Cooking
What size portable cooler do you need?
How many liters of cooler or soft bag you need for camping, beach or road trips — from people and trip length.
Quick answer
Cooler labels list gross liters — but ice, gel packs and air eat about 35% of that space before you add food and drinks. The calculator starts from content liters = people × days × L/person/day (trip type sets the rate), then divides by 0.65 to get minimum rated capacity. 4 people × 2 camping days at 2.5 L/person/day → 20 L content → ~31 L cooler — buy a 32 L box or step up to 45 L if you pack lunches for everyone.
Minimum cooler size
31 L
- Food & drinks to store
- 20 L
- Common size to buy
- 32 L
- Ice to plan (approx.)
- 9 kg
- 12 V electric cooler hint
- For 1–2 days, a passive cooler with ice packs is enough.
Also plan Ice for your party
⚠️ Indicative volumes — pack food in sealed containers and keep raw meat separate from drinks.
Rated cooler liters are gross capacity; ice and packs use ~35% of space. Formula: content L = people × days × L/person/day; cooler size ≈ content ÷ 0.65.
How it works
Match ice with our party ice calculator and drinks with the cocktail calculator. For multi-day road trips, a **12 V electric cooler can replace daily ice runs; for beach day trips a soft insulated bag plus ice packs** is often enough.
Most of the ice you buy is spent on the wrong thing. A cooler's ice budget goes first into cooling the box itself and whatever you loaded warm — put in chilled drinks and pre-cool the empty cooler overnight and the same ice lasts roughly twice as long. The other habit is filling the gaps: air is what melts ice, so a half-empty cooler runs down far faster than a full one. Pack the spaces with towels or extra bottles rather than leaving them, and open it as few times as you can — every lid lift dumps the cold air out in seconds.
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Frequently asked questions
How many liters of cooler for 4 people camping 3 days?+
Select "Camping / multi-day", enter 4 people and 3 days: 4 × 3 × 2.5 = 30 L content → ~46 L rated minimum — a 54 L hard cooler is the common buy, with ~14 kg ice planned in the tool.
Hard cooler or soft bag for the beach?+
Day trip for 2–4 people: a 15–26 L soft bag with ice packs is lighter and fits under an umbrella. Same group for a picnic with food: 26–32 L rigid box keeps shape and cold longer when opened often.
Do I need a 12 V electric cooler?+
Worth considering for 2+ days in a car or camper when rated size hits ~45 L+: compressor models hold 4–5 °C without melting ice; thermoelectric units are cheaper but struggle above 30 °C ambient. Short beach days: passive cooler wins.
How much ice goes in the cooler?+
The tool estimates ~0.45 kg ice per liter of food/drink content for passive boxes — refill daily on multi-day trips. Use our party-ice calculator for events; drain melt water, don't top up with warm water.
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