Coleman Performance 48-Quart Review
Cons: Not overly durable, unimpressive insulation, poor drainage
Manufacturer: Coleman
Our Verdict
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Coleman Performance 48-Quart | |||||
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Awards | ![]() | ||||
Price | $24.99 at Amazon | Check Price at Amazon Compare at 3 sellers | $324.85 at Amazon | $359.00 at Amazon | $279.99 at Amazon |
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Pros | Very lightweight, useful medium size, simple to use, inexpensive | Excellent insulation, super durable, easy to use, great size | Excellent insulation, great drainage, durable, compact design | Very durable, good insulation, comfortable handle grips | Pretty good insulation, convenient size, comparatively lightweight, good price |
Cons | Not overly durable, unimpressive insulation, poor drainage | Expensive, no leash for plug, smaller than claimed | Tall narrow shape is hard to dig through, expensive, not our favorite handles | A bit large for one person, no leash for plug, latches are scarily stretchy | Handles uncomfortable, not our favorite latches |
Bottom Line | This medium capacity chest works well as a budget-friendly, short-term solution for keeping things cool | For the toughest, best insulated, and highest all-around performing cooler; the Tundra is where it’s at | Top-notch insulation in a long-lasting, compact design | Great, long-lasting performance in a premium and functional cooler | A less expensive option that still performs well in the face of some stiff competition |
Rating Categories | Coleman Performance 48-Quart | Yeti Tundra 65 | ORCA 58 Quart | RTIC 65 | Engel 65 |
Insulation (50%) | |||||
Durability (20%) | |||||
Ease Of Use (15%) | |||||
Portability (10%) | |||||
Features (5%) | |||||
Specs | Coleman... | Yeti Tundra 65 | ORCA 58 Quart | RTIC 65 | Engel 65 |
Shelf Life of Food (Measured Days Below 40ºF) | 2.3 days | 6.5 days | 6.5 days | 6 days | 5.6 days |
Weight (lbs) | 7.3 lb | 31.9 lb | 30.6 lb | 34.9 lb | 25.5 lb |
Measured Capacity (quarts) | 49 qt | 56 qt | 56 qt | 67 qt | 54 qt |
Advertised Capacity (quarts) | 48 qt | 65 qt | 58 qt | 65 qt | 65 qt |
Days of Cold Beverages (Measured Days Below 50º F) | 2.6 days | 7.4 days | 7.3 days | 6.8 days | 6 days |
Internal Maximum Body Height (inches) | 13" | 10.5" | 13" | 12" | 10.75" |
Does it Fit a Wine or 2L Bottle Standing Upright? | Yes - indented lid | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Exterior Dimensions (L x W x H) | 25.5" x 13.5" x 14" | 30.75" x 17.5" x 16" | 26.75" x 20" x 19.4" | 32" x 18.5" x 17" | 29.5" x 17" x 16.6" |
Construction | plastic exterior with CO2 insulation | Rotomolded polyethylene | Rotomolded | Rotomolded | Rotomolded |
Our Analysis and Test Results
The Coleman Performance 48-Quart is a plastic cooler with CO2-filled walls for insulation. It has a pair of plastic handles and an internal height of 13" that fits most average-sized wine bottles and 2L sodas. It features a drain with a leashed plug.
Performance Comparison
Insulation
If you're hunting for a cooler to keep your food safely chilled all weekend, the Coleman 48 is not our first choice. In our insulation testing, it provided just 2.3 days of sub-40 degree temperatures (F). And that's without ever opening it, as you surely would need to do on a camping trip or fishing adventure. It held onto sub-50 degree F temps for another few hours, providing a total of 2.6 days of refreshing beverage temperatures. This doesn't quite live up to Coleman's 3-day claims for this model, but there are also ways to extend the life of your ice beyond our efforts during our insulation tests. However, this cooler can't live up to the intense insulation achievable by rotomolded and thickly insulated models. The Coleman 48 is made of plain plastic (not rotomolded), and the walls are insulated with carbon dioxide — yes, just with gas. It also lacks a seal around the lid to keep cool air in longer.
