The 6 Best Coolers of 2024 Reviews by Wirecutter

Over the years, we’ve tested the Hopper backpack in a variety of climates. While the bag can occasionally keep things cold for more than a day, this depends on how it’s packed and where it’s stored. On average, I’m comfortable assuming that the Hopper will keep whatever I’ve packed cold for a solid day regardless of the situation. The exterior of the cooler is made of a durable, thickly coated nylon—waterproof and tough.

You will not be required to pay a second entry fee on the same day. Please keep your receipt from your first ozark trail canopy visit for entry a second time. Is the cart included in the price for Lost Canyon Cave & Nature Trail?

The RTIC 52 QT Ultra-Light Cooler is our best pick for most people who want a lightweight cooler that can do it all at a decent price. This highly rugged cooler is designed to withstand scrapes and jabs, ensuring it remains in top condition. It doesn’t have a lot of auxiliary storage, and since its cooler component is vertically oriented, it takes some digging to get at anything buried in the ice. However, when packed right, it’s a superior cooler for keeping your beverages and snacks cool wherever you roam.

The hard-sided coolers are designed to try to compete with the top-tier of the premium cooler world. Depending on which model you go with, you will find the appearance of these ice chests to differ quite a bit. The most affordable models, the non-premium soft-sided coolers, come in a very safe, solid color. There may be some subtle grays or white pieces of fabric but, for the most part, the primary color will dominate.

ozark cooler

Since they launched, they have carved out an incredible market share delivering products across the board from coolers to dog bowls. I spend a great deal of time on the water every summer boating and fishing in Northern Michigan. I will often load a large cooler up at the beginning of the week and leave it on my Pontoon packed with drinks and ice.

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 much of anything else. The smaller sizes just don’t have enough room to be functional for anything except an individual lunch or a few drinks.

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 weather was in low 90s during the test, the coolers were in full sun for most of the morning, and we opened them several times throughout the day.

But it does fall a bit short of the top-tier premium coolers in the industry. As is expected, the larger hard-sided coolers had a clear advantage over the soft-sided coolers. They are not only larger but utilize thicker insulation, rubber gaskets, and an overall more ice-friendly design. Their low-cost, soft-sided cooler options don’t have a lot of storage volume or insulation to help them out.

And to maximize how much squeeze the gasket produces, having strong latches that provide a lot of clamping force is necessary. You will find the popular “T-latch” design on Ozark Trail ozark cooler coolers. While some brands will have the base of the “T” be what catches the pin, Ozark Trail has instead decided to have a hole in the middle of the latch that catches onto the pin.