50 Qt Cooler

What sets a 50 qt cooler apart

Most people's first real cooler lands somewhere around 50 quarts, and there's a reason. It's the last size that behaves like luggage. Above it, coolers start acting like furniture; below it, they start acting like lunch boxes.

Igloo's size guide shows where the line sits. It calls 21 to 50 quarts medium, good for a weekend outdoors, and 51 to 100 quarts large, for family camping trips. A 50 qt cooler sits right on that border. This page covers the whole band around it, 45 to 65 quarts, so it reaches from the top of medium into the bottom of large.

All hard coolers share the same parts: shell, foam, gasket, latches, drain. The coolers page walks through those. This page is about what decides things inside the middle band, where two coolers 20 quarts apart can look like twins.

The table on this page lists hard coolers from 45 to 65 quarts. It shows capacity, construction, the maker's ice retention claim, latches, drain plug, interior and exterior size and weight, as each maker publishes them, with the Amazon listing filling in where the maker is silent (marked as listing values). A dash means neither states it. Weight is always the maker's own figure. If the table looks thin today, that's because we're still adding makers.

How to pick a 50 qt cooler, spec by spec

Here's the order I read a row in for this size.

Start with the quarts the maker lists

In the middle band, a few quarts make a real difference, so check the capacity column, not the name on the lid. One maker's cooler sold as a 65 is listed on its own spec sheet at 58 quarts. That's not a trick; it's printed right there. But if you're comparing a "65" to a 60, you want the real numbers side by side.

A quart is a quarter gallon. So 45 quarts is about 11 gallons of space and 65 quarts is about 16. At Engel's two-thirds-ice rule, about a third of that 20-quart gap, roughly 7 quarts, goes to food. The rest is ice, which is the part people forget to budget for.

Interior height decides what stands up

Interior depth is the column I'd read second here. In this band, the makers that publish it list about a foot of inside height: one maker's 58-quart is 12 inches deep inside, another maker's 60-quart is 13.

That's the difference between a tall bottle or a jug standing up under the lid and lying on its side in the meltwater. Measure the tallest thing you always pack. For our camp that's the half-gallon of milk Walt insists on, and the cooler has to fit it standing, because Walt doesn't drink milk that's been "swimming."

Exterior size decides where it rides

Here's my one opinion on this page: in this band, measure the back seat before you look at the quarts. The reason is checkable. Clemson's Home and Garden Information Center says to put the cooler in the passenger section of the car instead of the hot trunk. A 50 qt cooler is about the biggest size that can actually ride there.

For scale, one maker lists its 58-quart cooler at 29.5 inches long, 17 wide and 16.5 tall outside. That fits on the floor behind the front seats of some trucks and not others. The exterior column in the table gives the maker's footprint. A tape measure and your truck give the rest.

Empty weight: still a one-person cooler, barely

The makers that list weight put this band at a size one person can still carry empty. One maker's 40-quart is listed at 24 lb and its 60-quart at 30 lb. Another maker's 58-quart is 24 lb.

Full is another story. Water weighs about 8.33 lb a gallon, per the USGS, so 50 quarts of it would be about 104 lb on top of the cooler. Ice, food and cans don't pack like water, but a loaded 50 qt cooler is a two-handle job, and the short walk from the truck to the porch is about as far as I'd want to go with it. (My knees have opinions about the porch steps. They share them every November.)

Can counts depend on the ice

Makers often list cans, based on the 12-ounce can, and in this band they're easy to misread. One maker lists its 40-quart at 44 cans with 10 lb of ice and its 60-quart at 72 cans with 20 lb of ice. Another lists a 58-quart at 70 cans at a 2:1 ice ratio.

Those aren't the same test. One counts cans next to a set weight of ice; the other assumes two parts ice to one part cans. Use the can column to compare coolers from the same maker, and use quarts to compare across makers.

Construction, insulation and the ice claim

In this band you'll see every build: rotomolded, injection-molded and blow-molded shells. One maker lists 2 inches of closed-cell foam in the lid, sides and bottom of its 58-quart and claims up to 10 days of ice. The construction and ice retention columns in the table show each maker's stated build and claim.

