Backpack cooler vs wheeled cooler: Backpack wins for trails, wheeled for pavement

Unless you’re rolling across a paved path to a picnic table, get a backpack cooler. Wheeled coolers are fine for parking lot picnics or the beach boardwalk, but on rocky, rooty, or uphill trails the wheels become dead weight. A backpack cooler distributes weight evenly, leaves both hands free, and lets you move like a hiker. If you’re hiking more than a mile on anything other than smooth pavement, skip the wheels.