While the Coleman brand is nearly synonymous with camping gear, the outdoors company hadn't really brought its A-game to the cooler scene. That's all changed now with the release of its Pro line of hard- and soft-sided coolers.
When Yeti brought its coolers to market in 2006, it changed the way we all could think about portable chill-bringers. Suddenly, you could go backwoods camping for four or five days and still have chunks of ice leftover for the ride home. Then came competitors like Rtic that delivered Yeti's ice-saving ability at more reasonable prices.
Now Coleman has finally joined the game with a line of rotomolded coolers that promise to also keep ice in its solid form for up to five days while also taking a serious beating – without beating up your wallet. Rotomolding is a process that creates seamless coolers through the heating and rotating of a plastic resin.
In addition to its extended ice retention, the company says the new line is up to 30% lighter than other rotomolded coolers on the market. The hard-sided models come in 25-, 45-, and 55-quart sizes, offer easy one-handed clasps, large rubber wheels, an oversized drain plug, and are sturdy enough to use as a seat in the woods or at your next parking lot tailgating party. Coleman is also offering two soft-sided coolers in 16- and 24-can capacities. All the coolers are backed by a 10-year warranty.
As for how rugged the coolers are, Luke Eck, Coleman's director of outdoor research and development probably puts it best. "The Coleman Pro Cooler is the most durable cooler we’ve ever engineered," he said. "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.”
As for the price, Coleman has stayed true to its ethos of bringing outdoor gear to the masses affordably. The hard-sized coolers are priced at US$159, $199 and $299, for the 25, 45, and 55-quart models respectively, while the 16-can soft-sider will run you $59.99 and the 24-can model costs $79.99.
By comparison, Yeti's 45-ounce cooler comes in at $325, while its wheeled model will set you back $450; Rugged Road's 45-ouncer sans wheels is $324.99; and Rtic's 45-quart wheeler is more reasonable at $269. If Coleman's Pro Coolers can do all they promise, they will definitely emerge as the field's value leader.
All Pro Coolers are available for sale now on the Coleman website.
Source: Coleman via Business Wire
