Best Coolers To Buy In 2022: Buyers Guide, Comparison Table & FAQ’s

Coolers are a great addition to your life. From meeting your daily needs to helping you in your adventure quest, these ice coolers come under the “must-have” product. You need something to keep your food and beverages cold when the scorching heat of summer dehydrates you. While on your journey, you want an ice chest that can retain the ice for a longer duration, so you don’t have to refill the ice cooler again and again.

Plenty of ice chest coolers are available in the market that you can choose from depending upon their functionality and specifications, but these coolers differ considerably from each other. The availability of ice chests in different sizes and colors might put you in a dilemma. Moreover, you want something that always sticks by your side when it comes to performance.

To guide you through this misery, we have done a lot of work. Before you reach your final verdict, make sure to read our best ice coolers review that is true, authentic, and fair.

Comparison Table: 10 Best Coolers For You

Here we have provided a comparison between the brands that manufacture cooler.  The comparison table includes high-end brands to the new entrant as well. So, read the comparison to get an instant glimpse of how these coolers perform and what makes them unique?

Preview	Product	Rating	Price
	Pelican Elite 50 Quart Cooler...	No ratings yet	$262.12	Buy on Amazon
	Coleman Portable Rolling Cooler | 50...	No ratings yet	$54.46	Buy on Amazon
	Driftsun 45-Quart Ice Chest, Heavy Duty,...	No ratings yet	$199.99	Buy on Amazon

Last update on 2023-12-04 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Reviews On Top 5 Picks – Discover The Best One For You

From the high-end brands to the newcomers in this industry, these brands have brought something innovative and unique to the table. You can find brands like yeti coolers, grizzly coolers, pelican coolers, orca coolers, arctic ice chest coolers, and many other brands taking up the rivalry by offering specifications customization, lifetime warranty makes them top the list of best coolers’ list. Let’s be familiar with the offering of these brands.

Yeti Coolers 

Yeti is the most recognized brand in the game, and there are plenty of reasons that justify its position in the market. Undeniably, the brand offers a range of top coolers that do not disappoint you in any aspect. Ever wondered why you hear “Yeti” when it comes to the ice chest? That’s right! The features and specifications are undoubtedly amazing, and the built design is like the cherry on the top. Designed with the Rotomold technology, the ice chests can handle your abuse, and even if you kick it, sit on it, it will still stand firm. In addition to this, the lifetime warranty offered by the Yeti leaves no scope to be skeptical about the product quality.

Product Line up – We are now familiar with the Yeti Coolers as their product lineup. Let’s get more into the “Yeti Coolers Series.” Yeti deals in Hard Sided cooler and Soft-Sided Cooler. Under the Hard Sided coolers, Yeti has further expanded the series called “Tundra Series and Roadie Series,” while the name knows their soft-sided coolers of “Hoppers.”

Impressive Things about Yeti Coolers-

• Durability – If you have been a Yeti fan, you will find Yeti ice chests impressive. What makes Yeti coolers a top-rated cooler is the fact that they are made with a rotomolded design, which makes them durable. After all, you need an ice chest that is always there by your side.
• Wide Variety of Products – What makes Yeti more interesting is that they have plenty of options to choose from. Whether you are looking for hard-sided coolers or soft-sided coolers, Yeti is your one-stop destination for your needs. Whether you are looking for a small cooler or a big cooler, Yeti coolers can be an ideal choice.
• Bear Proof Coolers – So, what makes them the best cooler for camping is the reason that they are the best bear-proof coolers, which means they can withstand the assault of the bear. So, it hardly matters where you go; you might leave your ice-chest unattended still roam worry-free.

Orca Coolers

With the Orca coolers, your choice to select the ice chest is not limited. Discover the cooler bag that meets your specifications in terms of storage and size. You can choose between 20 quarts to 140 quarts. These ice chests feature Rotomolded constructions that ensure durability and longevity. Talking about the insulation ability, they come with a Lid gasket that locks the cold air.

