Choose the best camping coolers
Finding the best camping cooler depends on 5 main criteria. We'll walk you through each feature and function so you can make an informed decision in time for your next camping trip.
Storage life, size, portability and carrying comfort: coolers come in different shapes and sizes when it comes to storing your food and beverages for your camping trip. Get the in-depth know-how to help you pick the best camping cooler for you
Finding the best camping cooler depends on 5 main criteria. We'll walk you through each feature and function so you can make an informed decision in time for your next camping trip.
Passive coolers are the preferred option for hiking since they don't require electricity. They won't cool your food but will slow the increase in temperature, maintaining your food at its storage temperature, even when external temperatures exceed 30°C. This is achieved through insulation. For our rigid Quechua coolers, we use 100% polyurethane foam to delay the 'warming'. Our soft Quechua coolers use either polyurethane foam or a combination of 50% Polyurethane and 50% Polyethylene, as in our inflatable models. Essentially, an insulator is needed to envelop and 'dress' the cooler. This system is suitable for storing fresh, but not frozen food, since it could disrupt the cold chain. As the cooler simply 'slows' the warming of food, it’s best to minimise opening it to prevent warm air from reducing its effectiveness.
Conversely, an electric cooler, which can be plugged into the mains, your car's cigarette lighter, or connected to a rechargeable battery, actively cools food. It doesn't merely delay warming; it 'creates' cold, acting like a mini-fridge with an 'active' cooling function. However, it’s important to note that it's more energy-consuming and has a mini cooling system that may have a larger environmental impact than a passive cooler. So, if you need to keep your food stored for 3 to 14 hours, opting for a passive cooler would be advisable.
The first criteria that will help you choose your cooler is its ability to keep cool. For example, if you are going on a day hike and have packed your cooler with food and drink for when you return, you will need a longer storage life than if you use your cooler to go straight to your picnic spot without having to walk far to get to your spot to spread your red and white checkered blanket.
The storage duration for food in our coolers can reach up to 14 hours without an ice pack, depending on the model. "Compact Fresh" coolers rank highly in efficiency, owing much to the innovative Fresh component that boosts their isothermal capabilities.
To extend your food's freshness, consider enhancing your cooler's performance with ice packs. If your cooler isn't overly large, pre-chilling it in the fridge prior to your hike is also effective. Remember, a fuller cooler retains its coolness more effectively!
To identify a quality cooler, it’s crucial to consider the standards it adheres to, which assure you of the product's actual food storage capabilities. Coolers' storage efficiency is assessed based on the European standard EN 12546-2. This standard provides insights into a cooler’s performance without a cold source, and achieving it requires testing by an independent laboratory.
As for waterproofing, "hard" coolers are typically waterproof. Yet, if you notice a fabric cooler with condensation, this doesn't indicate poor quality or a 'leak'. In fact, allowing moisture to escape does not hinder its performance and prevents the accumulation of excess water inside the cooler. If condensation is a concern, particularly when carrying the cooler in a backpack, you might consider lining your soft cooler with a waterproof bag.
This standard specifies the cooler's performance without a cold source, such as ice packs. To achieve certification, an external laboratory conducts tests to ensure reliable and impartial results. These tests involve placing water at 5°C into the cooler, which is then situated in a 32°C setting, akin to a pleasant summer’s day out. The objective is to measure how long it takes for the water inside to reach 15°C.
Camping coolers typically offer capacities ranging from 10 to 36 litres. There are models that can accommodate up to 40 litres, but these are quite large and require sufficient content to maintain their efficiency, especially if they are passive coolers.
Note: Some electric coolers are larger still, verging into portable fridge territory. This shifts from traditional 'adventure' camping towards 'Glamping' — a blend of 'glamour' and 'camping' that brings luxury to the canvas.
In the realm of coolers, bigger isn't always better. The crux lies in predicting your cooler's specific usage. To put it plainly, a cooler performs best when full. A lone, insulated sandwich at the bottom of a 30-litre cooler will warm up more quickly than if nestled amongst many others, which would retain cold mutually — embodying the adage 'unity is strength'.
Considering a picnic for two, a family outing, a gathering with friends, or storing a day's food in a van? The volume of food varies with each scenario. Hence, when selecting a cooler, factor in the number of people it will serve, the duration of food storage needed, and the mode of transport.
Ultimately, the decision on cooler size should be informed by how you intend to use it and the quantity of food you plan to store. Sometimes, opting for two medium-sized coolers might be more practical than one large one, particularly for your solo outings.
Heading out for a camping trip or an adventure in a car or van? When you don’t have to hand-carry your cooler, the temptation to choose a larger one is real. Yet, who hasn't experienced the 'Tetris' challenge of fitting that large, trusty family cooler into the car on the journey home, discovering it’s an immovable object? For easier storage and when daily access to a cooler isn't a necessity, consider the convenience of high-performance inflatable coolers, which can be compacted and tucked away when not in use.
In a van, your adventures might stretch over longer periods, like a weekend camp or a more extensive road trip. You could either manage a passive cooler on a daily basis, opting for a mid-sized model, or choose an electric cooler with a larger capacity for refrigeration. However, it's crucial to avoid occupying too much space – in van life, every square centimetre counts.
If you are looking for a "mini cooler" for a single meal, there are also lunch boxes where you can put food boxes to feed one to two people. These sizes are less than 5 litres and let you store your lunch, whether you are hiking or even using them at work.
