Review: The Igloo KoolTunes is no ordinary cooler. It’s also a decent portable speaker.

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My cooler is colder than most coolers. My cooler is Also A boombox.

My cooler is $ 149.99 Igloo Kooltunes Playmate CoolerA 14-quarter boldness with integrated speakers. It’s a Restart the 2020s of a Identical cooling combo Igloo was released in 1989, with the same retro look, but now with wireless Bluetooth connectivity.

My first brush with the kooltunes was back in 2023, when I quote Best Buy’s announcements in search of pink gadgets for a Barbiecore gift guide. Since then, I wondered why I have never seen it in real life: it has combined two essential elements of summer entertainment in a cute and practical package; It looks like obvious for beach days and the Hayons. Is it simply the victim of poor marketing, or is it actually a poor quality gadget that is void to use?

After finally testing the kooltunes during a recent picnic by the lake, I must believe that it is the first. Kooltunes retain snacks and cold drinks while offering a well -balanced sound quality (minus an omotic bass). It is a product of fun and functional novelty that I love so much, I think it deserves a Mashable Choice Award. Pass the word.

Igloo Kooltunes Review: Design and features

Kooltunes is a variant of the classic plastic game design of Igloo which comes in the vaporwave colors. It has an integrated handle and a tent cover that opens when you press a button on the side. It can easily adapt to a 12 beer pack or soda cans with a standard ice bag of seven pounds. It is IP56 For protection against dust particles and large splashes, it is therefore sure to use outside – do not tremble it in the water.

Stored.
Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

For my picnic, I stored the kooltunes with a propagation of cold meats for my husband and I (no more drinks) on the ice. We spent two hours with him outside in time of wet Fahrenheit to 80 degrees, then we brought him home. After unpacking our leftovers, I put the kooltunes on the counter, still full of solid ice, so that I can see how fast its content has melted. And here it is, a bunch of pieces of ice still floated there at the brand 24 hours a day. They certainly disappear faster if I had left the kooltunes in the sun all day, but I am convinced that it can keep the cooled refreshments for at least a full afternoon in the heat.

There are two 5W speakers the size of a saucer at the front of the kooltunes. At the rear, you will find a configuration panel with physical buttons for power supply, Bluetooth pairing and volume; a USB-C port for the load (hidden under a rubbery flap); and a seer. The light becomes blue when the kooltunes are connected to your smartphone, green when it is completely loaded and red while it loads. It flashes in blue when the kooltunes is in twinning and red mode when it is low on the battery. (Note: I have not yet tested the lifespan of the Kooltunes battery, but Igloo notes it up to 10 hours per load. I will update this criticism once I checked this.)

The kooltunes are delivered with a three-foot USB-C load cord, but you will need to provide your own USB adapter.

By the way, this Koolsync sticker takes off.
Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

Kooltunes connect to your smartphone using Bluetooth 5.0. It is really an obsolete wireless technology – it was released in 2016; In 2025, we are on Bluetooth 6.1 – But I don’t think most users will care. (I mean, the last IPhone Apple Always use Bluetooth 5.3 of 2021.) Kooltunes have joined almost instantly with my iPhone 15 pro At start -up and I remembered the phone the next time I turned it on; I didn’t need to replay them. In addition, I was able to walk on the length of three lots of Chicago City without losing its connection, which means that it has a wireless range of at least 100 feet.

Kooltunes supports a “koolsync” functionality which allows you to share its audio with a second kooltunes. (It is only compatible with its fellow men, no other portable speakers.) Igloo accidentally sent me two exam units, so I was able to try it myself. It’s nothing miraculous, but it works as expected. If you sometimes attend the same barbecue or the same party at the swimming pool as another Kooltunes owner, you can tinker with a stereo system.

Igloo kooltunes review: sound quality

A cool and retro atmosphere.
Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

To tell the truth, I really only expected what the Kooltunes are good in the “cooler” half of its post description, because Igloo is not in the audio sector. But it turns out that it is also a half decent portable speaker.

