We are so genuinely impressed by this rolling icebox’s portability that we hardly even notice or mind its heavier initial weight. This review is led by Senior Review Editors Maggie Nichols and Genaveve Bradshaw. Maggie has been playing and guiding in the outdoors for over fifteen years, from backpacking the Tahoe Rim Trail to kayaking the Caribbean. She is an avid camper and even lived in her teardrop trailer for several seasons. Genaveve is an avid climber who spends day after day in the hot desert sun chasing the next pitch. In these conditions, a campsite cooler that actually keeps things cold is a must.
Most of the hard-sided coolers on our list have drainage systems to help you empty out water once your ice has melted. Typically, this comes in the form of a screw-on or pop-off cap at the base of the cooler—simply take it off and let the water pour out. 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.
This, in part, is due to raised feet and its airtight seal created by the freezer-grade lid. Uniquely, it includes a release valve to alleviate the pressure created by the lid’s seal. Wirecutter is the coleman screen tent product recommendation service from The New York Times. Our journalists combine independent research with (occasionally) over-the-top testing so you can make quick and confident buying decisions.
But, when compared to the much more expensive ice chests out there, there will be some noticeable differences in build quality and features. Though nothing coleman ice chest broke during testing, the hinges and latches are a potential weak point. This indicates the freezer-grade gasket lid doesn’t actually seal shut.
That said, if ruggedness is something you need, the Coleman may not be the best choice. Its handles, hinges, and latches don’t inspire confidence in their ability to last the years in the same way as the high-end, IGBC certified, and rotomolded models do. Every time we’ve used it over the past several years, it seems to pick up numerous extra scratches and dirt, though it still works the same.
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. It has taken us a few years to recommend coleman screen tent 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.
You can also pick up the handy bike attachment and tow the RovR behind your bicycle. It costs extra, but we bought it, tried it, and now we can’t imagine life without it. 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. 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.