Coleman Excursion Cooler Review

Storage Size: 9, and 16-quart sizes

Construction: Plastic composition

Cost: Intermediate to premium-priced

Features: ThermOZONE insulation, rotating carrying handle

Pros: Lid seals pretty well, rather tough, more progressive styling than the predecessor

Cons: Still a little expensive, limited sizes, might be too small for many

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Last Updated by Brandon F. on October 12, 2022

The Coleman Excursion Cooler line is an updated version of Coleman’s conventional chest cooler.  It comes with an improved outer casing, retextured easy-clean top, and better gripping handles.  It only comes in two sizes (9 quarts and 16 quarts) and a couple of color choices.  It is made of plastic and takes a simple design approach.

Insulation ability – 

Similar to the standard Coleman chest icebox, insulation is adequate for basically a maximum of one day before more ice will need to be added.  Seeing how this is a smaller chest, it isn’t intended for being a go-to solution for a multi-day trip so this isn’t a huge complaint.  The lid does seem to seal a bit better than its predecessor, however.

The ice performance that you do enjoy will come from approximately 1″ thick plastic walls.  You won’t find a rubber gasket or any aggressive latching system that creates an extremely air-tight seal.  That being said, the lid does seem to have good fitment and will close nicely and snugly on the body of the cooler.

Another limitation is the size.  Since the largest size is only 16 quarts, you don’t have a lot of volume to work with.  And we have found time and time again that smaller coolers inherently don’t perform as well as larger coolers.  If Coleman ever were to create a larger Excursion cooler, we are confident that ice life would go up (but then again, a large Excursion Cooler sort of takes the whole point of this particular cooler line away – it is supposed to be a small and portable product).

Mobility and durability – 

The plastic used on Coleman Excursion Coolers is extremely hard and should hold up to just about any casual abuse you can throw at it.  Since it is a relatively small size it shouldn’t be overly burdensome to carry around, even when full of ice and other items.  And we like the integrated large-grip bail handle.  It is very easy to use and can be rotated in any direction which makes carrying it the most comfortable.  This is particularly important if you are trying to carry something else in your other hand.

Overall, you will find that this ice chest is one of the most mobile in the industry.  However, that does come at the obvious cost of reduced storage space and ice life.  Depending on your priorities, this may be the perfect solution or simply not large enough to meet your needs.

The lid, while better at sealing than most coolers at this price range, can still be prone to accidentally opening, however.  So if you plan on moving it around a lot while being used make sure to avoid tipping it at an angle.  Also, in terms of features and accessories, you won’t find many here.  This is a very simple and straightforward design

Visual Appeal – 

While subtle, you can notice the updated outer design of this icebox.  It is sleeker and the updated handle and outer grip are a nice touch.  It will also be a bit more modern in appearance when you look from the side as the aggressive corners will stick out more.

It comes in red and blue options and they have also recently come up with an attractive black and blue color scheme.  But even with this new color choice, your selections are quite limited.  But we appreciate the slight facelift this cooler has received.

Cost – 

Current online prices for this product have it in the low intermediate to high budget price range.  This is a reasonable price but even so, there are still some higher-performing options out there in this price range.  While ice life is fine for the price, there simply aren’t enough additional features to get us excited.

Overall Rating – 

The Coleman Excursion Cooler has had a minor facelift and performance improvement compared to the conventional Coleman chest.  The improvements are welcome and we prefer the Excursion over the latter.  The combination of great mobility, better looks, and competitive price points are all major benefits.

However, it is only available in 9 and 16-quart options so if you need a larger size then you are out of luck.  Also, many people will want longer ice life even if it means spending a few extra dollars.  Overall it is an acceptable solution for someone needing a personal/small party cooler for an afternoon at a reasonable price but it will struggle much beyond that.