Maybe it’s because I spend most of my days Laptop testingwhich generally sounds – if I can be frank – like the ass. But I really think that the audio of the kooltunes is pleasantly clear and clear, not tinny or muffled. The music that played from there sounded balanced, while the voices on the podcasts were not distortion.

I will add three warnings. The first is that the sound of the kooltunes is mainly moving forward, because this is where its speakers are. You will not hear what it also plays if you are behind or next to it.

The second is that the audio of the kooltunes has a little bass, but none of the deep bass and bats that you would get a more pleasant portable speaker. (My $ 179.95 JBL in charge 5An old version of our superior choice, breath in the water here.) Igloo describes it as being “impactful”; on a scale of 1 to Rocky BalboaI would give him a solid 2.

My last asterisk is that Kooltunes may seem tense to higher volumes, according to what is played out. “365” by Charli XCX was fine with full explosion, but “Sundown” by Gordon Lightfoot seemed forced. It was not crackling or muddy surveys, but he had somehow the impression that he pushed the Kooltunes at his limit. That said, you will probably never use kooltunes at maximum volume in public places or on social functions where you will chat with others: it can get Rimplemented strong.

Igloo kooltunes review: price and overall value

Kooltunes cost $ 149.99 on the Igloo website And among large retailers as Amazon And Dick’s Sporting Goods. (He was exhausted to Best purchase,, CostcoAnd Walmart The last time I checked.) Igloo itself offers the most color options, including special edition conceptions inspired by NFL groups and teams. These cost $ 40 more if you can catch them in stock.

Kooltunes would be excessively expensive if they were only a colder speaker feature without cooler. Igloo sells a 14 -year -old rugged playmate For $ 32.99 and a standard 16 -quarter playmate For $ 29.99. Does the Bit Boombox deserve an overload of $ 120? After talking with Bethany Allard de Mashable, who tested Bluetooth speakers In the past, I think it’s especially valid.

The speakers lack booming bass, but are impressive to be attached to a cooler.
Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

According to Allard, the speakers around the $ 100 brand generally abandon large bass and a long battery life to remain affordable. They also lack good audio quality and clarity at a higher volume, she said. In this sense, the Kooltunes are parallel to competition at its price.

Allard added that most retail Bluetooth speakers from $ 100 to $ 120 generally have a kind of companion application that allows the user to switch the equalizer settings, check the lifespan of their battery and play with different connection options. It is the largest gap in kooltunes compared to regular budgetary speakers. (Igloo has no application for that.) Personally, I did not notice his absence when I used my kooltunes, but if you are someone who likes to be able to adjust and personalize the sound of their speakers, you will miss additional fixings here.

If this helps, kooltunes are relatively easy to find for sale at a significant discount. The Igloo website had marked it at $ 99.99 in mid-July when the Amazon’s first day is sold, and I expect similar offers to appear during the Labor Day and Black Friday weekend. If you are a member of Costco, I would keep a particularly close eye there: he dropped to only $ 49.97 on the Wholesale retailer website Before selling.

The cooler part of the kooltunes is delivered with a one-year guarantee, but its electrical components (that is to say the parts of the speaker) are only covered for 90 days. It is a really short guarantee, so be sure to inspect your kooltunes for any manufacturing defect as soon as you decrease it. By way of comparison, regular portable speakers of popular marks like Jbl And Bose have one -year guarantees. THE Wonderboom 4 ultimate earsMashable’s Bluetooth speaker of the preferred budgethas a two -year warranty.

Final reflections: do the igloo kooltunes are worth it?

Will KOOLTUNES participate in your next day of picnic or beach?
Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

Kooltunes is one of my favorite products that I tested all year round. It is not a gadget, but a funny fusion of the summer party equipment which is mainly balanced. Although you can find it for sale.

I would not buy a kooltunes to replace a good portable speaker that you like and use already, but if you want to upgrade an existing cooler in something with a little more pizazz, I think it’s a RAD option. It would also make a big Gift for outdoor people in your life. They probably not yet have them, for a strange reason.