Product Line up – Orca has an array of the product line up. Along with the hard-sided ice chests, you can find the soft-sided coolers and cooler accessories. Under the Hard Sided Coolers, you can find classic colors, camo series, team series, and much more. Choose from an exciting range of storage capacity that meets your specifications. Along with this, Orca lets you customize your ice chests so you can go super crazy.

Orca Coolers Features- 

• Rotomolded Construction – If you are looking for the best travel cooler, they can be your ideal choice. These coolers are rotomolded coolers, which ensure that the cooler’s durability and quality are hardly doubtful. The rotomolded construction gives these ice chests the strength to withstand any wear and tear during camping, making them the best for camping.
• Aesthetics – When you purchase an Orca cooler, you will most probably fall in love with their aesthetics. Someone would be going to compliment you on your purchase of the cooler bag.
• Plenty of options – Did we mention that there are plenty of choices you can choose from? Yes, there is a wide variety of cooler bags to choose from. No matter what your budget is or looking for a cheap cooler, you will find the cooler bag that will make its way into your heart.

Pelican Coolers

Founded in January 1997, the Pelican deals in Hard-Sided Coolers and Soft-Sided Coolers. Pelican offers a wide and impressive variety of coolers that come in different sizes, shapes, and colors, so you don’t have to compromise with features. On top of that, these ice chest features stainless steel that resists corrosion and rust.

Product Line Up – Pelican offers a huge and wide range of selection to meet the consumer’s demand. From the hard-sided coolers to the soft-sided cooler bags, Pelican has got everything covered for you. Different storage sizes with different colors are sure to seal the deal. Along with this, Pelican offers cooler accessories that bring innovation to the cooler.

Features of Pelican Coolers- 

• Plenty of choices – Pelican offers an exciting range of coolers across Hard Sided Coolers or Soft-Sided coolers. So, if you are looking for a cooler bag that is highly durable, keeps your ice for a long period, Pelican coolers will be your smart choice.
• Huge Storage – What we most liked about pelican coolers is the fact that they have you covered when it comes to storage space. These coolers are available in different sizes. If you are looking for a small cooler or medium cooler, or large cooler, discover an exclusive and wide variety of Pelican coolers.
• Portable Coolers – Some of the Pelican coolers come with wheels. The addition of wheels makes it easier for you to carry or move the cooler easily. You can easily mount these wheeled ice chests on rough terrain. That’s another reason which makes these coolers as best coolers for camping.

Rtic Coolers

Finding a top cooler was hard until Rtic Coolers came into life. Rtic coolers have brought innovation and unique design to the table. Their impressive product line up guarantees the customer’s satisfaction. They feature a Rotomolded design that can handle the normal collision or wear and tear. The bear-proof coolers prevent the cooler from the assault of the bear. The non-slip feet feature keeps from cooler from sliding, and you will find the cooler exactly at the same spot where you had left it earlier.

Product Line up – To meet today’s needs, Rtic offers a wide variety of products. From your daily use products to meeting your adventure’s need, find everything at Rtic. Choose from various Hard-Sided ice chest, Soft-Sided Coolers, Day Coolers, BackPack Cooler, and much more. Different storage capacity will meet your needs.

Impressive Things about Rtic Coolers-

• Rotomolded Construction – Rtic coolers are designed using rotomolded constructions, and rotomolded ice chests can withstand the assault easily. Rtic coolers come in a wide variety and different storage sizes. So, no matter whether you are looking for Hard Sided cooler or Soft-Sided coolers, Rtic coolers have got you covered.
• Different Sizes – Rtic coolers come in different storage sizes which means, you can discover smaller cooler or medium cooler or large cooler as per your needs. These coolers are quite appealing and are beautifully designed.
• Bear Proof Coolers – Bear- Proof? Yeah, Rtic coolers are bear-proof coolers, so you can leave them unattended and roam through the dark woods. Bears will not get hold of the food and drinks stored inside them.

Grizzly Coolers

For powerful performance, the Grizzly ice chest comes with the Rotomolded Coolers design that ensures durability and longevity. The thick wall that comes with the ice chest gives a powerful performance when it comes to ice retention. Coming to portability, these cooler bags come with a 2″ tie-down slot that makes it much easier to carry or move the cooler backpack.

