We also considered the overall shape and size of each competitor as part of its usability score. Models featuring a compact, packable shape and handles that hide away easily are easier to pack into a vehicle for your next adventure. On the flip side, those products with large handles and awkward shapes that are difficult to Tetris into the back of the minivan, along with everything else you need coleman screen tent for the party in the park, don’t score as well. Of course, the internal dimensions and capacity also make a big difference in what you can bring with you in your icebox and how many extra bags and boxes you’ll need to bring along. And the proportion of these dimensions to one another also makes a big difference. A low and long model is easy to find things in but harder for one person to carry.
For soft coolers, we recommend anything in the 20- to 24-can range. That’s enough to hold plenty of ice, drinks, and food for a family of three. Anything smaller, and you end up carrying a lot of bag and not carrying much of anything else. There just isn’t enough room in those smaller sizes for them to be functional for anything except an individual lunch or a few drinks. Finding the right size cooler mainly depends on what you’ll be using it for.
This makes it more comfortable to carry but also frequently positions the handle in a way where it inhibits opening the lid. It also lacks a drainage port, and this version doesn’t boast the IGBC certification of larger Yeti hard coolers. coleman screen tent Yet, because it’s so small (relatively speaking), we hardly miss those extra features. The Roadie is not airtight or leakproof — there is a sizeable gap where the ends of the rubber seals meet that’s only covered by a piece of fabric tape.
We found these two features to be very handy in countless situations. And if you are so inclined to make additional purchases, the RovR can be mounted to the back of your bicycle like a tiny, ice-filled wagon. Both Pelican models we tested — coleman ice chest the Pelican Wheeled and the Pelican 20 stand out to our testers as having exceptionally easy to use latches. The market for ice chests continues to grow over the years, resulting in some extremely close competition and hard-fought rivalries.
Its lowest internal temperature during testing was the coldest, but the real treat was the fact that it held that low level temp for around 20% longer than the next best contender. This is an extremely attractive cooler and will certainly stand out from the crowd. Recent improvements make it adequate in ice life and the toughness is bumped up a notch thanks to steel construction and hardware. But it is limited in features, size options, and it will be a bit more expensive than most other Coleman Coolers. The RovR’s dry storage goes above and beyond since it has a large dry bin that extends to the bottom of the interior. It also attaches to the side of the interior with a simple hand screw, which means it won’t move during transit like all the other baskets are wont to do.
BUT with the same conditions, ices in the Coleman Xtreme starts to melt later than Igloo Maxcold. The series has a drain valve, for those who didn’t have a cooler before, it’s a very important feature, do not even think of getting a cooler that doesn’t have a drain plug. And I must give credit to Igloo Maxcold’s drain system, it has a screw-on tap it’s a very convenient plug. The handles of the Coleman Xtreme series have a rubber coating around them, this is not a must-have feature, however, it allows you to carry your cooler more comfortably.
This metric is also the source of many extraordinary claims from manufacturers. From models with “5-Day” in the name to stickers boasting up to 16 days of ice retention, it seems that just about every product out there will knock your socks off. While all these things will help extend the life of your ice and, therefore, the freshness of your food, it’s unlikely that every consumer will follow these stipulations for each use. So we tested these coolers the way that we, and most consumers, would use them.