Igloo Marine Ultra 70 Review

The Igloo Marine Ultra 70 is a part of Igloo's Marine Cooler Collection that has some new durability-focused upgrades to address common points of failure in previous models. The hinges are from Riteflex resin, which they describe as “An impact-resistant, highly flexible, temperature and chemical-resistant material.” The lid is fully insulated, and stainless steel hardware is used throughout the cooler.

Insulation

Insulation performance makes up a whopping 50% of each cooler's score in our testing. We evaluate each cooler's insulation performance by placing two iButton sensors inside a mason jar, placing that jar inside the cooler, and filling the cooler with ice. All of this is done within a controlled environment in a room with a specific temperature established and an oscillating fan running to help keep temperature conditions even throughout. We close the lid and monitor the internal temperatures to see how long each cooler can maintain ideal temperatures for storing food safely and keep drinks cold and refreshing.

The USDA considers 40 degrees or colder a safe temperature range for storing food; most beverages are enjoyed at 50 degrees or less. When it comes to meeting those expectations, the Igloo Marine Ultra kept things below 40 degrees for just over four days. Once that threshold was passed, the 50-degree point came and went fairly quickly, less than half a day later. Overall, this performance was just slightly below the average of all the tested coolers.

Durability

Our assessment of durability accounts for 20% of each cooler's score. We explore each cooler's key components, like handles, hinges, and the body itself of the cooler, looking for potential vulnerabilities and anything that might indicate potential problems down the road or a shorter lifespan. We scan through user reviews online, looking for repeat issues or concerns that current users may be experiencing. We also perform a water slosh test where we put water in the cooler, close it up, and walk with it to see if it can contain the liquid inside or if it will drench you when carrying it. Spoiler alert: carrying the Igloo in our slosh test was okay for a few small steps, but as soon as we started a normal stride, water splashed out the sides with each step.

The Marine Ultra 70 is part of Igloo's Marine Collection, so it's disappointing that this cooler does not have non-slip feet or a textured/grippy lid. It could become quite slippery if the plastic got wet, as often happens when using a marine cooler in its intended environment. The handles are the best we've seen from Igloo, made of a grippy textured plastic, which makes it easy to yank and pull the cooler around. Our tester, Gena Bradshaw, mentioned, “I would like to see some reinforcement for the handle attachment points.” The attachments did not break during testing, but it isn't hard to picture them snapping off after carrying one too many heavy loads. It seems Igloo is headed in the right direction with this model, featuring some longevity-focused features like stainless steel hardware in the hinges and latch, and constructing it with UV-protected material to help shield the cooler from sun damage.

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Ease of Use

To test the ease of use for coolers, we comb through all the components users will interface with and perform various tasks to put each cooler through typical use cases. This includes evaluating handles, straps, lids, latches, and drains. We also verify the manufacturer's claimed specifications, like can capacity, overall internal capacity, and dimensions. This metric accounts for 15% of each cooler's overall score.

In the past, from Igloo, we've seen slippery, untextured plastic used on the handles, so our review of the Marine Ultra 70 was a pleasant surprise. We love the texturized grip that is somewhat soft and squishy to the touch on the new handles on the Igloo, even if we are sorry to say these are the only handles on the entire cooler. The manufacturer claims a capacity of 102 cans. Our test team fit 114 12-ounce cans. The simple design of this cooler makes it easy to pack, and we like the detent in the lid's hinges that enables it to stay open on its own, too. The drain plug is threaded to hook up a water hose if you'd like, which is nice, but we wish it had more grip on it, as it can be quite difficult to remove, especially when wet.

Portability

The battle between capacity and portability rages on. High-capacity coolers are notoriously heavy, and highly portable coolers often lack capacity. We're looking for coolers that best bridge these two attributes in our portability testing. We inspect each cooler, looking for features designed with comfort in mind and noting if they favor comfort or discourage it. We perform lift and carry testing where we use the cooler in various circumstances and see how user-friendly they are when moving it around.

The Igloo Marine Ultra claims a whopping 70-quart capacity. In our measurement, we came up with 76 quarts. Either way, this is a formidable storage space for a cooler and puts the Marine Ultra well into “potentially very heavy” territory when fully loaded. The empty Igloo weighs 13.6 lbs, and while that's significantly lighter than most other coolers of this capacity, it still is pretty large and, when loaded up, is likely to become cumbersome to carry on your own. Our tester Gena said, “The handles don't feel terribly robust, but I appreciate that they flip out when you use them, thus protecting your hands from hitting the sides of the cooler when you walk.”

Additional Features

There are many creative ways that manufacturers are integrating additional features into coolers like molded-in cup holders, lockability, strap tie-down slats, dry drawers, and more. We take note of any additional features that coolers we review have, if accessories are available for purchase after the fact, and also review their warranties. This metric accounts for 5% of each cooler's overall score.

Featuring a fish ruler and four self-draining cup holders molded into the lid, the Igloo Marine Ultra has a few tricks up its sleeve, but nothing we haven't seen before. This particular cooler is only available in one size, although within the Igloo Marine Cooler Collection, an array of bigger and smaller-sized coolers is available. The only accessory for this model available from Igloo at the time of purchase is ice packs, which aren't specialized in any way specifically for this cooler. The Igloo comes with a one-year warranty, which is better than some but falls short in our minds, as most other models we reviewed offer 3 years coverage or more.

Should You Buy the Igloo Marine Ultra 70?

The Igloo Marine Ultra 70 offers large capacity, decent insulation performance, and a great price. Igloo has stepped up its game with this cooler, delivering much-needed upgrades to improve critical components prone to failure, like the hinges, lid latch, and handles. Considering that, we think the Marine Ultra is a great buy for those looking for a high-capacity cooler on a budget. Still, we feel it falls short for marine-specific users, particularly given the lack of non-slip feet and grippy textured material in key locations. We also still have some durability concerns.

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