If you don’t need such a beefy box or a lengthy time frame for storing delicate food items like raw meat, the Coleman Xtreme 70 is another good choice, saving you both money and weight. On the other hand, if you’re the type of explorer heading off the grid for extended periods and pushing your gear to the limits, the extra cash you’ll drop on the Cabela Polar Cap 80 is well worth the investment. This bear-resistant box provides top-notch insulation and superb usability, making it our team’s go-to companion for longer trips. Though our scoring system of each contender’s performance does not include the cost of the unit, we recognize that this is a crucial aspect influencing the decision of which one to purchase. This particular market includes a huge range of prices that make one wonder if a plastic ice box could be worth that much money.
For example, if you’re taking a picnic lunch to a park in town, perhaps a soft-sided Coleman cooler is all you need. A soft-sided cooler is easy to pack, fits easily in your vehicle, takes up little space, and keeps your food and drinks cold. Mid-sized models offer a middle ground between the many large options that can often be overkill for a simple picnic or road trip but offer more storage space than the small personal chests.
It also has a pair of indented handles hiding underneath both sides of the top for two-handed carry. The Pelican 20 isn’t very enjoyable to carry, with a hard plastic top handle and a tall, gangly shape with too many rigid edges that smacked our legs and ankles as we walked. Knowing your investment will last through years and years of adventures is important for any piece of gear you own, and these products are no exception. Though we didn’t have ten years to spend testing each model, we spent months subjecting them to prolonged use and a fair amount of abuse to see how they stood up to the pressure. We overextended hinges, jumped on lids, yanked on latches and handles, and dropped full chests from a carrying height.
The 50ºF threshold we highlight represents the average maximum ideal temperature to serve beer. The American Homebrewers Association breaks down the optimal serving temperature range for different types of beer, which we based this threshold on. While the Cabela Polar Cap 80 boasts impressive features, there are some areas where it falls short. First, it is a heavy cooler, which can make it difficult to move around, especially for just one person.
Some also boast drainage channels that funnel water through the opening, which is a nice touch for helping with the clean-up process. YETI’s Roadie 24 and Pelican’s 20QT Elite are two notable exceptions that don’t come with drain plugs, which can make dumping out extra water a bit of a hassle. However, given these coolers’ smaller capacities, most users will be restocking the contents frequently anyway.
It also comes with a removable dry basket inside the top to keep sensitive items out of melty ice water and can be outfitted with loads more accessories for all kinds of activities. The Tundra 65 is a reasonable weight for its size, and its low profile makes the last beverage easy to find. Even after regular use over several years, the Tundra 65 performs just as well as the day we bought it. Yeti also continues to diversify the colors and personalization options available for this cooler, providing more choices to match your style better.
Uniquely, it includes a release valve to alleviate the pressure created by the lid’s seal. Though the Dometic CFX3 doesn’t have an energy-saving mode like many other powered coolers, it does have different levels of battery conservation that ensure it won’t prevent you from starting your car in the morning. And even while cooling, it draws just 50.7 watts, which is on the low end of powered coolers we tested.
Still, others have specific slots to tie them down in your boat, backseat, or truck bed. And, no matter that, you can potentially buy up to 5 replacements before reaching the price of just one Yeti Tundra 45 Cooler. I’d like to run an updated version of this comparison in the future where I keep both coolers in my car trunk for the duration of the experiment.
That said, many manufacturers offer some exceptionally handy add-ons that, should you choose to purchase them, can easily turn a product into your perfect hunting companion, tailgating buddy, or camping friend. Both Pelican models we tested — the Pelican Wheeled and the Pelican 20 stand out to our testers as having exceptionally easy to use latches. When it comes to high durability and above-average insulation and usability, the Ultralight 52 is a fantastic example of a high-value item. This lower-priced (yet over-performing) model has been handily getting the job done for weekends full of summer fun, all while being kind to the wallet.
This is a great asking price and perfect for someone on an extremely tight budget. And it also makes it very easy to overlook some of the inherent flaws that may exist with these ice chests. But, when compared to the much more expensive ice chests out coleman ice chest there, there will be some noticeable differences in build quality and features. 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.