Best Travel Coolers Review In 2023

Having the right gear handy is the key to have a lifetime adventure experience. While you would have packed your camping tent or hammock, there is no way that you can forget to carry a travel cooler with you. After all, you don’t want to take a sip out of your warm beer or eat a soggy sandwich. A travel cooler is designed for those people who are always on the road, and they keep things edible – with original taste and flavor. As you step outside of your homes, the perishable food you have carried starts losing its taste, and gradually, it becomes inedible overtime.

For that reason, you will need to have a travel cooler with you since it can store and preserve food for multiple days. With that said, if you can resonate with us about the indispensable role of traveling coolers, you would want to make some space for the addition of it. Below, we have listed down the best travel coolers that you can consider buying for yourself.

Best Traveling Cooler

Are you a frequent traveler and looking for the best travel cooler to enhance your travel experience, you are at the right place. After detailed research and usage, we present the best travel coolers that can make travel more efficient and less tiring. Take a look at these amazing travel coolers.

1. YETI Hopper Backflip 24 Soft Sided Cooler

A household name when it comes to camping and outdoor stuff is Yeti. Yeti is known to offer a blend of functionality and aesthetically appealing products that go a long way in catering to outdoorsmen’s needs. This soft-sided cooler from Yeti remains one of the top choices for people looking to enjoy the “Yeti tag” it comes with. YETI Hopper Backflip 24 Soft Sided Cooler delivers an outstanding performance in keeping your beer and other drinks chilled. It is designed using waterproof fabric and is resistant to punctures and the UV rays of the sun to top it off.

Talking about the space offers enough space to store 20 cans of beer, which means you and your crew will not get enough of it. The best insulation performance comes with cold-cell insulation that gives it an edge over the rest. The portage can be as a backpack, and the shoulder straps add more to the convenience. Take a look at the specifications of this travel cooler.

Specifications

• Dimensions – 12 5/8 x 6 ½ x 15 inches
• Weight – 7.5 pounds

Pros & Cons

2. Coleman 42-Can Soft Cooler with Wheels

Campers are enamored with Coleman for its incredible range of products. The brand totally deserves an appreciation for the work it has done over time. Like Coleman tents, the brand remains a go-to destination for the travel coolers as well. It does not matter whether you are going out on a weeklong getaway or for a month; Coleman 42-Can Soft Cooler with Wheels is sure to take your experience to another level. This soft-sided cooler has the capacity to carry 42 can of beer, which you are never going to run short on booze.

You must be wondering how difficult it would become to transport it from one place to another when it is fully loaded. Well, the brand has paid heed to that thing as well. It comes with wheels for comfortable portage, and you can drag it easily to the party. Another thing that is worth mentioning is the presence of multiple storage pockets. This travel cooler is incorporated with multiple pockets where you can stow dry fruits and other edible products.

Specifications

• Dimensions –
• Weight – 7.5 pounds

Pros & Cons

3. ENGEL HD30 Waterproof Soft-Sided Cooler

ENGEL HD30 Waterproof Soft-Sided Cooler is sure to keep your ice frozen for multiple days along with keeping your food and drinks cold. The travel refrigerator from Engel is capable of storing 24 cans along with ice. It won’t be wrong that say that this is one of the best travel cooler bags that you can consider buying. For the high-performance, it is designed using rugged fabric to keep water away from entering the space. Not only this, but the fact that it is resistive to the UV rays of the sun is another reason behind its superb ice retention.

This travel cooler comes with a vacuum valve that draws the excess air from the inside of the cooler and increases its cooling performance to maximize ice retention. Talking about the portability, it features different ways of carrying a cooler. You can carry it using shoulder straps, side handles, and Grap handles. To top it off, you get a bottle opener with this soft-sided cooler – which means you always have your drinks ready to sip.

