YETI Roadie 24 review: the cooler I actually carry

What I use it for

I reach for the Roadie when the cooler has to move. It goes in one hand, it fits behind a seat, and it does not need a second person to load it. That is the whole argument for it, and it is a good one — most of the coolers that beat it on ice never leave the tailgate.

The trade is space, and the trade is real. Twenty measured quarts is lunch, drinks and a couple of days of perishables. It is not a weekend of food for four people, and no amount of careful packing changes that.

What the published tests actually found

Two labs have run this cooler under stated conditions. Their numbers are below, with the conditions attached, because a day-count without conditions is worth nothing.

The thing nobody tells you: there are two of these

T3 reported in August 2025 that the original Roadie 24 has been phased out, and reviewed a Roadie 24 2.0 — same 24 quarts, but a proper drain plug and a different strap in place of the old HeftyHauler handle.

That matters when you read reviews. Hatch Magazine's unit has no drain valve at all and they call that a downgrade. GearJunkie describes a drain-plug cap that is not tethered. Those are two different coolers being discussed under one name. When you see an ice figure for a "Roadie 24", it is worth knowing which one produced it — and most pages do not say.

So if you have read that the Roadie 24 was discontinued: half right. One hardware generation was retired. The nameplate is current.

How far you can actually carry it

I would not oversell this. It is a one-hand cooler over short distances, not a hiking cooler, and the people who have carried it loaded agree.

T3 notes that with 26 lb of ice on top of a 12.8 lb cooler "you'll need decent core strength", and points out there are no wheels and the side grips are not built for a two-person lift. Ultra Runner Magazine put it more plainly: the strap is easy for short journeys, but "I definitely wouldn't carry it very far as it's heavy."

That is the honest shape of it. Truck to campsite, yes. Truck to a spot a quarter mile in, no — and nothing in this class does that job well.

What annoys me and other reviewers

• The strap unclips itself. T3 warns to check both connection points before lifting, or the lift sends you stumbling. Worth knowing before you find out.
• The drain plug is not tethered on the units that have one — flagged by both GearJunkie and AmazingRibs. It will get lost eventually.
• Twenty quarts fills fast. T3's own advice is to pack only the perishables you need for the next couple of days. That is the ceiling, stated by someone who lived with it for a week.

Roadie 24 or a Tundra?

Ask who lifts it. If the cooler lands at the truck on Friday and stays there until Sunday, a Tundra holds more and costs you nothing in convenience. If it moves — and for a lot of trips it moves more than people admit when they are shopping — the Roadie is the one that gets used instead of resented.

The full side-by-side is on Tundra vs Roadie.

Questions people ask about this cooler

Is the Roadie 24 worth it?

For one or two people who move the cooler, yes — it is the size that actually gets carried. For a group staying put at camp, you are paying for portability you will not use, and a Tundra is the better buy.

Was the Roadie 24 discontinued?

No. The original was superseded by a 2.0 with a drain plug and a new strap, per T3 in August 2025. The model line is current.

How long does ice last in a Roadie 24?

OutdoorGearLab's bench says food stays safe about 4.3 days. GearJunkie found roughly half the ice left at 72 hours outdoors in mild autumn weather. Both comfortably cover a two-night weekend. Neither tested the current 2.0 hardware, and no published test states its lid-open routine — which is exactly the gap my own bench is meant to fill.

Can you sit on it?

People do. Ultra Runner Magazine reports it held an adult and a toddler standing on it, and Bowhunting.com uses one as a hunting stool. Nobody publishes a rated weight limit, so treat that as experience rather than a specification.