A Weighty Trade-Off
Functionality issues came up first. One cooler’s lid wouldn’t stay open and repeatedly flopped onto our hands as we loaded it. Another cooler lacked a drain, so we had to unload everything and strain the ice to get rid of excess water. And the high-end coolers were just plain heavy. While every other product weighed between 7 and 12 pounds when empty, the Yeti weighed in at 26 pounds empty and required two people to carry it when full. The Pelican was even heavier, at 38 pounds, and though its wheels helped, lugging it up and down stairs or in and out of the car was still a two-person job.
All that heft, however, made these two coolers less likely to tumble over and more durable when they did. Thanks to sturdier locking latches, the lids on these models never opened when we pushed them out of the SUV. The lighter coolers all spilled open, sending sodas and ice packs everywhere. By the end of testing, one had lost a side handle and another had a dented pole that prevented the telescoping handle from collapsing. The Yeti and Pelican models emerged with only scratches.
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