May 23, 2023 10:00 AM

The Best Coolers

We chugged chilled beverages to bring you our favorite coolers for every situation.

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4 / 10

Ah, summer. The beach, the lake, the river—wherever you can find water is the place to be. But while you're beating the heat floating in an inner tube or standing on a paddleboard, your drinks and food are not. They're baking in the afternoon sun, because this morning's shady spot has already evaporated, along with your ice.

When cooler companies claim ice lasts for days, be skeptical. They're not necessarily lying, but they are testing under ideal conditions that are never going to exist in the real world. We've been testing coolers for over two years now, and we've stored them in the sun, in bike trailers, and in cars, all while trying to keep food and drinks cool and edible. Below, you'll find our top picks for each category (hard-sided, soft-sided, backpack-style, expensive, affordable, even disposable), as well as a few alternatives, plus general buying tips if none of these capture your fancy.

For your other outdoor needs, be sure to check out our other buying guides, like the Best Portable Grills, Best Camping Gear, Best Camp Camp Cookware, Best Tents, and the Best Binoculars.

Updated May 2023: We've added several new Yeti coolers, the Airskirts inflatable cooler, and the Oyster iceless cooler, and we've updated prices throughout.

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Photograph: drbimages/Getty Images
Hard vs. Soft Coolers
What kind of cooler is best for you?
If you're wondering what a premium cooler has that your affordable plastic one doesn't, the answer is better insulation. In 2006, Yeti pioneered the process of rotational molding, or “roto-molding,” a process wherein melted plastic is molded over foam insulation in one piece. Roto-molded coolers offer seamless, uniform density in their walls and lids, which drastically improves a cooler's performance. In contrast, those ancient, affordable plastic coolers we've all used have thinner walls, leaky seams, and uninsulated lids. Hard-sided coolers are much bulkier and heavier than soft-sided ones, so space or weight is an issue, I prefer soft coolers. If you need to keep food cool over multiple days, a hard cooler is the way to go. Want to learn more? Our In-House Know-It-Alls have a more thorough insulation explanation.
Photograph: Yeti
Best for Most People
Yeti Tundra Haul
It's expensive and heavy (37 pounds empty), but Yeti's 55.1-quart, roto-molded Tundra Haul is built like a tank with 3-inch thick insulated walls, a heavy aluminum arm, and puncture-proof, one-piece wheels. When it's full, you'll need two people to lift it into the trunk of a (very big) car. Like you, we were skeptical that any cooler could meet Yeti's claims, but the Haul kept ice frozen for six days, in blazing 90-degree heat, while stored in direct sunlight on Adrienne's deck. I (Scott) have managed to get five days out of it in the insane humidity of Florida in the spring. If you can afford it, a Yeti hard-sided cooler is the best cooler around.
$450 at Amazon
$450 at Dick's Sporting Goods

Photograph: Igloo
Best Affordable Cooler
Igloo Wheelie Cooler
I (Adrienne) have had a version of this basic Igloo cooler for over 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 that you don't have to constantly open your premium cooler that's keeping your meat, milk, and freshly-caught fish ice cold.
$30 at Walmart
Photograph: Pelican
Best for Road Trips
Pelican Elite 20QT
Pelican has been known for durable, waterproof cases since 1976, and its Elite series is no exception. The larger sizes (the 70, 45W, and 80W) are roto-molded, but I liked to take the injection-molded 20-quart 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 backseat. Four cupholders with drains means it can double as a small drink table at the beach, and I also liked the non-skid, raised rubber feet. Ice stayed frozen for two days while being driven in a car and stored outside in 80-degree heat.
$150 at Amazon
Photograph: Bote
Best On the Water
Bote Kula 5
These bucket shaped coolers are made to fit on the front of Bote paddleboards like the Aero Breeze (7/10, WIRED Recommends). 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 tiedown points mean you can attach it to anything. I've had it on paddleboards and in canoes, but I've seen on strapped the back of a jetski and it was doing fine.
★ 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.
$200 at Amazon
$200 at Bote

Photograph: Airskirts
Best Inflatable Cooler
Airskirts Inflatable Cooler
The AirSkirts inflatable cooler is ideal for those of us who live in small spaces, or for anyone who just doesn't want to store a massive cooler they only use twice a year. The Airskirts packs down into a small carrying bag for storage and easily inflates in just a few minutes. Once inflated, it's rigid and strong enough for me (a 165-pound male) to sit on. It's made of a PVC fabric, and the air trapped inside the walls when you inflate it provides pretty good insulation. I was able to keep a bag of cube ice for a full day, even leaving the cooler in the direct Florida sun (which would be silly, don't do that). It's not cheap, but portability always comes with a price tag.
$399 at Airskirts
Photograph: Oyster
Best With Low Ice
Oyster Tempo Cooler
Double-walled vacuum insulation is how your iced coffee stays cold in a travel mug, but it's normally only structurally stable 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 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 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 soda still felt and tasted as cold as if it had spent that whole time in the fridge. —Michael Calore, Senior Editor
$605 at Oyster
Photograph: Igloo
Best Disposable Cooler
Igloo Recool
Not sold on any of these? Disposable coolers are still a thing, and they don't have to be Styrofoam (which isn't really disposable and hangs around forever). Igloo's 15-quart Recool is made from recycled paper and AKD (alkyl ketene dimer, a waxy material that provides stability and waterproofing). I was startled by the performance of this initially unattractive cardboard box. I used it to store a quart of milk, hummus, and yogurt on an overnight camping trip, and after seven hours, the ice hadn't melted. The next day, I drained it and it was still stiff and reusable.
$10 at Amazon

Photograph: Engle
Best Electric Refrigerator/Freezer
Engle MT17 Fridge-Freezer
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 a 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.
Other Electric Coolers
Dometic CFX3 45 for $949: Past reviewers at WIRED have given this Dometic high marks for its efficiency and low power draw. One nice features 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.
$949 at Amazon
$949 at Engle
Photograph: Brian Hagiwara/Getty Images
A Few Cool Tips
How to Optimize Your Cooler's Performance
If you're storing your cooler in a 160-degree Fahrenheit car trunk, no roto-molded wall or freezer gasket will keep ice from melting. But I do have a few tips to keep your ice cooler for longer. Consider keeping two separate coolers, one that you'll keep shut to hold perishables like meat and cheese, and one for snacks and drinks that you can open more frequently. Larger ice packs at the bottom will keep small chunks of ice cooler for longer. If you're really committed, you can add rock salt to the bottom to lower the water's freezing point, but I prefer my beverages to not have a faint hint of winter pavement.

Adrienne So is a senior associate reviews editor for WIRED, where she reviews consumer technology. She graduated from the University of Virginia with bachelor’s degrees in English and Spanish, and she previously worked as a freelance writer for Cool Hunting, Paste, Slate, and other publications. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

Senior Associate Reviews Editor

Scott Gilbertson is a senior writer for WIRED. He was previously a writer and editor for WIRED’s Webmonkey.com, covering the independent web and early internet culture. He studied at the University of Georgia. You can reach him at luxagraf.net.

Senior Writer and Reviewer

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