Trail Large 45L Cool Box on Wheels review: chilled beverages and food in camp for a cool price

One of my favorite quotes from the seminal TV drama series The Wire was a line from Michaewl K. Williams’ Omar character: ‘You come at the king, you best not miss.’

You might ask: what does this have to do with camping coolers? Well, the world of camping coolers has a clear king at the moment. Yeti’s perennially popular premium coolers have made a once moderately unfashionable item cool. Not only this, the brand has raised the bar in terms of the quality customers should expect when investing in a cool box. So, if you bring a new cooler to the market, you’d better make sure it’s up to the task, otherwise you might get iced. Just ask Orca. You come at the king, you best not miss.

Now, Trail Outdoor Leisure’s price points aren’t as bloated as the numbers Yeti is able to command. This relatively new British camping gear brand sets its stall out with quality, industry knowledge and, crucially, affordability, as the supporting pillars. Affordable and Yeti aren’t two words that have ever occupied the same sentence, so I had to be mindful of this when testing Trail’s cool box offering.

Trail’s range comprises the mini 5L Cool Box, the 22L Camping Cool Box and the Large 45L Cool Box on Wheels. I was delighted to give the latter a go this summer, taking it along on my beach and camping vacations. It’s currently available for £89.99 on the brand’s website, apparently down from £199.99. This makes it a much cheaper option than the equivalent Yeti, the Tundra 45 Cool Box, which retails at £300 in the UK, and $325 in the States.

First impressions

To look at, Trail’s Cool Box sits somewhere between something you might pick up cheap in the supermarket and a top-notch cooler of the sort Yeti craft. This should come as no surprise considering its price. It feels more ‘plasticky’ than a premium box but classier than a budget one. Available in Charcoal (grey) or Navy Blue, it's fairly good looking and the chunky wheels, latches and handles radiate a sense of ruggedness.

At 12lbs 9oz (5.7kg), it's noticeably light, especially if you’re used to Yeti’s coolers, which weigh around twice as much. This makes it easier to carry around but does raise an eyebrow when it comes to longevity and performance. We’ll deal with the latter in a moment but for the former, only time will tell.

Features

The Cool Box uses a dense, closed-cell polyurethane (PU) foam at the centre of its three-layer design to retain its interior temperature. It’s this that retains ice and thus keeps everything nicely chilled inside. The exterior is a hardened polyethylene and polypropylene shell that’s highly resistant to impact and makes for a half-decent seat. It’s rigid to the touch and gives an impression of ruggedness. Meanwhile, the interior liner is in line with EU regulations when it comes to food safety and is easy to wipe clean too.

All the closed-cell PU in the world would be for naught unless the lid creates an airtight closure. Two chunky locking catches secure it in place while a rubbery rim bonds the lid to the body of the box. There are two circular slots on top of the lid for holding cups or cans, just like those you get on trains or planes. This is a handy feature for when you’re using the box as a makeshift table.

One of the standout features of the Cool Box on Wheels is exactly that: it’s got wheels. This is an especially useful feature when the box is full of ice, beverages and food, providing an easy option for getting from A to B. The opposite end of the cooler has a fold-away tow handle with a sticky grip for straightforward pulling. At the other end is a shorter fold-away handle too, for when a two-handed carry is the better course of action. This also provides the option of a two-person lift. In short, there are several ways to get this cooler into situ, empty or full.

When it comes to the end of the trip, there’s a plug that can be unscrewed towards the bottom of the box on the wheel end. This makes it easy to tip the meltwater out using the long tow handle.

In the field

I’ve been using the Cool Box throughout what was a gloriously sunny summer in the UK, taking it on beach breaks and a camping trip to Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park.

So, how long did the Cool Box stay chilled for? What was its ice retention like? I took the scientific approach to the question on my camping break to Eryri. At the start of the trip, I added 22lb (10kg) of ice cubes, as well as several beers and the food I’d need to keep chilled for the duration of the long weekend. Trail states that the PU foam insulation should provide up to 72 hours cooling.

After 51 hours, some of the ice had melted, though much of it was still intact. The box was still keeping my drinks and closed food items nicely chilled, though it was difficult to store food that had been opened by this point, without it getting thoroughly wet. Some form of compatible basket would be nice for this sort of thing.

On the morning of our departure, 64 hours after I’d added the ice, some cubes remained, although there was a lot of water now. Crucially, the box was still chilled. So, for a long weekend, the Cool Box does provide a good option, though next time I’ll perhaps increase the amount of ice I add to begin with.

One thing’s for sure, I very much enjoyed my super-chilled craft beers on the second night of the trip, watching the sun sink between some of North Wales’ most iconic peaks. That moment was worth the price alone.

Capacity wise, you can fit quite a bit in here depending on how much ice you pile in initially. For my three-person, weekend camping trip it was a little bit overkill – I still had loads of space for more food, cans, bottles, whatever. So, it’s a decent option for a large group at basecamp or for a festival.

General usability is also good. As mentioned, it’s easy to pull along thanks to its wheels and tow handle, and I like how the handles have been made from a softer, grippier material. The locking catches on the lid are easy enough to open and close. There are no latch points or tie-down slots, as you get on some coolers, so it’s not the best option for loading onto a water-bound vessel.

So, on the whole, it’s a pretty decent cool box. It’s not as obviously high-performing or robust as a Yeti cooler, the king in the cooler market. But, it doesn’t miss the mark either. I’d say its target audience is somewhat different to Yeti's: it’s for those who want a good cool box for their outdoor adventures without splashing too much cash. For these thrifty folk, it’s a great option.

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