The very first thing to contemplate when shopping for a cooler is how you are going to use it. In case you aren’t heading out for days at a time, you most likely do not want an costly high-end cooler. All of the coolers we have advocate above are able to holding issues at a protected temperature for a day, supplied you retain them within the shade. Equally, in the event you’re navigating rugged terrain, you may want beefy wheels—and in the event you’re simply going to the seaside, you may not want them.
Arduous-sided coolers: These vary from the outdated inexperienced Coleman coolers—as soon as a staple of each tenting journey—to Yetis, which price as a lot as vehicles did when Coleman began making coolers. You may marvel why the Yetis are so costly. That I am unable to reply, however Yeti did upend the cooler business by introducing rotational molding, or “rotomolding,” the place melted plastic is molded over foam insulation in a single piece. Rotomolded coolers provide seamless, uniform density of their partitions and lids, which drastically improves a cooler’s efficiency. In distinction, these historic, reasonably priced plastic coolers we have all used have thinner partitions, leaky seams, and fewer insulated lids. Whether or not you want the additional insulation will depend on what you are doing and the way scorching it’s if you’re doing it. Wish to study extra? Our In-Home Know-It-All has a extra thorough insulation rationalization.
Arduous-sided coolers typically have the posh options you need, like leakproof lids and drain plugs, and a few are even bear-resistant (verify this record of bear-proof merchandise in the event you’re headed into ursine nation). The draw back is that these coolers are typically large and heavy.
Mushy-sided coolers: Mushy-sided coolers embody the whole lot from well-padded, impressively insulated sling luggage (just like the Yeti Hopper Flip above) to roll-down, dry-bag-style coolers good for these delicate seaside days. One of the best smooth coolers are simpler to hold, pack away simply when not in use, and have a versatility that conventional laborious coolers lack. (I’ve used dry-bag-style coolers as, nicely, dry luggage.) Ice would not final as lengthy, however for brief outings the place you do not want a big cooler, these are what we advocate. Our older choose was discontinued; we’re on the hunt for one more.
Electrical coolers: Certain, they are not vital, however in the event you’re headed out on longer adventures and have entry to energy, you may by no means have to fret about your ice melting.
Different Options to Look For:
- Drain plug: This significantly simplifies life by making it straightforward to empty the water out of your cooler. In case you’re shopping for a big cooler, make sure that it has one in all these.
- Divider: One in every of our high suggestions for long-term cooler use is to have two coolers: One you deal with as a fridge and hardly open, and one other for drinks. If that is not doable, you possibly can obtain a number of the identical by getting a cooler with a dividing wall in it. That means you possibly can pack one aspect tightly with ice to maintain that meat at a low temp, and use the opposite aspect for chilling drinks with cubed ice.
- Wheels: Coolers get heavy and wheels are superior. They will not all the time work (good luck wheeling your cooler over tree roots), however after they do, they’re fully value it.