The Best Coolers of 2025-2026

Some folks out there aren’t looking for the latest and greatest, most expensive cooler on the market. That’s why something like the Igloo ECOCOOL ($60) is the perfect budget pick for those who use a cooler for the occasional day trip, keeping groceries cold, or going on an overnight camping trip.

This cooler is not roto-molded like many of the others in our lineup and instead has a plastic frame injected with an insulated foam layer. The ECOCOOL is extremely lightweight at 9.84 pounds., which is over 75% lighter than many of the other coolers we tested. This also makes it a good choice for someone who might not want to throw out their back picking up a fully loaded 30-pound cooler. 

This cooler is not the most durable we tested, and while we used all the others as a step stool and a seat, we wouldn’t want to do the same with this one. The lid flexes considerably when weighted, making us wary of its strength.

The plastic handles are also flimsy and don’t inspire confidence when lifting the cooler fully loaded. This ample cooler also doesn’t come with a drain plug. This is typical of smaller coolers, but for a 52-quart cooler with inferior insulation properties, there is going to be a lot of water to drain. 

Despite these setbacks, one of the biggest selling points of this cooler in our tester’s opinion is that it is made with recycled post-consumer resin, and its foam layer is made in such a way that decreases CO2 and VOC emissions. Surprisingly, it retained some ice at the end of our 10-day ice retention test. This was especially surprising because at 48 hours in it had the highest interior temperature of all the coolers at 34.6 degrees F.

While this might not be the best-performing cooler, nor is it as high-quality as our top pick, the ECOCOOL remains a great choice for the occasional cooler user who wants something to keep items cold for a day or two, and doesn’t want to break the bank. 

Read Review: Review: RovR 45 Cooler With All-Terrain Wheels

The RovR RollR 45 ($275) is nothing if not an impressive-looking specimen. With beefy, all-terrain wheels, a bear-resistant, roto-molded body, several different places to attach accessories, and a deep main compartment with a dry bin, this roller makes the most of being a medium-sized cooler. 

The first thing that struck GearJunkie tester Alex Kirk is the almost comically large wheels. While they may look overbuilt for a medium-sized cooler, they performed impressively over rocky and sandy terrain on a desert camping trip in the Alabama Hills of California, and make transport overall a much easier affair. Getting from point A to point B lugging a heavy cooler can be the least enjoyable part of a camping trip. But the RovR couldn’t make it easier to roll your perishables to wherever you need them to be. 

Another noticeable feature of this cooler is that it ditches the typical rectangular shape typical of most models in favor of a taller, cubic one. This makes it convenient to pack into the trunk of a car because it takes up less space and is also easier to handle as one person. 

The interior is deep and spacious with a 42L capacity and has a removable dry bin that makes organizing food and drinks much easier. With the bin inserted, however, there is only enough room to fit 16 lbs of ice. The ice in this cooler lasted 6 days compared to YETI’s 10. 

The telescoping handle is also noticeably lacking in quality compared to the rest of the cooler. It isn’t very smooth to deploy, and feels flimsy, especially considering the price tag. While the Bullseye latches work just fine, our testers preferred wider rubberized pull tabs that you can grab and pull with your whole hand, rather than just using one or two fingers.

It is also one of the heaviest coolers we tested, at 37 pounds. Despite these setbacks, the outer rim of the cooler has attachment points for accessories such as a prep board, cup holders, and an umbrella rod holder, making this cooler the most customizable out of any other in our lineup. If you are looking for a cooler that can really go places, the RovR is our top pick for its ease of transport. 

The Igloo Recool Cooler ($10) stands out in today’s gear market for what it isn’t: another hunk of styrofoam destined to live forever in a landfill. Instead, this 16-quart cooler is made from recycled paper pulp and a plant-based binder, making it fully compostable and biodegradable after use. While that might suggest “single use,” in testing, the Recool proved surprisingly sturdy.

