The 6 Best Coolers of 2023

We previously noted that Yeti had suspended sales of our backpack pick, the Hopper M20, due to a potential safety issue with the closure, which could fail, releasing magnets, which would be dangerous to ingest. (No injuries have been reported.) Yeti has now issued a recall. We’ve removed that pick and are continuing to monitor the situation. If you want a backpack cooler, we recommend the Polar Bear Original Nylon Backpack Cooler.

Many companies have spent an astronomical amount of money and time to convince people that they need to spend ridiculous sums just to keep a drink cold. It's not true. Coolers aren't complicated, which is a good thing to remember in the face of all that advertising. After spending many years evaluating more than 40 cooler models, we’ve chosen eight that are well made, well insulated, and well suited for a range of outings.

Foam insulation reduces heat conduction, and in soft coolers, Mylar and coated polyurethane reduce and reflect heat radiation.

For hard coolers, a 70-quart model is big enough for a variety of tasks. For soft coolers, we recommend one in the 20- to 24-can range.

If you find yourself in need of a cooler while away from home, skip the cheap polystyrene cooler in favor of a compostable one.

For most people, Yeti hard coolers are overkill. Two exceptions: if you need a cooler with wheels, or if you’re in bear country.

Better insulated and less expensive than the competition, it keeps ice frozen for a week, and a well-designed drain port makes the cooler easy to clean.

*At the time of publishing, the price was $90.

Get this if: You want a cooler for weekends away, car-camping trips, or tailgating, or to keep as a backup cooler in your garage in case your power suddenly goes out. It's a workhorse.

Why it's great: The Coleman 70-Quart Xtreme 5 Marine Hard Ice Chest Cooler is a tremendous value if you’re looking for a spacious, reliable cooler. Not only that, but it's sized so that you can still move it and carry it with reasonable ease. It fits in most cars’ trunks and works great as extra seating—it can support up to 250 pounds. The Coleman Xtreme weighs 13.4 pounds empty; even when it was filled with 60 pounds of ice, our testers still found it manageable to carry for a short distance. If that weight or size seems intimidating, Coleman makes a similar model with wheels.

In our testing, the Coleman Xtreme kept ice frozen for a full week (170 hours), 30 hours longer than the Igloo MaxCold (140 hours). It measures 28.4 by 15.8 by 17.5 inches, its design incorporates bevels and angles all over the place, and it has a ruler and cup holders molded into its lid. Insulation obsessives may want to fill those cup holders with Styrofoam, but considering how well this cooler performed in our tests, doing so doesn't seem to be all that critical. The most noticeable functional difference in the designs of the coolers we tested was in their drainage ports, and because we were draining these coolers upwards of three times a day for several days straight, we learned quite a bit about what works and what doesn't. Unlike most of the other models, the Coleman Xtreme has a channeled drain, which made draining much easier and required very little tilting on our part.

The Coleman Xtreme features replaceable hardware, whereas some of the company's cheaper models don't. This is an important detail because the first thing that will wear out on a cooler is either a hinge or a handle, and having affordable replacements means a cheap repair rather than a brand-new purchase. At the moment, you can buy Coleman's replacement hinges and replacement handles for less than $10 each.

Flaws but not dealbreakers: Coleman makes many nearly identical versions of the Xtreme cooler. We don't know why they all have such similar names and such different looks, but according to sources within Coleman, for practical purposes they are all identical where it counts: in insulation and build materials. We consider all of these models to be part of the same line.

Dimensions: 28.4 by 15.8 by 17.5 inches (WDH)

Weight: 13.4 pounds

Capacity: 70 quarts

This roto-molded cooler costs far less than the Yeti Tundra 65 but performs just as well in nearly every way. It's almost indestructible, it has two drainage ports and replaceable parts, and it kept our ice frozen for 10 days.

Get this if: You need a cooler that's all but indestructible for longer camping trips, and you don't mind giving up a bit of interior space for thicker insulation.

Why it's great: Most roto-molded coolers are two or three times more expensive than they need to be. (The term refers to a manufacturing process that creates uniformly thick, and therefore extremely durable, plastic walls with no seals.) Of all the models we tested—a group that included the wildly popular Yeti Tundra 65—the RTIC 65 QT Hard Cooler emerged as the best for the price and performance. It's just as tough as any of its competitors, and it keeps ice from melting for just as long. That said, most people do not need a roto-molded cooler. They’re big. They’re heavy. They carry less than other, same-size coolers because of the amount of insulation they’re packed with. In short, they’re impractical for most mundane needs—a fact that has stopped absolutely no one from buying them in record numbers.

