The 15 Best Coolers We’ve Tested for Every Kind of Adventure

I have had a version of this basic Igloo cooler for more than a decade, and it has withstood the test of time. The wheels haven't gotten damaged, although I have somehow managed to break the handle. It's easy to rinse out and light enough to carry easily when it's empty. This is a great option if you'd like to use a cheaper cooler to store snacks and drinks, so you don't have to constantly open your premium cooler that's keeping your meat, milk, and freshly caught fish ice-cold. —Adrienne So

Yeti's Roadie 32 is a relatively new option that's great for family day trips and might even get a couple through the weekend if you're good at cooler-packing Tetris. If the Tundra above is too much, the Roadie makes a good alternative. It's just tall enough to fit 2-liter bottles upright (also most standard-size wine bottles). The telescoping handle (Yeti calls it a periscope handle—potato, potahto) makes it super portable, just like wheeling around a suitcase, though it only locks when fully extended. If you're shorter, you'll have to tilt the cooler more to comfortably roll it. I had no trouble opening the quick-latch handles one-handed.

Filled two-thirds full of ice (Yeti's general recommendation) and stored in the shade with temps ranging from 55 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit, everything was still plenty cold at the end of two days. If you're like me and don't usually put that much ice in, expect to get a little less out of your ice, but it's still one of the longest-lasting coolers we've tried. In short, all the features we love about Yeti are here in a smaller, slightly different form factor. My only gripe is that, when fully loaded, the wheels struggle in fine sand. —Scott Gilbertson

Pelican has been known for durable, waterproof cases since 1976, and its Elite series is no exception. The larger sizes—the 70QT, 45QW (“W" denotes the wheeled versions), and 80QW—are rotomolded, but I enjoyed taking the injection-molded 20QT on weekend trips with my family. It's tall and narrow, and its small footprint means that it fit easily into a pull-wagon and my car's back seat. Four cupholders with drains means it can double as a small drink table at the beach, and I also liked the nonskid, raised rubber feet. Ice stayed frozen for two days while being driven in a car and stored outside in 80-degree heat. —Scott Gilbertson

These bucket-shaped coolers are made to fit on the front of Bote paddleboards like the Aero Breeze. That said, it doesn't have to be on a paddleboard at all. Its circular shape helps it fit in all sorts of places other coolers can't. It's rugged, and the handle makes it easier to carry. The tie-down points mean you can attach it to anything. I've had it on paddleboards and in canoes, but I've also seen it doing fine while strapped to the back of a Jet Ski.

★ Alternative: Depending on your watercraft, the Yeti Hopper Flip 12 ($250) might be a better fit. I like this Yeti for the wide mouth and heavy zipper that never sticks. It's free-standing, and at 14.25 inches wide, it's the perfect size for bungeeing to the top of a paddleboard or bike rack. It has both a grab handle on top and a shoulder strap, which provide plenty of points to carabiner a small dry bag or pair of flip-flops. —Scott Gilbertson

I've been using a version of this cooler for a few summers. It's a go-to for festivals and camping trips because it's so lightweight. I like that it's made with recycled materials, and I love that it has multiple pockets so I have a place to stash things like picnic utensils, wet wipes, napkins, or dry goods. The straps are padded and I haven't noticed any leaking, so long as you make sure the zippers are properly closed. It also has a chest clip in case you decide to cram it to its maximum capacity of 24 cans, though it gets a little heavy if you decide to go that route. It easily keeps ice for 18 hours or so—less in direct sunlight or if you open it frequently. It's a very good option for day trips.

This cooler has a built-in drawer for dry storage. It's nice for storing foods you want to keep separated from any potential ice water mishaps. The drawer stays nice and cold, and it doesn't need to be filled with ice. Make sure to lock the drawer when transporting the cooler to keep your stuff in place. I also like the cooler's locking handle and the big, chunky wheels that make it easy to maneuver even though the cooler is on the heavier side.

My only real complaint is with the drain plug, which is placed between the two wheels. The inner compartment has a recessed area near the drain hole, and to fully drain it, you need to tilt the cooler up. It's not too big of a deal, but can be annoying if you don't want everything inside to shift around. I also wish the handle were telescoping, since it can feel a tad short when trying to pull it around. All in all though, I'd recommend it. We also tested the non-wheeled version of this cooler, which has a larger divided drawer, and liked it a lot.

