The Best Coolers For Rough, High-Intensity Camping Trips
Camping or hiking are the two go-to activities for people who love the outdoors. But many in this group take the challenges to new extremes by having week-long expeditions into the wilderness. With rocky terrain and bad weather conditions, bringing beverages and food along with you is a difficult problem to address.
If you have already got experience with such trips, you probably already know that having the best coolers with you can solve this problem. However, knowing that you need a cooler is one thing. Finding the best top rated coolers for camping that are compatible with your needs and the rough trails is another matter entirely.
With this in mind, we have decided to compile this list of the best coolers on the market that you can bring along with you on your trips. No matter how extreme the roads that you have chosen are, we assure you that they will effortlessly stand up to the test.
Yeti Tundra 45
When it comes to toughness and pure performance, Yeti is one of the best on the market. True to this designer’s reputation, the Tundra 45 is an excellent piece of equipment that definitely keeps up with you no matter where you go.
The key to the toughness and great insulating performance of the Tundra 45 is the insulating wall’s thickness and design.
The Tundra 45 is a roto-molded cooler, meaning that a special manufacturing process is applied to make sure that all of the walls and corners are uniform in thickness. This improves the durability of the cooler considerably.
Patented PermaFrost insulating design integrated into walls that are roughly 3-inch thick gives it the ability to keep beverages inside cold for up to 7 days. Of course, given that you know how to pack your things properly inside the cooler. Yeti recommends that you maintain a 2-to-1 ratio of ice and contents to maximize performance.
Aside from giving the Tundra 45 such great performance, the 3-inch thick wall also gives it the shock-absorbent, damage-resistant ability to last for a long time on the rough trails. Such is the strength of this cooler that it is certified as being bear resistant. Meaning that even if you were to throw it to a bear to maul, the cooler would still be solid and in one piece. All of the parts are built to last, from the latches, the hinges, to the lid. This isn’t something that you will get with one of those good small coolers.
But ‘bear-resistant’ doesn’t just mean being durable. This certification also means that walls and the seals are thick and effective enough that if you were to store food inside, the scent would not leak out of the cooler. This way, the cooler won’t attract attention from animals.
The Tundra 45 is one of the best ice chests for the money at this moment in time.
Pelican ProGear Elite Cooler
One detail that you will immediately notice about this cooler is that it has wheels. The advantage you have while on the trail with a set of wheels like this is outstanding. Normal coolers require you to carry them along with you. But when a trip can last for several days and because the total weight of the cooler when filled can be more than a dozen kilograms, it may become inconvenient. You will usually need two people to carry a cooler packed to the max.
But the wheels on the Pelican make it easy for just one person to tug it behind them. The wheels are also strengthened to bear just about every terrain imaginable without tipping over, easily making it one of the best coolers for camping on our list.
The company advertises that the ProGear Elite can keep your items cold for up to 10 days. We have gone out with the Pelican for about a week and by the 7th day, all of the ice cubes were still intact with little thawed water to the bottom. Though we haven’t gone through the 10-day advertised period, this is a good sign.
This Pelican cooler has also been certified as bear-resistant. From visual inspection, all of the parts like the latches and the hinges on the cooler are all solidly bolted onto the cooler’s body. However, the latches on the Pelican felt a little bit flimsier in comparison to the Tundra.
Overall, the reputation of the Pelican ProGear Elite as one of the top rated camping coolers is well deserved. The biggest thing we have to complain about this cooler is that the price tag is a little bit too high.
Coleman Steel-Belted Portable Camping Cooler
Coleman is on the same level in terms of reputation as Yeti and Pelican. Although its performance certainly cannot best both of the coolers mentioned above, it is still adequate for most. In addition, this Coleman cooler has something that neither the Yeti nor the Pelican can provide: An affordable price tag.
If you’re shopping for medium sized coolers for use on the road, this one is not a bad option.
It has a pretty spacious internal storage, capable of storing a good amount of beverages or food along with ice with little problem. Enough for a small group of three or four people’s needs.
It can keep temperature for about 3 to 4 days, which, when we take into account the price that it’s being sold at, it’s actually not bad at all.
A lightweight but strong design, you can comfortably carry it with you and even use it as a makeshift chair when you settle down for a break. As a matter of fact, many customers have reported this cooler being strangely comfortable to sit on.
Although it is strong enough to be safe when you sit on it and can hold its own on a rough trail, it is not bear resistant, however.
Thermik Roto-Molded Cooler
If durability is everything that you want in a cooler then this cooler from Thermik will look very appealing to you.
Firstly, it is roto-molded. As we had previously explained, roto-molding gives coolers durability far exceeding that of normally-produced coolers, capable of withstanding an attack from wild animals like bears. To make the cooler even more damage resistant, the soft latches were designed to be as tough as they can be. In spite of this, though, the latches seem to be a little bit less robust than the Yeti Tundra so that’s one thing to keep in mind.
Insulation wise, the several inches walls along with the urethane insulation layer of this cooler can keep its content nice and cold for up to a week or, at the very least, five days if you use it heavily. The trick is to only open the lid when you need to and close it as soon as you’re done to maintain the temperature inside the cooler.
The insulating ability of this cooler is enhanced further with the freezer-grade latches. When clamped shut, the lid is closed so firmly that it’s completely airtight, making it easier for the cooler to maintain its internal temperature and extending the ice retention time, as well.
But there’s a problem with airtight seals like this on coolers. The pressure difference between the inside and outside of the cooler can make it extremely difficult to pop it back open. That’s why the cooler has got a vacuum release button for you to balance out the pressure and easily open the lid without spending too much effort.
There are a couple of additions inside the cooler, as well. If you’re planning on preparing food on the go, there is a cutting board, dry keeper basket to separate things you want to keep dry from the wet ice down below, and even a cup holder. At this point, the cooler is more or less like a kitchen on the go and this is the reason why we have given it a high standing in our ice cooler reviews in the past.
Conclusion
It doesn’t matter how tough the road will be, if you’re given the correct equipment to walk it, you will be fine. Of course, there are dozens more best rated coolers out there waiting for you and we always recommend that you do your own in-depth market research before you put your money down to buy something. Still, if you want to forego this step and pick the best coolers available, you definitely cannot go wrong with one of the models we mentioned above.
Until next time!