Igloo Trailmate Marine Review Tested by GearLab

Designed with a padded glove box, a serving tray, a food basket and 2 accessory holders for versatile storage, this cooler offers oversize, never-flat wheels and a padded, telescoping handle for easy portability. A built-in stand on the lid provides space to store your mobile device. Trailmate…the up-for-anything hardside and softside coolers — all high performing, easy to transport and crafted for the great outdoors. First, you have the butler tray that is built into the inside of the lid. Second, there is a removable dry storage box on the front of the cooler so you can and keep the phone/keys in there without fear of water or sand damaging then. The Igloo Trailmate Cooler Series is a relatively new offering by the popular cooler company, Igloo.

Its spacious 70-quart capacity fits up to 112 cans (that’s a lot of Bud Light) and keeps beverages cold for more than three days. There’s an interior food basket that keeps food suspended above the drinks so that sandwiches don’t get wet and nasty. A common complaint that people have when it comes to these large coolers is their lack of mobility. Igloo has found a way to solve that issue in addition to offering up a lot of really cooler other features. The ice life and build quality are at acceptable levels and the styling is really sweet.

This feature is something that you will find on very few other coolers on the market and it is a great way to stand out from the crowd while having a nifty feature. Additionally, its telescoping trolley handle provides an ample amount of space between the front of the cooler and the backs of your heels. This added space makes the Igloo the only wheeled cooler we tested that we never hit our heels on – a pretty big deal. And while we greatly appreciate this fact, we feel that the Trailmate still can’t quite live up to the smooth ride we got from coolers with air-filled tires. We should also add that the telescoping handle doesn’t have a smooth action — it definitely doesn’t feel high quality or built to last a decade. The Igloo managed to hold refreshing brew temperatures at or below 50º for an additional several hours, for a total of 3.4 days of cold beers.

igloo trailmate cooler

The no-slip grip combined with the aggressive tire tread means that you can place this cooler on uneven surfaces and slopes without worrying about it falling over or rolling away. Easily the most recognizable feature has to be the massive wheels. And they come with some aggressive tread that allows for great traction through dirt, sand, and grass. And combine with the fact that they are never-flats, you have a great mobility solution that is designed to last.

The Trailmate Journey comes with an affordable price tag, considering all the features it offers. Buyers have been highly impressed with its sophisticated design, giving it a high-end appearance. igloo soft cooler Not only is the Igloo Trailmate Journey functional, but it also looks incredibly stylish. If you’re in search of a sleek cooler with abundant features at an exceptional value, look no further.

As for toughness, the cooler is comprised of an aluminum frame and utilizes stainless steel hardware. You don’t have to worry about this ice chest falling apart when you are towing it to your next adventure. igloo trailmate cooler However, it still won’t be quite as tough as the simpler premium coolers on the market from Yeti, RTIC, Engel, etc. The next most notable feature is the glide handle that also doubles as a butler tray.

The extra boxes and fishing rod holders on the outside kept popping off when we lifted the cooler or pushed it up against something in a certain way. The butler tray isn’t quite the right size to fit snugly in the trolley handle, and so slides a lot when in place. We did find the internal dry basket and two bottle openers on the outside to be fairly useful though. You get a durable, weather-resistant exterior and wildly impressive igloo soft cooler ice retention thanks to its MaxCold Ultra™ insulated interior — plus, a whole crew of handy adventure-friendly features. From the big (all-terrain wheels) to the small (bottle openers) and a ton of handy features in between (butler tray, dry storage, umbrella holders and way more), Trailmate has everything you need. Head out to your favorite picnic spot with your meal packed in the Igloo Trailmate™ Journey 70 qt.

Its open 70-quart limit fits up to 112 jars (that is a great deal of Bud Light) and saves drinks cold for over three days. There’s an inside food bin that keeps food suspended over the beverages so that sandwiches don’t get wet and awful. Finally, one of the most important aspects is the mobility of this cooler. I quickly learned that this cooler is made to go over far more than than pavement.

Well, The Trailmate is designed with Ultratherm insulation to keep the cooler’s low interior temperature using thick layers of insulation within those stiff plastic walls which explains the cooler’s weight. The combination of the aggressive wheels and the rigid exposed metal makes for a very tough and intimidating look. And the layout of this cooler is unique and is sure to stand out from the crowd.