Instagrammable eCooler Is Built Like a Tank: TRAVOCA Rigel 25 Dual Zone Review

Turns out, the best road-trip co-pilot doesn’t talk — it chills. I tested the TRAVOCA Rigel 25 Dual Zone (DZ) eCooler on a 10-day road trip from the Midwest to Colorado. I hauled it in and out of the trunk of my 1992 Toyota Hiace through high temperatures, dusty trails, and remote roads.

Over 1,200 miles from Chicago to the red rock desert of western Colorado, the TRAVOCA Rigel DZ kept cold for days on end. It turned my adventure van into a rolling mini-fridge. No matter if I was cruising through the plains or parked under the desert sun, it kept everything from my morning cold brew to post-ride beers perfectly chilled. Dinner ingredients stayed fresh. I never needed to hunt down ice or deal with soggy food.

The designers behind TRAVOCA recently launched this luxury-grade cooler that blends sleek design with cooling power and a rugged design. The Rigel DZ has dual-zone compartments allowing you to freeze and cool simultaneously. This cooler comes in handy for a wide range of outdoor uses — from backyard tailgating and car camping to RV life.

In short: The TRAVOCA Rigel DZ ($650) is a burly, app-controlled, dual-zone electric cooler. It’s an efficient, quiet, and stylish portable mini-fridge for your car, camper, or backyard. Traveling with the Rigel DZ means you can skip gas-station ice runs and still enjoy fresh produce, cold beer, and a touch of home comfort. It’s just a bit on the heavy side and always needs a power source.

Compare the TRAVOCA Rigel 25 DZ Cooler to those on GearJunkie’s guide to the Best Electric Coolers.

TRAVOCA Rigel 25L DZ eCooler Review

First Impressions

The Rigel DZ coolers come in 25L, 35L, 45L, and 60L volumes. I tested the 25L version. This dual-zone powerhouse can simultaneously freeze and cool the food and drinks inside, making it ideal for everything from long-haul road trips to weekend camping escapes. It has a noticeably sleek yet rugged exterior, sturdy handles, and digital temperature control that lets you fine-tune your cooler and freezer settings.

Plus, it was quiet while connected to the TRAVOCA portable power station I used. Even after being bounced around on dirt roads and drizzled on in midday desert rain, it looked none the worse after my 10-day journey.

Stacking the Rigel 25 DZ Up

Compared to other e-coolers on GearJunkie’s guide to the Best Electric Coolers, the Rigel DZ has, let’s say, some “orange” flags. It would have the second-lowest capacity of any cooler on that list, be the fifth-heaviest, and fourth-most expensive.

The BougeRV CRD45 DZ, for example, weighs 42.5 pounds, holds 45 L, and costs $500. There is also the Whynter FM-45G Portable Refrigerator, which weighs 45 pounds, holds 42 L, and costs $500.

My Rigel DZ eCooler weighs 48 pounds, holds 25 L, and costs $650. The more comparable Rigel 45 L DZ weighs 58 pounds, holds 45 L, and costs $800. So, if budget affects your e-cooler shopping choices, there are bigger, lighter, and cheaper options out there.

What sets the TRAVOCA apart? Its stylish design is the most obvious attribute. But its user-friendly interface and burly build start to stand out the more you use it.

Dual-Zone Cooling: Freeze & Chill

It’s rare to consider packing frozen foods on a camping trip. But with the luxury of having a dual-zone eCooler, it’s a no-brainer to pack some bonus items (like a pint of ice cream).

Like the larger sizes TRAVOCA sells, the Rigel 25 DZ cooler is internally partitioned into two independently controlled temperature zones. It can be split to have a cooler on one side and a freezer on the other, or the partition can be removed to make one larger cooler or freezer.

The cooler is powered by a high-efficiency Toshiba compressor. It can cool the freezer side to −4 degrees F in under 30 minutes. In the desert, in 80-degree heat, I set the fridge side of the cooler to 34 degrees F and the freezer side to 20 degrees F. I could adjust those dual temperatures from the TRAVOCA app on my phone. Or, the front of the cooler has an easy-to-read digital display with separate manual temperature control buttons.

The user manual was a bit challenging to understand. You can filter through several settings, like “Eco” and “Max,” for faster cooling or lower power usage. It wasn’t until my second or third day with the cooler that I fine-tuned the temperature with accurate settings. 

The fridge side worked perfectly to keep my eggs, oat milk, cheese, and other products cool and crisp. On the freezer side, I threw in some frozen chicken, spare coffee creamer, and even a container of Talenti raspberry gelato. The chicken stayed frozen, and the creamer got frosty.

Sadly, the gelato melted. It could’ve been a user error, but I was surprised it melted, considering I had the compartment set to below freezing.

