ROVR Cooler Review – The Premium Cooler That Has Everything… And More

Affiliate Disclosure: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Learn more here.

Welcome to our very own ROVR cooler review. We had been excited to finally get the chance to try out the ROVR cooler and share our opinion on it.

ROVR debuted on Kickstarter in 2018, calling itself ‘the most feature-packed cooler ever’. This cooler to end all coolers generated quite a lot of interest, with buyers rushing to buy it. With a modest goal of $50,000, the campaign ended up raising over $185,000, which was a clear indicator of just how eager the market was to get its hands on this cooler.

Since the launch, the company has dedicated itself to coolers only and, in the great spirit of its initial claims, has made some really great coolers. We thought it would be a good idea to review them and find out if they really did everything ROVR claimed they would.

So, without further ado, here is our ROVR cooler review!

ROVR Cooler Review

Now, before we go right into reviewing the cooler, I have to say that ROVR slightly reminds us of the Coolest Cooler. Coolest Cooler was also a famous, feature-packed cooler that raised a record amount of money on Kickstarter.

However, Coolest failed miserably a few years later, closing shop in 2019. Coolest Cooler had everything going for them, except the cooler itself. It was a pretty bad cooler with weak insulation and a fragile build. It was too easy to break.

ROVR is what Coolest Cooler never was: a great cooler first, features second.

Design and Build

To start with, ROVR coolers are roto-molded, which already puts them in the higher echelons of the cooler world. They are rigid and durable, able to take a beating and likely to serve you for many years before throwing in the towel. Additionally, they are IGBC certified bear-resistant.

My favorite part of the ROVR design has to be the set of wheels.

9-inch high-performance wheels that will move on different terrains because they have aluminum hubs, interchangeable tubes, and heavy-duty rubber tires, not to mention sealed bearings that you can repair, remove, and replace at home. 

There isn’t a shred of cheap plastic in sight with these coolers, which I think somewhat justified.

It’s all either bear-resistant material, aluminum, or heavy-duty rubber.

Features

A lot of these features will tie in with the design and build aspects mentioned above. The reason I’m combining the two is that, with this cooler, the details are key to everything and make all the difference.

We were really impressed by the Rollr coolers from ROVR. The design team behind these coolers seemed really thoughtful about making sure that all of the necessary features were tacked on and that all the details were paid attention to.

Wheels & Tires

First, we have the heavy-duty tires. These tires are pretty unique, and we haven’t seen them anywhere else in the cooler world, including the industry’s leader: Yeti. They are so tough; they are virtually impossible to break. The axle alone is made out of 12.5mm stainless steel, which is more than capable of handling the weight of the cooler as it rests on the tires.

To help you haul the cooler around, an aluminum handle was attached to the front of the cooler. It’s a pull handle, so it should be easy to find the right height for the most ergonomic pulling experience. The handle has dual motorcross rubber grips, which ensure you have maximum comfort while pulling the cooler.

Lid and Latches

On the front of the cooler, there are some pretty cool looking rubber latches. These are pull latches that ensure the lid is tightly shut. They have little holes that you can pull on to secure the latches, as well as undo them. They are very rigid and durable, making sure your lid will be enjoying a secure hold for many years.

On the lid is a refrigerator style gasket that ensures the lid is secured in an airtight fashion. So long as that lid is tightly shut, you can rest assured that no air is going to go in and no air is coming out.

The lid also has anchor pins built into it so you can attach the prep station that comes as a ROVR accessory. The prep board is great for cutting things up and prepping them as you take them out of the cooler, or just before you throw them inside.

Bin and Wagon Extension

There is also a removable dry bin in the ROVR. It’s a Deep Freeze bin with 2 compartments so it’s easy to organize your dry goods. Now, while this bin may take some of the storage space away from the cooler, the good news is that it is removable, which means you only need to install it when you are sure to use it. Also, it helps a great deal to keep the dry and the wet well separated.

Another great accessory you can order with your cooler is the wagon bin. All ROVR coolers have this feature, where removable wagon bins can be attached to the top of the cooler. This was one of those accessories that really blew our mind away because we have never seen it before in any other cooler.

