Igloo Glide PRO 110qt Review

The Igloo Glide PRO Is a sturdy, well-built cooler that offers a rigid handle that allows you to take full advantage of its built-in wheels.

Performance Comparison

The Igloo Glide PRO's overall performance in our testing was just a bit above average.

Insulation

Insulation was our most important testing metric and the Glide PRO earned a respectable 6 out of 10, which put it right around average.

In our test, the Glide PRO was able to maintain temperatures below 40˚F for 3.5 days. This is enough for a long weekend camping trip, and will thus be plenty of insulation power for most users. Also, we didn't completely fill our coolers in this test, and since the Glide PRO is 110 quarts, or about 50% larger than most of the other coolers we tested, it was a bit handicapped in this test. If you filled this cooler completely it would likely last much longer, particularly if you filled it with pre-chilled drinks and food. However, if you're looking for a large cooler for a 10+ day trip we would suggest looking into some of the larger offerings from ORCA or Yeti.

Durability

Though not nearly as robust as the high-end roto-molded coolers we tested, the Glide PRO still feature rugged construction. It scored a 5 out of 10 in this metric, which was the highest score we awarded to any cooler that cost less than $300. Where most traditional models use press fit lids and flimsy hinges, the Glide PRO utilizes much heftier hinges and large latches that keep the lid securely closed. Neither of these aspects are nearly as beefy as those on a high-end model, but they definitely lend a higher sense of quality than your standard hardware store fare. The wheels are plastic but feel quite sturdy and the bearing roll well, even under a heavy load. The extending handle that is used in conjunction with the wheels is metal and feels well constructed. Really the only part of the construction that we aren't huge fans of are the plastic handles on each side of the cooler. These handles feel a bit flimsy, especially considering that they are the handles that are used to lift the cooler in and out of a car. We feel those handles should be a bit beefier for such a large, 110 quart cooler.

Ease of Use

The thoughtful design touches put the Glide PRO towards the top of our ease of use testing with a score of 7 out of 10.

Our favorite design feature of the Glide PRO is the extending metal handle. It is easy to slide out and retract. When it is retracted the cooler can fit in most car trunks, and when extended it is long enough to provide a good amount of leverage, so you don't feel like you're doing a deadlift at the gym every time you want to move the cooler around. This leverage also makes it very easy to tip the cooler when you want to drain out meltwater, and the drain plug didn't produce any lawn sprinkler type splashes in our testing. Our only small complaint was that the latches can sometimes be a bit tricky to open, and can occasionally require the use of two hands.

Portability

With its wheeled design the Glide Pro did fairly well in our portability testing, picking up a score of 6. This was just one off the top score of 7.

The Glide PRO's wheels were the best of any of the wheeled models we tested, just slightly beating out the Coleman Xtreme Wheeled and far superior to the Rubbermaid DuraChill. What really set it apart, however, was the rigid, telescoping handle that provided so much more leverage in our tests that the hinged handles on the other wheeled coolers. This both makes it easier to lift one end of the cooler and allows you to lift the cooler higher, thus balancing more of the weight over the wheels instead of it resting on your hands. This made it by far our favorite model for moving around parking lots, packed dirt roads, and basically any surface smooth enough to allow the wheels to roll. The only reason it didn't earn a top score was a combination of its large size and the handles it provides for lifting the cooler off the ground and into a car. These handles aren't terrible, but they definitely can be uncomfortable if you're trying to lift the cooler when fully loaded. This cooler is huge, so you definitely need at least two people to lift it if it's fully loaded, and a third lifting from the cooler body might not hurt either.

Features

The Glide PRO has ruler built into its lid, built-in wheels and a long, telescoping handle to use with those wheels. These extras earned the Glied PRO a 6 out of 10 in our features test.

Value

The Glide PRO lists for $130. This is much cheaper than any high-end cooler. It is also only slightly more than the other large wheeled cooler we tested, the Coleman Xtreme Wheeled. Seeing as the Coleman's smaller handle makes it much more difficult to wheel around, we feel the Glide PRO is well worth the extra cost. However, if you don't think you'll be rolling your cooler much and just want something large with decent insulation, you'd be better of with the Coleman.

Conclusion