Durability
This is another area in which the Coleman 48 is unimpressive. Not only does this thin plastic cooler fall short of the many robust, rugged models it's up against in this test, but it's also rather underwhelming on its own. A complete lack of a seal around the lid easily lets air seep through and water slosh out. Sitting on the lid lets out a noisy whoosh of air, and no part of this cooler is made to be yanked on. The hinges are made of thin plastic screwed into the lid but only attached to the cooler's body with a single plastic piece that looks about ready to bust out of the back with even a moderate amount of pressure applied. We didn't actually push very hard on the open lid, but we're certain that we can pretty easily rip it off the cooler's body without too much effort. The handles on either end are held on by mobile pegs that allow the handles to flip over and over again. While this is very convenient to use, they're not particularly sturdy or strong. We have significant doubts about their ability to withstand exceptionally heavy loads or years of UV ray exposure. And though we didn't break anything during our testing of this cooler, we also were nicer to it than most others because we feel it's far more fragile than most the others we tested. We also read user testimonies online describing exactly the damage we feared happening to this cooler happening to other people's.
Ease of Use
The Coleman 48 has a simple, no-frills design that makes it uncomplicated and straightforward to use. The lid just pressed closed and lifts open without the use of any latches. Though at first, the lid refused to stay open for us, we were able to stretch the plastic hinges enough to get it to stay open for easier loading and unloading. The interior is low and wide and has a maximum internal height of about 13 inches thanks to the indented lid. This makes it easy to fit most average-sized wine or 2L soda bottled standing upright. We also measured its capacity closer to 49 quarts than its advertised 49 quarts, making it a comfortable medium-sized model. The Coleman 48 does have a drain that can be easily popped open with one hand, but it's not a great drain. It's located too far above the cooler's bottom to drain the inside without being tipped completely. Left on a flat surface, nearly an inch of meltwater remained in the bottom after it stopped draining.
Portability
At just 7.3 pounds, the Coleman 48 is one of the lightest coolers we tested. Of course, once its 49 quarts of internal space is filled with heavy food, beverages, and ice, it's not that light anymore. This moderately-sized cooler is narrow enough for a single person to carry, though, like any cooler of this size, it can quickly become too heavy for one person to do more than lift it in and out of the car. Simple plastic handles on either end can be used by two people to co-carry it for a short distance. However, they're too narrow for you to comfortably fit more than one hand at a time (unless they're on top of each other), and they're also skinny enough that their hard plastic spindles quickly start to dig in uncomfortably to your fingers. But no cooler of this size is meant to be taken too far, and its starting weight is impressively low.
Features
As we've stated previously, the Coleman 48 is a pretty bare-bones model. It doesn't come with some of the features other models include, though its drain plug is attached by a plastic leash, so you'll never have to worry about misplacing it while you're emptying the meltwater. But if you appreciate the straightforwardness of an elementary design, this may appeal to you. If not, Coleman does make a host of other coolers (a few of which we've tested) and add-ons that you can adorn your ice chest with.
Value
The Coleman 48 rings up well under the price of most other models we tested, making it a very tempting purchase. If you're in the market for a cooler to get you through a single day of meals on a budget and you don't need something sturdy and robust or full of features, the Coleman 48 is a solid option for short-term cooling. If you're searching for a rugged camping cooler to take on adventures in the woods or long weekends at the lake, this medium-sized ice chest is not one we'd recommend, regardless of its enticing price.
Conclusion
The Coleman 48 offers a simple solution for simple needs. It's not a super tough cooler that can take a beating while keeping your food chilled all week, but it is an inexpensive moderately-sized option that can easily get you through a hot summer day at the park and bring home your ice cream without letting it melt.
— Maggie Brandenburg