The RTIC 65 weighs 36.5 pounds and measures 32 by 17 by 18 inches on the outside. It has enough space to hold 65 cans or 70 pounds of ice. Unlike several other competitors, the RTIC 65 has two drainage ports for quick cleaning and draining. RTIC also sells a 45-quart version if you need something smaller.

Similar to any other true roto-molded cooler, the RTIC 65 is practically indestructible, which makes it great for tougher outdoor environments. In our testing, the RTIC 65 kept ice frozen for 10 days with some periodic draining. We’ve also used this cooler for nearly five years for grocery runs in Hawaii, and it's still going strong. One charm of the RTIC 65 is its reasonable price, which allows us to be far less careful with this equipment than we are with something as expensive or desirable as a Yeti.

The RTIC 65 has rope handles with a plastic tube for gripping and two rubber latches for holding the lid closed, mimicking the design of most other, comparable coolers.

Flaws but not dealbreakers: Gear Lab pointed out that the rubber latches are the one weak point of the RTIC 65: "The sheer stretchiness of the rubber latches on the RTIC gives us concern for their durability and longevity. Though we yanked on everything, including the flexible rubber latches, we couldn't get them to break, which gives us hope. We do worry that they may stretch a bit during regular use, becoming looser over time." The rubber hinges are also somewhat smaller than those on other roto-molded coolers, such as the Yeti. However, we’ve used the RTIC 65 in Hawaii for five years now as our go-to grocery carrier and haven't had any problems with the rubber components. As a grocery hauler, it's perfect for the task; the thick insulation easily withstands the heat of the sun, even if we leave the car parked for a day.

Note that RTIC coolers are not IGBC (International Grizzly Bear Committee) certified. If that's necessary for you, here's IGBC's list of certified bear-resistant products (PDF). Or just buy the Yeti Tundra Haul or the Yeti Tundra 65.

Dimensions: 32 by 17 by 18 inches (WDH)

Weight: 36.5 pounds

Capacity: 65 quarts

The handle and wheels on the Yeti Tundra Haul are the best we’ve come across. This cooler feels like you can roll it across anything without the handle straining or bending, or the wheels breaking.

*At the time of publishing, the price was $400.

Get this if: You think it's unfeasible to lug a large cooler by its handles over long distances. The Tundra Haul pairs the indestructible nature of all roto-molded coolers with top-of-the-line handles and wheels for moving it around with ease.

Why it's great: Yeti famously commands a premium price for its products, usually about a third more to twice the price of their actual material value. That said, occasionally the over-engineered leeway that Yeti creates for itself allows it to set the standard in certain categories. The Yeti Tundra Haul Hard Cooler is expensive, but when you’re choosing a wheeled model, it's worth paying for hardware that won't break or strain under heavy loads.

It has taken us a few years to recommend a wheeled cooler simply because none have seemed built to last longer than a season or two—especially in the handle. Once loaded with ice, drinks, and food, a 37-pound cooler can more than double in weight. When someone then tilts the cooler up, all that weight goes into the wheelbase or leans into the handle hinge.

The arm of the Tundra Haul is made from a thick-gauge welded aluminum, the quality of which you can feel immediately when you lift it. The wheels are a single-construction plastic and not hollow or feeble-feeling as on so many other coolers. Remarkably, when we lifted this cooler—fully loaded with cans, food, and many pounds of ice—by the handle, the experience didn't feel that different from wheeling around a high-end piece of luggage. (One other plus: This cooler, like all variations of the Yeti Tundra, is certified bear resistant by the IGBC.)

Flaws but not dealbreakers: One feature we’d like to see is a little more internal division (or at least the ability to add a divider). Once you tip your cooler up at an angle, you should expect the contents to shift around a bit, and it would be nice to have a little more control over that situation as you shuffle and roll your cooler across, say, a boardwalk or a pool deck.

Dimensions: 28.3 by 18.6 by 19.5 inches (WDH)

Weight: 37 pounds

Capacity: 55 quarts

This simple lunch-box-style cooler is insulated with thick closed-cell foam and made from a durable coated nylon.

Get this if: You need a simple soft cooler for a lunch box or daily carrying that's durable enough to stand up to some decent abuse and time in the sun without wearing out.