To test whether it would collapse faster than a house of cards, GearJunkie contributor Heather Balogh Rochfort loaded a 50-pound dumbbell into the Igloo Recool and carried it around her house. Surprisingly, the hardest part was the carrying itself; it didn’t crack, bend, or even warp. Honestly, she could have gone heavier, which is not what she expected from a recyclable paper cooler.

At just 1.6 pounds, the Recool is ultralight and incredibly easy to carry when it’s not loaded with gym equipment (or cans, too). It’s also delightfully affordable, making it a great grab-and-go option for casual daytime adventures or last-minute picnics. The lid features four built-in cup holders and doesn’t squeak, crumble, or leak water all over your car.

Of course, there are always some trade-offs with a $10 cooler. Ice retention is moderate — you can easily get a half day — but it can’t compete with pricier hard-sided coolers. And while Igloo advertises space for 20 cans plus ice, we found the real-world capacity to be closer to a dozen cans. Still, for single-day outings and laid-back affairs where you don’t want to lug around a behemoth, the Igloo Recool Cooler is an easy win.

Tired of dragging a fully loaded cooler that could weigh up to 50 pounds in and out of the back of your car? Enter the RTIC Ultra-Light Hard Cooler ($219) — a premium cooler that is 30% lighter than other coolers of the same capacity.

Three inches of foam insulation and an O-ring gasket for the lid keep your items cold despite the lighter weight. However, this cooler is injection-molded instead of rotomolded, and therefore, its ice retention will be a bit less overall than that of heavier, rotomolded models. 

The ice retention of the ultra-light RTIC cooler ended up actually being pretty comparable to its rotomolded counterpart. This, however, could be due to the fact that it was filled with more ice because of its larger size, and the more ice a cooler can hold, the longer it will retain that ice. But with 8 solid days of ice retention, the RTIC Ultra-Light Hard Cooler really measured up.  

Having a large cooler that is easy to carry around may also be very advantageous for some. This cooler additionally has many of the same features as its rotomolded counterpart, the RTIC 45, with secure rubber latches, two drain plugs, non-skid rubber feet, tie-down slots, molded in side handles, as well as marine-grade nylon rope handles on either side. It also comes in a smaller 32-quart size, as well as 52-quart and 72-quart wheeled versions.

The YETI Roadie 24 2.0 ($250) may look familiar, but this isn’t the same cooler that launched in 2020. For 2025, YETI gave its beloved mid-size hard cooler a small but critical upgrade. Not only did the brand add a much-needed drain plug (the main knock on the OG version), but it also added a carrying strap in place of the old handle. These two changes may sound minor, but they make the Roadie 24 virtually unstoppable.

At 24 quarts, the Roadie is perfectly sized for one or two people for a weekend trip. It fits a standard bottle of wine upright, holds more than two dozen cans and ice, and slides neatly behind a car seat (Note: This only works if you’re short. GearJunkie contributor Heather Balogh Rochfort had no problem driving the car with the Roadie behind her, but her 6-foot-tall husband couldn’t make it work in their Subaru Outback).

The real change, however, is how you carry it. The old rigid handle made it feel like you were hauling a bucket full of ice. Not only was this awkward and uncomfortable when fully loaded, but it was also really heavy. The new strap design makes a world of difference, distributing weight more evenly and making transport far more comfortable.

Another long-overdue upgrade: a drain plug. Previously, you had to tip the whole cooler to empty melted ice water, a task that was both messy and cumbersome. Now, the new BestDam Drain Plug allows quick, easy drainage without sacrificing performance. Balogh Rochfort tested the updated cooler with our ice retention test (see below), assuming the new port might compromise insulation. Yeti claims that the Roadie 24 can stay cold enough for food (roughly 40 degrees Fahrenheit or lower) for around 3.5 days, and she found that to be accurate. After 72 hours, the inside temperature was measuring at 33 degrees Fahrenheit and about half of the ice had melted. After four days, it was all liquid.

Like all YETI hard-sided coolers, the Roadie 24 2.0 features rotomolded polyurethane construction, a freezer-quality gasket, and burly T-latches designed to withstand years of abuse. With these upgrades, it’s practically perfect for a small cooler….but yes, you’re still going to pay for it.

