If you would like to check out our larger overview of each product look right below these and you will see all of them in order of their overall ranking, from highest to lowest. Item prices do not include fees for pickup, shipping or delivery (if applicable) unless noted in the item description. Item prices may vary between online (for pickup, shipping or delivery) and in club.
We do wish that Igloo would improve the hinges and also add some more color choices to the mix, though. From small, portable coolers to large, heavy-duty ones, there’s an Igloo cooler to fit every need and budget. Whether you’re planning a beach day, a camping trip, or just a backyard barbecue, a cooler is a must-have item to keep your refreshments cool and fresh. The beach and coolers pretty much always go hand in hand. And we have a huge selection of hard coolers for the beach, perfect for keeping you and your crew refreshed for as long as you need.
If you have lots of friends, or family or just like to make sure you do not run out of cold drinks and food this is a great option. Before you use your high-quality Igloo ice cooler you need to cool it down by putting ice in it. After you add ice you need to let the cooler cool and then drain the cooler and add ice and your food and beverages. One thing that is a must with coolers is to pay attention to the temperature of the cooler before you fill it with ice. Some people add ice and beverages to a cooler that is already hot.
When you do this you seal in the heat since they are extremely well insulated. The Igloo ice cooler started out as its main content with metal coolers for hard-working blue-collar workers. Because of this, some people think they are old and not as good as the new coolers. We love the mobility of the All-Terrain cooler thanks to its massive wheels. The cooling is good enough and the asking price is very competitive.
However, the zipper can be a bit stubborn at times and it needs some additional features to be a real home run choice for us. This cooler combines acceptable ice life with awesome mobility, tons of features, and an attractive look. We like how Igloo managed to cram so many cool accessories into this cooler while still maintaining great build quality and a decent asking price. We highly encourage you to check out this ice chest if you want a large cooler that is more mobile.
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. If you need ice for extended periods (we’re thinking of you, rafters and multi-day campers), the cost is worth it. But for those on day trips or shorter overnight outings with access to new ice, an inexpensive igloo electric cooler cooler like the Coleman Xtreme or Igloo ECOCOOL is a fine option. For $65, the 50-quart Coleman Xtreme is another standout in the value category, and this time with wheels. In the same family as our top budget pick, this basic cooler certainly is a far cry from the RovR RollR, Igloo Trailmate, and Pelican 80QT Elite above, but the functionality is decent for the price.
Air bubbles that do not share cell walls and in effect stay insulated from one another are better at reducing the overall transfer of heat through the foam. Closed-cell foam is also much more expensive to produce than open-cell foam. The resulting product is strong and especially rigid feeling, and typically it weighs more than 1.7 pounds per cubic foot with more than 90% of its air cells closed to one another. Closed-cell foam is also water-impermeable—so it’s an ideal material for, say, surfers’ wetsuits. The Original is made with an exterior of 840-denier UV-resistant nylon wrapped around open-cell foam.
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. This simple lunch-box-style cooler is insulated with thick closed-cell foam and made from a durable coated nylon.
The best thing that the Quick and Cool has going for it is its ample storage space and attractive pricing. Unfortunately, the cooling performance just isn’t there for coolers of this size. It also needs a major update on its carrying handle situation. For those on a tight budget, you may be able to overlook these things but there are much better choices out there for slightly more money. As its name suggests, the Max Cold is quite good at keeping ice for its price point.
ROAM is primarily a rooftop tent manufacturer and well regarded among serious outdoor-goers like overlanders and those who like to get off the grid. But their foray into coolers hasn’t gone unnoticed, combining the ruggedness and utility that ROAM is known for with a myriad of functional features. And importantly, all these features are integrated nicely and have the same solid and confidence-inspiring feel as the rest of the aptly named Rugged. All of that is well and good, but what really sets the Igloo MaxCold apart is its outstanding level of performance. In my tests, I filled each cooler with 3 pounds of ice, then tracked their internal ambient temperatures on a minute-by-minute basis over 48 hours in a climate-controlled room set to 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Among all 12 of them — including four of those expensive, rotomolded coolers — the MaxCold finished in third place, managing to tie the $329 Bison Gen 2 and beating the $400 Rovr Rollr 60.