These Mini Coolers Are the Perfect Size for Everything From Day Tripping to Tailgating

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While backpack coolers are good for day hikes and camping coolers reliably keep a week’s worth of provisions cold, there’s a slot for something that’s as portable as the former but as durable as the latter. A hard-sided mini cooler is the sweet spot that’s bigger than a lunchbox and has the same top-tier insulation as your favorite cooler.

When I set out to find the best mini coolers, I sought out models with a 25-liter capacity or less, a small footprint f0r easy storage, and reliable insulation. I landed on three to test: the Yeti Roadie 15, the Oyster Tempo, and the Bote Kula 5. I also spoke with Samara Robbins, Senior Product Manager at Yeti, along with Ian Sandmæl, co-founder and Chief Design Officer of Oyster, for further intel on all things coolers.

But before diving into my reviews, first figure out if a mini cooler suits your needs—and compliments the rest of your cooler collection.

The Best Mini Coolers I Tested

Roadie 15

1st Edition Tempo Bundle

Kula 5 Mini Cooler

What Constitutes a Mini Cooler?

A mini cooler—for our purposes—is a hard-sided cooler made for longterm use that’s 24 liters or less. We aren’t talking about the classic Igloo lunchbox (though I’m a fan) as they’re too small, and we don’t mean soft-sided coolers as they tend to lack the same level of insulation.

Mini coolers are roto- or injection-molded and offer the same effective insulation as coolers we would take camping, just in a smaller package. Ideally, a mini cooler has multiple carry options and weighs under 15 pounds for comfortable portability.

Who’s a Mini Cooler For?

A mini cooler is ideal for people looking to do things like keeping groceries cold while running errands on a hot afternoon or transporting food and drink to and from a job site. They’re also perfect for storing bait for a day on the water, recreational outings at the park or beach, or for tailgating.

For families that have Saturday morning soccer games or practice, the mini coolers we write about can see you through to afternoon—plus two of our picks double as a seat.

Who Shouldn’t Get a Mini Cooler

These coolers don’t have the capacity to store enough for a weekend in the wilderness— and they aren’t meant to do so. If it’s a true camping cooler you’re looking for, shop for models with at least 30 liters of capacity. If you typically go on day hikes, a backpack cooler is a lot easier to haul.

Best Mini Coolers Review

The Roadie 15 has the premiere features Yeti is known for—3 inches of insulation, durable build, and available accessories to customize—but in a more versatile size. Not to mention it’s the most affordable hard cooler the brand offers.

Like the rest of the Roadie line of products, it’s injection-molded. Robbins says the brand’s proprietary injection molding is still “a seamless construction that’s just as durable, but faster and less expensive to do.” I’ve used a Roadie 24 and Roadie 48, and can say durability is not an issue.

The Roadie features the brand’s Quicklatch system, which is different from the rubber latches on the brand’s popular Tundra. The plastic latches clip under the lid and can be opened with one hand—an advantage over zippered soft coolers or backpack coolers that have a roll-top closure.

I’ve carried the Roadie 15 to the park and can grab a drink while walking without putting the cooler down. If you’re on a roadtrip or driving an ATV, you can reach for what you need quickly and without hassle.

The carrying strap is what I’ve found the most joy using and it’s a big upgrade from the Roadie 24. It’s a 2-in-1 shoulder strap that has a single carrying handle on the adjustable shoulder pad. (The strap on the Roadie 24 is only a short strap with a handle and can be awkward to carry when it’s fully loaded.)

For the Roadie 15, I tighten the strap and carry the single handle when I’m on foot but can extend the strap and sling it over my shoulder if I’m biking. Speaking of, it’s the only hard cooler I can bike with without needing a rack or basket. It’s small enough to comfortably rest it at my side for the ride without it digging into me or awkwardly. You can also remove the strap completely so it’s easier to tie down to a paddleboard or ATV.

Another welcome feature is the drain spout. Most small coolers forgo this addition since they’re small enough to tip over and drain, but the option is nice to have. It also means you can drain water as ice melts to lighten the load.

While not exactly intended use, I love that it doubles as a camp stool. I travel as light as possible when riding to the beach and take only a small outdoor blanket to sit on. The Roadie 15 lets me sit on an elevated surface and get out of the sand, whereas sitting on a soft cooler isn’t even an option.

The Roadie 15 is built as robust as the rest of the Roadie family but in a compact package. It has the capacity to hold a day’s worth of pasta salad, some watermelon, and a six pack on a beach day, park day, or short road trip. It would even work as a daily lunchbox if you work in a warehouse or at a job site. It’s an oversized picnic basket in the best way possible and offers more durability and insulation than a soft-sided cooler.

The Tempo thoroughly impressed our test editors and is my personal favorite mini cooler. It’s the only option that uses vacuum insulation, which offers better temperature retention than foam while significantly cutting both bulk and weight. Its throwback design is sleek and eye-catching. I feel like it belongs in a 60’s surf movie starring Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon.