Double-walled vacuum insulation is how your iced coffee stays cold in a travel mug, but it's normally structurally stable only in a cylindrical shape. The Norwegian company Oyster figured out how to transfer this technology to a rectangular cooler. The Tempo’s aluminum body is so efficient at temperature retention that it can keep food and drinks just as cold as a plastic or foam cooler can, while using less than half as much ice. The design also gives the Tempo very thin walls; the sides are only about an inch thick, which is about half as thick as the walls of most plastic coolers. This makes the Tempo more compact, and gives it an interior that’s much larger than you think it’s going to be when you open it. The lid clamps down with two brackets. You can undo them both to lift the lid entirely off, or (in a clever design touch) undo just one bracket so the other can serve as a hinge. The handle snaps on and can be removed entirely or replaced with a strap.

The 5-gallon capacity is enough for a half-gallon of milk, a couple of quart containers of pasta salad, a six-pack of cans, some loose produce, and a couple of cold packs. If you stay on a liquid diet while vacationing, it holds 36 cans of whatever you’re drinking. It costs $500, which is a few hundred dollars more than most anyone wants to spend on a cooler. But if you want something compact and powerful and don’t mind paying through the nose to get it, just know that the Tempo performs well enough to earn its price tag. After a Tempo packed tightly with perishables and two freezer packs spent five hours in the backseat of a car and three hours on the floor of a cabin, a can of Spindrift sparkling water still felt and tasted as cold as if it had spent that whole time in the fridge. —Michael Calore

Igloo says the Party Bar was inspired by the outdoor beer chests found at a traditional Texas ice house (a type of casual indoor-outdoor beer joint, for those not familiar), and indeed, it practically screams summer party time. To be sure, it is a good time—so long as your party isn’t too long and the cooler is not in direct sun. Holding about four six-packs of 12-ounce bottles or up to 158 12-ounce cans with its two dividers and removable caddy, the Party Bar is basically a giant insulated tub that sits on a dolly with lockable casters. There's also a bottle opener and catch cup on the front. It's not a cooler in the traditional sense—the lid is translucent and sits loosely on the tub's lip, so heat does get in. Copious online reviews complain about the lid arriving warped and not fitting properly, and this was also the case with my test unit at first, but after a few weeks outside in summer sun, the lid did straighten itself out and settle into place.

During my initial test in direct sunlight on an 80-degree Fahrenheit day, a bag of ice emptied into the Party Bar melted almost completely in just under five hours, but the drain plug on the side and ability to lift the tub off the dolly made it very easy to clean. This is more of a festive receptacle than a traditional cooler, so I wouldn't take it camping or anywhere you need to keep food or drinks cold for an entire day. However, if you have a covered area and need a cool-looking station for many drinks, this is one of the largest-capacity and easiest-to-use options on the market. —Kat Merck

Most people probably do not need an electric cooler. For the price of most electric coolers, you can buy at least two large Yetis. When my family and I moved into our RV years ago, even we used an ice box. It worked great for well over a year. Eventually though, we decided to join the modern world again with some refrigeration and this Engle has been humming away ever since.

We use it chiefly as a freezer, though it works great (and draws less power) as a fridge. It keeps everything cold and Engle's customer support is among the best I've ever encountered. Once, a short in our electrical system killed the DC motor (my fault, not the cooler's), and Engle's support team walked me though troubleshooting everything with a multimeter, spending hours on the phone to make sure I figured out the issue. —Scott Gilbertson

Other Electric Coolers:

Dometic CFX3 45 for $850: Past reviewers at WIRED have given this Dometic high marks for its efficiency and low power draw. One nice feature of the Dometic is that it includes a three-stage monitoring system that will cut the cooler off from your car's battery if it drains it too low—handy if you don't have a dedicated battery to power it.

Anyone who’s ever gone on a long camping trip, or even a day trip with lots of people, knows the interminable agony of trying to Tetris coolers and gear into the car. Dometic, a name you might recognize from electric coolers and RV fridges, has recently released a series of coolers that are fully stackable and packable, with both hard- and soft-sided options designed to be crammed into tight spaces. The hard-sided versions (in yellow or gray) have rubberized nonskid tops and handles that nest; the soft-sided coolers (in green or gray) have break-apart magnetic handles and Moll-E webbing. Best of all, both coolers have latches that allow them to be opened from either side, or unhooked altogether to take the top totally off.