The wagon bins come attached to the cooler’s lid but folded. When you want to use the bin, you simply unfold it and put it to work.

This dramatically increases how much storage capacity you have, since you will be able to haul the cooler around plus anything else you carry in the wagon bin.

If you choose to buy the Rollr 60, you’ll even be able to choose which wagon bin to get on your cooler. Pretty cool! Basically, having the wagon bin is like having an extra backpack that is attached directly to your cooler.

Rubber Feets & Bike Adapter

Finally, there are the rubber feet. These ensure your cooler stays anchored down wherever you decide to store it, and also to protect any sensitive floors you might place a heavy cooler on from skid marks.

The Bikr accessory is an attachment that allows you to attach your Rollr cooler to a bike for easy hauling. Basically, you can turn your cooler into a bike trailer, isn't that awesome? Again, those big inflatable tires ensure proper traction on any type of surface, making the cooler easy to haul. 

Other notable features

The dual cup holders that are situated around the back of the lid are an added accessory you can get for your cups and bottles.

Also, in case you’re going fishing, you can buy the umbrella/rod holder accessory, so you have a convenient place to store your fishing rod.

The stash bag accessory is an extra little stash where you can place utensils, lighters, keys, wallets, and any other things you might want to stash away on your camping trip. The stash bag has a main compartment and an outer zipper compartment.

Rovr Cooler Review – What About The Ice Retention?

This ROVR cooler review wouldn't be complete without mentioning ice retention capabilities of this cooler. For how long can the ROVR cooler keep ice icy then?

ROVR advertises the ice retention of their Roller coolers to be up to 10 days. To be sure, these coolers have some dense, closed-cell, polyurethane foam insulation, just like Yeti and the other big players in the market.

In reality, however, it should be pointed out that that kind of ice retention can probably only be achieved in the Rollr 80 upwards, due to size considerations.

The mid-sized cooler should be able to keep ice for about a week, assuming it has a 2:1 ice content ratio as the minimum. When storing lots of food, expect the ice retention time to go down.

A good way to handle this is to pre-chill or freeze the contents before putting them inside the cooler. You can also pre-chill the cooler itself if you have a freezer large enough to hold it.

The smallest cooler should be able to easily do 5 days of ice retention. If you use ice extenders and block ice, you should get even more ice retention time out of it.

Overall, we’re convinced the ice retention on the ROVR is excellent. It’s just as good as what you would get on a Yeti, if not better. 

Available Sizes, Colors, and Pricing

To be honest, the pricing on this cooler is not the cheapest. However, there is a premium feel on all ROVR products. The materials used are of the highest quality and the features are convenient enough and numerous enough that they justify the prices.

There are 4 sizes of Rollr coolers:

• The Rollr 45-qt, which costs $369
• The Rollr 60-qt, which costs $399
• The Rollr 80-qt, which costs $449
• The Colorado Rollr 85-qt, which also costs $449

Additionally, there are 5 available colors. 4 of them, namely Desert (Orange), Moss (Chartreuse), Powder (White), and Magic Hour (Light Orange), are available for all the Rollr’s except the Colorado Rollr 85-qt. The Colorado Rollr 85-qt comes in only one color: Fog (Sky Blue).

Check all the sizes and colors available >>

Warranty

ROVR offers a pretty generous warranty on its products, which only favors the argument that they make premium products. The length of the warranty is 5 years for the main body and 12 months for all other components.

It's a very good warranty, for sure, but not the best. Just to put it into some perspective, there are companies like Cordova, Otterbox, or Pelican which offer a lifetime warranty for their hard-sided coolers.   

Where are ROVR Coolers made?

In case you've been wondering where are the ROVR coolers made, we're rushing to tell you they are 100% made in Colorado, United States, which should be good news for patriotic shoppers.

ROVR vs YETI Cooler 

Let us briefly compare RovR to YETI, as this is something our readers often ask us to do.

Both coolers have an excellent build construction. Both are rotomolded, with thick, pressure-injected insulation. Both have incredible ice retention times. Yeti, however, is far better known than the ROVR.

