We’re now years into the frenzy surrounding overbuilt coolers that may final by way of the apocalypse, or at the very least actually outlast their homeowners, and these coolers are clearly not going away. No fad, this fetishizing of plastic bins of ice. And, mathematically talking, the value is smart. For those who purchase a $300-400 cooler, it might very effectively be the final one you ever purchase, even assuming a really lengthy and wholesome life. Lengthy-lasting however cheap, comparatively talking, coolers from Igloo or Coleman nonetheless run $50-100, and you could find yourself shopping for a number of over a long time of out of doors recreation. Whether or not any cooler is definitely value spending a whole lot of dollars on, is, in fact, as much as the customer.
However for those who’re going to, you may as effectively get one with wheels.
For the previous couple of months, I’ve been testing out two totally different wheeled rotomolded coolers. The RovR 45 ($369), as a result of it’s a newcomer with a fairly uncommon form and nifty hauling trick, extra on that in a second, and the Yeti Tundra Haul ($400), as a result of, effectively, it’s a Yeti.
The very first thing that was instantly obvious is that after you strive one in every of these massive heavy coolers with wheels, there isn’t a approach you’ll ever return to the non-wheeled selection. Ever.
Have you ever ever tried to elevate one in every of these 45-quart beasts, when filled with ice and beer and sausages or Past Meat patties, by your self and haul it round a campsite? Yeah, torture. No thought why I pay $80 monthly for a fitness center membership after I might simply carry a full cooler round for 30 minutes per day and find yourself wanting like Thor.
However the wheels change the whole lot. Why these heavy coolers had been ever developed with out them is past me.
Though, technically, the RovR by no means was. This cooler was wheeled from the beginning. The founder’s thought (which he hatched across the similar time Yeti was about to hit the market, an nearly cosmic intestine punch) was a cooler that additionally doubled as a wagon. A versatile bin affixes to the lid of the cooler that may maintain all types of stuff. Luggage of meals, sleeping baggage, firewood, stacks of your favourite out of doors publication. It’s a intelligent thought that may eradicate a number of journeys from Subaru to campsite.
All-terrain tires do the rolling right here, they usually’re burly little meats. 9-inch, puncture resistant tires that may be aired right down to float on sand. The deal with is a telescoping design identical to you’d discover on rolling baggage. Works nice, gives loads of leverage for a heavy cooler. It does twist fairly a bit and isn’t constructed from the heaviest steel, so the thoughts wonders about sturdiness right here, but it surely by no means squeaked or rattled throughout my testing.
Tires labored nice on pavement, in grime, and had been respectable in sand.
The RovR can be hooked up to a contraption that permits you to tow it with a bicycle, which I didn’t strive, however would little doubt be useful for journeys to the park or for trucking stuff into a kind of hike-in campsites with a distant car parking zone. It may be modded up with slicing boards and cupholders too.
Ice retention was nice. All of those sorts of coolers do a terrific job retaining ice chilly, so I didn’t set a timer to find out what number of days and hours it took for ice broke to show into lukewarm water. The RovR retains ice just about so long as another rotomolded cooler I’ve seen. Loads lengthy. For those who want ice stored longer than a number of days, simply get a Dometic fridge.
The form is slightly distinctive, within the sense that there’s a little bit of a shelf that an included dry bin sits on, and the cooler itself is kind of deep and slender. This will make it slightly robust to dig by way of ice to search out one thing, however I not often use dry bins anyway. Prob makes extra sense to place ice within the dry bin, really, and use the empty aspect to maintain the whole lot chilly and dry.
The Yeti, however, is only a massive ole’ rectangle. You’ll be able to see the wheel arches on the within and are maybe questioning: Would these get in the best way of my treasured ice and meals? Nah. I nervous it could too, however the ice simply buries it and also you don’t even discover.
For those who’re acquainted with a Yeti, you’re acquainted with the Tundra Haul. This one differs from the RovR although in a pair keys methods. First, the wheels. They’re not rubber tires, however a single piece of polyurethane. They will’t go flat, clearly, as a result of they don’t maintain air. They’re much more durable than the RovR tires, however they offer slightly bit when poked, and when the cooler is weighed down with ice and meals, they really feel loads supple on pavement or grime. They aren’t low-cost hole plastic like one thing from a Large Wheel.
Then, the deal with. It’s a strong aluminum and curves away out of your toes so it gained’t bang into your heels or achilles tendon as you’re carting the Yeti round. It additionally has a nifty characteristic that slows the deal with if you let it go so it doesn’t bang into the aspect of the cooler, it silently nuzzles proper up towards the robust plastic. It’s sturdy and heavy and completely matched to the job of toting 50-plus kilos of cooler and meals.
However that’s just about it for the options. No dry bin. No attachment factors for slicing boards. no bike attachment level, both. There’s a slot within the cooler for, presumably, a divider, however as of evaluate time, no divider exists.
Each coolers are terrific at their main gig, retaining ice chilly for days, even in blasting warmth. They each weigh 37 kilos. They each roll properly and are large enhancements over stationary coolers. Each come a complete lot nearer to justifying their price over stationary coolers too. If I needed to give the nod to one in every of them, I’d lean towards the RovR for the sheer cleverness of the wagon bin. It’s actually a cooler and a wagon multi functional.