Why it's great: The RTIC Soft Pack Cooler 20 Can has a design similar to that of the Yeti Hopper Flip but costs less than half the price. That low cost brings some compromises, of course, and if you want the absolute best quality and the most durability for the price, the Yeti Hopper Flip is the cooler for you. For most people, however, the RTIC Soft Pack Cooler will be plenty. The lid of the Soft Pack Cooler is capped by more than 2 inches of closed-cell insulation, ½ inch more than in the Hopper Flip, and the walls of the Soft Pack Cooler are a touch thicker than those of the Hopper Flip. Head-to-head, all that extra insulation seems to give the RTIC cooler an insulating edge, though the difference in daily use remains marginal. That said, when you compare all the details—the hardware, the stitching, the material design—the Yeti cooler is all but guaranteed to last longer with daily use.

As with all soft coolers, you shouldn't leave the RTIC Soft Pack Cooler out in the sun or resting on very hot surfaces like the back of a pickup truck or on top of a picnic table for a long time. Although the exterior of the cooler is made of a durable, thickly coated nylon—waterproof and tough—the sun and heat will degrade the material and slowly wear it out.

Flaws but not dealbreakers: The waterproof zippers on the RTIC Soft Pack Cooler 20 Can aren't as easy to manipulate as those of the Yeti Hopper Flip—the RTIC cooler's zippers are slimmer and require a little more effort to open and slide along. We also found that the shoulder strap on the RTIC cooler was a little short—at least for taller testers.

After seven years of testing and considering several dozen soft coolers, we’ve come to the conclusion that—given enough time—many will inevitably break or degrade. And the soft coolers that truly are better quality cost nearly as much as, if not a lot more than, a hard cooler. A soft cooler offers some benefits: Its malleability and light weight make it easy to carry, especially as a backpack. But judging from our experience, we don't think you should expect a lifetime of use out of a soft cooler unless you’re paying top dollar.

Dimensions: 13.75 by 9.5 by 13.5 inches (WDH)

Weight: 3 pounds

Capacity: 15 quarts

Light, simple to carry, difficult to overpack, and insulated enough for a full day's worth of activities, the Polar Bear Original is a decent-enough backpack cooler for most activities and an especially good choice for parents.

May be out of stock

*At the time of publishing, the price was $110.

Get this if: Your favorite picnicking spots or beaches tend to be farther off the beaten path, or you often find yourself with your hands full of other gear or children or both. This backpack is easy to carry on your shoulder while you take care of more important things.

Why it's great: Most soft-cooler backpacks have issues: Either they’re uncomfortable to carry when fully loaded with drinks and 20 pounds of ice, or they’re not particularly good at keeping things insulated. Across all our testing, nothing in this price range performed as well and as consistently as the Polar Bear Original Nylon Backpack Cooler. It kept our things cold for longer than many models and was just as comfortable to carry.

The Original is made with an exterior of 840-denier UV-resistant nylon wrapped around open-cell foam. Technically less insulating than closed-cell foam, open-cell foam performs fairly well for most applications as long as the cooler isn't left in the open sun. The Original can do exactly what you need it to do, which is to keep things cold for the day while you focus on the fun at hand.

Flaws but not dealbreakers: Although this backpack cooler was as comfortable as any we tested, few backpack coolers are actually all that comfortable. A cooler like the Original Nylon Backpack Cooler is useful for carrying your food and drink for a medium distance when your hands are full with other things, such as a beach umbrella, a coconut, or the hand of your young child. But you wouldn't want to go on a long hike with it—or any of the other models we tested.

We’ve tested Polar Bear coolers for seven years now, buying them or receiving test units from Polar Bear. For a long time Polar Bear led the way in soft-cooler designs. Recently, however, we’ve been let down by the lifespan of its soft coolers (though not this backpack in particular). But with care, you can extend the lifespan of any soft cooler—the number one rule seems to be not to leave it out in the sun.

Dimensions: 12 by 7 by 18 inches (WDH)

Weight: 5 pounds

Capacity: 13 liters

Skip the Styrofoam next time you need a disposable cooler. The paper pulp of the Recool composts easily in the backyard, and it performs basically as well as any cheap single-use cooler.

*At the time of publishing, the price was $10.

Get this if: You’re in a situation where you need a cooler for a short amount of time. Ideally you’ll have a longer-lasting reusable cooler on hand, but as the Igloo Recool becomes more common, there should be no reason to reach for a Styrofoam model again.

