The Best Hard Coolers

This cooler aced all our tests. Its wheeled design made for easy maneuvering over all different types of terrain. Its spacious interior held enough groceries for four people on a weekend trip, or it could fit 36 sodas plus ice packs. Well-designed hinges, wheels, and a periscope-style retractable handle all made this cooler easy to operate and sturdy enough to withstand a litany of durability tests; every part of the cooler worked just as effectively at the end of our testing as it did right out of the box. Best of all, this model’s thick layer of insulation worked remarkably well, preserving food and ice effectively and keeping soda cold for five days. Though that thick insulation makes it heavy, this cooler is still a bit lighter than other models that performed similarly, and it’s more capacious than coolers of comparable footprints.

This ultradurable cooler outpaced every other model in cooling and durability, but it’s a bit heavy for the average person. Ice lasted a whole week, and when we placed sodas and ice packs inside, the cooler kept our beverages below 50°F for more than five days. We also loved its rubber latches, which were easy to close, and its durable rope handles. The cooler’s weight did make it fairly difficult for one person to carry when full, and it didn’t fit all our groceries or soda cans (it could fit only 24 cans, along with ice packs). However, if you’re looking for a smaller cooler that holds all the essentials, this is an excellent option.

This cooler is exceptionally good at keeping contents cool, as ice took nine days to melt and sodas remained below 50°F for four days when surrounded by ice packs. The rubber latches were durable and easy to use, as were the rope handles on both sides. One tradeoff that comes with its excellent cooling ability is in part due to the thick insulation, which in turn makes it heavy. At almost 30 pounds, it was hard for one person to transport the cooler with ease. Another disadvantage of this cooler is its capacity: It was able to fit just 30 cans of soda instead of 36 and couldn’t fit all groceries needed for a weekend trip.

We loved the excellent durability and cold retention of this cooler, which performed identically to our favorite large coolers, the YETI Tundra 45 and YETI Tundra 65. It held ice for six days and kept soda below 50°F for five days. We also liked that its wheel wells did not cut into the cooler’s interior space, allowing us to easily pack a weekend trip’s worth of groceries for four people with plenty of room to spare. The cooler sustained very minimal damage after being tossed out of an SUV onto concrete five times. We also appreciated its long handle when wheeling the cooler. It weighs 12 pounds more than the YETI Tundra 45 and 7 pounds more than the YETI Tundra 65, so it was more difficult for one person to comfortably lift it into and out of a car or carry it up or down stairs, especially when full. However, this cooler’s large wheels make it a breeze to roll it across a variety of terrains.

Another model by YETI that excelled at cooling, this cooler kept our beverages below 50°F for more than five days. We liked that this cooler had the same durable and easy-to-use rubber latches and rope handles we loved in the smaller version. Our biggest frustrations were the cooler’s weight and shape: At 30 pounds and over 2 feet long, it was impossible for one person to carry when it was full—and still heavy for two people. But we think this is a fair trade-off given the cooler’s standout performance.

This budget-friendly model did a decent job of cooling, keeping sodas cold for 3 days—longer than any other product priced under $100.00. Its wheels and notably lightweight build made it portable, and its roomy interior easily held a weekend's worth of groceries. We liked that the side handles were molded into the body, which prevented them from breaking when dropped. The telescoping handle worked well and was convenient to use out of the box, but it wasn't durable, though; one of the poles dented after we dropped the cooler out of an SUV trunk, which prevented us from pushing the handle down and obstructed the lid from opening fully.

A premium option from a company known for manufacturing professional camera cases, this cooler was well constructed, with up to 3 inches of foam on all sides. It kept ice for eight days and sodas frosty for four days. Testers struggled with its considerable weight, though: It was 38 pounds empty. Though the wheels helped a bit, they were no use when trying to move the full cooler up and down stairs or in and out of a car. The wheel wells also took up space in the body of the cooler, creating awkward spots where we had to fit food like puzzle pieces.