I tested the medium and large hard- and soft-sided versions at barbecues, on boats, and at U-pick farms, transporting them packed into my small SUV. The injection-molded hard-sided coolers were especially handy with their divider inside that doubles as a cutting board, and I liked that the soft-sided coolers could fit in a car footwell. While Dometic says the hard-sided cooler can keep ice for eight days, I tested this multiple times, in both direct sun and in my room-temperature house, and the longest ice was able to last was about 3.25 days. For the soft-sided coolers, it’s more like one day. (Or less, if it’s in direct sun.) This is all on par with similar-style coolers I’ve used in the past.

The only negative experience I had was with the soft-sided coolers—both of them arrived with a slight wrinkling on the side of the 840D nylon exterior. It was strictly an aesthetic problem, but for the price, this would bother me. Second, the break-apart handles are great for the ability to stack things on top of the coolers, but fitting them back together required patiently matching up the magnetic parts, and I admit I found this irritating over time. I almost always just ended up carrying the handles while they were apart, which was awkward and uncomfortable when the coolers were full. Thankfully, they also come with a shoulder strap. —Kat Merck

It feels silly calling the Dometic CX5 a cooler. I tested the model with an ice maker, and it has tons of bells and whistles (including the aforementioned ice maker, which is removable). Aside from being able to make its own ice, it also has a companion app that lets you connect to the cooler via Bluetooth to monitor and adjust its temperature, and you can even set up temperature alerts so you’ll know if something changes. It can be powered via AC or DC, or you can purchase separate batteries to keep it running off-grid. It also includes wire baskets for organization, and you can adjust the lid to open from either direction (or take it off completely). There’s a display on the side with a few onboard controls in case you don’t want to install the companion app. It also has a USB-A port that’ll let you charge up a phone or something similar.

For the most part, this cooler performed exactly as I expected it would. Do I think it’s worth the price? If you want a powered cooler, sure. But as we mentioned above, a powered cooler is likely overkill for most people. I also found myself annoyed with the cooler handles, which are very shallow and swivel, making it awkward to lug the cooler around by yourself.

The retro-looking Igloo KoolTunes is similar to the classic Igloo Playmate, except it has built-in Bluetooth speakers. As a cooler, it performs fine. I find the swivel-back opening a bit difficult to maneuver one-handed, but the housing is lightweight and the whole shebang is pretty easy to carry around. There's enough room for 26 cans, or a nice big lunch for you and your pal. The 5-watt Bluetooth speakers are a nice touch, too. It takes just over four hours to charge the cooler fully using its USB-C port. There are a few buttons on the back to connect it to your phone, adjust the volume, or even link it up with other compatible KoolSync coolers. The mono-directional Bluetooth speakers are fine.

The sound quality is tinny, and it struggles with heavy bass—I tried to play a beat by one of my favorite producers and I thought the whole thing was going to rattle apart—but at lower volumes with less bass-heavy music, they were OK. Loud dubstep sounded like the backseat of my friend's Dodge Neon in high school. Medium-volume coffee house pop was serviceable. If you're just chilling at the beach or with a friend, and you don't want to bring a separate Bluetooth speaker, the sound quality is totally fine. Just don't expect it to be a portable party like a traditional boombox would be. If I lived near a beach, I would bring this thing there all the time. I did experience some spotty connectivity if I walked away with my phone, but it was difficult to pinpoint exactly the maximum distance I could get away with.

This sweet-looking cooler is basically an insulated picnic basket. It has a flip-open waffle-textured lid, plus picnic-style handles that snap together for easier transportation. Otherwise, it's pretty simple, with no drain plug and molded handles in case you want to carry it from the sides rather than the top. Honestly, the ice retention isn't the best, but I can't help but still recommend this cooler simply because it is so darn cute. I would happily tote it along on a picnic lunch or to the park. Sometimes you need your ice to last as long as possible because you're off-grid camping in the woods. Other times, you just need your drinks and dessert to stay cold while you go on your lunch date. This cooler is perfect for the latter situations. It's lightweight, it's easy to carry around, and it's a conversation piece.