Advertisement

Best cool boxes and bags for 2022 including wheeled and electric options

 (Unsplash)
(Unsplash)

As we inch closer to summer and trips out are back on the cards, you may be planning a holiday further afield than your garden gate.

As temperatures rise, park picnics are back and BBQ fans are wheeling their grills out of winter’s retirement, giving us more opportunities to meet friends and family and share an al-fresco meal.

Dining outdoors in summer means careful consideration of the menu: namely, what travels well and can be eaten, for most part, mess free. When it comes to keeping food and drink fresh, a cool box is your best bet.

Great for chilling drinks as well as keeping cheese, cold cuts and salad from sweating, these specially designed boxes aim to keep your picnic at the optimum temperature.

If you’re hoping to take a cool box with you on camping or fishing trips, day trips road or down to the bottom of the garden for cold bottles by the BBQ, you’ll need a design with more insulation than a basic picnic cool box.

We’ve rounded up some of the best cool boxes for every scenario, from hard cases to soft designs that fold down completely flat. Our edit has coolers of all sizes, from cosy picnics for two to a weekend’s feast for a camping staycation. Find big boxes up top, and smaller, compact designs in the second half of the list.

You can also shop the top rated cool boxes from Amazon and John Lewis.

See our favourites below

FRESH metal vintage icebox on castors in red H 77cm

If you love midcentury style, this ice box will be right up your street. Recalling Americana designs of the 50s, the box sits on legs supported by castors in red or black. There’s a built-in opener for bottle capped beers and the main box can be opened part way or in full to give you easier access to the contents. We’d park it by our BBQ for ice cold beers to go with our flame-grilled burgers.

Buy now £241.00, Maisons du Monde

HI-GEAR 28-Litre 12V 240V Electric Cooler

If you’re unwilling to put your faith in insulation and cold packs alone, meet this electric cooler which can be powered with 240V mains and 12V in-car plug cables. It’s the perfect thing to take on long car trips or caravan holidays, with a 28 litre capacity and a power control dial that lets you flip between hot and cold functions.

If you have a discount card, you can get it for £45, more than half off the RRP.

Buy now £45.00, Go Outdoors

John Lewis & Partners Cooler Box, 60L

Planning a caravan trip away? Pack all your treats in this roomy cooler, which can take up to 60 litres of your favourite food and drink. The sturdy box is portable thanks to the two wheels and carry handle which means you can move it along all sorts of terrain with ease. Sling in a few ice packs to keep the interior nice and cool for overnight trips.

Buy now £85.00, John Lewis & Partners

Outwell ECOcool 24L

This electric 12V cooler keeps your food and drink around 20 degrees cooler than the temperature outside, making it a must-have for out-of-town trips as well as family picnics.

The self-closing lid offers extra peace of mind in keeping your feast cool and there’s a carry handle for easy transportation too.

It runs so well that one Amazon reviewer with space issues actually uses this in place of a fridge. Place ice blocks inside for a heightened cooling effect.

Buy now £99.99, Amazon

JML Chill Chest - The lightweight, foldable ice-less cooler

With eco-friendliness high on the agenda, this cool box makes the green cut. It can keep up to 60 cans cool without the use of ice, batteries or electricity for up to 10 hours - yes, really!

It’s all down to the dense, extra-strong interwoven polypropylene cells within the walls that ‘locks in’ cool air (it also works the opposite way by keeping hot food warm too), and can collapse flat in seconds.

Use it at garden parties, picnics, BBQs and beach trips, or simply to keep groceries chilled after a trip to the supermarket. Holds 38 litres.

Buy now £23.99, Amazon

Business & Pleasure Co. Cooler Bag

Available in a choice of three shades (grey, yellow and navy striped), this cooler is made from offcuts of premium canvas. It’s on the petite side measuring L31.75 x W21.6 x H20cm, which makes it ideal for personal use (or just those occasions you don’t want to share). Once you’re done with it, it folds down flat for easy storage.

Buy now £68.00, Anthropologie

Fjällräven Kånken Mini Cooler, Black

Keep yourself fuelled on wholesome trips with a lunchbox cooler from a wholesome Swedish brand. Fjallraven’s mini cooler bag is made in a durable waxed G-1000 HeavyDuty Eco S fabric, complete with foam padding for effective insulation.

In terms of capacity, the cooler has space for three bottles of beer or one packed lunch, so it’s very much made for snacking solo or enjoying a few drinks in the park with friends.

The great news is that if you’ve already got a Kånken Mini or a regular Kånken bag, the W20.5 x H26 x D9 cm dimensions of this cooler means it will fit within them with ease.

Buy now £55.00, Amazon

Coast Navy Insulated 15 Litre Seat Cooler

We get it: despite their names, cool bags aren’t the most fashionable thing to cart around. Well no more. This timeless striped cooler is nice enough to be mistaken for a regular bag, yet can efficiently cool 15 litres of food and drink in its interior. What’s more, this fully insulated bag has reinforced sides so you can use it as a seat too! Maximum weight: 100kg / 15.75st / 220lbs.

Sip chilled wine while nibbling on cruditéss and sour cream in the park or at the beach in style.

Buy now £25.00, Dunelm

Quechua Fresh Compact Camping/ Walking Ice Box

This cooler keeps food and beverages cool for 11 hours, making it ideal for all-day use. There are two mesh storage pockets on the exterior, and inside there’s a band to keep bottles steady, plus two additional net pockets.

The cooler self-inflates, which means it’s a lot lighter than a hard case, but that doesn’t mean it’s flimsy. The reinforced polyester (PES) 600-denier fabric that’s on the bottom layer helps keep it sturdy. Folds down from 40cm high to 21cm.

Buy now £34.99, Decathlon

Summit Pop 18L Cool Box

The only drag of carrying a cool box is having to lug it around once the contents are devoured. Luckily, this ingenious 1.6kg pop-up cool box keeps food and beverages chilled for up to eight hours before collapsing down flat for compact carrying afterwards.

It can accommodate an impressive 18 litres and comes in three bright colours, including cool blue.

Buy now £29.85, Amazon

YETI Roadie 24 Cooler

If you could grade coolers on a scale of celebrity hard men, this Yeti design would surely be Ray Mears-standard; able to hold its own against harsh environments and the most blazing of summer days.

The robust tank offers a host of features designed to keep foodstuffs cool. Not only that, but it’s 10 per cent lighter than its predecessor and can fit easily in car footwells, allowing you to pack properly for a camping trip away. Bottles of wine can be stored upright thanks to the taller dimensions too.

It’s heavy duty so not one for short park stays - but it will perform brilliantly on long trips or if you’re catering for a large crowd. Add a seat cushion for a makeshift chair when you need one. Plenty of colours available.

Buy now £201.00, Amazon

Verdict

If you need a high capacity cooler that will go the distance, look no further than the excellently named Igloo. It comes packed with thoughtful features to keep your food and drink chilled for longer.

Mind you, it’s not exactly the sort of thing you can cart over to your local park so for solo dining, we give top marks to the Business & Pleasure Co. Cooler Bag - spacious and in a selection of preppy colourways, it’s our al-fresco dining must-have.

Read more: Our pick of the best cooling fans