I may be in the minority, but I tend to treat my gear with wanton abandon. I know, I know, you're supposed to take care of things. But when items or machinery are designed to be "tough," or so the marketing contends, I tend to use that as a justification to go ham and become an engineer's worst nightmare. It may be why in the early aughts I destroyed a handful of quote-unquote "unkillable" cellphones...
And that's only become worse in recent decades as manufacturers everywhere have cheapened the manufacturing of their products. We're in the Age of the Disposable Everything. At least, that's the case for so most manufacturers, especially those Amazon-only or Temu-direct companies. There are still companies out there hoping to give you a product that'll last a lifetime. That'll last and endure whatever you or I throw at it. That'll stand up to whatever abuse we dole out.
And finally, Coleman, the maker of everything from silly little pit bikes to campfires and everything in between, has come out with a cooler that could rival Yeti, Dometic, Rtic, and all the other rotomolded nigh-unbreakeable coolers. But it did so for a lot less than the others, which today, means quite a bit. Say hello to the Pro line.
The idea behind the Pro Coolers was simple: beat the big dawgs in the space. That meant great ice retention, lighter construction, durable AF, and to do all that while still undercutting everyone else's prices. It's a tall order, for sure. But this is Coleman we're talking about. The company knows its way around backwoods engineering.
According to the company, the new Pro Line is "up to 30% lighter than rotomolded coolers of the same capacity," carries a 10-year warranty, features "oversized rubber wheels to navigate any terrain," as well as steel latches, a oversized drain plug, and is "sturdy enough to serve as extra seating while tailgating, sidelining, or entertaining." Likewise, Coleman engineered it with non-slip feet and tiedown slots, which I've personally utilized with my Dometic cooler when I've thrown it onto our Can-Am Maverick.
All of which add up to five full days of ice retention.
Luke Eck, Director of Outdoor Research & Development at Coleman stated, " The Coleman Pro Cooler is the most durable cooler we’ve ever engineered. We pushed it to the limit with repeated drop tests and over 1,000 hours of rugged road testing – and it exceeded every expectation. This cooler is built to go anywhere and handle anything, and I’m proud to stand behind it." So yeah, it's built to take a hit and keep on going. This will absolutely come in handy when you're strapping it to a side-by-side or ATV and going over some gnarly terrain to get to your camping or hunting spots.
As for price, again, the brand aimed to undercut all the folks within the space. And it did. The base Coleman Pro Cooler will start at $159 and head up to $299 for a 55-qt rolling unit, all of which seems pretty reasonable compared to its competitors. I'd personally love to see an even larger unit, something more akin to Yeti's 150 and up units. But that's just because I hunt and am always looking for gear that can survive me. We'll see if Coleman keeps expanding.
