Best Lunch Coolers For Construction Workers

If you’re in the construction industry and wants to keep your meal and drinks fresh and warm or cold while you’re working, a great lunch cooler for construction workers will help you protect it. Yes, you can buy any cheap lunch cooler in the market and you might think that it’s enough since its only purpose is to store and hold your food and drinks, but it’s not. These cheap coolers might be damaged easily or won’t have the maximum protection needed by your lunch to keep it fresh.

There’s nothing better than a fresh, warm meal with a cold drink after long hours of work, right? That is why the lunch cooler is important. You have to look for a cooler that is durable, sturdy, and has a long life span so the money you’ll be paying will be worth it. Here’s our list of the best lunch coolers in the market today along with their different features, advantages, and disadvantages, so you can easily pick what’s right for you.

Reviews of Lunch Coolers For Construction Workers

Cooler Model	Item Weight	Holding Capacity	Price
Stanley 7QT Heritage Cooler	7.75 lbs	7 qt	Check Price
Igloo 14.8 Quart Playmate	3.83 lbs	14.8 qt	Check Price
Klein Tools 55600	6.8 lbs	17 qt	Check Price
IceMule Classic Backpack Cooler	5 lbs	16 qt	Check Price
Carhartt Deluxe	0.7 lbs	N/A	Check Price

1. Stanley 7QT Heritage Cooler

Together with its 1.1qt thermos, which locks into place below the handle, Stanley 7QT Heritage Cooler is a hard cooler that is perfect for construction workers. If you’re looking for a petite cooler to carry your prepared meal and drink without any hassle, this is a great choice for you.

Modern technology is applied to the 1.1qt thermos, with the capacity to keep the food and drinks cold or hot for 24 hours and won’t let the ice melt for up to 120 hours because it has vacuum insulation. The cooler also has foam insulation keeping the inside cold and it’s thicker compared to other lunch coolers available in the market, making it very durable. It has different compartments as well, to separate your food items inside.

Its design might look like a little outdated because it’s just simple, but its features are up to date to suit the needs of today’s modern lifestyle. Its lid of the cooler has many purposes. You can use it as a tray, an eating surface just in case you don’t have any table in your workplace, and it holds the Stanley thermos in place. It also has a lifetime warranty.

What Others Are Saying

Amazon’s 5-star rating for Stanley 7QT Heritage Cooler is about 61%, with great feedbacks mostly from customers who are working in the construction industry. Only 8% wasn’t satisfied with the product complaining about its small size and its handle being broken after a couple of use.

2. Igloo 14.8QT Playmate Cooler

Igloo 14.8 Quart Playmate cooler is big enough to carry not just your food and drinks, you can also put your phone and other necessary things inside it so you don’t have to carry a lot of bags with you. Its holding capacity is 14.8qt, with a lid that swings open because of its push-button feature, comfortable grip handle so you can carry and use it with only one hand, and a patented tent-like shape that will remind you about the lunchboxes of yore. Other than that, it’s affordable and durable — perfect to bring to construction sites. It only has a 1-year warranty which takes effect after your day of purchase.

What Others Are Saying

67% of Amazon customers who purchased this lunch cooler gave 5 stars, saying that it has a large size which truly helped them to carry their things in one bunch. The most common concern of the customers about this cooler is the lid, they say that it won’t open and close or the push-button feature isn’t working.

3. Klein Tools 55600 Work Cooler

This sturdy and durable 17-quart Klein Tools 55600 cooler can be kept even in hot temperatures without affecting the perfect temperature of your meal and beverage. It can accommodate up to three packs of ice, 18 cans of beverages, or 1-liter water bottles, perfect not just for construction sites, but also in camping, hiking, or long excursions since it can keep your beverages and meals fresh for up to 30 hours.

With its durability, it can support over 300 pounds of weight, which means you can sit on it while you are eating. There’s a small compartment inside the cooler that can be used to hold small items such as medicines or phones. This compartment is separated from the food and drinks so you don’t have to worry that your phone might be spilled with liquids. However, you have to make sure that it’s in a stable condition since the lid can pop open easily. The handle is made of nylon, which might bring problems when you put too much wright inside the cooler.

What Others Are Saying

Klein Tools 55600’s 5-star Amazon ratings are 74%, which shows that even though its strap is quite weak for a cooler with a large holding capacity, customers are still satisfied with it. However, 6% of the customers aren’t. They are complaining about the handle, which is really a disadvantage for this cooler.

4. IceMule Classic Backpack Cooler

IceMule Classic Backpack cooler is different since its a soft cooler made from a combination of MuleSkinET, which is a sturdy exterior fabric and MuleSkinEV, which is the product’s interior layer that allows superior retention of ice and protection against outside elements. IceMule is a bag with a ventilated and double-padded strap that will fit comfortably in your back, making your hands free from carrying anything other than your construction tools.

It’s made to be the most high-quality and portable soft lunch cooler with a massive holding capacity of 21qt. Since it’s a soft cooler, you can fold and store it easily. It is also perfect for traveling since the cooler is fully collapsible. Features such as the IM AirValve that allows you to release the air inside the cooler so you can fold it for storage and the PolarLayer Insulation foam that will keep the perfect temperature of your food and drinks for over 24 hours are some of the great advantages for this cooler. Other than that, it is waterproof because it has no zippers and seams.

What Others Are Saying

As what we’ve listed in the disadvantage section, the inner lining and its stitching can be ripped easily after a couple of use and it’s what the 6% of the customers who bought IceMule are complaining. However, a lot of customers are still buying this product despite the bad reviews. 72% of the customers gave a 5-star Amazon rating for this soft cooler, which means it’s still has a great quality.

5. Carhartt Deluxe Insulated Lunch Cooler

If you’re looking for a soft cooler that’s stylish and big enough for your meal and drinks for the day, you can opt for Carhartt’s lunch cooler. It has a dual-compartment feature where you can put your sandwich or chips separately to your lunch to avoid it from being crushed. This insulated cooler can hold up to 6 cans of drink and it is water-repellent that can keep your cooler dry when there’s light rain outside. It also has a carry strap and available in three different colors: camo, black, and brown.

What Others Are Saying

5-star Amazon ratings for Carhartt Lunch Cooler is 73%, while 1-star ratings are only 4% which means more customers loved it. Most of the customers complain about its size is small.

Final Thoughts

A job of a construction worker is not easy and you need a healthy meal and beverage to have enough energy each day. You can opt to eat on fast food chains or restaurants, however, it’s not convenient to go out just to buy food and you can save more money if you bring your own lunch at work.

Each lunch cooler listed above can help you to keep your lunch fresh. They have different pros and cons, however, the best option that you can choose would be Stanley 7QT when it comes to durability and great insulation, despite its small holding capacity. On the other hand, you can choose Klein Tools 17QT Cooler if you wish to have a larger holding capacity.