Who Makes The Best Cooler With Wheels?

When choosing the best cooler with wheels there are a lot of different options to choose from.  You want to select the best cooler with wheels for you so I’ve outlined what features you want to look for when buying your next wheeled cooler.  

Considerations When Selecting The Best Cooler With Wheels

1. Portability

Having a cooler with wheels will offer extra portability over a cooler with no wheels as you can wheel around your cooler instead of having to carry it everywhere you go.  This is especially useful for events such as concerts or sporting events where you may not be able to park close to your venue.

These types of coolers can also be useful in at a campsite if you are not able to park at your campsite and need to be able to move your cooler from your parking spot to your campsite.

Most coolers with wheels will be a hard shell cooler type.  Softshell coolers usually do not come with wheels as they are designed to be small enough to be transported around easily with a shoulder strap or carrying handle.

Coolers with wheels are usually larger and not able to be carried over a shoulder that’s why the wheels would come in hand with getting the cooler around.

2. Ice Retention

Depending on how long you are going to be out and about using your cooler you may want to take the ice retention capabilities of the cooler into account.  If you are going to be using your cooler for extended periods without access to more ice then you may want to go with a rotomolded cooler such as a Yeti as they will have superior ice retention compared to normal coolers such as what Coleman makes.

If you are just looking for a normal cooler to take to an event for a day then you probably won’t really need to get one that can hold it’s ice for long periods.  In that case, you would be fine with getting a cheap cooler with wheels.

3. Capacity

All coolers are not made the same which is why you would want to take the capacity of the cooler into account.  The larger the capacity of the cooler the more you would be able to store in the cooler to keep cold. Most brands will express how much their coolers can hold in quarts. Some of them will also list how many cans the cooler can hold with an adequate amount of ice.  

Be careful when looking at the cooler model numbers as those model numbers may not always equal the number of quarts the cooler can hold. With Yeti coolers the amount of quarts the cooler can hold is a bit less than their model number would indicate. With other cooler brands such as Pelican, the model number would be equal to the number of quarts the cooler could hold.

4. Wheel Size

When looking at choosing the best cooler with wheels you will want to take into account the size of the wheels on the cooler that you choose.  The larger the wheels the larger the obstacles the cooler will be able to go over easily.

I have one cooler that has tiny wheels as you would find on rollerblades, it does not handle cracks in pavement or rocks that well.  I would choose something with a large diameter wheel so that you can easily wheel the cooler over large objects such as gravel and small sticks.

5. Handle Height

If you plan on wheeling your cooler around for extended periods of time you would also want to take into account the height of the handle of the cooler when it’s fully extended.  If you choose a cooler with a short handle you are going to be hunched over more trying to roll the cooler around and it will be harder to control the cooler. With a long retractable or telescoping handle this eliminates the need for you to bend over while carrying the cooler. This is especially important if you are a taller individual.

6. Price

The price of the cooler with wheels that you get will largely be determined by what brand of cooler you go with.  Different brands charge different prices. Coleman makes good coolers for an affordable price, I would recommend them if you are just looking for a nice cooler at a cheap price.  

If you are looking for a rotomolded cooler RTIC offers the cheapest rotomolded coolers on the market. After RTIC would be Grizzly coolers they are typically cheaper than Yeti coolers.  After Grizzly would be Pelican and Yeti, they are going to be the most expensive rotomolded cooler manufacturers. Yeti has a cult following and are one of the most popular brands because of the ice retention performance of their coolers.

Best Cooler With Wheels – Build Quality

Wheel Materials

One thing you would want to make sure are high quality on your cooler with wheels would be the wheels themselves. if you are going to be using the cooler a lot.  You wouldn’t want to get one and have the wheels fall off or crack and fall apart.

It would be best to get one with wheels that you know are well made and won’t break with use.  You would want to make sure that if the wheels are plastic that they are made from hard plastic. If they are made from rubber you would want to make sure that the rubber used is designed to hold up over time.  I would recommend hard plastic wheels.

Depending on your needs for a cooler you may want to look at getting a premium rotomolded cooler.  These will offer better build quality over a normal injection molded plastic cooler as a rotomolded cooler will have a harder plastic shell.  You usually get what you pay for so the higher price usually means higher build quality of the cooler and higher quality parts used during the construction of the cooler.  

Handle

You would also want to make sure that the handle on your cooler is made of high-quality materials. If you are going to be wheeling your cooler around you are going to be holding the handle of the cooler a lot to do that.  

You would want to make sure that the handle is designed to hold up to the test of time. Some cooler makers will have their handles made of plastic, some will have them made of rope. Whichever you choose is up to whatever you would prefer.

In Conclusion

Depending on your needs for a cooler there are a lot of different options on the market.  It really comes down to how you plan to use your cooler and what your individual needs are. From there you can decide what is best for you and your family.

Hopefully, this guide was able to help you make a more informed buying decision when picking the best cooler with wheels for you.

If you are interested in buying a rotomolded cooler but don’t have enough money to buy a Yeti cooler you may be interested in my other article that offers alternatives to Yeti coolers.  You can read that article by clicking this link here: Coolers like Yeti but cheaper.