Best Car Coolers and Portable Refrigerators

Mini refrigerators come in different sizes, types and designs. Depending on your personal ideas and wishes, certain models are better suited than the others on the market.

Portable refrigerators are practical utensils for cars, mobile homes, and overall for on the road, if you travel with your own car or bus.

In order to make your purchase decision a little easier, we have sat down and compiled all the essential information that is important for the purchase of car coolers. Read our explanations and tips carefully – you will learn a lot and hopefully find the mini-fridge that meets your requirements 100 percent!

Car Coolers and Portable Refrigerators Best Choice

Table of contents:

1. Setpower Quarts Portable Freezer Fridge
2. Aspenora 37-Quart Portable Freezer Fridge
3. Wagan 12V Personal Cooler
4. NewAir Portable Ice Maker
5. Wagan 12V Cooler/Warmer

Best 5 Portable Refrigerators

Advantages of Portable Refrigerators

Mini refrigerators have a variety of advantages:

• A mini-fridge is small, but not tiny. It takes up little space, but still offers enough room for drinks, small dishes, or even medicines and cosmetics that you don’t want to store in the normal refrigerator next to sausage and cheese, but separately from these foods.
• From this follows the second big advantage of mini refrigerators: they are versatile. Thus, the small coolers can be used both in your own four walls and in the external office. They can also be easily taken along on short trips or longer journeys by private car. So in a way, mini-fridges also make you mobile.
• The small coolers generally weigh very little, so they can be transported from A to B without any problem.
• Of course, mini-fridges consume far less electricity than an ordinary refrigerator. This is especially true when it comes to models that are assigned to energy efficiency classes A+++ to B.
• Mini refrigerators also often have a lot to offer in terms of looks. Usually, the respective manufacturers attach great importance to giving their coolers an equally cool look. As a result, models come in trendy colors, with transparent doors or unusual shapes.

What to look for when buying Portable Refrigerators

• Dimensions

Most portable refrigerators are between 30 and 50 centimeters high, some are even lower, and some are a little higher. This dimension does not always say something about the volume of the respective refrigerator. For example, you can find tall models that are built very narrow and offer correspondingly less depth. Conversely, the market also offers portable refrigerators that are low but are quite wide. So you should always take a close look at all the dimensions to get a good idea of the external size of the various cabinets and thereby learn whether the models you are interested in will actually fit where you want to place them. To remove any doubts, it’s best to measure the intended location and compare your results with the dimensions of the coolers.

• Volume

While the dimensions provide information about the external size of the mini fridges, the volume specification informs about the storage space available inside the devices. The higher the volume, the more space the corresponding compact cooler offers. Most mini fridges have capacities between 20 and 40 liters. However, you can also get versions that hold 15 liters or less, or a full 50 liters. Whether the volume should be larger or smaller depends on how much or little you want to store in your new portable refrigerators.

• Material/processing and weight

If you want to buy a high-quality mini fridge, you also have to pay attention to the workmanship. Now, it is of course advantageous if the device weighs as little as possible – especially if it is to be taken along on trips. Nevertheless, it is recommended to choose a portable refrigerator that is made of sturdy materials. This is especially true for the door and the handle. Ideally, both parts are not made of too light materials like plastic. Otherwise, the risk of breaking is very high, especially with the handle. This means that you should put up with a few grams more and get a sturdy mini-fridge in return.

• Noise level

There are both portable refrigerators that operate absolutely silently and those that produce noise during cooling. A decisive factor in this context is the type of cooling mechanism. Compact refrigerators with a compressor are louder than models with an absorber function. If the device is to be placed right next to the sofa, where you want to read in peace, at the workplace, where you need to concentrate, or next to the bed, where you want to sleep undisturbed, a silent cooler is of course definitely preferable.

Tips for buying a camping mini refrigerator

A small refrigerator is not necessarily a good camping companion. In order to become one, the cooler must meet a few more features beyond its small size.

• The weight must be right. Of course, you want to be able to carry the car cooler without difficulty. A model that doesn’t exceed the five-kilogram mark is ideal. At best, you can store four large bottles in it. With a total weight (including bottles and other food) of around ten to eleven kilograms, you’ll probably have no problem transporting the mini fridge from A to B every now and then. Even less so if it also has a practical carrying handle.
• When camping, the car cooler is often either on the back seat of your car or in the caravan – and usually loose. If there is turbulence while driving, it can quickly happen that the refrigerator door opens and the food stored in it flies around. You may not even notice it for a long time and the goodies will spoil in the meantime. You can prevent this scenario by buying your new mini fridge: Choose a product that is particularly well made – high-quality door hinges that provide a firm grip and door magnets are essential.
• Most campsites have a power outlet, but you shouldn’t rely on it. Especially if you plan to take the mini fridge on a longer trip, you’ll need more flexible power options. For this purpose, some mini fridges come with a 12-volt connection and a car plug. This way, you can charge the device via car battery – and your mini fridge will last as long as they do.
• In addition to extras such as a car adapter (for the cigarette lighter, for example), which often comes with a mini fridge, the presence of the so-called “Eco Mode” is also important. Then the cooler does not steal as much power and saves the battery in this way.