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The Best Styrofoam Coolers to Keep Things Chill

The Camping List Review Team
Written By The Camping List Review Team
Last updated: May 14, 2025, 10:59 AM
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Styrofoam cooler

Whether you’re heading to the beach and need a storage box to keep your drinks cold or need to ship something temperature-sensitive, your options are important to weigh before a decision. Cheap and lightweight, the top styrofoam coolers in 2025 are a one-stop solution for all your temperature-sensitive storage and shipping needs.

A styrofoam cooler is a box made from that white stuff that you usually get in large shipping parcels. The scientific name for styrofoam is Expanded Polystyrene Foam (EPF). The Dow Chemical Company trademarked this material and gave it the name of styrofoam. An excellent insulator, styrofoam does a fantastic job at keeping cold items cool and hot items hot.

We’ll look at how these coolers work in a lot more detail as we move forward with the article and equip you with some killer buying tips when you’re in the market for one.

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Our Top Picks

The Top Styrofoam Coolers of 2025 in Detail

Polar Tech Thermo Chill Carton

Best Overall
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Produced with 1-½ inch thick high-density foam walls, the Polar Tech styrofoam cooler is one of the most reliable options in the market if you’re looking for something to transport ice, chemicals, lab testing applications, reagents, or blood. The listed measurements of a lid and body assembly are 22.8 x 16.7 x 14.9 inches, however, the actual size differs by approximately 3 inches, according to some users.

Polar Tech’s 15.5” x 13.75” x 10.5” styrofoam cooler is thermally insulated to keep temperature-sensitive items cool all the way. It is also surrounded by a leak-proof foil ice brix to serve this purpose. Plus, the container is made out of a lightweight and reusable material. With its dense foam walls, leak-proof design, and affordability, this styrofoam cooler is our best overall cooler on the list for 2022.

Product Pros
  • Advanced thermal insulation
  • Sturdy build quality
  • Lightweight at just 1.8 ounces
  • Low price point
Product Cons
  • Some users have reported that the actual size differs by approximately 3 inches than mentioned

Ice Age Thermo Chill Containers

Most Versatile
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Ice Age offers its container with internal and external measurements of 10.25” x 10.25” x 4” and 11.75” x 11.75” x 5.75”. It holds a large flat rate box inside that serves as a styrofoam cooler. You can ship a variety of temperature-sensitive items in this 5.3-ounce flat rate box ranging from chocolates and cakes to medicines. Since it works in a climate-controlled environment, your products will definitely stay fresh.

All you have to do is to pack the deliverables in the polybag, keep it inside the container and enclose it with the leak-proof ice brix provided to you. The only downside of this product is that the half-inch wall thickness of the container needs a little improvement for enhanced durability.

Product Pros
  • Features a foldable design
  • Reusable material
  • Climate-controlled environment
  • Stores a variety of items
Product Cons
  • Not the most durable option

Polar Tech Thermo Chill Carton

Most Space
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This large 15.88” x 20.12” x 23” shipping box by Polar Tech is a two-piece construction with a tight lid and body. The container walls are produced using foam material with a thickness of 1-1/2 inches so it is quite sturdy to ensure a safe and secure shipment of your products.

With a volume bearing capacity of up to 2.11 cu/ft, this thermo chill container is designed to deliver small, temperature-sensitive products like blood, chemicals, and tropical sea life. The 12” x 18.5” x 15.5” styrofoam cooler is equipped with advanced thermal insulation so it is sure to keep your products cold during shipping. It’s also made from recyclable material that weighs only 4.5 ounces.

Product Pros
  • Sturdy and robust
  • Large size dimensions
  • The material can be recycled
  • Affordable price point
Product Cons
  • The size of the cooler is larger than advertised

Buyer's Guide for Finding a Styrofoam Cooler

Styrofoam coolers come in all sorts of weights and sizes. To help you buy the right one for you, here is a comprehensive 101 to these bad boys.

How Do Styrofoam Coolers Work?

It’s amazing how something we normally treat as scrap is so great at keeping items cool and boasts such a wide industrial application. Let’s break down how exactly styrofoam coolers work.

Say hello to insulation

Allow us to take you back to middle school science lessons. Insulation basically means to protect something from the transfer of heat. A styrofoam box manages to do just this since it is made from air and air is the perfect insulator.

