The 6 Best Coolers For Car Camping In 2020 (Essential Review)

Let’s be real:

A great cooler truly makes or breaks a camping trip.

This is no time to pinch pennies.

Sub par containers will turn your food into a melted foul mess and worst of all turn your beer lukewarm (gasp!).

We can’t have that!

But don’t fret, we have researched the creme of the crop coolers that’ll keep your precious beer and cheese and brats cold all weekend.

Cooler Comparison Guide

So then, at this point you probably have some questions, right?

Like how to determine the best cooler for your needs?

No worries, we've got you covered.​ Read on to discover everything you need to know. 

How to Choose Your Cooler

In recent years, the ice chest industry has become a tad saturated with Yeti designing some snazzy high end cooler and Walmart offering their run of the mill no nonsense plastic coolers.

Selecting a model can be a semi-stressful process because no one is sure how much you should spend on a cooler, or if you even need all those extra features to simply stop your food from growing fungus and who-knows-what-else.

Fear not, we’re going to answer every burning question and break down exactly what you need to look for in your next ice box.

Should You Go High-end or Low-end?

Besides the price tag, there are two characteristics which separate expensive and run of the mill coolers; insulation performance and durability.

Your adventure and camping situation will dictate how much of these two metrics you really require.

Cooler Insulation Explained

Obviously, your coolers keeping things cold is the your preeminent concern. Extra insulation will keep your food and goodies cool for much longer.

So if you are spending a solid week out in the middle of the desert or forest, far away from human comforts you might want to spring for a high end model that has superior insulating capacity.

Additionally, if you are packing eggs, meat, poultry, fish and milk and perishable precooked food you need to store it all at under or close to 40/F or you risk adopting some unfriendly microbes into your precious stomach.

Also, if you plan on bagging yourself some game and fishing in the river all weekend long, extra room and a super insulation cooler is vital so your fresh meat actually makes it home.

Traditional lighter coolers are typically able to reliably hold ice and stay below 40˚F for 2-3 days, which accommodates weekend adventures perfectly.

These kinds of coolers can keep your food fresh for more than a few days if you frequently stuff them with new ice, which of course requires some routine access to a fuel station (and fits more into the car camping lifestyle).

So if the bank account is looking grim you could simply keep on loading up on ice and avoid that massive price tag for hefty coolers.

Additionally, if you are just hitting the great outdoors with friends or family for the night, then a massive fancy cooler, might be total overkill.

Then finally, if you’re a truly wild person who intends on spending 7+ days camping out in the unspoiled wilderness and needs to keep hunting spoils or special treats properly preserved and frozen you might want to use dry ice.

Dry Ice temp hovers at -109.3°F, and can essentially turn a cooler into an adventure freezer.

Although that low of a temp can inflict quite a bit of stress on lower end coolers, so if dry ice is in your future, you will want to opt for a high-end cooler that can handle the freeze.

Durability

Before you click that buy button or pluck a cooler off the shelf you must consider how much stress you’ll inflict on your ice box.

High end models are food fortresses, equipped with pin style hinges, lids and walls that are incredibly tough, beefy external latching mechanisms, large handles, screw in drain plugs with rubber o-ring seals, and UV-resistant plastic.

At the other end of the spectrum, lighter coolers are made to be taken on light, picnic-like adventures and most lack sturdy construction.

They typically have screw on plastic hinges, smaller plastic handles, and pop on and off drain plugs. The lids and walls of the lighter models are also less tough than their expensive counterparts.

In summary, you could take a baseball bat to a tough high end model, while the lower end models could break if they are used as a makeshift chair.

But in the end, if you rarely go camping or spend your weekends glamping, a lower end model will meet your needs just fine.

How Big Should Your Cooler Be?

Once you have determined how much isolation and durability you want, you’re going to need to determine just how much storage capacity you’ll require.

Storage Capacity And External Size

The total size of your cooler (as measured in quarts) informs you just how much you can pack inside, and also dictates how long of a trip you can take, or reversely how many people you can accommodate on a good ol’ group adventure.

• Models under 25 quarts can carry food for one adventurer for a single night or drinks and maybe an apple for a few people.
• Then the 40 quart size can store food for one person for a whole weekend or two people for a couple nights.
• Lastly, the big honcho 70 quart containers can house food for an entire family for the whole weekend or week-long trips for couples and solo travelers.

Any cooler larger than that is quite hard to lug around and is often designated as a party or hunting expedition cooler.

Additionally, you’ll want to pay attention to the external dimensions and make sure the cooler will fit in your vehicle without forcing you to pile everything haphazardly.

Portability

Typically your fully loaded ice cooler will be the heaviest piece of gear you’ll have to haul around.

Therefore, portability is going to be extremely important, especially if you are carrying it more than five feet.

As you would suspect, the smaller the cooler, the lighter it will be. So, aim for the smallest model that accommodates your needs.

But if you do opt for a 70 quart heavy hitter, make sure it has two sets of handles; one set built in close to the body for single person carry and another longer set for a two person carry.

Also, every proud cooler owner will tell you that the best coolers have wheels.

How Do You Pack a Cooler for Camping?

Here’s a one minute information video for the awesome ice chest newbies out there who haven’t packed up a cooler before (or other adventures who are trying to up their ice box game).

First step is to put your ice block on the bottom, freeze your meats to keep the perishables cooler and colder longer.

Second, place sealed and packaged items on the second layer, then put fragile grains and foods on top to avoid getting battered. And wallah, you have a perfectly packed cooler!

Well then, after that crash course you’re a bonafide cooler expert. Now you are ready to discover the best cooler for camping!

The 6 Best Camping Coolers Reviewed

WINNER of the Best Cooler for Car Camping ​2020 Review 

YETI Tundra 35 Cooler

​Updated 2/9/2020 - So after days of research and testing we found that the YETI Tundra 35 Cooler is dominating the ice chest world and for good reason.

Its pressure-injected commercial-grade polyurethane foam in the walls and lid will keep your food cold in scorching temps, the roto-molded construction makes this cooler near indestructible (which is exactly what you want to hear when you're investing in quality goods.)

It also has dry good racks that will keep your most previous treats from getting soggy even if you mistakenly let all your ice melt.

Although in the end, these six ice chests are truly the best camping coolers on the market and would make any adventurer happy.

So pack up some frozen goodies into a brand spanking new cooler, hop into your car (or boat, or go-kart) and get to some luxurious adventuring.