For those who don’t know, Pelican is an industry leader in tough, dependable cases for storing and protecting everything from camera equipment and laptops to guns and drones. Therefore, the jump to hard-sided coolers was a logical progression. Like the venerable Yeti Roadie above, Pelican’s 20QT Elite here is a lower-capacity option for day trips on the water, strapping to the back of an ATV, and other short outings away from home. Stacked up against the Roadie, the Pelican is $50 cheaper (albeit with slightly less storage) but comes with functional extras like integrated cup holders, easier-to-use latches, and a more robust carry handle.
I mean, come on — the literal last thing you want from your cooler is to get burned by it. Stick with an old-fashioned cooler like the ones I recommend above. The handle and wheels on the Yeti Tundra Haul are the best we’ve come across. This cooler feels like you can roll it across anything without the handle straining or bending, or the wheels breaking.
The previous title holder for this category was one of the cheapest coolers we’ve tested to date, the Coleman Stacker. It gave the lowest temperatures in the midsize cooler category, and low enough to play coleman camping chair ball with the largest of coolers we tested. A reliable cooler is great to have on hand, and borderline essential for backyard get-togethers, camping trips, tailgating events and other summertime staples.
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).
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 coleman camping chair 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.
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!
Anything smaller, and you end up carrying a lot of bag and not carrying much of anything else. There just isn’t enough room in those smaller sizes for them to be functional for anything except an individual lunch or a few drinks. Simply put, coolers are unlike most other categories coleman instant tent of outdoor gear that may last for just for a couple seasons before needing to be replaced. This means that when you’re making the calculation of whether spending $300 or $400 on a cooler is worth it, you are getting a product that literally should last for decades.