It comes with both a carrying strap and aluminum handle you can swap without using any tools. I’ve used both options and tend to lean towards the handle. I’m not usually packing this thing to the gills, and the aluminum build keeps it light enough for comfortable carrying. Another novel feature is that you can open the lid from both sides or take it off altogether. You probably won’t want to remove the lid while on the beach, but if you ever need a big stylish ice bucket, this is a good option.

That being said, I can’t sling it over my shoulder and bike to the beach like I can with the Roadie 15, and it doesn’t have handles on the sides like many other coolers. Still, it’s a light load when traveling in a car (or on the subway) and I don’t miss the handles on the side.

As mentioned, the vacuum insulation is the standout feature and uses the same technology as your favorite insulated water bottle. Instead of relying on thick plastic walls injected with foam, the Tempo has a thin aluminum construction that’s double-walled and vacuum-sealed. That drastically slows down heat transfer thus keeping contents cold for a longer period of time.

Jeff Dengate tested the Tempo against the Yeti Roadie 24 and noted its exceptional performance when recording their respective interior temperatures. He observed that the interior of the Tempo dropped in temperature after 18 hours whereas the foam-insulated Yeti immediately rose.

While I personally didn’t test its insulation as rigorously, I can say it kept 12 cans, a bottle of tequila, and two sandwiches cold more efficiently than the other two mini coolers I tried. When using it for a day, there’s virtually no noticeable difference in temperature between packing the cooler in the morning and emptying any leftovers at the end of the day.

The only hangup people may have is durability. The aluminum body can get dinged up when jostled around in the back of a truck or if it falls off an ATV. The Tempo cooler is plenty durable and you don’t have to be careful with it, but it shows wear faster than plastic coolers. I like when my gear gets a little banged up because it adds character, so I don’t see it as a deterrent, but I also wouldn’t sit on it.

In speaking with Sandmæl, it’s hard not to get excited where it goes from here. He’s aware that it’s a first-gen product and that there are hiccups, but also knows it’s a first-of-its-kind cooler; There are plastic coolers made of recycled materials but they still rely on foam insulation, and vacuum-sealed coolers exist but are made of heavy stainless-steel and are very pricey. The Tempo is lightweight, uses recycled aluminum, and uses vacuum-sealed insulation (the most effective method currently used).

Oyster currently doesn’t have the ecosystem of products and add-ons—a huge plus when it comes to bigger, more established brands—but it is in the works. Sandmæl is developing and testing interchangeable parts and add-ons the brand will sell to keep the Tempo up to date.

The Kula 5 cooler is designed for kayaking, paddle-boarding, or for use with any other watersports gear from Bote—to be clear, I didn’t use it for any of that. I wanted to try it out because it’s compact, under 25 liters, and reminds me of the 5-gallon Homer buckets that I’d see at Home Depot as a kid.

This cooler is roto-molded and features double-wall insulation that just under 2-inches thick. With a robust build and attention given to moving parts, like its swivel handle and rubber hinge on the lid, durability isn’t an issue. It has a single rubber latch (like the Tundra) and opens easily with one hand.

The lid fully opens back for easy access to what you’re grabbing. By contrast, a lot of other coolers have hinged lids that stop upright at 90 degrees and can close down on your hand when reaching for something.

The Kula features a stainless-steel bottle opener screwed into the front—that works quite well might I add—and the cooler doubles as a comfortable seat thanks to a foam-cushioned top.

At first I thought the circular shape would be an issue. A cubic design lends itself to more efficient packing (and it’s what we’re used to when it comes to coolers) but it works for packing cans and bottles standing up. The only snag I ran into was not being able to slide in rectangular ice packs. They fit awkwardly and left some empty space, so classic ice works best here.

As that ice melted I was glad to have the leakproof drain plug located on the bottom of the cooler. This is the most efficient spot, as most coolers have a drain near the bottom on the side that still sits too high to drain without some sort of maneuvering. The caveat with this is the drain plug isn’t attached and can be lost if you drop it—a big risk for a cooler that’s meant to be on the water.

The burly metal handle has a comfort grip, so carrying the cooler is relatively comfortable even when filled, and is wide enough so two people can carry it side by side. There are integrated handles near the bottom, but unfortunately they’re too shallow for your fingers to get a good grip. If you’re carrying it from the bottom they’re helpful to grab with your thumbs for a bit more comfort. There’s no strap included, but you can buy one separately for an extra carry option.

Like the Roadie 15, this doubles as a seat but sits a little higher and is more comfortable thanks to the foam on top—something I did’t think would make a difference, but it does. The no-slip rubber feet on the bottom that are thicker than what I’ve seen on other coolers, so it feels a bit more stable. I may not have used it on a paddleboard, kayak, or boat, but can see that these components are purpose driven.

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