Is Pelican cooler worth consideration?
When you are looking for a high-end cooler, Pelican is a reliable name aside from YETI because most of their products can hold ice over an extended period of time. Pelican coolers have the lifetime warranty and price point making them attractive to many people.
If you are in need of a flexible, durable cooler for any of outdoor activities or community meetings, Pelican cooler with wheels is a good option.
The only one thing that seems a bit off to us is its bulkiness.
Fortunately, all the Pelican coolers now are packed with heavy-duty wheels and convenient handle for easy, effortless transporting.
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Top 3 Most Popular Pelican Coolers
Referring to Pelican cooler variety, there are three distinctive series for selection:
- The ProGear
- The Elite IM
- The Soft Sided
Which one is the most perfect choice for you?
1. Pelican ProGear Wheeled Cooler
- Capacity: 20-240 Quarts
- Capable of holding ice for 5 days and up to
- Available with wheels
Having two colors to consider – Marine White and Outdoor Tan, the ProGear Elite Cooler with wheels is definitely worth a purchase. The looks may not impressive enough, but no one can doubt its functionality.
This durable wheeled cooler can load the total weight of up to 240 quart.
The inside is coated with double polyurethane insulation layers, so the cooler can keep foods and beverages cold for 5+ days. In addition, the powerful Press-and-Pull latching system plus a proper seal assures nothing can affect to the content. The ProGear Elite model is an ideal option for those who recently have long fishing trips or camping trips.
Also, more additional features can be found with this cooler, such as a built-in bottle opener, a dual handle system with rotating hinged handles, a drain plug, etc.
- Extremely durable
- Good ice retention
- Wheels make transport with a heavy load easy
- Heavyweight for load and unload
- Lack a second handle
2. Pelican IM Elite Wheeled Cooler
- Capacity: 20-240 Quarts
- Capable of holding ice for 10 days
- Available with wheels
If the ProGear is not what you are searching, then pay your attention to the IM Elite series. This heavy-duty wheeled cooler can retain ice for up to 10 days – quite an impressive period, right?
Coming in several different sizes and colors, you’ll surely find the best Pelican IM Elite Cooler for yourself. Packed with lots of additional built-in features, it is bear resistant and durable enough to back up you with convenience for all the outdoor activities.
Large, stable wheels are the big help as they can move smoothly on any terrain and make relocation with a weighty cooler no longer a difficulty.
In general, this Pelican cooler really takes convenience a step further as the whole package makes storage, transport, and daily use very simple and easy. There’s an extendable handle allowing people at any height to pull the cooler with no pressure.
- Plenty of cool additional features
- Excellent ice retention
- Sturdy construction
- Nice styling
- Pretty heavy
- Expensive
- Lack of colors for certain models
3. Pelican Elite Soft Cooler
- Capacity: 12, 24, 48 Cans
- Capable of holding ice for only 2 days
- NOT available with wheels
The soft cooler lineup consists of 3 models: SC12, SC 24, and SC48; as you may figure out, the number after SC means the load a cooler can hold. In other words, this series holds the capacity of between 12 and 48 cans (approximately 8-38 quarts).
Pelican has designed this lineup with all of the popular sizes to meet the demand of most consumers. You can choose the small size for individuals, the medium size for family scales, or even the large size for a big group of people.
Unlike Pelican’s hard-sided coolers and other igloo coolers with wheels, this Elite Soft Cooler has the construction focused mainly on convenience. As expected, it’s not equipped with tons of accessories and features.
You will find an adjustable/removable overhead shoulder strap to help you transport these coolers. Though it doesn’t provide the most comfort, it still gets the trick – small side handles allow you to carry the cooler effortlessly.
- Great build quality
- Incredible ice retention
- Made in the USA
- Quite expensive
- Limited features
- Not many color choices and sizes
Find Most Ideal Pelican Cooler Sizes for You
You are seeking a cooler for use; therefore, it’s very important to know the size for a cooler. Depending on your needs, you may end up with the small one, the medium, or even the larger one.
From our experience, Pelican has two popular cooler sizes for consideration:
Pelican 35 Quart
According to Pelican manufacturer, the Pelican 35 is the size frequently asked by most consumers. This is the perfect size for outdoor trips like camping, boating, tailgating, and more. Amongst all Pelican coolers, Pelican 35 is the only cooler certified bear proof – this means bears can’t gain any access to the inside.
The content stored inside the cooler will be protected 100%.
In a test done by Popular Mechanics, Pelican 35 is capable of keeping foods and beverages cold for a full 5+ days with no problem. Additionally, the attached wheels make it one of the most portable Pelican coolers on the market these days.
If you think this size is quite limited for regular excursions of more than 10 days, then don’t hesitate to consider a large size.
Pelican 45 Quart
Even though the 35 quart is a popular choice, Pelican 45 is undoubtedly a cooler option.
Well, the 45 quart is the most practical size which means you can stuff more content without pressure. Keep in mind that Pelican 45 can be purchased with or without wheels, depending on your preference.
However, we advise you get the model with wheels. Though it may look a little goofy, it really helps you a lot when the cooler is full and you need to move on the rough terrain. If you don’t like the wheeled cooler, then it’s okay to look for a wheel kit later.
As we’ve mentioned in the beginning, bulkiness is the only drawback of Pelican coolers.
Pelican 45 is an ideal choice if you are planning for a couple days of camping, or it would be perfect as an every day cooler. You can place it neatly at the back of the truck throughout the journey. Compared to other sizes, the 45 quart is more durable and can be put under the harsh sun for a long time.
Final Thoughts
So, is Pelican cooler with wheels worth a purchase?
The answer is yes!
If you are looking for the alternative for YETI coolers, Pelican products are the wise option. Not because they are offered at the lower cost, they have sturdy, durable construction packed up with plenty of cool features.
While YETI can keep foods and drink cold for 7 days, Pelican cooler can retain ice up to 10 days and even more. It comes with a variety of sizes and colors for different choices – what can be greater than this?
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