The advantage of our lunch boxes is that they have two separate compartments. This lets you store a meal in the top section, for example, without reducing the cold storage performance of the bottom compartment that you were planning to eat later. With a storage life of 2 hours per compartment (3 hours with ice packs), two boxes included and a shoulder strap, this lunch box will easily go from hiking trails to the city and vice versa.
When embarking on a camping trip, selecting the right equipment is crucial for balancing comfort and practicality. In the quest for the best camping cooler, size and thermal efficiency often steal the limelight, but there's another aspect worthy of consideration: how easily it can be packed and transported. The choice of your cooler can also be made according to its compactness, ensuring that it complements your space-saving needs while still keeping your provisions perfectly chilled.
If your home storage is limited or your car boot is already brimming for a camping trip, consider a soft cooler's advantage: it can be folded down to occupy minimal space when not in use. It needn't hog an entire cupboard; flattened, it slips in nearly any gap. In contrast, rigid coolers offer less in terms of compactness but afford greater protection for your food against external knocks (so long live your unbruised apples and intact bananas), and are often waterproof.
Moreover, while they may primarily be passive, some rigid models come with active refrigeration systems – though you're unlikely to find a soft cooler with such a feature. Then, there are self-inflating coolers that provide a happy medium; they compact with ease by just opening a valve and pressing out the air. These coolers strike a balance, melding the best aspects of soft and hard designs while bolstering their isothermal capabilities. It’s a dual benefit! It's worth noting that flexibility doesn't equate to weakness – as the fable of the oak and the reed teaches us, 'that which bends does not break'. Some soft coolers come with robust bases, ready for any terrain.
If you think of a cooler simply as a big, hollow cube, it’s time to upgrade your expectations. Modern coolers have evolved well beyond the basic, rigid models where food jumbles into disarray by journey's end.
Now, flexible and inflatable coolers feature dividers that simplify organisation. Certain soft coolers and lunch boxes are equipped with nets to secure a water bottle or other items, keeping them in place and protecting delicate foods from getting squashed.
Quechua's soft coolers often come with expandable net pockets externally – sometimes on the sides, occasionally atop – perfect for stashing cutlery, plates, a tablecloth, a water bottle, or even an Ordnance Survey map. Essentially, the best cooler isn't just about efficiency; it’s about practicality, allowing you to neatly arrange its contents and carry everything you need for an enjoyable picnic.
Even if you’re not circumnavigating the globe with a cooler in tow, it's crucial to avoid strain by selecting a cooler with a carrying solution tailored to your transport mode, the cooler’s size, and its eventual weight when laden with food. The design of the carrying handles or shoulder strap system are key features of a superior cooler.
Standard on every quality cooler are one or more handles—without them, it would be nothing more than a cumbersome block. Most hard coolers, however, have a single handle that doubles as a latch for the lid. These are often unwieldy to carry, especially solo or when filled with food or liquids (bear in mind, a litre of water weighs around a kilogram—it adds up quickly).
For larger volumes, flexible coolers present a more manageable option. Take the Quechua 35-litre inflatable cooler, featuring a shoulder strap and dual handles for two-person toting. Then there's the compact 10-litre mini soft cooler, slung over the shoulder like a messenger bag, ideal for chilling your beverages.
To sum up, for convenience, space-saving design, and multiple carrying options, the inflatable cooler is an excellent choice. For hikes, a backpack cooler offers practicality and up to 5 hours of cooling without ice packs—a seamless 2-in-1 solution. While one person carries the essentials in a standard backpack, another can transport the lunch, ensuring even distribution of the load.
All other coolers come with straps for over-the-shoulder carrying, combining comfort with functionality.
When embarking on a day hike, carrying all your essentials in one backpack can be the epitome of convenience. Quechua has innovatively integrated a cooler compartment into their backpack design, similar to the shoe compartments found at the bottom of many sports bags. Instead of shoes, this zipped insulated section is perfectly sized to store enough food for a single person's day-long hike, keeping contents cool for up to four hours without the need for ice packs.
With this design, the burden of being the designated cooler carrier is eliminated—everyone can comfortably carry their own sustenance. And for those venturing out alone, the additional load of a separate cooler is unnecessary (though it's always recommended to hike with a companion or at least inform someone of your whereabouts and expected return time for safety).
At the risk of sounding noncommittal (though it's truly in your best interest), the answer to the cooler conundrum is: it depends!
While we've extensively discussed the virtues of passive coolers for their simplicity and cost-effectiveness, they might fall short if your goal is prolonged food preservation (akin to carrying a refrigerator on your camping journey).
In the arenas of spatial efficiency and lightness, passive coolers take the crown, primarily because they are unencumbered by the weight of a motor. Moreover, electric coolers often come with a motor that emits noise, which could intrude upon the tranquil chorus of the great outdoors. On the flip side, an absorption cooler operates in silence, using either gas or electricity (from the grid or a battery) to power a motorless cooling process. For those with a penchant for chemistry, this type of cooler utilises a heat-induced chemical reaction involving ammonia to produce cold. Although it is quiet and portable, it is also considerably pricier than its passive counterpart.
If the duration of cooling is your primary concern, then the electric cooler reigns supreme. But do take heed, not all electric coolers are compatible with every power socket, varying by voltage. Ensure you verify whether the cooler can be connected to car, motorhome, or standard domestic outlets before making your purchase.
