Whether out on the boat or out exploring your local rivers, a good cooler is an essential piece of gear. Keeping food, beverages, and, in some cases, even fish cold is a necessity when you’re off the grid. These days, it seems every day there is another cooler brand touting their products as the most rugged and reliable solution to hold ice longest. With brands like YETI, RTIC, Pelican, and more dominating this space, we felt it necessary to round up a bunch of coolers and see just how they stack up against one another. These are the best coolers for fly fishing.

• Best Overall: YETI Tundra 65 Cooler
• Best Value: RTIC 52 QT Ultra-Light Cooler
• Best Soft Cooler: YETI Hopper Flip 12
• Best Backpack Cooler: ICEMULE Boss
• Best for Day Trips: Pelican 30QT Elite Cooler
• Best Floating Cooler: Rugged Road 65 V2

How We Made Our Picks

Like fly rods, certain coolers are meant for certain tasks. A 65-qt chest cooler is great for multi-day fishing trips but overkill for an afternoon float. Boat anglers also have different requirements than wading anglers. In an effort to make sure all bases are covered, we tested coolers across categories, including chest coolers, backpack coolers, and soft coolers, and for an all-encompassing rundown of angling needs.

To make this list, we judged coolers by three main categories: their ability to hold ice, their user-friendly features, and their practicality from a fly fishing standpoint. If a cooler met all three requirements, we could be sure it was ready for the day-in and day-out abuse of fly fishing. 

Things to Consider Before Buying

A good cooler can be a decent investment. That said, in the cooler space, you often pay for what you get. There are some exceptions where brand names may increase the cost compared to competitors. In an effort to make sure you find the right cooler for your needs, consider these three requirements.

Size:

When buying a new cooler, consider where you’ll be using it most. For anglers with a boat, you may have ample room for a bigger cooler, but anglers who are wade fishing should likely consider a smaller size. A good rule of thumb is to fit the cooler to the general style of fishing you do most. This way, you get the most out of your investment. 

Angling Needs:

To choose the best cooler for the job, consider your style of fishing. This goes a lot further than if you are on foot or fishing off a boat. For instance, if you find yourself taking long trips camping and fishing in remote areas, you’ll want ample cooler space. If you live in a tropical area like Florida, you’ll want the cooler with the best possible insulation. This ensures you’ll have ice longest. If weight is an issue, you may want to consider a soft cooler to cut weight down and make it easier to transport.

Pre-Chilling:

Any cooler you buy will benefit from pre-chilling. This is a technique of placing sacrificial ice or ice packs in a cooler prior to using it for a fishing trip. Coolers act as insulators, meaning they hold cold and heat. If your cooler is in a hot garage, and you throw ice directly in it, the ice will absorb the retained heat and melt faster. Using a sacrificial bag of ice prior to loading up the cooler will ensure you get the best performance out of your cooler.

The Best Coolers for Fly Fishing

Key Features:

• Storage Capacity: 65 Qts
• Weight: 30.03 lbs
• Warranty: 5-year warranty

Pros:

• Rugged and simple design withstands abuse
• Holds ice incredibly well
• Sturdy and can double as a casting platform

Cons:

• Fly line will occasionally get caught on handles
• Expensive

YETI is a giant in the cooler world, responsible for bringing the first roto-molded cooler to market. To this day, that design holds up, earning the YETI Tundra 65 its spot as the best overall in our list. The 65 Qt size is a perfect middle ground. It has ample space for a multi-day camping trip and doubles as a great boat cooler. In addition, YETI’s rotomold design is as bombproof as it gets. We’ve dropped ours a fair share of times with only the smallest scuffs and scratches to show for it. 

When it comes to holding ice, the Tundra is more than capable of holding ice for days, even on hot summer days. Our one gripe with this cooler is the handles will occasionally snag your fly line if you plan to use it as a casting platform. That said, the handles can be removed and turned around to sit flush and prevent this problem from happening. For its versatility and reliability, the YETI Tundra makes the cut for our longer drift boat trips, along with our other favorite essentials.

Key Features:

• Storage Capacity: 52 Qts
• Weight: 21 lbs
• Warranty:  3-years

Pros:

• Great value
• Lightweight but durable design
• Holds ice incredibly well

Cons:

• Not as durable as RTICs Ultra-Tough line

RTIC came into the cooler space with the goal of delivering premium products for a fraction of the price. Their Ultra-Light line is no exception. As its name implies, the RTIC Ultra-Light coolers use roto-molded injection and weight-saving technology to lighten the cooler by up to 30% compared to its competitors. That is a large claim, but in testing on the water and lifting this cooler in and out of boats, we found it significantly easier—even when loaded up. The real dealbreaker for us is the price point. At $200, you get a lightweight cooler that holds ice and several accessories included. While it may not be as rugged as their Ultra-Tough line, the lightweight construction showed no signs of failing anytime soon. 

