Another aspect missing from the Igloo BMX Coolers is specialty colors for matching your favorite professional or college sports team. We also couldn’t find anything in the way of custom options that allow you to put your company logo. Granted, blow-molded coolers aren't as durable as roto-molded ice chests. What's more, they're even behind the injection-molded coolers, the latest industry trend. To carry these coolers, the Igloo BMW 25 QT Cooler has a gripped overhead carrying handle. This is pretty normal for coolers of this size. It will typically be carried by only one person, so the carrying handle allows you to do so while still having a free hand for other items. Compared to other high-end cooler brands on the market, these ice numbers fall about in line with those brands. They don’t quite reach the levels of, say, Techni Ice, but the ice life will far exceed the budget and even mid-range cooler brands on the market. Just taken my new Igloo BMX25 on a 5 day camping trip. I bought it after plenty of research online, I'm very, very pleased with it.

We are fans of the more rugged-looking coolers (although we appreciate that these might not appeal to all) and the BMX 52 from Igloo is no exception. It’s great that they have carried over a lot of the styling from the larger BMX 72 along with its useful features. The Igloo BMX Cooler is Igloo’s attempt to compete in the premium cooler market. While this market isn’t new to Igloo, the BMX Cooler series is their latest rendition of this. These coolers share many of the same features that you expect to see in a premium cooler and offer great build quality. The ice retention is competitive as well. That being said, there are currently limited choices for sizes and colors, and for those after the absolute top in performance, these will be a slight step down. But they do come in with the great asking price that you expect from Igloo. Insulation Ability –update* We have been made aware of some other Igloo BMX Cooler color choices available including Green/Orange, Sandstone/Red, and Carbon. We have updated our rating for this metric accordingly. Igloo BMX Cooler Price At 52 quarts, this BMX model has a generous capacity that is equivalent to 83 12oz cans. Plenty of space then for a few days away. These coolers are small enough so that you can carry them on your own, cheap enough for you to save money for other things that you want to do at your get-togethers, and useful for tailgating, camping, birthday parties, and other occasions. We like the design approach that Igloo took with their design of the BMX series. The complementing grays look great with the “pop” of the blue latches. And the diamond plate metal insert at the bottom adds that rugged touch.

I tried to pre-cool as much as possible before we went away and it kept the content incredibly chilled so very happy indeed. Love the rubberised straps to ensure the lid is tight. Would be nice to have had a drain plug but I guess you don't need it in the smaller size as they can just be tipped to be emptied. Overall really happy. Solid piece of kit. Cold beers & water, fresh food/meat & ice cubes for a cheeky evening whisky in the middle of a field for 5 days with no electric - do I need to say more! At a push, this cooler can be handled (safely) by one person. The BMX 52 has neat swing-up handles with rubber groups that provide extra protection when carrying. As with the larger BMX 72 model, the handles have steel reinforcement to save them giving way when lugging heavier loads. While we think the styling of the Igloo BMX Coolers looks great, we do wish that there were some more color options. The combination of grey, blue, and the metallic finish of the diamond plate insert results in a very attractive cooler that stands out from the crowd. When we initially wrote this review, we could only find one color option. Igloo has expanded things some and there is now a larger selection of colors. This was a much-needed addition. But still missing is any sort of team logos and/or custom color options. Cost –

Igloo BMX Cooler, 52-Quart

Starting with the construction of these coolers, Igloo utilized what they call “blow-molded” construction. As far as we can tell, this is very similar (if not the same) as roto-molding. Essentially, the cooler’s body is molded in a one-piece design. Taking away the need for having to glue/merge walls results in a much tougher cooler and it also assists in ice retention. When it comes down to it, though, you’re looking for a cooler that can keep everything you put in it chilly, even on the hottest days. For example, there are coolers are have been proven to keep food at a safe temperature for up to five days. That’s where the Igloo BMX cooler comes in. This option was introduced in early 2018 as the latest in Igloo’s lineup of well-performing ice chests that includes the Sportsman, which we previously covered, the IMX ( review here), the Yukon, and the Party Bar, among other unique additions. If Igloo hopes to compete with the likes of the other heavy hitters in the premium cooler world, then they need to have many of the same features that people expect when they are spending this kind of money on a cooler. From a performance standpoint, Yeti has a slight advantage. While the Igloo BMX Cooler is no slouch, the excellent build quality and strong warranty of a Yeti are hard to match.

However, the latter has a much heavier emphasis on usage in nature, as its bigger options are reserved for big game like elk and moose, making the BMX series more suited for fishing and small game, in addition to parties and tailgating. The BMX option proves to be a reliable option for whatever event you have coming up, earning a 4.6/5 in performance from us, and our guide is here to let you know how it earned such a rating.

Overall Take

Overall, we were impressed with the ice life that we experienced with the Igloo BMX Coolers. Depending on which model you go with and the amount of ice you use, you can expect anywhere from around 2 days of ice life up to nearly a week with the large 72QT model.

Nevertheless, we have found a significant issue with the handles since we believe the handles are a crucial part of a cooler. These rubber handles have plastic tubes on both sides designed very loosely. You will see they are also so loose and dangling on the handles. As a result, there is always a high chance of these tubes falling off, and you can lose them in no time. That being said, the Igloo BMX series will be more expensive than most other Igloo coolers in the same size range. But this is to be expected considering that you are getting superior build quality, features, durability, and ice retention.

Where to Buy Igloo BMX Coolers

The UV inhibitors that we mentioned earlier just make it that much easier for your drinks to stay ice cold and your meats for barbeques to avoid going bad. Externally, the BMX 52 measures 26″ (length) and approximately 16″ in both depth and height. So although it’s shorter in length than the BMX 72, it’s only an inch shorter in height and width. This time, Igloo introduced a heavy-duty molded cooler with the new Igloo BMX 52 Quart cooler. So, no more dents on your cooler. This construction technique is called “Blow-molded” construction. Many will say it is almost the same as the roto-molded construction concept, but the entire body of the cooler is molded as one piece. Thus, no industrial gluing and seams are involved in the internal construction. It not only gives sturdiness to the cooler but also improves ice retention. We think there's no better technology providing the highest possible ice retention than the rotational molding, which stands behind the YETI products. It's not that we're a skeptic of Igloo's insulation, we just think that when it comes to the ability to keep ice for many many days, YETI is going to win here.