Where Igloo easily beats Yeti is at the price point. Yeti has and continues to be one of the most expensive cooler brands in the industry. For many, the price that you pay to own a Yeti just isn’t worth the slight performance advantage you may see. Igloo offers up comparable performance at a fraction of the price.

Bad weather and animals aren’t the only things that can do damage to coolers, as the sun can have an impact on not only how cool your food and drinks stay, but how strong the exterior of your ice chest remains. At a push, this cooler can be handled (safely) by one person. The BMX 52 has neat swing-up handles with rubber groups that provide extra protection when carrying. As with the larger BMX 72 model, the handles have steel reinforcement to save them giving way when lugging heavier loads.Despite being only a few months old, the BMX series has already garnered a couple of competitors that prove to be quite the challenge. Having a tough cooler with helpful features is one thing. But for a cooler to truly be in the same conversation with the top cooler brands on the market, it needs to excel at keeping items cold.

To find out, we put these ice chests through our ice retention tests. The way these are set up is that we fill the cooler up approximately halfway to the top with ice, leave them in an outdoor setting, and occasionally open the cooler up. Opening the cooler up from time to time better emulates real-life usage of the cooler.

From The Manufacturer

And despite being an “expensive” Igloo Cooler, the price point for these ice chests are still quite a bit lower than many of the other premium cooler brands with similar sizes. And the overall performance, while maybe slightly lower than some of these brands, is easily overlooked when you see how much money you are saving. Price is another big consideration when shopping for a new ice chest. Traditionally, Igloo has competed in the budget and mid-range categories. They strived to strike a nice balance between performance and costs. And overall, they are quite good at that. The fact that they are one of the most popular cooler brands to ever exist is good evidence of that! When it comes down to it, though, you’re looking for a cooler that can keep everything you put in it chilly, even on the hottest days. For example, there are coolers are have been proven to keep food at a safe temperature for up to five days.

In terms of ice retention, Yeti also enjoys a slight advantage. We found that, for a given size, Yeti Coolers would hold ice longer than Igloo BMX coolers by anywhere from a few hours to up to a day or more. The Igloo BMX Cooler is Igloo’s attempt to compete in the premium cooler market. While this market isn’t new to Igloo, the BMX Cooler series is their latest rendition of this. These coolers share many of the same features that you expect to see in a premium cooler and offer great build quality. The ice retention is competitive as well. That being said, there are currently limited choices for sizes and colors, and for those after the absolute top in performance, these will be a slight step down. But they do come in with the great asking price that you expect from Igloo. Insulation Ability – We like the design approach that Igloo took with their design of the BMX series. The complementing grays look great with the “pop” of the blue latches. And the diamond plate metal insert at the bottom adds that rugged touch. Coolers come in varying sizes, even among specific brands and models. Determine upfront what you’re likely to carry in your cooler and how much room that will take. Some coolers offer 54 quarts of usable space inside, which totals more than 85 cans if you’re only using it to keep drinks cold. You’ll get between 65 and 70 quarts of space with some other models. Features: Blow-molded construction, T-latches, Stainless steel hardware, Swing-up handles, Threaded drain plug, Skid pads, Fish ruler, Tie-down points, Cool Riser TechnologyBeing light makes it easy to take these coolers in your car for road trips, as well as on a boat for a day on the lake during camping trips or out on the ocean for when you go to the beach. Being useful in all of these situations earns this brand a 4.5/5 rating in quality.

The best of all? The BMX cooler is very light, unlike any rotomolded cooler out there. Being lightweight, it's easier to carry and definitely more portable. Actually, the Igloo BMX has been the only blow-molded cooler that made it to our list of best lightweight coolers.

The lid is also able to remain secure thanks to the T-grip latches, which have rubber protection to ensure that it opens and closes correctly while also making it easy and comfortable for you to carry it, as this brand is light enough to where you can sometimes hold it from the bottom.