The best Yeti coolers we tested
Best Yeti cooler: Yeti Tundra 45
Best Yeti soft cooler: Yeti Hopper Flip 18
Best portable Yeti cooler: Yeti Tundra Haul
The best Yeti coolers are not cheap, but I can confidently say they live up to the hype after testing more than 40 of the best coolers over the years. Their durability alone makes Yeti coolers a smart long-term investment. And when you consider the convenience and food-safety benefits of their outstanding temperature retention, you’re getting your money’s worth.
But there are a ton of Yeti coolers to choose from, and picking the best option for you and your lifestyle can be intimidating. To make this decision easier, I ran 10 popular Yeti coolers through a comprehensive testing process to see how they compare in terms of performance, ice retention, design and overall value. In the end, I landed on three models that can be considered the best Yeti coolers for anyone.
This rotomolded cooler provides the insulation and durability benefits you expect from the very best Yeti products, with a family-friendly capacity that’s still convenient to transport.
Flexible, lightweight and seriously durable, this Yeti cooler bag is tough enough for any adventure and portable enough to transport easily.
Thanks to the Tundra Haul's beefy wheels and oversized aluminum handle, this Yeti rolling cooler allows a single person to transport a serious amount of supplies.
Best Yeti cooler:?Yeti Tundra 45
A practical, all-around cooler — and the top choice in our best coolers testing — this Tundra model is large enough to hold an impressive amount of goods while still being reasonably comfortable to transport.
Like the other rotomolded coolers in Yeti’s Tundra lineup, the first thing you notice about the Yeti Tundra 45 is how rock-solid it looks and feels. That robust construction — and what separates high-performance coolers like Yeti, Pelican and RTIC from the competition — is due to rotational molding, or rotomolding. In a nutshell, powdered polyethylene is heated and slowly rotated inside a hollow cooler mold, which cools into a seamless, uniform thickness that lower-quality “injection molded” coolers lack.
This single-piece construction makes the Yeti Tundra 45 highly impact-resistant (I’ll defer to its Grizzly Bear Resistant rating for more evidence of that) as well as a fantastic insulator capable of maintaining cold temperatures for several days. After packing the Tundra 45 with ice and canned drinks for 48 hours during my testing process, its interior was still a frosty 35.4 degrees Fahrenheit.
The overall size of the Yeti Tundra 45 falls into that sweet spot of portability and functionality and is the primary reason we chose it as the best overall. Measuring 25.8 inches long and 15.5 inches tall, it’s compact enough to maneuver through doorways and into cars without issue, and you can store it without taking up too much trunk or closet space. The interior has enough space for 54 cans (with no ice) or about 18 if using the recommended 2-to-1 ice-to-food ratio. These dimensions, combined with the sturdy construction, also make the Yeti Tundra 45 a great seating option at the beach or tailgate. This sturdiness is a main differentiator between hard-sided coolers like the Yeti Tundra 45 and the Tundra Haul, and soft-sided coolers like the Hopper Flip 18, which is lighter but cannot support serious weight on top.
Don’t get me wrong, this 23-pound cooler is still heavy when filled with ice and supplies, but the rope handles and rubber grips make the job of moving it significantly easier. During testing, I found it easy to carry alone and even easier when a friend chipped in. The length of these handles makes the cooler more comfortable to haul than other coolers’ built-in side handles, which require more bending and lifting.?While these handles are great, the lack of wheels inhibits its portability compared to Yeti’s wheeled Tundra Haul.
A pair of heavy-duty rubber latches maintain a tight, insulated seal when the cooler is closed but are still pliant enough to unhook and rehook easily. This seal isn’t watertight, though, unlike the zippered seal of the Hopper Flip 18. The four rubber feet also prevent the cooler from sliding around a truck bed, dock or boat. Then there is the threaded drain plug that is wide enough to grip and twist comfortably, which helps create a nice wide flow for quick draining. It would have been nice to have this plug permanently tethered to the cooler (preventing it from getting misplaced while draining) but that’s certainly not a deal breaker.
If you’re looking for a heavy-duty cooler that will last a long time, keep your food and drinks cold for days and is convenient to transport, look no further. And while we love the size of the Tundra 45, Yeti offers the cooler in a range of sizes, from the smaller Tundra 35 all the way up to the enormous Tundra 350.
