The 4 Finest Ice Packs for Coolers of 2025, Examined & Reviewed

Ice packs most likely aren’t the very first thing that involves thoughts when fascinated with important kitchen gear. However in the event you use a cooler usually, particularly through the summer season, you’ll need to rethink its spot in your must-have checklist. Belief me, one of the best ice packs for coolers could make an enormous distinction.

Positive, grabbing a bag of ice is simple sufficient. However then you definitely’re coping with the inevitable: Ice melts, and instantly the whole lot inside is swimming in chilly, liquid chaos. If you happen to’re headed to the seaside or on a tenting journey with sandwich fixings in tow, you’ll be coping with soaked bread earlier than you recognize it.

Cooler ice packs hold meals and drinks chilly for longer with out the mess. And so they’re reusable, which saves you cash in the long term. I not too long ago examined eight ice packs for coolers and was genuinely impressed by the quite a few choices out there. However 4 of the packs I examined stood out—they’re price stashing in your freezer year-round.

The Checks

• Usability Take a look at: I loaded certainly one of our favourite coolers with the producer’s really helpful variety of ice packs, together with sufficient meals and drinks for an in a single day tenting journey. Whereas including the ice packs, I paid consideration to how simply they match and whether or not I had any bother stuffing sufficient inside.
• Keep Chilly Take a look at: For every model of ice pack, I loaded three into the Yeti Roadie 48 cooler. Then I closed it up and set it exterior within the solar. Each 12 hours, I opened the cooler and checked the temperature with an infrared thermometer.
• Beverage Take a look at: I loaded the Yeti Roadie 48 with three ice packs, totaling about six kilos, then nestled in 5 cans of room-temperature seltzer. I closed it up and set it exterior within the solar. Each 12 hours, I opened the cooler, grabbed a can, poured it right into a cup, and checked the temperature with an infrared thermometer. I repeated this with the remaining cans to see how lengthy the cooler may hold the drinks chilly.

What We Realized

What’s the Distinction Between a Onerous and a Tender Ice Pack?

Onerous ice packs, just like the Yeti Ice, Igloo MaxCold Ice Block, and Arctic Ice Alaskan Sequence, are often made with robust plastic with a liquid middle. They’re sturdy and may deal with being dropped, poked, or jostled round in a cooler with no downside. Nevertheless, relying on their thickness, you will have bother becoming them into the slender crevices of a full cooler. 

Then there are delicate ice packs, just like the Igloo Ice Blocks, which have a liquid middle and a versatile outer shell. These are extra versatile, so that they’re nice for squeezing into tight areas—however due to their building, they are often broken extra simply than onerous ice packs if dealt with roughly.

Frozen Gel-Primarily based Ice Packs Remained the Coldest 

In my checks, gel-based ice packs, just like the Cooler Shock Reusable Ice Packs, outperformed within the chilly retention experiments. After 48 hours, this delicate ice pack was nonetheless clocking 40˚F temperatures and stayed utterly frozen for over 24 hours. If you happen to’re heading out on an in a single day tenting journey and wish one thing that’ll hold your meals and drinks chilly the longest, this type is your finest guess.

Blanket Ice Packs Weren’t Sturdy

Blanket ice packs have a quilted design made up of particular person plastic-wrapped cells full of a liquid that freezes. That’s a useful function, however they don’t final lengthy. Throughout my checks, a lot of the ice packs proved to be sturdy. If I unintentionally dropped them or crammed them into the freezer subsequent to pointy bins of frozen pizza, they held up simply superb. The one exception was the Igloo Ice Blocks—they bought punctured a number of instances throughout my checks and began leaking as soon as they thawed within the cooler. I ended up having to toss them.

The right way to Make the Most Out of Your Cooler Ice Pack

Make certain to learn the directions, as not all ice packs operate the identical approach. For many, just like the Yeti Ice, Igloo MaxCold Ice Block, and Arctic Ice Alaskan Sequence, you possibly can simply pop them straight into the freezer. 

To gauge in the event that they’re prepared to make use of, delicate ice packs might be rock strong and chilly when completed freezing, whereas onerous ones will really feel chilly to the contact. However others, just like the Cooler Shock Reusable Ice Packs, want extra prep—you need to fill them with water, give them shake, and allow them to sit at room temperature for half-hour to permit the gel to type earlier than freezing.

When it’s time to pack your cooler, the way you layer the ice packs issues. Begin by putting a number of on the backside, then alternate with layers of meals and drinks, placing essentially the most delicate objects on high, with extra ice packs in between. This helps unfold the chilly evenly all through the cooler, preserving the whole lot chilled for an extended interval.

The Standards: What to Search for in Ice Packs for Coolers

First, think about the dimensions of your cooler. Is it spacious sufficient for giant ice packs, or would smaller ones be a greater match? If you happen to’ve bought a number of objects to maintain separate in your cooler, utilizing a number of small ice packs will help hold the whole lot chilled. No matter dimension, go for onerous ice packs or these constructed from sturdy supplies like high-density polyethylene or nylon—they’ll final for years with out popping or leaking. I discovered that gel-based ice packs keep frozen the longest, making them excellent for weekend journeys. When you’ve bought your ice packs, layer them strategically in your cooler to maintain meals and drinks chilled so long as attainable.

Our Favourite Ice Packs for Coolers

What we preferred: These reusable ice packs from Cooler Shock are simple to make use of. Earlier than your first use, merely fill them with water and allow them to sit for half-hour earlier than placing them within the freezer to relax. As they sit, the gel contained in the packs will take in the water, which, when frozen, creates a versatile, extremely chilly semi-solid that may be thawed and refrozen repeatedly. They arrive in a number of totally different sizes, making them a sensible possibility in case your cooler is on the smaller aspect. They’re additionally fairly skinny—solely about an inch thick—so I had no downside becoming a number of within the cooler together with meals and drinks. In my chilly retention take a look at, they stayed frozen for 48 hours, and through the beverage take a look at, my seltzer waters remained chilled for a full 24 hours.

