Picture it – it is a beautifully warm day, you’re out with family and friends having a picnic and your drinks aren’t cold. Disaster! It sounds like a cooler box can make your day so much more enjoyable.
If there is one thing that we love here in the UK – other than tea – is a barbeque. While we may be less than prepared for the hotter weather, but when the sun does appear we really do make the most of it. A BBQ must have is – aside from a good travel flask for hot beverages – is a cooler box for cold drinks.
Cooler boxes aren’t the same as they used to be. You may be picturing a cheap plastic tub you used to buy at the seaside for a fiver, but you’ll be surprised to learn that most modern solutions have some great features, including ergonomic handles, heating, and even cup holders, who’d have thought?
The best cooler boxes at a glance
Editor's choice: YETI Roadie 24 Cooler - Buy now from Amazon
The best budget cooler box: Thermos Classic Cool Box - Buy now from Amazon
The best cooler for portability: Bellroy Cooler Caddy - Buy now from Bellroy
If you prefer your drinks best served chilled, then check out some of the excellent cooler boxes we recommend. Whether you’re planning a continent crushing road trip, or just a relaxed day by the seaside, you can ensure your crisp lemonade or orange squash remains as cool as a cucumber. We've even got you covered for all budgets and requirements so you can be the coolest person at the picnic table – literally!
The best cooler boxes for your car
Editor's Choice
When it comes to outdoor products YETI certainly knows what it’s doing, the brand is an absolute powerhouse thanks to its clever coolers, drinkware, and travel bags. Their cooler boxes come with ergonomic touches and features to make them some of the best in the business. A hinge designed to never break, grippy non-slip feet, and a clever Heftyhauler handle to make carrying the box easy, these are features of the Roadie 24 that make it ideal for a wide range of uses.
Add in a range of vibrant colours, a capacity of 18 cans and excellent build quality to make our favourite cooler for your next trip. This YETI can even hold a two-litre bottle of pop standing up with no issue. If you’re wanting even more space in your YETI cooler, then then brand also offers the Roadie 48 and Roadie 60 at a higher price tag.
Pros
- Top-drawer quality
- Clever ergonomic design
- A brand you can trust
Cons
- Not the most capacious
- May not be suitable for all budgets
The best budget cooler box
The word Thermos has become synonymous with travel flasks - a little bit like Jacuzzi or Sellotape - but did you know that Thermos also makes coolers that can keep your food and beverages cool? This simple cooler offers 28 litres of cold storage in a simple, lightweight design that includes a handle and locking lid.
The Classic can keep its contents cool for around eight hours thanks to simple polystyrene insulation. Sure, that's nothing compared to a luxurious cooler box but it's perfectly fine for an afternoon of barbequing.
Pros
- Offers excellent value
- Decent size for most applications
- Easy to handle and carry
Cons
- Only eight hours of chilling
- May lack the quality of other coolers
The best cooler for portability
Six litres may not sound like a lot, but the advantage that the Bellroy Lite cooler caddy offers is supreme portability and can even fold flat when not needed. It may be a different answer to the traditional hard construction cooler box, or even offer similar capacity, but it features a fabric construction and recycled 3M Thinsulate Insulation to keep the insides cool, making to easy to carry to a remote location for a quiet summer afternoon.
The Bellroy will hold a six-pack with ease, and even comes with a built-in bottle opener too - a very convenient thing to have during a picnic. The handle makes it easy to carry and the interior is sealed so it'll stay waterproof. It will even fold away for easy storage when not in use.
Pros
- Very easy to carry
- Excellent construction
- Built-in bottle opener is useful
Cons
- Not the biggest option
- May not offer the same performance as other options
The best small cooler box
The famed maker of almost indestructible, insulated flasks since 1913, Stanley invented the vacuum-insulated flask. These days, the brand has branched out into a few more products but stays true to form. The Adventure Outdoor Cooler offers a rugged exterior designed to accompany you into even the most challenging adventures.
