Specifically, I wanted to track the ambient temperature in each cooler, so I spread the ice in each one I tested beneath an elevated jar of propylene glycol solution (watered-down antifreeze) with a temperature probe in it. The temperature down in the ice would have been roughly the same in coleman camping chair all of the coolers, leaving retention as the only real variable. Tracking the ambient temperature up above it was much more telling, and it gave us some additional variables to consider. A diversion groove at the bottom of the cooler keeps the ice and water separated, which slows melting.
Sure, some coolers would probably keep the ice frozen for a lot longer than others, but using the melting point as your metric seems to disregard everything that comes before. I wanted to get a good sense of performance not just days in, but hours in, before any of the ice had even melted at all. If we’re going to talk about performance, we should talk about capacity first.
They also come with a large handle that makes dragging the cooler easy and convenient. The Coleman Xtreme is extreme in name only — it’s just a typical plastic cooler that comes with wheels on it. The lid doesn’t latch shut, but you get a telescoping handle and a drainage spout inside, which is more than I can say for cheap coolers like the Igloo Island Breeze and the Rubbermaid Ice Chest.
Tipping the scales at a mere 11.9 lb, the Coleman is shockingly lightweight. This fact certainly adds to the Coleman’s portability, as many of its competitors weigh three or four times as much without even anything in them! The overall width of this cooler is also fairly conducive to a single person carrying it. The drain features a small channel coleman cooler to help pull all the water out, though there is a sizeable lip in front of the actual drain that prevents a small amount of the water from exiting without some tipping assistance. The plastic handles on the sides are easy to blindly grab as you head out the door to your party or picnic and swing back down into place when you let go.
If you frequent the backcountry or will be traveling where bear-proof gear is required, make sure your cooler is on the list. I love how much storage space this cooler offers, but it’s deep and narrow shaped. This makes it hard to quickly reach in and grab what I’m looking for. Instead, I end up stacking items and digging around, which causes me to leave the lid open longer and disrupt the ice, which significantly reduces the ice’s ability to stay cold. Still, the Xtreme wasn’t nearly as strong a performer as the equally priced Igloo MaxCold Cooler, so keep shopping if you just want something affordable that’ll keep your drinks cold the longest. But if you just want something affordable that’ll roll from point A to point B and get the job done as far as cooling is concerned, then the Coleman Xtreme isn’t a bad pick.
The drain plug also lacks a rubber seal, and while we had no issues with our unit during testing, many user complaints suggest that this plastic-on-plastic seal has an eventual expiration date. Additionally, the handles attach via short plastic pegs in small plastic holes, which translates into a sketchy connection under a heavy load on handles that already bow alarmingly with this amount of effort. As committed cooler enthusiasts know, the type of ice you use heavily impacts how much you’re able to store and how long it stays cold.
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 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 coleman 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. Unlike the feature-filled frivolity of a few of the other elaborate coolers we tested, the Coleman Xtreme doesn’t offer too much beyond the necessary.