Gadgetory

it's summertime at the CNET smart home so we're taking a break from the gadgets and gizmos to get a cold hard look at coolers you've got a lot of options if you're shopping for a new one this summer ranging from dirt cheap to hundreds of dollars so which ones are the smartest buys let's start by taking a look at the metric that probably matters most performance I tested twelve coolers ranging in price from four dollars to $400 in our climate control test lab by tracking the ambient temperature inside all of them over 48 hours inside each one three pounds of ice now that's not a lot that's not even half of a small sized bag from the gas station but I wanted to challenge the coolers and get a good granular look at how they perform in the end the test delivered giving us a terrific look at the differences from model to model now that pink line at the bottom that represents our top performer the popular Yeti tundra 45 it's a thick rugged cooler with a fancy roto molded design and at three hundred dollars it doesn't come cheap now roto molding that's short for a rotational molding and it's just what it sounds like the mold is literally rotated as the plastic is poured in and that helps it set more evenly for better durability and insulation and as the Yeti and other coolers like it show roto molding can make a huge difference in how well your cooler keeps things cold that leaves Yeti as my top pick for people who just want the best performance money can buy but be aware that yetis coolers are smaller than the name suggests for instance the tundra 45 here isn't a 45 quart cooler it actually only holds about 33 quarts not cool Yeti for something bigger consider the Orca classic cooler another roto molded model that cost about three hundred dollars it doesn't hold the cold quite as long as the Yeti does but it hit the same minimum temperatures in my tests and at 58 quarts there's about 35 percent more space inside for your beer if you don't want to spend hundreds don't worry I found a couple of good picks that cost a lot less to let's start with my top overall value pick the igloo max cold cooler at a price of just $45 it isn't anything fancy to look at but it performs like a champ better than any other cheap cooler I tested and better than two of the four roto-molded models that I tested - another good value for the price the lifetime high performance cooler I picked mine up at Walmart for 97 bucks it performs just as well as the igloo max kool and the extra $50 or so gets you a much better design with dual lid latches roped handles and even a built in bottle opener which seems like something every cooler should include I also measured it at sixty two point four quarts which is bigger than advertised and about 35 percent bigger than igloo that brings us to wheeled coolers I tested a few out to try and find a good pick for folks who want to bring their cooler with them on their next hike the cheap models I looked at felt flimsy and underperformed in my tests but I was blown away by the mobility and durability of the rover roller 60 with nine-inch inflatable rubber wheels and a sturdy steel frame the thing has built like a tank and the roto-molded design offers strong cooling performance too though not as strong as workers Yeti at $400 it was the most expensive cooler that I tested but until I find a good rollin value pick I say it's a wheeled cooler worth saving up for oh and one last thing if you're just looking for something dirt cheap don't even bother with $20 coolers like this Rubbermaid or igloo models this disposable styrofoam cooler cost me just four bucks and it held its minimum temperature longer than either of them for more cooler insights check out our full roundup post on cnet.com now time to enjoy some of these test sets