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The 9 Best Coolers

Updated

We spent an entire summer prepping picnic lunches and transporting nine coolers to parks, pools, beaches and other destinations to find that the Orca – 40 Quart Classic is our top pick among the best coolers, including both rigid and soft style. The Orca kept ice the longest, has a lock-down lid and a simple design that allows for easy transportation and cleaning. For 10 quarts more capacity and a slightly higher price, the Pelican – Elite is the largest we tested and comes with lockable lid and a beefy ruler on the lid for measuring that fresh catch.

Our Top Choices

Previous

Best Overall


Orca

40 Quart Classic

Runner-up


Pelican

Elite

Best Soft Cooler


Polar Bear

Solar Bear

Next

We spent an entire summer prepping picnic lunches and transporting nine coolers to parks, pools, beaches and other destinations to find that the Orca – 40 Quart Classic is our top pick among the best coolers, including both rigid and soft style. The Orca kept ice the longest, has a lock-down lid and a simple design that allows for easy transportation and cleaning. For 10 quarts more capacity and a slightly higher price, the Pelican – Elite is the largest we tested and comes with lockable lid and a beefy ruler on the lid for measuring that fresh catch.

Table of contents

Compare the best coolers

1. Top pick: Orca – 40 Quart Classic

2. Runner up: Pelican – Elite

3. Best soft cooler: Polar Bear – Solar Bear

4. Budget pick: Igloo – MaxCold

Other products we tested

How we selected products to test

Types of coolers

Important features to consider

How we tested

The bottom line