Igloo BMX 52 Quart Cooler with Cool Riser Technology, Fish Ruler, and Tie-Down Points

Product Information

That’s where the Igloo BMX cooler comes in. This option was introduced in early 2018 as the latest in Igloo’s lineup of well-performing ice chests that includes the Sportsman, which we previously covered, the IMX ( review here), the Yukon, and the Party Bar, among other unique additions. We don’t see any Igloo BMX Soft Coolers at this point. Perhaps they are still in the works or perhaps Igloo is going a different route with their higher-quality soft coolers. Igloo BMX Cooler Features Where Igloo easily beats Yeti is at the price point. Yeti has and continues to be one of the most expensive cooler brands in the industry. For many, the price that you pay to own a Yeti just isn’t worth the slight performance advantage you may see. Igloo offers up comparable performance at a fraction of the price.

Using insulation within their walls, many of today’s coolers can keep ice, drinks and food cool even when you’re outdoors in 100-degree-plus heat. Although you’ll pay more than you would for a traditional type of cooler, you’ll get the convenience that comes with tossing drinks, food and ice into your cooler in the morning and having those items remain cool late that afternoon. In fact, some coolers can even chill items for several days. Price is another big consideration when shopping for a new ice chest. Traditionally, Igloo has competed in the budget and mid-range categories. They strived to strike a nice balance between performance and costs. And overall, they are quite good at that. The fact that they are one of the most popular cooler brands to ever exist is good evidence of that! In the case of the large ones, the 52-quart, and the 72-quart one, we're talking about 4 to 5 days on average. If you adhere to some of tips on how to improve the ice retention in a cooler, then you should be able to extend the timeframe by another day.Despite being less than a year in the ice chest, Igloo’s BMX has proven worthy enough for a comparison to the biggest name in the field: Yeti. Regarding the build, Igloo claims they came up with an enhanced rugged body with sturdy construction and some exciting yet new features. From a quality standpoint, this cooler should last for many years of typical use without issue. The extent of maintenance should entail cleaning out the cooler from time to time and also applying some oil to the gasket to keep it from drying out. Plus if you do happen to run into any quality issues, you are dealing with one of the largest cooler companies around in Igloo. Visual Appeal – Having a tough cooler with helpful features is one thing. But for a cooler to truly be in the same conversation with the top cooler brands on the market, it needs to excel at keeping items cold.

That being said, the Igloo BMX series will be more expensive than most other Igloo coolers in the same size range. But this is to be expected considering that you are getting superior build quality, features, durability, and ice retention. kept all our drinks and chilled food cold for the three days we were away, would have kept longer if needed but we had used it up, so much better than our old 12v coolbox Nevertheless, we have found a significant issue with the handles since we believe the handles are a crucial part of a cooler. These rubber handles have plastic tubes on both sides designed very loosely. You will see they are also so loose and dangling on the handles. As a result, there is always a high chance of these tubes falling off, and you can lose them in no time. The BMX option proves to be a reliable option for whatever event you have coming up, earning a 4.6/5 in performance from us, and our guide is here to let you know how it earned such a rating. One of the other key features of a high-quality cooler is the hardware. The Igloo BMX Coolers have oversized hinges and stainless steel screws to hold the hinges in place. Oftentimes the hardware used goes unnoticed but it is a key piece to a long-lasting cooler. Being stainless steel, it will be much more resilient to rust and wear compared to lower-end materials.

