A small travel cooler is usually tasked with keeping no more than six canned beverages cold. Coolers can be hard plastic, soft sided or foam. A hard plastic cooler will help protect cans and juice boxes from getting too banged up, but will not easily store when not in use. A soft-sided cooler can't stand up to a lot of banging around, but will usually fold flat when not in use. Foam coolers are best for one-way trips, as they are generally inexpensive and can therefore be thrown away after use.
Large coolers can usually handle about 75 canned beverages along with 5 lbs. of ice. These coolers work best for long trips or parties. A loaded cooler will usually require two people to carry it. There are several models of large cooler available with wheels. A cooler with wheels is a little more expensive then a comparable cooler without wheels. However, if the cooler will need to be moved while loaded, such as on a camping trip, wheels make a world of difference.
Wine coolers, also called wine refrigerators or wine cabinets, range in size and capacity. The best wine coolers have a specially designed thermoelectric cooling system and racks that hold each wine bottle securely and minimize vibration. They also have double-paned tinted glass doors, which allows you to see the wine bottles but still avoid exposing them to ultraviolet light.
Much like a wine cooler, the mini refrigerator comes in a variety of sizes, from very small units that can hold only about six cans, to larger units capable of handling 50 or more cans. Mini refrigerators come with both thermoelectric cooling systems and standard compressor cooling systems. For beverages, either system will work. If the mini refrigerator will also store food, than a compressor unit is the better option, as a thermoelectric unit has a hard time cooling food in room temperatures above 70 degrees.
A popular choice for sport teams and construction sites, a spouted cooler isn't much more than an insulated iced tea pitcher. The drink cooler will not support canned drinks, but is instead used to hold loose liquid and ice. Drink coolers are available in sizes ranging from 10 ounces to 5 gallons or more. Larger capacity coolers are not ideal for traveling since the cooler must be placed on a table to allow the spout to hang over edge. In addition, large capacity coolers are very heavy when filled.