Specifications

• Dimensions – 20 x 16 x 10 inches
• Weight – 3 pounds

Pros & Cons

4. IceMule Pro Insulated Backpack Cooler Bag

For anyone who plans to go out for a couple of days, this travel cooler from IceMule remains an unbeatable choice at an unrivaled price. This soft-sided cooler is highly portable and comes in different sizes to cater to your needs. Featuring a backpack-style, it comes with comfortable shoulder straps and leaves your hands empty to carry other things with you. The cooler delivers exceptional performance when it comes to retaining ice. Over 24 hours of the ice retention period, you can be sure of getting your food and drinks chilled even during the peak of the summer season.

Another thing that is worth mentioning is its space-saving design. When not in use, it can be easily rolled and stored back easily. It allows you instant access to your drink and food because it has eliminated the cumbersome task of closing and opening the zippers again and again. So, you can easily dig out what you want effortlessly. Talking about its construction, the fabric called Muleskin creates a durable shell that protects against the elements and adds more to the ice retention ability. Take a look at the specification of this cooler bag:

Specifications

• Dimensions – 17 x 8 x 7.5 inches
• Weight – 3.1 pounds

Pros & Cons

5. Pelican Elite Soft Cooler

For anyone looking for a rugged and sturdy cooler that can keep ice frozen for several days, Pelican Elite Soft Cooler will make an excellent choice. This travel bag features a unique and space-saving design and can be easily shoved into your car before you step out. Pelican Elite Soft Cooler is crafted using Double-coated TPU Fabric, which makes it extremely rugged to withstand nature’s elements. The presence of cold-cell foam insulation offers you quite a good retention period. On top of that, the interior of this cooler comes with FDA approved liner.

This soft-sided cooler offers you plenty of space where you can store food and drinks for a weeklong getaway. It can easily hold 24 cans of beer or 4 bottles of wine for longer than 48 hours. So, it makes an ideal choice for those planning for a weekend getaway. Adding more to your convenience, this cooler comes with a bottle-opener that eliminates your need to carry it additionally. It also features a “dual-lock buckle system.”

Specifications

• Dimensions – 17 x 10 x 13.5 inches
• Weight – 5.2 pounds

Pros & Cons

6. YETI Tundra 45 Cooler

Yeti’s Hard-Sided coolers are built for years to come, and that’s what you can expect from Yeti Tundra 45 Cooler. This traveling cooler for camping perfectly strikes a balance between functionality and style. Yeti Tundra Series is designed to overcome every trivial problem that can cave in a while exploring nature. Whether the problem is durability or ice retention, Yeti Tundra 45 Cooler outlasts everything. This is one of the best travel coolers that you can consider buying – it has the capacity to hold 26 cans of beer and comes with incredible ice retention.

Talking about the durability, knowing that the cooler is designed using rotomolded construction is comforting. It makes this cooler virtually strong and indestructible against the elements of nature. Again, the fact that it is bear-certified will indicate to you the toughness and strength it possesses. Take a look at the specifications of this cooler for travel.

Specifications

• Dimensions – 23 x 19 x 17 inches
• Weight – 25 pounds

Pros & Cons

7. Coleman Soft Cooler Bag

Anyone who is going out for a couple of days or weekend getaway, fortunately, you can always carry a Coleman Soft Cooler bag for your traveling trip. The addition of a Coleman soft cooler bag will make your trip less of stress and more fun. This travel cooler offers you an enormous space where you can store 30 cans of beer – which means you are never going to feel the dearth of your fun element. This insulated travel bag is designed using a rugged fabric and does not leak to let the water come out.

When it comes to performing under the fierce rays of the sun, the cooler does a great job of keeping your food and drinks for over 24 hours, which means you are always certain to find your food edible and brimming with taste. It features a space-saving design and can be rolled easily back to place once you are traveling. That’s not just it. This cooler features multiple pockets to stow dry goods and gears and keep them handy to top it off. The portage comes with carrying straps and handles for easy carrying even when the cooler is fully loaded.

