We chose the Coleman Cooler Quad Chair as the model with the right combination of comfort, durability, usability, and price for most campers. No, the Ozark Cooler comes in a range of sizes, catering to users with varying needs and preferences. The size of the cooler will determine how much space it has for food and drinks, as well as how much weight it can safely carry. If you’re unsure about which size to choose, it’s a good idea to consult the product specifications or speak to a customer service representative for guidance.
I recently tried the Ozark Trail 12 oz Double Wall Can Cooler Cup while attending an outdoor event. The first thing that stood out to me was its sleek design, which reminded me of the brand’s tumbler — both made of 18/8 ozark cooler stainless steel. The double-wall insulation, along with the screw-on top, made it easy for me to enjoy my cold beverage without worrying about it heating up too quickly.
I wasn’t impressed with the lid on the Igloo Latitude wheeled cooler, for instance. It doesn’t lock shut and the plastic nub hinges are a total joke. Give it a modest yank and the whole lid comes right off — and the cheap plastic wheels didn’t leave me impressed, either. That’s all well and good, but I worried that a standard ice retention test on its own wouldn’t tell us the whole story. Sure, some coolers would probably keep the ice frozen for a lot longer than others, but using the melting point as your metric seems to disregard everything that comes before.
The premium lineup will cost more but will also utilize features that help it to hang with other premium soft-sided coolers. To help put this data in perspective, I broke down the coolers into separate size categories after peeling soft-sided coolers into their own category. That left me with small coolers (less than 40 quarts), midsize coolers (40-59 quarts) and large coolers (60 quarts or more). You can find the graphed data for each of those categories below, as well as our performance data on soft coolers (again, you shouldn’t expect a whole lot from coolers like those). Whether a beer, soda or water, there’s nothing like an ice-cold drink on a day spent outdoors. We’ve tested and reviewed the best coolers if you’re looking for a portable wheeled cooler or a lightweight soft cooler that’s easy to store.
Keep your food cold on a trip to the beach or make sure your guests have a cold drink in hand while hosting. They have harnessed this into their small but potent lineup of hard-sided coolers. These coolers are available in 26-quart, 52-quart, and 73-quart and fall somewhere in the intermediate to lower premium price tier. Depending on which model you go with, you will find the appearance of these ice chests to differ quite a bit. The most affordable models, the non-premium soft-sided coolers, come in a very safe, solid color. There may be some subtle grays or white pieces of fabric but, for the most part, the primary color will dominate.
It’s easy to get caught up in brand perception and often times very difficult to break away from what you think you know about a brand. I used the word “think” intentionally, because what I thought I knew about Ozark Trail was not correct. Ozark Trail is proving to be a really solid competitor for outdoor products. This cooler has a number of features that you would find on more expensive coolers and a few that you won’t find. This chair’s sturdy frame and higher seat height made that precarious dance just a little bit easier. It’s heavier than its competitors and not as easy to fold, but it has a carrying strap attached to the frame (something its competitors didn’t have).
We also don’t have suggestions for couch-style or loveseat chairs (we’d like to look at those someday, though). They are made with high-quality materials, such as roto-molded polymer, which makes them resistant to scratches, impacts, and UV rays. The durable construction ensures that the cooler can withstand outdoor conditions and provide long-lasting performance. Check the overall construction, the rotomolded design, and the molded-in handles for added convenience. The cooler is on the heavier side, weighing in at 15.7 lbs, which can make it a bit cumbersome to carry on extended hikes. But overall, the weight was worth the added durability and performance of the RTIC Cooler.
We have a hunch this is because their testing was performed under more optimal conditions. Sure, if we were to fill the cooler up to the brim with nothing but ice, never open it, and leave it in a cool/dark area, the ice life would go way up. While the Ozark Trail Hard-Sided Coolers are mostly designed to compete with the premium coolers of the industry, their soft-sided coolers are more balanced. Ozark Trail’s soft-sided coolers have gone through quite a bit of variation over the past couple of years. Many of their models have undergone facelifts and new sizes of soft-sided coolers have also been introduced to the market.
So they felt comfortable leaning onto the frame for extra support. Testers preferred the Coleman chair’s thoughtfully placed mesh storage pouch over those of its competitors. This pouch is big enough to stow gear like a phone, book, or tablet. The Coleman Cooler ozark trail canopy Quad has been our pick since 2016, through numerous camping trips and several testing sessions. If you’re unsure which camping chair to buy, you can’t go wrong with the classic Coleman Cooler Quad Chair.
If your main goal is to keep things cold, then the question is whether or not that extra 0.9-degree is worth paying another hundred bucks for. This can cooler even has a bottle opener in the bottom for your friends drinking from a bottle. One of the best selling points (pun intended) of Ozark Trail Coolers is their great asking price. This is a big reason why this company has been so popular over the past few years and it makes it easier to overlook any issues that we may have with them. But even if you do deal with a minor quality issue, the amount of money you’ll save compared to comparable coolers is huge. You get to enjoy one of the best cooler bargains in the industry right now.