Coolers

The cooler every other cooler is measured against, and the reason is the parts list rather than the ice retention. The body is rotomolded in one piece with no seam to split, and every part that can wear is sold separately: the rubber T-Rex latches, the hinge pins, the lid gasket, the non-slip feet and the drain plug. Five year warranty, and a Tundra that has been rebuilt twice is a common sight rather than a surprising one. It is also certified bear resistant, which is a useful proxy for how much abuse the shell will take.

• Rotomolded single piece body, no seams
• Latches, hinges, gasket and feet all sold as spares
• Five year warranty
• Certified bear resistant
• Holds 26 cans, or 28 pounds of ice

Rotomolded in one piece in Iowa, pressure-injected with polyurethane foam, and carrying a warranty for life rather than a warranty for a number of years. It is the smallest cooler here and the one that answers a different question from the others: not what keeps ice for a week on a boat, but what survives being thrown in a truck for twenty years. The gasket is the only wear part and it is replaceable, which is the test this whole page applies.

• Rotomolded one-piece LLDPE
• Made in the USA
• Warranty for life
• Replaceable lid gasket
• Bear-resistant, IGBC certified

Rotomolded, three inches of insulation, and forty percent more capacity than the Tundra 45 for less money. The construction argument is the same one: a seamless shell with hardware that unbolts, and RTIC sells the latches, gaskets, hinges and drain plugs. The honest caveat is the warranty, which is one year against YETI's five and Pelican's lifetime. If the cooler is going to be handed down, that gap matters more than the price does.

• Rotomolded with three inch insulation
• Holds 64 cans
• Latches, gaskets and hinges sold as spares
• One year warranty, the shortest here
• Substantially cheaper than equivalent capacity elsewhere

The only cooler here with a lifetime warranty on the body, from a company whose main business is cases that get thrown out of helicopters. It is made in the United States, the latches are press and pull rather than rubber straps so there is nothing to perish, and the lid has moulded lock hasps built into the shell. Worth reading the warranty properly: the body is covered for life, the wheels, feet, gasket and drain are covered for ninety days. Those are all parts you can buy, which is the point.

• Lifetime warranty on the cooler body
• Made in the USA
• Press and pull latches, no rubber to perish
• Moulded-in lock hasps
• Holds 48 cans

The size one person can still carry full, which is the practical limit nobody mentions until they have tried to lift a fifty quart cooler with ice in it. Same injection moulded shell and the same replaceable hardware as the larger one.

• 32 quarts, carryable when full
• Injection moulded shell
• Latches and gasket replaceable
• Lighter than a rotomoulded box of the same size

It earns its place by being the cooler that does not pretend. Blow-moulded polyethylene, no hardware to fail, nothing bolted on that can shear off. It will not hold ice for a week like the rotomoulded boxes above it, and it will outlive every soft cooler ever sold.

• Blow-moulded polyethylene shell
• No latches or hinges to fail
• 30 quart, holds 48 cans
• Cold up to 48 hours
• Nothing on it to break

Wheels on a rotomoulded cooler sound like the part that breaks, and the periscope handle and single-axle wheels are the reason this one does not: both are bolted on and both are replaceable. Tall rather than wide, so wine bottles stand up in it, which is a small thing that changes how often you take it anywhere.

• Retractable periscope handle
• Puncture-resistant wheels, replaceable
• Rotomoulded shell, two inch insulation
• Tall enough for bottles upright
• Five year warranty

The box that made rotomoulded coolers a category people argue about. Two inches of pressure-injected foam, a one-piece shell with no seam to split, and latches, hinges and a gasket that all unbolt. The 45 litre version is the sensible one and this is the one that keeps ice for a long weekend with four people drinking out of it.

• Rotomoulded one-piece shell
• PermaFrost pressure-injected foam
• Latches, hinges and gasket all unbolt
• Bear-resistant, IGBC certified
• Five year warranty

Soft coolers normally fail at the zip, so this one has no zip: a magnetic closure strip that you press shut and a dry-bag style fold over the top. The shell is the same waterproof laminate YETI uses on its boat bags, and the straps and buckles are replaceable where the fabric is not.

• MagShield closure, no zip to fail
• Waterproof laminated shell
• Carries as a backpack
• Holds 18 cans with ice
• Three year warranty

The Tundra's build in the shape people actually carry. It is taller than it is wide, so it stands behind a car seat instead of eating the boot, and tall bottles go in upright rather than on their side. Same rotomolded shell, same five year warranty, same replaceable latch and gasket, and it is the best rated cooler on this page at 4.81. One person can carry it loaded, which is not true of anything larger here.

• Fits upright behind a car seat
• Holds tall bottles standing up
• Rotomolded body, replaceable latch and gasket
• Five year warranty
• Carryable by one person when loaded

A soft cooler with a welded, puncture-resistant shell and a waterproof zip, small enough to carry by hand. The shell is welded rather than stitched, so there are no seams to leak.

• Welded, puncture-resistant shell
• Waterproof zip
• Carry handle and shoulder strap

A hard cooler built to be lighter than rotomolded designs while keeping thick insulated walls. There is no electronics and very little to fail: a lid, two latches and a drain plug.

• 52 quart
• Lighter than rotomolded coolers
• Simple latches and drain plug

The cheapest way onto this page that still holds ice for days, and the one here whose stock has never been thin. Coleman covers it for ten years, the wheels and the hinges are the parts that fail on a cooler and both are serviceable, and it carries 92 cans without needing two people to move it.

• Ten year limited warranty
• 92 can capacity, 55 quart
• Heavy duty wheels, so it does not need carrying
• Extra thick insulation, rated to hold ice for days
• Passive: no power, nothing to charge