Key Features:

• Storage Capacity: 12 Qts
• Weight: 3 lbs
• Warranty: 3-year warranty

Pros:

• Lightweight and easy to pack for day trips
• Ample storage space for a day of fishing
• The soft-shelled design is waterproof and floats

Cons:

• Expensive
• Not the best cooler for large groups

Recently, soft coolers have begun to take over the market. This popularity can be attributed to their lightweight and easy-to-transport design. One of our favorites is the YETI Flip 12. The Flip series comes in three sizes: 8, 12, and 18-Qt offerings. Of these, we have found the 12 to be the most useful. This size offers plenty of cold storage for lunch and beverages, along with a few snacks. Its soft-sided design makes it easy to transport whether wading or floating a river. In addition, YETI pairs this bag with a YKK zipper. This fully waterproof zipper allows the Flip to double as a dry bag, keeping essentials dry or keeping ice in the cooler. It is currently offered in seven colorways for all anglers’ liking.

Key Features:

• Storage Capacity: 30 L
• Weight: 7.5 lbs
• Warranty: Lifetime

Pros:

• Comfortable backpack straps
• Additional pockets for added storage and fishing gear
• Roll top design is waterproof

Cons:

• Expensive

The Boss from ICEMULE is a backpack cooler that set out to solve the main issue we have with backpack coolers—storage. Unlike traditional backpack coolers that have a central compartment and no other storage, the Boss has two side pockets and a main front pocket. For fly anglers, this opens up the possibility to pack a cooler and all the essential gear at once. In addition, the Boss, at 30L of dry storage, has ample cold storage. Rounding out the pack are two padded shoulder straps and a padded waist strap to disperse the weight of heavy loads. Like other soft coolers, the waterproof design also doubles as a dry pack in a pinch.

Key Features:

• Storage Capacity: 32 Qts
• Weight:21.67 lbs
• Warranty: Lifetime

Pros:

• Push button latch closures
• Holds ice incredibly well
• Added cupholders on the lid come in handy

Cons:

• Expensive

Pelican, a company known for its hard cases, implemented its technologies into coolers, and they are a winner. The Elite line features several sizes and configurations, but the 30-qt model is ideal for day trips. Whether on the drift boat or in a truck bed, the Elite 30QT gives anglers the perfect amount of cold storage for a day on the water. It does so without taking up too much space and getting in the way of effectively fishing. On this particular cooler, Pelican opted to mold cup holders and a tape measure into the lid. Having this extra security definitely comes in handy when floating down the river and keeping your drinks in place. In addition, this cooler gets the same push button latches found on Pelican hard cases. These latches are easy to operate and secure flush to the cooler, making it nearly impossible for line to jump off the deck and getting snagged.

Key Features:

• Storage Capacity: 65 qts
• Weight:13 lbs
• Warranty: Lifetime

Pros:

• Incredibly light
• Reversible lid with cup holders
• Floats upright

Cons:

• Not as durable as traditional roto-molded coolers

Every cooler on this list will certainly float, but the Rugged Road 65 V2 is the only cooler that floats upright. Now, we don’t expect you to be wading through the river with a cooler attached to your waist, but this does come in handy. If you’re anything like us, your life revolves around the water. Inherently, you’ll find a situation where this comes in handy, like floating the river in the summer. This cooler also made the list for its incredibly lightweight design. At just 13 pounds, this cooler comes in at half the weight of roto-molded coolers. That said, this cooler is not roto-molded, but the team at Rugged Road made sure it would hold its own in terms of durability. The last handy feature is the reversible lid. One side is flat, and the other has cup holders, so depending on your needs, you can change it on the fly.

Final Thoughts

A good cooler can go a long way on the water. Keeping your drinks iced down and cold on a hot summer day is a welcome treat when baking in the sun. With the cooler market exploding, it can be hard to find the best cooler for your money. Take into consideration your fishing style and the sizing requirements of any cooler before you make the investment. This guide to the best coolers for fly fishing should help steer you in the right direction with thoughts of warm summer days and rising fish on the horizon.

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