A 70-quart cooler is the sweet spot.

A 70-quart cooler is the sweet spot.

Yes, that size handles a family of four for a weekend without overcomplicating things. You can fit enough food and drinks for three days, plus some ice, without needing a second cooler or a minivan just for the cooler.

Smaller coolers (like 50-quart) force you to pack too tight or make multiple trips. Larger ones (100+ quart) are heavy when loaded and awkward to move around a campsite. A 70-quart strikes the balance: big enough for a weekend’s worth of meat, veggies, drinks, and leftovers, but not so big that you need a team to lift it.

One caveat: if you’re car camping, you can ignore weight a bit. But if you’re hauling it any distance from the car to the site, you’ll appreciate not overbuying. Also, bring a separate small cooler just for drinks if your family goes through a lot of soda or beer — that way you’re not opening the main cooler every hour.

You don’t need a Yeti. A decent rotomolded cooler from Igloo or Coleman at half the price works fine for a weekend.