The Dometic Recon 41L ($325) earns its spot as the best modular cooler thanks to an injection-molded design that prioritizes usable space and gear-friendly shaping. GearJunkie contributor Heather Balogh Rochfort found the Recon’s square silhouette especially practical: It packs cleanly against flat walls, slides neatly into a trunk or truck bed, and stacks easily with other bins or duffels. Truly, it’s a cooler that makes you realize those other coolers aren’t actually square shaped….mind blown!

Despite weighing about the same as a YETI Tundra 45, it offers significantly more interior volume — 41 liters versus the Tundra’s 32.9 — making it a smart option for campers who value efficient space over maximum insulation thickness.

In testing, Balogh Rochfort was most impressed by the Recon’s functional features. The rubberized top keeps stoves, cutting boards, and duffels from sliding off. Dual-sided latches allow the lid to open from either direction or be removed entirely. Each latch doubles as a bottle opener. Inside, a removable divider splits the interior into two sections for separating food, drinks, or dry goods. A small basket suspends delicate items above the ice. And, Rochfort was delightfully surprised by this basic yet useful feature: a magnetized patch keeps the drain plug from getting lost. What a win.

Cooling performance is solid, though not quite on par with rotomolded heavyweights. Following GearJunkie’s standard ice-retention test, Balogh Rochfort found that ice was still present after 10 full days. (She recorded temperatures of 32 degrees Fahrenheit at 24 hours, 33 Fahrenheit at 48 hours, and 34.8 degrees Fahrenheit at 72 hours.) While its thinner walls can’t match the longest-lasting coolers, the Recon’s balance of durability, modularity, and genuinely useful design make it a standout pick for gear-heavy adventures.

The Bote 5 Kula Magnepod ($299) isn’t your typical boxy cooler. With its round shape and five-gallon capacity, this roto-molded cooler is as comfortable sitting on as it is tossing in the back of a Jeep. GearJunkie contributor Heather Balogh Rochfort tested it throughout Colorado’s Roaring Fork Valley on everything from dusty 4×4 roads to mellow day hikes, and came away impressed pleased by the variety of thoughtful features.

The Kula’s EVA foam lid pad doubles as a low-key comfortable seat. No, it’s not like your bed at home but the thought is nice. The built-in bottle opener and rod holder nod to BOTE’s paddleboard roots, while sticky rubber feet keep it from sliding around, even if you’re standing on it to reach your rooftop rack (As us how we know this…) We’ve all experienced coolers that have the drain just a tick too high on the wall, making it cumbersome to actually drain the water. But not the Kula. Thanks to a centrally located drain in the bottom, the whole process is easy peasy.

Performance-wise, the Kula 5 held its own but didn’t quite match up to other premium coolers (like the Yeti Roadi 24 2.0) in the ice retention test. It maintained a steady 32 degrees Fahrenheit after 24 hours, but had crept up to 34 degrees Fahrenheit by 48 hours. At 72 hours, the proverbial wheels fell off; it hit 37.9 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s more than solid for single-day adventures, but extended weekend trips will push its limits — which is unfortunate for a pricey cooler. Balogh Rochfort also found it slightly awkward to carry as it continually banged into your legs.

All that said, the Kula 5 does a decent job and has plenty of nice-to-have features that will appeal to a lot of folks. If you’re a paddleboarder or angler, we can see this cooler being a great pick.

Ninja — yes, of blender fame — brings a novel feature to its cooler, at a nice price. The Ninja FrostVault ($200) has a bottom drawer that lets you store anything from produce to deviled eggs, so your chow doesn’t get wet from ice in the main compartment while it stays cool. Though it doesn’t insulate quite as well as its roto-molded competitors, its performance is respectable, especially considering it’s $100 less than a Yeti Tundra 45.

The single latch design and the lack of an air-tight seal impair the overall insulation performance, but don’t write off the FrostVault just yet. The single latch is durable and keeps the lid closed just fine, and a little air leakage prevents a vacuum so that the lid won’t get stuck. It’s a compromise, but if you’re using your cooler for a day trip or an overnight, the FrostVault will suffice.

