Among the small-capacity coolers, the Orca 40 did the best, with temperatures lasting 5 and 5.5 days. 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. To get the best out of your electric cooler, you should prime it the night before your trip. Once it’s down to your desired temperature, transfer refrigerated items into the cooler.
The other stove requiring a refillable propane tank is the Camp Chef Pro 60X, and it performed well in this metric, burning an average of 1.12 ounces (0.28% of fuel) over the two tests. The RovR RollR, Yeti Roadie 60, and Yeti Tundra 65 all come with practical interior dry storage options, which are great for setting aside some clean ice for drinks or keeping sensitive food out of ice water. The Yeti models all feature a simple basket that sits across the top of the opening. Ease of use is a critical factor in your overall happiness with any given product. We gauged how easy each cooler was to open and close — whether or not the lid fully shut after closing, latch maneuverability, ease of loading, capacity, and if it included any convenient features like dry bins. Using the Govee Home Thermometer System, we ran our first test on cooling and efficiency.
The Gear Team has tested a wide variety of automotive products, parts, accessories, and gear, such as GPS trackers for cars, OBD2 scanners, and electric car chargers. The unit includes both AC and DC power cords, allowing it to be used in cars or on boats, as well as with regular wall units. A handy mobile app enables the unit to be controlled via Bluetooth or wifi. Without power, the unit is insulated enough to stay cool for several hours. This is a helpful feature for camping trips or when power is not available.
Managing the temptation to test these coolers by drinking beer around the fire was our biggest challenge during this test. But to maintain our quest for objective data for your purchasing needs, we opted for thermometers, coleman chair a Kia Sorento, and some same-size beverage cans (unopened). Temperature control is accessible through an app, and the option to power it by a separate solar panel opens it up for use off the grid.
If you’ve had one too many experiences of reaching into what you thought was a well-packed cooler only to find it full of melted ice, it’s time to upgrade to an electric cooler. With built-in cooling mechanisms, electric coolers are similar to mini-refrigerators but more portable. Their cooling power can range from deep freezing to just cold coleman electric cooler enough to keep drinks chilled, and some thermoelectric options can even keep food hot. An electric cooler gives you a guaranteed cold space for long car camping trips, road trips, or hunting trips. While they’re a bit heavier than backpack coolers or soft coolers, electric coolers ensure safe perishable food storage for longer durations.
Both the GSI Outdoors Pinnacle Pro and the Mountaineer are also noteworthy regarding their drip pans because you can easily scrub every aspect of the stove once you move the cooking grate out of the way. The Pinnacle is slightly more challenging to unhook and fold out the grate, but once disconnected, it is easy to clean. We love the simplicity of the Mountaineer because this stove doesn’t have a false bottom under which food scraps can get lost. The single-burner butane stoves — the SPRK+ and the GS-3000 — are also noteworthy because the directions for use are printed right on the stoves.
We really liked the compact size of the BougeRV; its dimensions are ideal for road trips in small cars. But it costs about a hundred bucks less, and Alpicool doesn’t make a model that’s this compact. Some units can efficiently freeze their contents, some can keep food frozen, and others are only designed to gently cool.
With an average boil time of 4 minutes 25 seconds, the Camp Chef Mountaineer also boasted noteworthy performance for a stove with 20,000 BTU burners. In the windy test, boiling took 4 minutes 46 seconds, and in the windless test, it took 4 minutes 4 seconds. Camp Chef truly dominates in this category, with their Pro 60X averaging a time of 4 minutes 46 seconds, with two 30,000 BTU burners. One thing to note is that the Pro 60X boiled water significantly slower in the windy test — taking 5 minutes 40 seconds — whereas it took 3 minutes 53 seconds in the windless test. This owes, in part, to the stove having fairly minimal windscreens and a wide gap between the cooking grate and the burners. The Camp Chef Everest 2x is a fresh take on Camp Chef’s classic, award-winning stove.
We test the insulation performance, durability, ease of use, portability, and features of every single model. As some performance aspects are more important than others, we weigh each metric accordingly. Below, we discuss our test results and which models stand out in each area. The most crucial aspect of any wheeled model is how easily it gets you there, which the RovR does spectacularly. We think the latches are a bit stiff to manipulate but can be easy to learn with practice. After using it for years now, this rolling icebox is like nothing we’ve ever experienced before and is the only one that our friends request to cart around.