Why it's great: A disposable cooler is always a backup option, but there are times when it's nearly unavoidable, such as when you’re caught out at a picnic or having a lucky day fishing. The Igloo Recool lives up to the hype: It's as effective as a polystyrene cooler and reusable a few times, and it composts easily. The Recool's wood-pulp material (similar to papier-mâché), bound with a biodegradable wax called alkyl ketene dimer, doesn't dissolve when wet. We tested the Recool and a number of cheap, comparably sized foam competitors, filling them up with ice (both types held roughly 16 quarts) and then waiting, measuring the accumulated meltwater over time. The Recool promises to keep ice frozen for up to 12 hours, but we found in our testing that the cold lasts for more like six or eight depending on how much food or drink you have in there, a result similar to what we saw in our testing of Styrofoam equivalents. As for the testing units themselves, well, they’ve disappeared now. More dirt for my garden.

Flaws but not dealbreakers: We don't recommend getting any disposable cooler if you can buy a halfway decent hard cooler or soft cooler (such as any of the models we recommend above). A hard cooler like our top pick, for example, can keep ice frozen for a full week. Of course, the comparison isn't quite fair. But even our soft-cooler picks provide almost double the insulation time of the Recool, up to 12 hours (from six).

Dimensions: 15 by 11 by 11.38 inches (WDH)

Weight: 1.5 pounds

Capacity: 16 quarts

A cooler is made to keep things cold. It does that via insulation. With better insulation, a cooler can maintain lower temperatures for longer, thus consuming less ice. That's important, especially if you, like most people, don't have a freezer that can produce enough ice to fill a cooler and you tend to resort to buying bags of ice from the grocery store or liquor store. Those bags aren't expensive, but if you can use less ice or reload less often, you’ll save money in the long run and spare yourself the hassle of having to leave midparty for more ice or draining your cooler every few hours to slow the ice's melting.

Over the years, we’ve studied editorial reviews from outdoor and boating experts at The Boat Galley, Cook's Illustrated (subscription required), Good Housekeeping, and Slate, as well as plenty of discussion forums (such as Graybeard Outdoors and TexasBowhunter.com).

When it comes to hard coolers, the category is dominated by three names: Coleman, Igloo, and Yeti. Rubbermaid, a former heavyweight, no longer produces the same diversity or quality of coolers that it used to. In our research, we found that nearly everyone recommended either a Coleman or an Igloo within those brands’ price range, and whenever a Rubbermaid mention cropped up, it was most often in the form of a criticism.

As for soft coolers, going by criteria that guided our previous testing, along with owner comments on Amazon and in forums, we narrowed the search by looking for a short list of essential features. We considered the external hardware, the shoulder straps, the buckles, the zippers, and the fabric, all of which had to make the cooler comfortable to carry and sturdy enough to survive regular use in a boat, on an ATV, or sliding around in the trunk of a car. For backpack coolers, we also specifically looked for reports of how comfortable (or uncomfortable) they were to wear. And naturally, we focused closely on every model's level of insulation during testing.

Let's talk about heat, insulation, and polyurethane foam for a minute. Heat can transfer in three ways: conduction, convection, and radiation. Conduction is the transfer of heat through a solid (such as when a spoon becomes hot after sitting in soup), convection is the transfer of heat through a fluid or gas (including air), and radiation is the emission of electromagnetic energy (like sunlight).

Different types of insulation work in their own ways to minimize heat transfer into a cooler. Open- and closed-cell foams act as insulators to reduce heat conduction, while fabrics and liners, such as coated polyurethane and reflective Mylar, create a radiant barrier that reduces and reflects heat radiation. Every cooler maker wants to claim that it uses closed-cell foam in its coolers, but you’ll have to trust us when we say that, after hours of research, we’ve found a lot of gray area between what is advertised as closed-cell foam and what actually is closed-cell foam. If you’re wondering what kind of foam your cooler has, a good rule of thumb is to try to squeeze the foam with your fingers. If your fingers can compress the foam more than 75%, you’re probably dealing with open-cell foam. If the foam feels denser than that and doesn't compress much at all, you probably have your hands on closed-cell foam.

Closed-cell foam is considered a better insulator than open-cell foam because the tiny bubbles of gas in closed-cell foam remain independent from one another. 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.

In contrast, open-cell foam is permeable to air and water like a sponge (which is why it frequently appears in foam pillows, as it's squishier and it breathes). 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.

