Drain plugs are worth it — unless you need waterproof

Buy the cooler with the drain plug unless it needs to be truly waterproof.

The plug exists for one reason: melted ice water is heavy, and pouring it out of the top of a fully loaded cooler is miserable. Pull the plug, let it drain, done. That single feature saves you from flipping a 60-pound cooler onto your shoes at the end of every camping trip.

The downside is a second hole in the shell. On cheap coolers, that hole is a leak risk and a weak point. On a rotomolded cooler (Yeti-class), the plug and gasket are usually solid and built to seal. That’s why almost every premium cooler has one. If