This little six-litre model uses double-wall foam insulation to keep its contents cool for 27 hours. It has bigger 15 and 28-litre siblings that stay cold for 36 hours and four days respectively. The baby model still benefits from features like the bungee cords on top for holding items. Its tiny size also makes it great for couples and those with small cars and limited space. The Adventure Outdoor Cooler comes with a lifetime warranty against manufacturing defects.
Pros
- Tough and durable, can take a beating
- Good cooling abilities
- Lifetime warranty against manufacturing defects
Cons
- Smaller size
- Other coolers may have better build quality
The best large cooler box
Sometime bigger might better, and that’s why the Coleman Xtreme Cooler exists. At 92 centimetres long, it's a perfectly acceptable and portable size (with two people if carrying it full). Meanwhile, 90 litres provides as much space as you're likely to need.
The Xtreme Cooler benefits from foam insulation and can therefore achieve a chill time of up to five days. Coleman has a cemented reputation as a reliable go-to brand for camping and outdoor equipment. The Xtreme Cooler reinforces that reputation. There are several smaller volumes available if 90 litres is too much for you.
Pros
- Excellent build quality
- Large capacity to fit more in
- Wheels make it easy to transport
Cons
- You'll need two people to carry it
- May not suit all budgets
The coolest looking cooler box
Most coolers have the style appeal of a fridge because, well, that's what they are. Not this funky-looking option though. This is a blend of VW T1, a trailer and a cooler in one awesome novelty option for your next picnic. It offers an acceptable 26 litres of storage and those chunky tyres mean you'll be able to haul it across a multitude of surfaces.
The VW camper is lockable and has a telescopic handle so anyone of any height can operate it. It's not the most efficient cool box out there but it's made from steel and very sturdy. There sure are many novelty points earned here too.
Pros
- Looks amazing
- The wheels make it portable
- High quality construction
Cons
- Style over substance
- Other coolers might prove to be better value
Best cooled and heated cooler
If your requirements are a cooler box that can cool things and heat things than you’ll be interested in the AEG Automotive Board-Bar BK 6. This clever option is the best of both worlds. Since it’s a 12V appliance, it's best to use the cooling/heating feature while the car is en route, rather than running it from the car once arrived.
It's able to chill food and drink at 20 deg C below ambient temperature and heats up to 65 deg C, ideal for cold or hot foods. While it may only offer a paltry six litres of storage, it is exceptionally well-packaged and even comes with a shoulder strap.
Pros
- Heating and cooling ability
- Design to be portable
- Cup holders are useful
Cons
- Smaller volume than other coolers
- Needs to be powered by the cars 12V connection
| Dimensions | 9 x 40 x 22cm |
| Volume | 6 litres |
| Weight | 2kg |
What you need to know about cooler boxes
How does a cooler box work?
Cooler boxes work by using insulating materials to avoid heat from entering them. This means that with a couple of ice packs or some ice cubes you can keep the contents of the cooler cold for hours, or in some cases even days. Put simply, the walls of the cooler box are designed to keep the cold in and the heat out.
How big should it be?
Think about how much space you have in your car and what you tend to put in your cooler. Five to 15 litres is good for two to four people. Upwards of 30 litres is best for big get-togethers with many people involved or camping holidays. If you have the available luggage space in your car, more volume in a cooler is generally better than not enough.
Should it be electric?
Electric cooler boxes are clearly a good bit more expensive than a traditional cooler box, but that shouldn't necessarily put you off. Traditional cooler boxes will need ice packs to keep cool and will need restocking after a while which limits most of them to day trips.
Electric ones can be run off your car's 12V socket and can keep food chilled (and heated if you want) for longer. This can certainly be helpful on a camping trip.
How portable should it be?
This depends on what you intend to do. If you're staying right next to your car then this isn't so much of a problem. You only need to load and unload it when you don't need it anymore. It could even remain in the boot. If you're going off exploring away from your car it may be a good idea to look for a lighter example that either comes with wheels or a shoulder strap.
__Naveed Hussain is a commercial content writer at Bauer Media writing for Parkers and CAR. He enjoys anything with four wheels, and is always planning his next road trip.__