The unique sliding drawer on the bottom, known as the DryZone, is about 10x11x3 inches. It keeps food dry and Ice-free. It also protects fragile food items like strawberries, pie, or the aforementioned deviled eggs from getting smashed during transit. A latch keeps the drawer from opening unexpectedly, and the drawer can be completely removed for easy cleaning. Don’t forget to empty the drawer. GearJunkie editor-in-chief Adam Ruggiero found out the hard way that it’s easy to forget about the drawer after emptying the main compartment; he was left with a pretty smelly mess a few days later. 

The FrostVault is not a heavy-duty grizzly-proof cooler, and we’re willing to bet plenty of folks looking for a good cooler aren’t going to be in bear country. Leave this one at home for multi-day rafting or fishing trips. For a few days on the road or at a drive-in campsite, the Ninja FrostVault will serve you well. And if you dig the design and would like more space, you can get the 50-quart version for about $50 more.

A robust, family-friendly cooler, the new Canyon Coolers Outfitter 55 ($300) offers a blend of convenience, performance, and durability in its V2 design. Its robust, rotomolded body ensures quality ice retention and durability, making it a solid companion for outdoor adventures. The easy-to-use latches provide effortless access, while its straight-edged shape allows for efficient packing in your vehicle without consuming unnecessary space.

We put the Outfitter 55 to the test in the scorching summer heat, subjecting it to extensive evaluations in comparison to our lineup of the best coolers of 2025. This Arizona-made cooler did very well in our testing metrics, including size, volume, weight, ease of transport, durability, and ice retention.

During our ice retention test, the cooler maintained usable ice for four days under extreme conditions of 100-degree heat, suggesting it could perform even better in more typical outdoor environments.

Our lead tester, Miya, took this cooler camping with us on a weekend trip to Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite National Park and found it hard to handle as just one person due to its size, width, and weight when fully loaded. It would be nice to have a cooler of this size with wheels to make it even more convenient.

But it is also unlikely that you would buy this cooler for just one person, therefore you’ll be sure to have a helping hand for loading and unloading on your next vacation. 

Overall, the Canyon Coolers Outfitter 55 stands out as a family-friendly cooler with a spacious 55-quart capacity, ideal for weekend trips or longer excursions for two to four people. It is lightweight for its size, weighing only 26 pounds while the Yeti Tundra 45 weighs 23 pounds with only a true 37-quart capacity.

Its latches are its standout feature, though they don’t quite suction in air as much as the thick rubber latches found on Yeti and other premium coolers. But this cooler’s performance and usability make it a great value for your next family excursion. 

The Xspec Pro 60 Quart Cooler ($230) is nothing if not impressive and is the most feature-filled cooler we tested. A heavy-duty, rotomolded construction with a reasonable price, this 31-pound cooler gives some other more expensive models a run for their money.

This 60-quart cooler actually has 60 quarts of usable space, unlike other brands which end up having less capacity than they claim due to their thick, insulated walls. It faired quite well in our ice retention test as well, holding usable ice for a total of 6 days while outside in a mix of shade and direct sunlight. 

The Xspec is dry ice compatible for even longer periods of cold retention. It also features a drain plug with a tether for safe-keeping, heavy-duty grab handles, a molded ruler on the lid, a built-in compass, bottle opener, non-slip feet, and molded tie-down slots — making this a burly cooler for overlanders and other adventurers.

And, this cooler is the only one in our lineup to have an air release knob as well, so you’ll never have to worry about your lid getting suctioned to the cooler body while you’re just trying to grab a cold one. No one likes that. 

While the Xspec is a worthy competitor in the world of rotomolded coolers, it’s worth mentioning that while its plastic latches are infinitely easier to open and close than the thick rubber ones you have to use two hands to pull down to secure, they don’t keep the cooler quite as airtight.

With the thick rubber latches found on the Yeti Tundra 45, you can feel the air being suctioned out of them as you pull down the latches to essentially “engage” the rubber gasket on the inside of the lid. 