Customer reviews

Depending on which model you go with and the specific application that you plan to put it through, you should anticipate ice life that ranges from around 2 days up to almost a week. Features/Build Quality – If you’ve ever tried to empty a larger cooler at the end of the day, you know how tough it can be. For that reason, many newer coolers come with bilge drains, allowing you to release the water from the bottom of the cooler. You may have to tip the cooler a little to get the last of the water out, but you won’t have the extreme tilt that you have with a cooler that doesn’t have a drain. A really interesting comparison can be made when looking at Yeti’s Tundra series coolers and the Igloo BMX Coolers. Both are essentially targeting similar demographics, but they take a very different approaches in doing so. It’s good to see that Igloo has carried a lot of the features over from the BMX 72 to its smaller and cheaper cousin. The T-latch rubber catches add to the tough appearance (and make it look like a cheaper Yeti), there are tie-down loops to keep it secure in your trunk and plenty of patterned stainless steel to provide both style and more importantly, protection. the smaller option is the 25 Quart Cooler, which weighs 11.29 pounds and has an outer dimension of 19.59 in. x 13.25 in. x 15.7 in. and an inner dimension of 11.5 in. x 8.75 in. x 14.75 in.

The molded base is made of Cooler Rise Technology so that the base is elevated and stays off of hot surfaces, whether it’s concrete roads or large boulders that have been heated up on a cloudless, sunny day. Design is very different between the two brands, as Yeti relies on the traditional rotomolded construction that is included in the biggest names, while Igloo for its BMX series uses something called a blow-molded construction, which is less expensive and less complex to make. Very few cooler brands are able to save you money, be easy to use and perform for just about any situation at the same time, and that makes Igloo’s BMX Cooler series a priority if that’s what you’re looking for. Another aspect that is somewhat limiting maximum ice life is the cooler sizes. Some of the other cooler brands have extremely large coolers that can be 100QTs or more. Typically, the larger the cooler, the more ice it can hold, and ultimately the longer the ice lasts. Igloo BMX Cooler Aesthetics the biggest option is the 72 Quart Cooler, weighing in at 18.7pounds and measuring 32.19″ x 17.34″ x 16.82″ on the outside.

What Other Coolers Should You Consider?

When you plan on buying a cooler, the first feature you look for is the number of days it will keep things cool inside. In terms of ice retention, Igloo BMX 52 Quart Cooler is far ahead of the competing Yeti and RTIC coolers. The bigger surface, the more ice it retains. While looks might not be a big deciding factor for some who are shopping for a new cooler, it is still worth discussing. Other notable features include tie-down slots, diamond plate metal inserts, and a molded fish ruler. These are pretty typical features found on most premium coolers.

If Igloo hopes to compete with the likes of the other heavy hitters in the premium cooler world, then they need to have many of the same features that people expect when they are spending this kind of money on a cooler. Just taken my new Igloo BMX25 on a 5 day camping trip. I bought it after plenty of research online, I'm very, very pleased with it. Being light makes it easy to take these coolers in your car for road trips, as well as on a boat for a day on the lake during camping trips or out on the ocean for when you go to the beach. Being useful in all of these situations earns this brand a 4.5/5 rating in quality.

Igloo BMX vs. Yeti

You have a small/personal size for a short outing. This size is good for mobility purposes and it doesn’t take up a lot of space either. Next, you have a 52QT which falls nicely into the mid-sized category. This size is large enough to handle bigger outings such as a picnic or tailgate. And for people who enjoy camping and the outdoors, it will be able to handle ice more multiple days (more on that later). Finally, you have the largest size, the 72 quart. At this size, you have ample room for just about anything. It can store a week’s worth of food and drinks or all the items that a large outdoor party would need. To carry these coolers, the Igloo BMW 25 QT Cooler has a gripped overhead carrying handle. This is pretty normal for coolers of this size. It will typically be carried by only one person, so the carrying handle allows you to do so while still having a free hand for other items. update* We have been made aware of some other Igloo BMX Cooler color choices available including Green/Orange, Sandstone/Red, and Carbon. We have updated our rating for this metric accordingly. Igloo BMX Cooler Price Though it seems a bit unfair to put this rookie toe-to-toe with the most popular cooler brand out there right now, the BMX series has durability and usage that share similarities to Yeti and have earned a comparison. Igloo tried to level up their designing game this time. We are impressed with the improvement of the handles this time. You can handle this cooler with a single hand. In addition, the swing-up handles of this cooler complement the rubber grips, giving it better protection while carrying the cooler to places. Warranty