Product Line up– You can find hard-sided coolers, soft-sided coolers, drinkware, and much more. The Soft-sided coolers that they call “Drifter Series” come in two models with different storage sizes. Along with this, these hard-sided coolers offer a huge color selection, and all of them are impressive.

Impressive things about Grizzly Coolers- 

• Low price – Grizzly is one of the best brands that manufacture affordable coolers. These cooler bags are the best travel coolers and always stick by your stick. You can find a wide variety of ice chests from the grizzly.
• Rotomolded Construction – These are rotomolded ice chests, which means you can trust these coolers when you talk about durability and longevity.
• Plenty of Choices – You have plenty of choices to choose from across Grizzly’s range of soft-sided cooler and hard-sided range. Besides this, these ice chests are quite appealing, and their aesthetic never fail to charm people.
• Ice Retaining Capacity – This ice chest brags about its ice retaining capacity. Even a smaller cooler can retain ice for up to 2 days. You can expect a larger cooler to cross their limits.
• Bear Proof Coolers – These coolers are the best travel coolers since these coolers are bear-proof coolers, which means you don’t have to worry about the wild creatures when you are in an area where animals dominate. The best cooler for camping you can put your hands on since these coolers are cheap as compared to the rest of the brand.

Buyers Guide To Buy The Best Ice Chest

There is a lot of key consideration before finalizing the deal. These considerations include design, ice retaining capacity, cost, features, and much more. Considering these factors before reaching your final decision might let you make a better choice. So, let’s get familiar with how this factor influences your choice.

Durability and Longevity

You want to have a rock-solid cooler bag that does not break down even collided. Always look up to the rotomolded design; there are many ice coolers designed using the rotomolded coolers technique. Rotomold build ensures durability and longevity. The term” Rotomold Design” is the hallmark for better quality. So, this is what we want for you. Our top-rated coolers reviews are based on this factor, and we know how important this factor is while selecting the product.

Portability

Another major key consideration is portability. Portability ensures the easy transportation of the ice chest. You don’t want something that seems to be quite heavy to lift or move. That’s when the handles and the cooler with wheels come as a savior to your back. Moreover, these soft-sided insulated bags come with a shoulder strap that will not hold you back even when your hands are not empty. So, always look for the features that make it more convenient to carry the cooler bag and make it a Portable Cooler. Things that make a portable cooler:

Coolers with wheel

Many best ice chests feature wheels. Wheels allow you to easily move your cooler back and forth without stressing your shoulders or hands. The coolers with wheels can mount on rough and rugged terrain that has bumps and uneven paths. Apart from these, these ice chests come with handles to add more to your convenience. For the rugged terrain, you need to have a larger size of wheel. Brands like Pelican, Igloo is all set to give you such an experience.

Cooler bags

While the cooler with wheels mostly come in hard-sided coolers but you can expect the soft-sided coolers to be portable. The soft-sided cooler bags come with an adjustable shoulder strap to ease carrying the cooler bags, which means your shoulder won’t pain while you carry. Besides this, there are many other features that you can expect in a cooler bag. This includes an overhead strap and much more. So, like the hard-sided coolers that come with wheels, soft-sided cooler bags are equally portable.

Ice Retaining capacity

What if your ice cooler fails to live up to your expectations. There’s nothing more disappointing than this. Whether you go on a short trip or a long week, you need to have the best ice chest to keep your food and beverage cold. Many ice chests claim to be the best ice chest in retaining the ice, but they disappoint us with performance. Coolers that come with the thickly insulated wall influence the ice retaining capacity, and the natural climate also makes a difference in the ice retaining capacity.  Many ice coolers claim to retain the ice for the weekend or more than 10 days. Large coolers usually have greater ice retention capacity, while the small cooler tends to have less ice retaining efficiency. Before selecting the cooler, you must keep this in mind. Our Best Coolers Reviews about ice retention are based on the personally tested ice cooler. Our Top Ice chest Reviews provide almost real-life ice period capacity for these cooler bags.