That claim is a best case. The fine print on Engel's retention chart lists the conditions behind it, and "opened sparingly" is one of them. A 50 qt cooler that's also the drink cooler gets opened all day and won't come close.

Latches, drain and the lock holes

The latches column shows the style. Draw latches that pull the lid onto the gasket hold the seal better than a lid that just rests closed. One maker's mid-size cooler adds a recessed one-twist drain plug with a lanyard hole, which keeps the plug from wandering off into the truck bed.

If you'll camp in grizzly country, look for padlock holes and certification. The IGBC says an unsecured cooler isn't considered bear resistant, even a certified one, so it has to be locked with a padlock, carabiner or bolts.

45 qt cooler or 65 qt cooler

Same band, two different jobs.

When a 45 qt cooler is enough

A 45 qt cooler is the top of Igloo's medium range. Pick one if:

• You're one or two people on a two-night trip
• The store or the cabin fridge is close
• It has to fit behind a seat in a smaller vehicle
• It's the drink cooler next to a bigger food cooler

It's also the easiest size in this band to lift onto a tailgate by yourself.

When to step up to a 65 qt cooler

A 65 qt cooler is where the band turns into Igloo's large range. Pick one if:

• You're feeding three or more people for a full weekend
• It's the food cooler, and it stays shut most of the day
• You want room for a gallon jug standing beside the food
• It can ride in the truck bed, in the shade, without bothering anyone

If you're tempted past 65 quarts, the large cooler page covers what changes when a cooler stops being something you carry.

The two-cooler setup

The FDA suggests packing drinks in one cooler and perishable food in another, so the food isn't hit by warm air every time someone wants a soda. Clemson's guide says the same for longer trips: one cooler for the day's lunch and snacks, another for perishables used later.

At Hemlock Run the 50 qt cooler is the food cooler and a small one handles drinks. Walt stops by the food cooler for a soda about twice a day anyway, so the system has one weak point and it wears a flannel shirt. The small cooler page covers the other half.

Packing a 50 qt cooler for a camp weekend

A mid-size cooler is easy to under-fill, and that costs ice.

1. Pre-chill it the night before. Engel's tip is a sacrificial bag of ice, or storing the cooler somewhere cold.
2. Fill it completely. Mississippi State says to fill the cooler full and use more ice or packs for any leftover space; Clemson notes a full cooler holds its cold longer than a partly filled one.
3. Put raw meat low and sealed. The FDA says to keep raw meat securely wrapped so juices don't reach ready-to-eat food.
4. Put an appliance thermometer near the top. Mississippi State's line is 40°F or below.
5. Mind the clock. Food goes back in within 2 hours, or 1 hour when it's 90°F or hotter, per Mississippi State.

A 50 qt cooler and venison

A 50 qt cooler is a fine cooler for boned venison from one deer on a short drive, if it's packed with ice. Penn State Extension's line is to cool the meat to 35 to 40°F quickly and keep it out of the sun. For whole quarters or more than one deer, you'll want more room, and the large cooler page is the place to start. Check your state wildlife agency for any rules on moving venison before you head home.

Caring for a mid-size cooler

Drain it, wash it with warm soapy water, rinse and let it dry with the lid propped open. Store it out of direct sun with the drain plug out, so it doesn't seal moisture inside. Once a season, look over the gasket for cracks and check that the latches still pull the lid down snug.

A mid-size cooler gets used for everything from deer camp to the Fourth of July, which means it gets more trips than the big one and more spills than the small one. Clean it like it's going to be opened by someone who isn't you. (In my house, it is.)

Who should skip a 50 qt cooler

If you only need lunch in the stand, a 50 qt cooler is a lot of box for a sandwich; a small cooler or a soft cooler fits better. If you're the meat cooler for a group camp, or you're out a week with no store, go large. And if it has to ride in a compact car's trunk in August, look at the exterior size first, or plan on a smaller one in the back seat.

For a weekend camp of two or three people, though, this is the size most of us end up with. Measure the seat, measure the milk jug, and buy the cooler that fits both.