While many of these premium brands hold a certification from the International Grizzly Bear Committee, the Xspec does not. Although it does have stainless steel locking plates to keep the cooler secure, we don’t know if it would withstand a curious grizzly. 

All in all, this feature-laden, rotomolded cooler has decent ice retention and a spacious capacity for a pretty affordable price. So, if you’re looking for a larger cooler that has some more bells and whistles than your average ice box, you may love the Xspec Pro 60. 

Sometimes a standard cooler just isn’t big enough. Enter the Coleman 316 Series Chest Cooler ($110). 120 quarts of space at only 20.7 pounds, this oversized ice box is great for birthday parties, barbecues, sporting events, and the like. 

Built-in cup holders and a lid that can double as a seat and support up to 250 pounds make this cooler more versatile than it seems. While the injection-molded design and relatively thin walls make multiday ice retention less viable than more expensive models, the Coleman 316 is a great choice for single-day events. 

While we think that any cooler of this size should come with a pair of wheels for easier transport, the Coleman 316 is, unfortunately, wheel-less. Its plastic side handles are also not the most confidence-inspiring, and the size of the cooler, when fully loaded, necessitates another person to lend a helping hand.

For only $6 more, you can get the slightly smaller, 100-quart Coleman 316 Series Insulated Portable Cooler with Heavy Duty Wheels, which solves the wheels issue though sacrifices 20 quarts of space. 

This cooler did quite well in the ice retention test, lasting the full 10 days with ice. This, however, is partially due to the sheer quantity of ice we filled the cooler with. The more ice, the longer a cooler will stay cold. But we were quite pleased with its performance regardless. If you’re looking for an inexpensive, large cooler for the occasional event, it’s hard to beat the Coleman 316.

The Blue Coolers Ice Vault ($350) is a quality rotomolded cooler, that lends itself to comparison with (you guessed it) the all-might Yeti. Is it better than the closest YETI equivalent, the Tundra Haul? In some ways, yes.

In terms of capacity, the Ice Vault has an additional 8 quarts over the Tundra haul, despite having a smaller exterior size. What’s going on here? Well, the Yeti has a thicker roto-molded shell, which definitely gives it an advantage in terms of insulation. But if you value space savings in your tightly packed vehicle, the Ice Vault may work better for you.

This cooler doesn’t have any bear-proof certifications or locking points, so the YETI is a better choice if you’re in bear country and don’t have proper food storage options. Again, there are plenty of places to go camping in the lower 48 where you’re never going to run into a bear. The latches are a hard plastic that lever the lid into an air-tight seal. Using them isn’t less difficult than the Yeti’s rubber latches, just different.

The only real gripe that GearJunkie editor Rachelle Schrute had with this cooler is the drain plug cover. It isn’t leashed to the cooler and could easily get lost, rendering a $350 cooler much less effective. You chalk that up to user error, but still. All in all, this is a solid cooler that has a very similar performance to a YETI or an ORCA. Though its name may not reference a majestic sea creature or a beloved cryptid, it’s about $100 less than those coolers.

This cooler has no drain plug, but the smaller yet capable 25-quart size makes that OK. This Igloo Picnic cooler ($55) is not only a decades-old classic (now out in new “retro” colors), but it’s also a great size for day-trip outings like excursions to the park, city trailhead, beaches, or your favorite lake.

At a park picnic, we were able to fit bottles, cans, and flasks, as well as boxes, bins, and bags of snacks galore. If you aren’t packing food for snacking, it can hold 36 cans.

We used it for day trips and car camping and liked its size (it can fit in your passenger seat area), capacity, and convenience for a few days’ worth of food and drinks.

In testing, this cooler kept contents cold for 3 full days, and this was with us periodically opening it on occasion to check ice retention. (Igloo claims retention for this cooler at 1-3 days.)

Given all that, we give this cooler an A+ for not only living up to specs but also being a perfect, portable, budget-friendly option for shorter-length trips outdoors.