For a close comparison, we will take the closes comparable Yeti, which is the 65-qt Yeti Tundra Haul. This is comparable to the ROVR 60-qt. All of the Rollr coolers are wheeled. However, the only wheeled Yeti cooler is the Tundra Haul.

Both coolers are bear-proof. Note, however, that you must first lock both front corners with padlocks in order for the cooler to bear-proof, whether it is a Yeti or a ROVR cooler. 

Both coolers also offer a 5-year warranty covering manufacturer defects, allowing you to send back a defective cooler and get it repaired free of charge.

Now, the only wheeled Yeti is the Tundra Haul, while all the rest aren’t. The thing about rotomolded coolers is that they can be pretty heavy, even when they are empty. By adding wheels to all of its coolers ROVR beats the Yeti by making all of its coolers easy to transport.

An interesting thing to note is that the ROVR coolers have 9-inch large inflatable tires. The Yeti, by comparison, uses non-inflatable tires. These cannot be punctured, compared to the wheels on the ROVR coolers. However, they do feel bumpier on rough terrains as compared to the ROVR wheels.

Also, the ROVR wheels are larger and more capable of handling heavier loads. In fact, the Yeti’s wheels look like toy wheels when put up next to the all-terrain rubber tires on the ROVR coolers.

The larger sized ROVR coolers (larger than 45-qt) have pull up aluminum handles with double grips, These grips are pretty useful as they allow you to pull the cooler alongside you so that it doesn’t keep bumping up against your heels.

The handle on the Yeti is pretty much the same. The smaller ROVR cooler, however, has a suitcase handle. That is also okay as this particular cooler isn’t really that heavy. Overall, however, we think the rubber grip handles on the ROVR coolers are way more comfortable than the ones on the Yeti.

In terms of features, the ROVR wins the competition hands-down. The ROVR has quite a few firsts that the Yeti doesn’t have: An attachment that allows you to attach your cooler to your bike, an internal dry storage bin, an external wagon bin, and a pretty nifty prep board.

I mean, the Yeti Haul doesn’t even offer a divider, meaning customers would have to buy it from a third-party vendor. ROVR, meanwhile, offers everything you need in the same shop, even if some accessories are sold separately.

When it comes to insulation and ice retention, there is a tie. The two coolers have very similar insulation and ice retention results. In our full Haul review, we achieved 7 days of ice retention with block ice, a good portion of which was still left at the end.

We had similar results with the ROVR. Considering that both use the same thick insulation and have the same premium construction, we are not surprised.

The pricing is also pretty similar. The Rollr 60 costs $399 and so does the Tundra Haul. Both are premium coolers and so it makes sense that both are pricey. That said, we feel that the ROVR coolers have numerous advantages over the Yeti, meaning you’ll get more value for money buying them.

The greatest advantage that they Yeti has over the ROVR, of course, is the fact that it has a more recognized brand, and probably better distribution across the country as well.

Another advantage Yeti has is variety. While ROVR only offers 4 coolers, Yeti has over a dozen. ROVR also has only 5 available colors, while the Yeti has 6 at any one time, with new ones being released often.

RovR vs Yeti Verdict

There is no reason whatsoever not to buy the ROVR. Of course, the brand factor matters, and the “Yeti Nation” will always buy Yeti. However, we are proud to say that we have fallen in love with the ROVR. For the same amount of money, they offer so much more than Yeti in terms of features while matching Yeti in the core aspects, such as build construction and ice retention. 

For outdoorsy people, the ROVR will be a better choice. For those who need a rolling cooler to use from time to time, and not offroad, the Tundra may be a good choice, but note that it lacks the accessories that the ROVR has.

Other Alternatives to ROVR Coolers

For those on a budget, here are two other options which might be worth checking:

RovR Cooler Review – Bottom Line and Rating

And with that, we come to the end of our RovR cooler review. As you can see, this cooler has all the qualities it needs to upend Yeti as the darling of the cooler industry. All it needs is to work on improving its brand recognition. We are excited to see where it goes next.

Until next time, stay cool!