One important consideration is that the compressor takes up a noticeable chunk of interior space. It leaves just enough room for essentials like a carton of eggs and a few extras. Larger TRAVOCA Rigel DZ models offer far more storage, making them a better pick if you need to pack more food. Just be ready to handle the added weight that comes with a larger cooler.

Adventure-Ready Design

If this cooler were a runway model, it’d strut in steel and bamboo. Its powder-coated, green steel body with wooden accents stands out compared to standard e-coolers. As I like to say, it’s a touch of backcountry class.

But don’t let looks fool you. The Rigel DZ balances both style and function. It’s equipped with metal-reinforced handles that are easy to grip. The burly metal base can take a beating on hard ground or bumpy terrain. This cooler fits right at home in a dusty desert truck bed or an Instagram-worthy van build.

Another feature I loved about this cooler is its clever lid design. It can open from either side or pop off completely. This came especially in handy when accessing the cooler in the back of my van, buried under mounds of camping gear. The flexibility to open up the cooler lid from one side and then the other made it way easier to pack up, keep clean, or grab food quickly at a rest stop.

How I Powered the TRAVOCA Rigel DZ

Unlike many other e-coolers, the Rigel DZ requires power input to run. It can be used with a standard AC wall outlet or your car’s 12V DC socket.

I paired the Rigel 25 with the TRAVOCA Vega 1500 Power Station for a long weekend of off-grid camping. The combo looked great on paper. The Vega packs 1,536 Wh of energy, which should power the cooler for roughly 18 hours in Eco Mode. I was curious to see how it would perform in the real world.

Over 4 days camped out at our site, I had the cooler plugged into the Vega 1500 nonstop. I kept the freezer zone hovering in the high 20s and the fridge in the low 30s. Both held steady through heat, dust, and late-night beer runs to the cooler. It was as quiet as a standard 12V refrigerator, which earns this cooler huge points. Some e-coolers can sound like air compressors or small power generators.

On day four of my camping weekend, when it was time to pack up, the power station still showed one bar of battery left. This was enough to charge my phone and portable charger before heading back to civilization.

I did find it a bit annoying that the TRAVOCA can’t run unless it’s actively plugged in. That meant the cooler couldn’t stay on in the car unless plugged in. Plus, it made keeping a full power bank a bit of a juggling act between campsites with electricity and overnights at hotels.

Still, once everything was dialed, the setup was rock-solid. The Rigel held the temperature perfectly. It never needed ice and gave me reliable, cold food and drinks for days on end.

Room for Improvement

My biggest gripe with the TRAVOCA Rigel DZ is its sheer weight. This thing is heavy — upward of 20 pounds heavier than a standard cooler full of ice. Plus, unless you have a car or outlet, it needs a power bank.

After lugging the Rigel DZ and Vega Power Station along on a multiday road trip, I wouldn’t dream of doing the same again. Unless I was setting up for an extra-long camping weekend or long-distance drive, it’s too much.

In all honesty, for quick weekend camping trips, this eCooler feels like overkill. Sure, it offers decent space for a couple of days’ worth of food. But it also maxes out quickly if you need more than that. For instance, if you want to store more than a few meals or keep extra drinks cold, you’d need to size up to one of the larger (and even heavier) versions. That only makes portability more of a challenge.

There’s also a bit of a learning curve with power management. Yes, it’s easy enough to plug into a wall outlet or a power bank. However, it still adds another layer of fuss to what’s normally a grab-and-go process. I found myself constantly thinking about power levels, cables, and charging options. That took away from the carefree side of camping.

At the end of the day, it’s hard to beat the simplicity of tossing a bag of ice into a regular cooler and knowing your food will stay cold no matter what. But if skipping soggy sandwiches and ditching the daily ice run is what you’re after, the TRAVOCA delivers.

In Conclusion: A Cooler That Turns Camping Into Glamping

All in all, I am a big fan of the TRAVOCA Rigel DZ. It’s super-sleek and aesthetically pleasing, and it worked wonders to keep all of my food fresh while camping off-grid and road-tripping across the country. It isn’t the lightest or most budget-friendly option. But if you’re looking for a high-quality, luxury e-cooler that will impress, the TRAVOCA is a sound pick.

With a quiet but powerful Toshiba compressor and temperature controls you can fine-tune (even using Bluetooth), this high-tech cooler is packed with features and functions that almost make you forget you’re camping.

You’ll need to throw down some serious cash for even the smallest model, like the 25L ($650). Still, it’s not the most expensive cooler on the market you’ll find. Similar-sized coolers from other brands like Dometic run upward of $800.

TRAVOCA is an ideal fit for campers who value creature comforts, overlanders looking to level up their gear, and RV and van lifers who want a refined (read: Instagrammable) cooler to accompany their setup.