Best soft Yeti cooler: Yeti Hopper Flip 18
If you’re interested in the portability and convenience of a soft-sided cooler — and are comfortable sacrificing long-term cooling power — the Hopper Flip 18 is a fantastic option. Lightweight, comfortable to carry and the perfect size for solo or two-person excursions, this soft-sided cooler has become one of my favorites.
After dealing with hard-sided coolers for so long, I was surprised at how enjoyable a soft-sided model could be. Much lighter than hard-sided coolers of similar capacity and filled with soft foam insulation, the Hopper Flip 18 is indestructible and harmless to other surfaces it might bang into. Unlike hard-sided coolers that can easily damage surfaces like wood flooring, fiberglass boat decks or interior walls if accidentally dropped or swung around, the Hopper Flip 18 simply bounces off. Plus, thanks to the heavy-duty zipper (Hopper Flip models are the only truly leakproof line of Yeti coolers), you can toss it around without worrying about leaks.
The Hopper Flip 18 is extremely convenient to transport. The side handles, padded shoulder strap and suitcase-style top handle are all comfortable to use, and their heavy-duty reinforced stitching had zero issues supporting the weight of a fully loaded cooler. The shoulder strap was especially useful as it kept my hands free to carry other items while transporting.
The interior capacity of the Hopper Flip 18 is roomy enough to fit 28 cans by themselves, or ice and supplies for one to two people (depending on your appetite and trip duration). Keep in mind that this capacity is still much smaller than the Yeti Tundra 45, which has the space for 45 cans, for the same price.
Although the beefy zipper can be stiff to move back and forth, the extra leverage provided by the T-shaped zipper pull makes this less of an issue (a tube of zipper lubricant is also included). The wide-mouth opening of this cooler makes it easy to fill up, find what you’re looking for and dump out at the end of the day. (I found larger-capacity soft-sided coolers tended to be less convenient to fill and access since their deep vertical shapes required more digging around.) Plus, despite the soft construction and 4.5-pound weight, this cooler is still sturdy enough to maintain its shape and won’t flop over like lower-quality options. The high-density fabric shell is also rugged enough to withstand rips or punctures and, along with the interior, resistant to mildew. You won’t be able to use it as a seat or store heavy items on top of it like you can with our hard-sided top picks, so keep that in mind if those things are a priority.
Although its soft shell lacks the insulation superiority of hard-sided, rotomolded models, the Hopper Flip 18 still does an impressive job keeping things cool. After packing it with ice and cans for 48 hours, this little cooler still maintained an internal temperature of 36.9 degrees Fahrenheit. This was slightly higher than larger rotomolded options, although much more ice had melted. Unlike the Yeti Tundra 45 or Tundra Haul, this cooler doesn’t have a drain to empty that melted ice, though, which can be a pain if you want to quickly dry out the interior.
Considering its lightweight design, convenient portability and leakproof zipper, the Hopper Flip is a great option for shorter, single-day excursions that don’t require the weight and size that comes with a hard-sided model. Its compact size is also convenient for those who don’t have a ton of space in their car trunk or for activities like canoeing or four-wheeling adventures for which a larger, heavier option wouldn’t be practical.
Best portable Yeti cooler: Yeti Tundra Haul
While Yeti’s Tundra coolers are at the top of their class for insulation and durability, their heavy weight can be a portability issue. But now there’s a Yeti cooler with wheels: the Tundra Haul. This Yeti rolling cooler allows a single person to transport a large amount of supplies across docks, parking lots and uneven terrain with minimal effort.
The beefy, never-flat wheels won’t puncture or crack, and I found they were large enough to roll down concrete steps easily. They’re also soft enough to traverse my hardwood flooring without scratches or scuffs. Maneuverability — sometimes an issue with wheeled coolers — is a breeze with the Tundra Haul, thanks to the sturdy aluminum tow handle. Not only is this handle rock-solid (there’s no jiggling or rattling here) but it’s wide enough for two-handed use, as it has thick rubber handles for maximum grip. Yeti’s other wheeled cooler I tested, the Roadie 48, uses a telescoping handle, which I found to have a less durable feel. While these wheels certainly increase portability once it’s on the ground, the 37.5 weight is 14.5 pounds heavier than the Yeti Tundra 45, so make sure you and your friends can handle getting it from your car to the parking lot, dock or boat.