Specifications

• Dimensions – 12.2 x 13 x 9.4 inches
• Weight – 25 pounds

Pros & Cons

8. Igloo Iceless Thermoelectric Cooler

For those who are looking for the best cooler for car travel, Igloo Iceless Thermoelectric Cooler is the best option out there that can give your traveling trip a whole new meaning. Since this is an iceless cooler, you get ample space to store your food and drinks, and you don’t even have to put ice in the interior to get it started. This electric cooler can easily plug in your car’s 12V outlet and starts the work in no time.

This 12V cooler comes with a quiet motor and convection cooling fan that circulates the cool air inside the cooler and keep all your content chilled. For the comfortable portage, it comes with comfortable handles that make lifting easy and convenient. So, for those day trips under the rays of the sun, Igloo Iceless Thermoelectric Cooler will make sure to keep your things chilled and cold for a longer period so you can enjoy every minute of your trip.

Specifications

• Dimensions – 12.2 x 13 x 9.4 inches
• Weight – 25 pounds

Pros & Cons

9. Rtic – SoftPack 20

Rtic SoftPack 20 is designed to keep your items cold and freezing while you are camping in the wilderness. This traveling cooler can hold up 20 cans of beer along with ice, meeting your every need. Designed using 100% waterproof fabric, this cooler is designed to keep your food and beverage dry. Not only this, but also, the fabric is resistant to the UV rays of the sun and puncture. The fabric’s quality is extremely rugged and solid, and no wonder it will last for the years to come. This travel cooler is highly durable and high-performing. The presence of antimicrobial liner prevents the build-up of mildew inside the cooler.

When it comes to insulation, Rtic – SoftPack 20 comes with 2 inches of cell foam insulation, and that’s the reason behind the incredible ice retention period. This cooler can retain ice for multiple days. Rtic SoftPack 20 is quite lightweight and comes with comfortable straps that make carrying it smooth like a breeze. This personal cooler becomes a great choice for people who frequently set out on a camping, fishing, or even it can be used as a lunch box at work.

Specifications

• Dimensions – 14.6 x 14.6 x 11 inches
• Weight – 3.56 pounds

Pros & Cons

10. Polar Bear Coolers

Polar Bear Coolers have made their way into the list of the best coolers, which has been possible because of their impressive and high-performing cooler. These travel coolers come in different sizes, and you can take your pick accordingly. Talking about the insulation capacity, these coolers can retain ice for over 24 hours, even during the peak of the summer season. Polar Bear Coolers are intricately designed. The fabric that has been used to craft them gives these coolers an edge over their rivals. The fabric is FDA approved, and the nylon makes the exterior of these cooler tough and rugged. The outer surface is resistant to scratches and cuts.

This travel cooler comes with a side zipper pocket used to stash important gear or dry goods. For convenience, it comes with comfortable shoulder straps that make carrying this smooth. To top it off, it comes with a metal bottle opener so that your drinks are always handy.

Specifications

• Dimensions – 10 x 18 x 12 inches
• Weight – 3.2 pounds

Pros & Cons

How To Get The Most Out These Travel Coolers?

Well, while going out on a camping trip, Travel coolers are the only reliable thing that can keep your food and drinks preserved and edible for a long time. So, it is essential to take care of those things that extend these coolers’ insulation period. The way you pack your food and drinks can influence the ice retention period of these coolers. A well packed and organized cooler will have generally have better ice retention ability when compared with an unorganized cooler. Below, we have listed down some tips that you can follow to maximize the ice life of these coolers. Today’s best coolers are capable of keeping ice for multiple days or weeks. So, make sure to follow these tips to make the most of these traveling coolers.

