest conditions without chilling them first, we found that this cooler is still a decent option for a weekend trip or a picnic. The Coleman 316 was a perfect fit for sliding underneath my van’s benches. It’s more of a tall, slim build and the dimensions were perfect for what I needed.
Just scroll down a bit and look at the graphed-out data for yourself. The performance wasn’t close enough for me to pretend like I could name another victor even if I wanted to.
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. However, blocks are bulky and take up a lot of space in the cooler since they don’t conform around your food and cans. If we have enough space, our preferred method is to use both block and crushed ice together, and Yeti has more great tips here.
At the other end of the spectrum, budget-oriented models like the Coleman 316 Series and Igloo Ecocool forgo latches completely and rely on a good fit between the lid and cooler body. This results in reduced insulating performance and means you need to keep a close eye on the lid to make sure it doesn’t pop loose or fall off in transport. Most cooler manufacturers provide a “claimed ice retention” spec in their product listings (Yeti is one major brand who does not).
But in the 24- to 48-hour range, we haven’t seen a huge difference between using ¾ inch of closed-cell or open-cell foam in a cooler. In contrast, open-cell foam is permeable to air and water like a sponge (which is why it frequently appears in foam pillows, as it’s squishier and it breathes). But open-cell foam’s ability to insulate greatly diminishes when it’s wet because water permeates all of the open space and acts as a conductor of heat. In open-cell foam, most bubbles (more than 50%) share walls with one another. These foams, which weigh around 0.5 pound per cubic foot, are light and easy to compress. Closed-cell foam is considered a better insulator than open-cell foam because the tiny bubbles of gas in closed-cell foam remain independent from one another.
On the topic of wheeled coolers, the Igloo Journey Trailmate 70qt All-Terrain cooler also came with a dizzying amount of extras and features. Overall, it wasn’t quite as durable as the Rovr, but I think they’re mostly designed for different purposes. If I’m trekking into the woods for a weekend with a couple of pals, I’m going to take the Rovr, no question.
As we prefaced above, if your cooler must-haves include easy mobility, large capacity, and maximum ice retention, it’s best to consider a rolling hard-sided model. Downsides are even more weight (the RovR and Igloo weigh around lb.), bulk, and cost. Additionally, these wheeled beasts still struggle over rough terrain and may require carrying if you don’t have a defined coleman camping chair path to follow. But for camping, days at the beach, or even tailgating, a rolling cooler can be a solid choice. For a full look at options, see our round-up of the best wheeled coolers. If you are looking for maximum cooling power, premium rotomolded coolers from brands like Yeti, RTIC, and Orca are the clear leaders in keeping ice cold for long stretches.