The low and wide shape of the Tundra Haul is convenient to load up and access, and also provides a sturdy seating option when the lid is closed. With enough interior space for about 27 cans (following the recommended 2-to-1 ice ratio), the Tundra Haul offers enough storage for a family day at the beach, tailgate with friends or overnight campout (as long as the trail is reasonably short). It’s worth noting that unlike the Roadie 48, the Tundra Haul does not offer a dry goods basket or divider option, so it’s not as convenient for those who want a bit more organization.
Tie-down slots make this cooler easy to secure in a boat or truck bed, and the grippy wheels won’t slide around on slippery surfaces. I prefer this low, long shape over the Roadie’s taller profile, but that model may be a more convenient option for those who prefer a smaller footprint.
The Tundra Haul also offers the same exceptional insulation benefits as the Yeti Tundra 45, holding at an impressive 32.8 degrees Fahrenheit after 48 hours of testing. Other Tundra features like rubber lid latches, padlock holes and bear-proof strength make this an especially durable option. It is $125 more than the Yeti Tundra 45, so make sure the capacity and portability benefits are worth the extra cost.
How we tested
Although all Yeti coolers are high-quality products, their size, construction and design affect their performance differently. To effectively and confidently compare them, I ran 10 Yeti coolers through a comprehensive testing process.
Performance
- Usability: I judged each cooler on how easy it was to use. Over several weeks of testing, I utilized every feature, component and accessory on each cooler, noting any that felt frustrating or inconvenient to operate.
- Portability: I transported each cooler up and down stairs, around the block and into and out of my car several times, paying close attention to the design and comfort of carrying handles and shoulder straps. I also used the empty weight of each cooler to better contrast portability benefits. For the wheeled coolers, I traversed varied terrain, including grass, gravel, concrete and sand, to assess their limitations. I also compared the ergonomics and sturdiness of the towing handles of these wheeled options.
- Insulation: To accurately judge how well each model maintained its temperature, I filled each cooler with ice and drink cans (using the recommended 2-to-1 ratio), placed a Bluetooth thermometer inside and closed the lid for 48 hours. I used each cooler’s internal temperature at the end of these 48 hours to compare its insulation capability and get a better idea of how it stacks up in terms of long-term cooling. (While the actual cooling capabilities of a cooler vary depending on factors like outside temperature, type of ice, type of contents inside, movement of the cooler and how often you open the lid, I still feel that this data is a useful comparison tool.)
Construction
- Capacity: I also compared each cooler’s internal storage capacity. Similar to temperature retention, storage capacity can vary depending on other factors, but using Yeti’s “cans only” measurement (consistent across all models) it’s still very helpful in identifying which coolers are better for those who want maximum storage space (or who don’t want to waste money on a cooler that’s too large for their needs).
- Storage: I looked at the overall size and footprint of each cooler, which helped determine how convenient each cooler is to store when not in use. I found weight to be a major factor in ease of storage, with the soft-sided coolers much more convenient to toss on a shelf or anywhere else off the ground.
- Durability: I did my best to stress test any potential weak points of these coolers. I yanked on handles, flipped open lids, pulled on clips and swung around shoulder straps harder and more roughly than one typically would, looking for any glaring issues or potential longevity concerns. I also sat on the hard-sided coolers to ensure they were strong enough to support my 170-ish body weight.
Other Yeti coolers we tested
Its compact size is easy to store, but the carrying strap on this hard-sided cooler lacks the convenient portability of other small coolers.?
Although this hard-sided cooler is tough and durable, I found it a little frustrating to carry around. While the padded strap is comfortable enough on your shoulder, the size and weight of the cooler create a wide profile that’s easy to bang into doorways or other people when walking with it. You can also shorten the strap to use it as a suitcase-style handle, but the width of the cooler also makes it somewhat awkward to swing next to you. That said, it kept an interior temperature of 36.6 degrees Fahrenheit after 48 hours (a few degrees warmer than the average of the Yeti coolers I tested), and although it’s not watertight like the Hopper Flip 18, the heavy-duty latches create a solid seal against outside temps.
This cooler also makes a great seating option, (although I found the small footprint too top-heavy to stand on securely). The portability concerns are certainly not deal breakers, and if you’re primarily moving it from your car to the boat or tailgate, this is still a great cooler (and $100 cheaper than the similarly sized Hopper Flip 18).
This mid-sized cooler provides the necessary durability for various activities and is portable enough for single-person transport.