• Cool Your Cooler – Before you load your food and drinks in the cooler, make sure that you have already cooled your cooler. Pre-cooling your cooler before leaving your home can extend the ice retention ability of these coolers. So, make sure that you have got the work done. If you have stored a cooler in a warm place, it is essential to bring down its temperature to function well. You can do this a day before leaving out for your journey. To reduce the temperature, put some ice inside the cooler.
• Cool Your food and drinks – To extend the ice life of travel coolers, it is a good idea to put food and drinks that are already cold. So, before packing them in your cooler directly, make sure that you have food and drinks are already chilled. Make sure to keep them in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours. Doing this means that you will have your meal served cold for a longer period. With that said, if you are thinking of carrying meat with you, frozen meat would be an ideal pick to consume.
• Keep it away from the sun – Camping in the summer season means that the rays of the sun are sure to take a toll on your cooler as well. The rays of the sun can impact the cooler and the contents that are loaded inside it. The cooler’s continuous exposure to that of rays of the sun is sure to melt away things quickly. So, make sure that you have placed the cooler away from the sun or at a shaded spot where the sun’s rays can’t enter. This way, you can extend your cooler’s nice life, and it is sure to serve you with the chilled beer bottles.
• Don’t Open Cooler Frequently – We often forget the fact that opening the cooler, again and again, will only draw the hot air inside the ice chest, and no wonder why things will melt away quickly. So, make sure that you avoid opening and closing the cooler repeatedly since it will exude the cool air and draw the hot air inside the space. If you are traveling with your kids, teach them to avoid opening the cooler frequently. Also, make sure not to open the lid wholly. It is a good idea to partially open the lid enough to take out the food or drink. This is another way to expand the ice life of travel coolers.

How To Choose The Best Travel Cooler?

Buying a traveling cooler is not an easy task, especially when you know it requires a hefty investment. To help you find the right travel cooler, we have listed down some important considerations that can influence your decision to buy the right one. Make sure to consider these things before you randomly pull out one from the shelves.

• Ice Retention – The first thing that you will need to consider is its ability to retain ice. You want a cooler that can retain ice for long, even for multiple days. So, it does not matter whether you are going out for a couple of days or a week; you will have your meal served chilled. Well, there are various factors that can impact these coolers’ ice life, and if you take care of them, it will stretch the ice life ability of these coolers. A roto-molded cooler will generally have greater ice retention ability than its conventional counterparts. Generally, small coolers have less ice life. As the size of the coolers increases, the ability to retain ice increases as well.
• Durability – Another thing that you need to consider is durability. You want to have a cooler that is durable and can withstand the elements of nature with ease. The rotomolded coolers are tough and powerful enough to not collapse if they encounter any natural accident. The durability of the cooler will totally depend upon the materials used. A high-quality cooler will last for years to come, whereas when you choose to go with the cheap coolers, you can never anticipate their lifespan. So, before you buy one, make sure that the cooler is highly durable and can last for long.
• Portability – Finding a cooler which is portable should be on your radar. When you have fully loaded up your content, your cooler will definitely weigh heavier. It would be a big deal for people who can’t carry or lift this cooler. Thus, for easy transportation, a portable cooler is no less than a fortune. Today’s best coolers come with comfortable handles so that you can carry them easily with your handles. Apart from that, you can find coolers that you can carry on the shoulder – leaving your hands empty to carry other things. Some coolers have wheels attached to them, so you can just drag them and carry them along with you. So, make sure that the cooler you are buying is portable enough to be carried along easily.
• Space – The cooler’s internal space will remain another thing that you will have to ponder over. If you are going out on a family camping trip, you require a cooler that offers you an enormous space to feed them for days. On the other hand, if you are going out on a solo camping trip, a personal cooler would be an ideal pick to carry along. Depending upon your purpose and how frequently you undertake such a camping trip, you can take your pick accordingly. Well, if you don’t consider this thing, your money is going down the drains.
• Price – Like any other thing, the price of the cooler will remain another consideration. You must know what your budget is and how much money you can splurge on buying a cooler. Knowing and setting your budget will eliminate the truckloads of options, and you can actually find the right and best one -meeting your needs. There are coolers that are affordable, and then there are coolers that are exorbitantly priced. For example – Yeti offers a huge range of coolers, and they are all impressive. The problem with Yeti coolers is that they are expensive, and not everybody can afford them.