Fiberglass coolers have been gracing sport-fishers for decades, and they are the quintessential high-end status symbol for boaters. But they work darn well too. We’ve loaded this one up on a Friday with cold drinks and a 10-pound slab of ice, and it’s kept drinks cold through Monday. It’s even chilled some — we add a warm one when we take out a cold one to keep the stash fresh. When you drop the lid on this cooler, it makes a vacuum that keeps warm air out and cold air in. You might have to unscrew the drain to break it. It’s that tight. We filled it to the rim with ice and had about 50 percent of it left five days later. In a week, we still had drink-chilling ice in the bottom — maybe five pounds of it.
The molded hinges release if overstressed, a feature that allows you to safely store the cooler with the lid detached if kids are present.
It’s pricey at $429, but a comparable roto-molded version would cost $350. This one is definitely $79 nicer. evakool.com