What we didn’t like: The primary time you utilize the Cooler Shock packs, it’s essential to put aside half-hour to organize them earlier than putting them within the freezer so the gel can type. However within the grand scheme of issues, that is not a variety of time—they should chill for a number of hours earlier than use, anyway.

Key Specs

• Materials: Polyethylene, nylon
• Dimension: 10 x 10 x 1 inches
• Weight: 0.75
• Care directions: Hand-wash

What we preferred: These heavy-duty ice packs from Yeti can deal with just about something—significantly, I dropped a bunch of cans on them within the cooler they usually didn’t get a single scratch. They arrive in one-pound, two-pound, and four-pound sizes. I examined the two-pound ice packs and had no bother becoming a number of in a cooler with room to spare. They stayed frozen and stored drinks chilly for twenty-four hours.

What we didn’t like: They’re onerous and measure about an inch and a half thick, so in the event you’re working with a smaller cooler, you might need to play Tetris.

Key Specs

• Materials: Plastic
• Dimension: 8 x 2.6 x 1.5 inches
• Weight: 1 pound
• Care directions: Hand-wash

What we preferred: For a heavy-duty, massive ice pack, those from Arctic Ice are a terrific price range possibility. They’re practically 10 inches lengthy and eight inches broad, so only one or two could make an enormous distinction in your cooler. As a result of they cowl a big floor space, you need to use much less. In my take a look at, they stayed frozen for 36 hours and stored cans chilly for a full 24.

What we didn’t like: The Arctic Ice packs took longer to freeze in comparison with the opposite ice packs.  

Key Specs

• Materials: Excessive-density polyethylene
• Dimension: 9.5 x 7.5 x ‎1.25 inches
• Weight: 0.75 kilos
• Care directions: Hand-wash

What we preferred: When you have a petite cooler, these are the ice packs to purchase. They’re half the dimensions of my general winner from Cooler Shock, and you may even stack a number of for additional cooling energy. I used to be capable of match a bunch in a cooler alongside meals and drinks, with loads of room left to spare.

What we didn’t like: As a result of they’re smaller, they melted faster and solely stored drinks chilly for 12 hours.

Key Specs

• Materials: Plastic, ultratherm gel
• Dimension: 5.25 x 4.25 x 1 inches
• Weight: 0.5 pound
• Care directions: Hand-wash

The Competitors

• RTIC Reusable Ice Packs: I couldn’t title the RTIC ice pack a winner as a result of the seltzers didn’t keep chilly for practically so long as with my high picks. Earlier than the 12-hour mark, the drinks had already climbed to virtually 60˚F.
• Wholesome Packers Ice Packs: Ice packs which might be thinner than an inch simply aren’t price it. They don’t cowl sufficient floor space, so you find yourself needing a bunch of them simply to maintain issues cool. The Wholesome Packers melted sooner and couldn’t hold seltzer chilled for very lengthy.
• Cool Coolers Slim Ice Packs: The skinny ice packs from Cool Coolers had related points to the Wholesome Packers.
• Igloo Ice Blocks: This delicate, blanket-style ice pack bought punctured greater than as soon as throughout testing. So in the event you’re searching for one thing sturdy that’ll final you for the lengthy haul, this isn’t it. On high of that, it melted sooner than my high picks.

FAQs

How do ice packs work?

Reusable ice packs, whether or not delicate or onerous, are full of water, thickeners (like cellulose), and a depressant that lowers the freezing level of water (like propylene glycol). This makes them technically colder than ice. (Any individual wants to inform André 3000 that “What’s cooler than being cool” is definitely a reusable ice pack.) Because the ice packs take in ambient warmth, they’re slower to heat up than common ice, which is what helps them hold chilly temperatures for longer.

How do you make your personal ice packs?

A fast TikTok seek for “DIY gel ice packs” yields tons of clips, with creators pouring water and rubbing alcohol into freezer-safe luggage, or recommending that you just soak a washcloth, seal it in a bag, and toss it within the freezer. And actually, these hacks can work in a pinch. However in the event you’re utilizing a cooler for meals, you’re higher off going with a food-grade ice pack that retains temperatures regular for longer, just like the top-performing ones on this assessment.

What are the longest enduring ice packs?

After I examined eight totally different ice packs for coolers, the one from Cooler Shock stood out. It stayed chilly for over 48 hours within the cooler. Different picks just like the Yeti Ice, Igloo MaxCold Ice Block, and Arctic Ice Alaskan Sequence additionally held their very own, preserving drinks chilled for greater than 24 hours.

What number of ice packs do you want for a cooler?

Coolers are available all sizes and shapes, so the variety of ice packs you’ll want actually depends upon how a lot floor space you need to cowl. rule of thumb is to make use of about three medium to massive ice packs for a median sized cooler, however for one of the best outcomes, verify the person handbook that got here along with your cooler. It gives you a greater thought of what number of ice packs are crucial for preserving your meals and drinks on the proper temperature.

Why We’re the Consultants

• Ashia Aubourg is a Critical Eats contributor with expertise reviewing cooking gear and dealing in kitchens (and farms!). Her work with Critical Eats spans present guides, academic items, and product evaluations. She not too long ago fried tons of eggs, seared a number of pork chops, and made kilos of pasta to seek out one of the best non-toxic cookware units.
• For this assessment, Ashia examined eight ice packs by recording their capability to slot in a cooler, how lengthy they keep chilly after freezing, and the way effectively they hold drinks chilled.