Price

An ice chest that meets your requirements and at the same time keeps your budget intact is all you want. Most of them – that provide premium specifications and features come under the premium price tag. You obviously don’t want to break your bank. If you are hardly bothered about the money, many premium brands will enjoy luxurious features. Many other brands provide the basic features at a relatively less high price, making them quite affordable. So, this is something you must keep in mind while selecting the cooler. We also saw this factor as another key consideration. Through our best coolers review, we will inform you whether the product is worth the money or not.

Bear Proof Coolers

We have talked about the durability that comes with the rotomolded construction, but that does not suffice to face any wild creature when you step out on your journey. We know the rotomolded design can face collision or abuse, but it might leave your side when it comes to facing any wild creature. So, we will recommend going for the best Ice chest that is a bear-proof cooler. You need a proper lock-up to secure food in the cooler when you are in the country where the bear dominates. A cooler that can withstand the assault of any bear can stand anything. Brands like Grizzly and much more offer the bear-proof cooler, and these Ice chests are IGBC certified.

Rotomolded Construction

The rotomolded design is the hallmark for the standard quality, which ensures a strong build. The rotomolded design provides the sustainability and longevity that can withstand normal wear and tear. Apart from providing durability, the rotomolded coolers’ design helps in retaining the ice fother a longer period. There are many brands that are built using the cheap rotomolded coolers design. You can find the best Ice chest designed with rotomolded technology in every budget, whether you want a cheap rotomolded design or a high-end rotomolded Ice chest design. So, always look up to the rotomolded design before reaching the final verdict. After reading the best cooler reviews, you will make a good choice when it comes to choosing the tough, durable product.

Size

The best ice chest comes in different sizes, different storage capacities. While selecting an ice chest, the key consideration usually remains the size. Depending on your profession, your personal needs, you can go out and buy the one that perfectly suits you. There are almost three sizes of ice chests available in the market. Let’s be familiar with each of them:

Personal Coolers

The ice chests that come with the size of 16 quarts and less come under the category of the Personal ice chest. These coolers are perfect for a small picnic, and their ice retaining capacity can retain the ice for up to 4 days. For convenience, these coolers come with a shoulder strap that makes them much easier to carry.

Small Coolers

Talking about the small coolers, the ice chests come in a size that ranges between 17 quarts and 35 quarts. For the small group outings or to meet the couple’s needs, they make a befitting choice. These cooler bags are much portable and can be easily carried using the handles.

Medium Coolers

“Medium coolers” are ice chests whose size ranges between 36 and 59 quarts. These coolers have a great storage capacity as compared to the other categories. In addition to this, these coolers come with many more specifications or features that make them more interesting. Their ice retaining capacity is much better than the above categories.

Large Coolers

“Large Coolers” can be defined as ice chests whose storage size ranges from 60 and 99 quarts. These ice chests come with a better ice retention capacity than the Medium coolers, and their ice retaining capacity can exceed more than a week depending upon the climatic factor. Many premium brands offer a Large Cooler size.

Camping Coolers

Cooler is an important piece of your camping trip. So, holding the best cooler for a camping trip is imperative. With the countless options available in the market, choosing the best camping cooler becomes a tough decision. While looking for a cooler for your camping trip, we advise you to look at the features such as durability, bear-proof, and much more. Brands like Yeti, Rtic offer bear-proof coolers, and their durability, strength is unmatched by the rest of the coolers. So, always look for these features if you aim to get the best cooler for camping.

Travel Coolers

If traveling to places is your profession, you would need to grab the best travel cooler. Before you jump on your decision, it’s better to consider the factors that make the cooler best for traveling. Features like bear-proof resistance are of no use until you travel to a remote and isolated area. Focus on the ice chests that offer you great ice retention, strength, and durability. After all, you want a cooler to retain the food fresh and water frozen while you travel during the summer.

Floating Coolers

The inception of floating coolers has been a mammoth hit. These coolers float with you in the water, and they always accompany you wherever you go. Having these coolers by your side means that you won’t have to come out of the water to get your drinks. They will keep your beverages handy and ready to serve just at an arm’s length.

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