You see, the entire styrofoam cooler boasts pockets of air. These pockets ensure minimal heat is lost from the box and even less heat enters the cooler. Thus, a temperature-sensitive environment is created.

Add an ice pack

Controlling the temperature and cooling items up are completely different. This is why you need to add some ice packs to your styrofoam cooler. These cold packets will chill up the beverages or meat you place inside the box while the styrofoam’s insulation properties will ensure the ice packs do not melt quickly.

How Much Do Styrofoam Coolers Really Cost? Are They Worth Buying?

A styrofoam cooler should not cost you more than $50. Generally speaking, bigger boxes will have a larger price tag attached to them. Some companies may also add some sort of proprietary technology or thicker walls into the mix which allows the boxes to maintain temperatures for a longer time. Such boxes will also be priced higher.

Now, as far as the worthwhileness of this investment goes, it really depends. Cheaper and lighter than their plastic and steel-made cousins, styrofoam coolers may be just the item for you if you’re on a budget or do not demand extra long preservation times.

This is because a styrofoam cooler, no matter how cheap or lightweight, is inferior to most plastic or steel coolers due to its lower density. However, if all you need a cooler for is a boating or beaching trip or if you need to ship something that won’t take more than a day or two to get there, a styrofoam cooler is the way to go.

What to Consider When Buying Styrofoam Coolers

Now that you know all about the dollar signs of styrofoam coolers, here are two key considerations you must make when in the market for a box of this sort:

Size

There are two aspects of the styrofoam cooler’s sizing you must consider. Firstly, are the inner dimensions. These measurements will dictate the type and quality of items you can store inside the thermo-cooler. Just make sure you leave enough space for the dry or water ice you’ll be adding into it.

Secondly, you want to consider the box’s thickness. The general rule of thumb is thicker walls will offer greater thermal insulation. If you need to keep items cool for a longer time, the weight, cost, and overall bulkiness that comes with thicker walls may just be worth it for you.

Weight

The entire reason you’re going for a styrofoam cooler is it has a next-to-nothing weight of its own. Make sure your new cooler is super lightweight. Anything that weighs more than a pound should be a big no.

Next, you must also make sure the box is sturdy enough to hold the kind of weight you’ll be putting in it. The way to go here is to look through some customer reviews or FAQs that talk about how well the container holds up for different applications.

How We Choose the Best Styrofoam Coolers

Let’s take you through the two factors to know about when shortlisting the best styrofoam coolers:

Durability

Styrofoam is rather synonymous with fragility. We made sure all our top picks were sturdily built and wouldn’t break at the slightest mishandling. Our team went through dozens of customer reviews in this regard and only selected ones that were sure to last you for a while.

Shipping container

We only selected thermo-coolers that came with a shipping container. This way, you’ll be all set to dispatch your parcel without spending anything extra.

People Also Asked

Is a styrofoam cooler better than a plastic cooler?

A styrofoam cooler is superior to a plastic one in two aspects. Cost and weight. While the cost part is linked with the cheaper production expenses, styrofoam's lightweight is due to its insulation technique. You see, traditional plastic coolers use thermal walls with plastic or foam lining. On the other hand, styrofoam containers are full of air bubbles that prevent heat transfer. Nothing beats air when it comes to lightweightedness. However, due to their higher density, plastic coolers can preserve cold items for a longer time.

How long does a styrofoam cooler stay cold?

The exact preservation times may vary from product to product. Some styrofoam coolers come with thicker walls or with some sort of cold pack lining on the sides that may enhance the cooling period. However, generally speaking, you can expect a styrofoam cooler to stay cold for 18-24 hours when it has water ice in it. Ones with dry ice may even last for 48 hours.

How do I buy a styrofoam cooler?

When you're in the market for a cooler made from styrofoam, make sure you buy something big enough for your storage needs. Please factor in the space that will be taken by the ice you'll be placing inside. Your new cooler must also not weigh too much, should be durable, and preferably come with a shipping box.

Can you put hot food in a styrofoam cooler?

Yes. You can put hot food in a styrofoam cooler and expect it to stay warm. A styrofoam cooler utilizes insulation to work which basically means to trap heat. If you decide to store hot food in it, make sure the food is wrapped up in aluminum foil. We also recommend covering up the excess space with towels to further prevent heat transfer.

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