According to our testing, over a long enough period of time, a cooler with closed-cell foam will keep things cool for longer. But in the 24- to 48-hour range, we haven't seen a huge difference between using ¾ inch of closed-cell or open-cell foam in a cooler. Except for cost, of course.

Over the years as we’ve published and updated this guide and related articles, we’ve stuck by two testing methods: measuring meltwater over time to illustrate the relative performance of insulation between coolers and measuring temperature change over time to determine the total length of time that ice stays preserved in a cooler.

By measuring meltwater, we can produce data that illustrates the relative performance of insulation between coolers over time. For example, after five days, the Coleman Xtreme retained 11 more pounds of ice than the Igloo MaxCold did. That translates to the Coleman Xtreme being 20% more efficient than the Igloo MaxCold overall in ice retention during the same time period. We also started tracking the internal temperature of the coolers with the ThermoWorks Signals thermometer to see exactly when temperatures began to rise.

Previously, we tested hard coolers in the summer in Baltimore through a week that saw highs of 80 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit and lows of 64 to 72 degrees. We tested soft coolers and backpacks in Ventura, California, by loading every soft cooler with 9 pounds of prebagged ice and leaving them outside for 24 hours, from noon to noon, over two days with an ambient temperature between 70 and 75 degrees plus nearly constant sun exposure during the day. And more recently we tested most of our picks again throughout the year in Hawaii.

Everybody has different needs, and we couldn't test every single size of cooler available. Instead, we decided to focus on the most utilitarian and family-friendly sizes we could find. (The exception is backpack coolers, which often come in only one size.)

Among hard coolers, a 70-quart size is big enough for a variety of tasks. If you’re a boater, as Carolyn Shearlock of The Boat Galley writes, for a weeklong trip for two, a "65- or 70-quart cooler is about the minimum size needed to have enough ice and space for food." Again, the right size for you depends on how you pack your cooler and how long you need to keep things cold (more ice takes up more volume). Another example came up last year during a power outage, as one of our staff members was able to store most of the contents of a fridge in a 70-quart cooler, along with the necessary ice to keep it cold.

For soft coolers, we recommend anything in the 20- to 24-can range. That's enough to hold plenty of ice, drinks, and food for a family of three. Anything smaller, and you end up carrying a lot of bag and not carrying much of anything else. There just isn't enough room in those smaller sizes for them to be functional for anything except an individual lunch or a few drinks.

If you’ll mostly be using your hard cooler while boating: Consider the Igloo MaxCold 70 Qt Cooler—it performed nearly as well as the Coleman Xtreme in our tests, and its drainage port accepts a garden hose, so you can channel the wastewater over the side of a vessel or in other situations where you want to direct the wastewater elsewhere. The Igloo MaxCold is a solid runner-up to the Coleman, being similar in size and fuctionality, and in our tests it kept ice frozen for six days, one day beyond its rated capacity. (However, ice in the Coleman Xtreme lasted seven days in our tests.) The Igloo MaxCold measures 29.5 by 16.5 by 16 inches and has a simple, utilitarian design that is devoid of markings or indentations. It weighs about 12 pounds empty and can also serve as a seat.

If you need a certified bear-proof hard cooler: Consider the Yeti Tundra 65 Hard Cooler, which carries the IGBC imprimatur. Of course, if you already know you want the name, buy the name. Yeti makes a good product. The Tundra is more expensive than it needs to be or maybe even should be. But Yeti is also the brand that everyone recognizes and many people covet. If that's important to you, at least you know that this cooler is also well made and (with the proper locks) built to resist hungry bears.

If you’re an avid fisher or if you need a large backpack with plenty of extra storage and side pockets: Consider the waterproof, 30-liter Icemule Boss, which has solid closed-cell insulation and a deep interior space for ice storage. However, it's more backpack than most people need, unless you’re on a serious expedition.

If you’re looking for a soft cooler for paddleboarding or to stuff in the back of a kayak (that is, a cooler that also floats and can keep contents cold for a little less than a day): Consider the Icemule Classic Medium 15L, which is capable of floating even when loaded. This open-cell insulated cooler has an interesting design, similar to that of a stuff sack you might use while camping. It's really meant for the sporty crowd, for paddleboarding specifically. It performed fairly well in our tests, although its light, open-cell foam insulation hindered it some.