If you don’t need the capacity of a full-size cooler like the Yeti Tundra 45 but still want the durability and insulation of a hard-sided cooler, look no further. The Yeti Roadie 24 has enough space for 33 cans without ice (slightly more space than our top soft-sided pick, the Hopper Flip 18) and is tall enough to accommodate wine bottles.
It’s still narrow enough (its 14-by-16.6-inch footprint is just a couple of inches wider than the Yeti Roadie 15) to fit in smaller spots like behind a car seat, making it a great road trip option. The heavy-duty handle is easy to grab and haul around, although its 13-pound weight is much heavier than our best soft-sided cooler, the Hopper Flip 18, which has a similar capacity.
Gorgeous, incredibly insulated and built to last, only the high price and slightly challenging portability kept this cooler out of our top spots.?
With a vintage, old-school look, this stainless steel cooler is an absolute knockout. If you want to make a visual statement at your next backyard barbeque or parking lot tailgate — and you have the budget — this is the cooler for you. This cooler also performed better than every option in terms of temperature retention, measuring just 32.5 degrees Fahrenheit after 48 hours (just barely lower than the Yeti Roadie 48 and Tundra Haul).
The main downside to the Yeti V Series Stainless Steel Cooler (other than the $800 price tag) is its hefty 34.4-pound weight (much heavier than rotomolded coolers that offer higher capacity). This made it very challenging to transport when filled up, so this cooler is probably not a great choice for those who need to transport it long distances.
Serious tailgaters and picnickers will love the storage space and organizational accessories of this wheeled cooler.?
Although it lacks the capacity of our top portable pick, the Tundra Haul (which has nearly twice the interior space), this wheeled cooler’s vertical shape could be the perfect fit for those who want something a bit easier to store. Its extra height can also stash vertical wine bottles and is compatible with a clear plastic dry goods basket — great for keeping sandwiches and other food from getting wet — and a space divider (both sold separately).
The wheels are large enough to roll over somewhat rough terrain, and the telescoping handle is much sturdier than cheaper brand wheeled coolers I’ve tested. At 25.8 pounds, this cooler is roughly the same weight as our top pick, the Yeti Tundra 45.
Lighter and more compact than the larger Hopper M20, this Yeti backpack cooler is great for those interested in maximum mobility.
If you’re committed to a backpack cooler and don’t feel like lugging around too much weight, this compact backpack model still has enough space to accommodate supplies for a few people. The 6.2-inch depth was also much less bulky than the 8.9 inches of the Hopper M20, making it more comfortable to wear and squeeze through narrower entrances as well as less likely to bump into others in a crowded space.
Despite having a smaller capacity than the M20, I found its limited interior easier to dig through. That said, I still felt that the Hopper Flip 18 was more convenient, with a nice wide opening that made it significantly easier to load and see inside.
Convenient to carry and requiring minimal space, this tote-style cooler is versatile enough to carry an impressive amount of cans, wine bottles and even dry goods in the front-facing kangaroo pocket.?
I’m a big fan of the overall portability of this cooler, thanks to its oversized tote-style carrying handles and padded shoulder strap. These straps, combined with the narrow 7-inch depth, made it easier to carry around than our top soft-sided cooler, the Hopper Flip 18, but just like other Hopper models, I found the tall shape slightly less convenient to use. It’s also not completely leakproof like the Hopper Flip lineup. That being said, I’d consider this a close runner-up, so those who prefer a taller cooler (it can fit wine bottles) might find this to be a perfect fit.
With soft, padded shoulder straps and a rugged, durable construction, this backpack cooler is an awesome choice for long-distance mobility. It’s up to you if this portability is worth compromising on accessibility convenience.?
The backpack straps of this Hopper model allow for true hands-free transport, (and more natural mobility than a traditional shoulder strap) making it perfect for hauling through hiking trails, for portaging a canoe or for when you want your hands free to carry extra gear. I was especially impressed with the rigidity of the flat bottom, which does a great job of keeping it upright instead of flopping over.
Although I appreciate the magnetic closure system and sturdy straps that keep it tight, this opening makes the space inside less convenient?to access than wider openings (like our top soft-sided pick, the Hopper Flip 18). I needed to do some digging to reach any items that migrated to the bottom of the pack, which became more of a pain as the ice melted. Also, with an interior temperature of 46.7 degrees Fahrenheit after 48 hours, this was the least effective Yeti cooler for temperature retention.