This sturdy cooler does a decent job of keeping ice from melting and soda chilled for days. We liked its sturdy rubber latches and durable rope handles. The lid was hard to close tightly, as there was a gap between the lid and the body. Despite its lightweight design, it’s still large and bulky, so you’ll need two people to carry it, a counterintuitive design move since the reduced weight was intended to make it more portable.

We were impressed with this cooler’s solid, sturdy plastic shell, which showed barely a scratch after our durability tests. We also liked its spacious interior, which easily held all our groceries for a weekend away. This model performed well, keeping soda under 50°F for 4 days (slightly less time than winning models). We found the lid difficult to operate; it required us to forcefully wrench it open whenever we wanted to get inside, yet it easily popped open every time we threw the cooler out of an SUV trunk, strewing its contents everywhere. We also found its latches harder to use than those of other models; they required that we precisely align the plastic tabs on a metal clip, and then press hard to lock in place—a lot of effort for a lid that sprang open when dropped anyway. Devoid of wheels, this model was quite heavy when full, making it difficult for one person to carry.

Marketed as an alternative to popular rotomolded plastic coolers, this model is made using two layers of aluminum that are vacuum-insulated; powdered silica between the double walls helps keep the aluminum from collapsing. The vacuum technology worked well to keep soda cold for six days. We also liked that this model was relatively lightweight. What we didn’t like The small interior held 36 cans of soda when we used the brand’s thinner-than-normal proprietary ice packs and stacked the small, uniformly shaped cans methodically. But it was too cramped to hold enough groceries for a weekend away, which included bulky and less-uniform items such as juice bottles and a carton of eggs. The aluminum was far less durable than other models’ plastic; the cooler dented in multiple places during our durability tests. The metal handle jutted into our hands uncomfortably when we carried this cooler, an experience that grew increasingly unpleasant the farther we walked with it. The lid was designed to either hinge open on one side or be removed completely; the hinge mechanism never worked and the lid popped off completely every time we opened it, slowing us down and rendering a supposed “convenience” feature annoyingly inconvenient.

This wheeled model worked fairly well to keep its contents cold, but soda warmed 1 day faster in it than in our top-performing model. Marketed as “ultra-light,” this cooler was still quite heavy when full, and it was surprisingly difficult to wheel around due to a bulky, awkward hinged handle that felt less intuitive to use than other wheeled models’ telescoping designs. Its latches and hinges worked well, but its plastic exterior cracked when we threw this cooler out of an SUV, not boding well for long-term durability.

While its interior was spacious, this cooler was a pain to pack; the lid repeatedly flopped closed (sometimes onto our hands) when we opened it. Though it was light and spacious, its construction was flimsy: It took only one drop from the back of an SUV to send a handle flying off and to unhinge the lid. It was lined with a thin layer of insulation and its lid had no insulation at all, so it was one of the first coolers to tap out in both of our cold-retention tests.

This cooler was simple but effective. Its rubber and plastic handles were easy to grab, and it was a light 8 pounds, which meant one (strong) person could carry it when it was full. It kept ice for only about four days, but that's beyond long enough for a party or barbecue. We also liked its spacious interior, which fit all our groceries with room to spare. Though it spilled open when knocked out of a car, it emerged from testing with no permanent damage.

This narrow, deep cooler was a pain to pack because of its unusual shape and prominent wheel wells. However, it was light and portable and provided decent ice retention for about four days. Though we wished its lid was insulated, we did like that the lid was divided in two, helping keep cold air in when we opened it. One downside to the compartment lids: They easily flopped open when the cooler was knocked over, spilling the contents.

Our biggest gripe about this cooler was its lack of a drain, which made the normally simple task of emptying water a complicated mess—we had to remove all the contents and strain the ice. It had thin insulation and an ill-fitting and hollow lid, which allowed ice to melt and sodas to warm faster.