Polar Bear Original Nylon 24 Pack Soft Cooler: This cooler, our former top pick among soft coolers, is lightweight, sturdy, and easy to pack. With enough ice, it kept contents cold in our tests for more than 24 hours without leaking or sweating. However, this Polar Bear model has the smallest shoulder pad by a significant margin of any soft coolers we’ve tested. Although carrying the bag a short distance was okay enough, we found that after a while the small pad would slip off our shoulders, making it pretty useless. Additionally, the cooler's lack of durability over the years prevents us from continuing to recommend it.

AO Coolers Canvas Series 24-Pack Soft Cooler: Although this cooler performed on a par with the best in our tests—its ¾-inch insulation kept food and drinks cold for more than 24 hours without leaking or sweating—it didn't hold as much as the Polar Bear soft cooler did. It's also no more durable.

StrongBags Glacier Flight Crew Luggage Cooler: StrongBags manufactures bags specifically for pilots and flight crews. These are decent bags, but they’re overpriced compared with top competitors. This model has the same folded origami structure of the Polar Bear and the AO, but it seems to use a less dense open-cell foam, which hindered its overall performance in our tests. Unless you need a soft cooler specifically sized for overhead compartments, as this one is, you can save yourself a bit of money and buy a bag that keeps things cool longer. (Another StrongBags cooler we tested, the Canadian Ice Flight Crew Cooler, has been discontinued.)

Coleman 30 Can Cooler with Removable Liner: This Coleman soft cooler comes with a removable hard-plastic liner meant to keep your food from being squashed. Still, the cooler itself had thin insulation that just didn't perform as well as that of the Polar Bear; for half the price, you’re sacrificing more than half the performance. This model produced 5.5 cups more meltwater in 24 hours than the Polar Bear did during our testing. (One other Coleman cooler we tested had the same flaws as this one.)

Transworld Durable Deluxe Insulated Lunch Cooler Bag: The Transworld Durable Deluxe is neither durable nor deluxe. Its insulation was the thinnest we came across—in 24 hours, the 9 pounds of ice we loaded in it completely melted. It was the only soft cooler we tested that had this happen. Additionally, the hardware on this cooler wasn't built to give anyone confidence. You get what you pay for, and with the Transworld Durable Deluxe you aren't paying for much.

Yeti Hopper Flip 18 Soft Cooler: Similar in design to our soft-cooler pick, the Hopper Flip is a good option, but as with all Yeti models, this soft cooler's build and attention to detail are reflected in the price. For a simple design like this, we just didn't see that it made much of a difference, and the RTIC soft cooler is practically just as good and much less expensive.

Icemule Urbano 30L: The Urbano looks better than it performs. Icemule coolers (except for the Icemule Boss) tend to use pliable open-cell foam, which works fine but isn't as good an insulator as the foam in our other picks. If you like the way this cooler looks and you need a cooler only for light use, such as on day trips, this is a decent choice, but our top-pick backpack cooler is likely to serve you better.

OtterBox Trooper LT 30 Cooler: We used to recommend this sturdy backpack cooler, but unfortunately it's been discontinued.

Pelican Elite: The plastic handles on the 45-quart Pelican Elite let down this roto-molded design in our tests. Plus, it was just ugly to look at. Pelican has since redesigned its coolers—we considered the 50-quart version and the 45-quart wheeled version—but in doing so the company added bizarre plastic ribbing and extended hard handles that take up needless space in most situations.

Bison Cooler 75 QT: Bison makes a solid cooler for hunters and fishers. This roto-molded design is as good as any we tested, but the RTIC roto-molded cooler is just as good—and a good deal cheaper.

Esky: Coleman's short-lived entry into the high-end cooler world was a little flat. It cut too many corners, and its unusual shape didn't lend itself to sitting snugly in boats or vehicles. It is now discontinued.

Canyon Coolers Outfitter 55: These coolers come close to the RTIC roto-molded cooler in price, but they use plastic hinges to keep the lid shut and seem to skimp on a few manufacturing details. The rope handles, for instance, are strangely installed in a pass-through loop and don't seem as durable as those on other models we tested.

This article was edited by Ria Misra and Christine Ryan.

Kit Dillon

Kit Dillon is a senior staff writer at Wirecutter. He was previously an app developer, oil derrick inspector, public-radio archivist, and sandwich shop owner. He has written for Popular Science, The Awl, and the New York Observer, among others. When called on, he can still make a mean sandwich.

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