In my experience, it is more about ice and cold air management than the price of the cooler. Heresy I know, but thats my observation over the last 50 years or so, much of it long before 12v compact refrigerators were available, and most of it before I had one.
My suggestion is to try any appropriately sized, moderately-priced, brand name cooler, marine or otherwise, plastic or metal. Buy a max cooler if you can find one on sale - there is more insulation in a max cooler than the average cooler.
In my opinion, while metal-jacketed coolers are desirable, the metal is more for protection and aesthetics than insulation (except perhaps for the high-end specialty coolers), the primary difference between marine and other coolers is color and the "fish ruler" on the top, and brand name coolers have competitive performance features at each price point (i.e., sometimes the similarly priced cooler really is better than the one next to it on the shelf just because it is red or clad with shiny stainless steel).
I think it is better to have two smaller coolers than one large one. Not only are two smaller coolers easier to shoehorn into a rig, having two coolers assists with "cold managment."
If you have frozen food, pack it with dry ice in its own cooler if you can. If you must mix frozen and non-frozen perishables, you can try sandwiching dry ice on the bottom, then newspaper, frozen food, more newspaper, with sealed bags of regular ice and the non-frozen food on top. [Experiment - sometimes milk and lettuce freezes with unhappy results.]
Block ice will last far longer than cubed or crushed ice.
I keep drinks in a separate cooler to keep from losing cold air and ice in the cooler(s) filed with perishibles or frozen food (which should only be opened at mealtime). A small cooler is great for this because it holds what can be consumed in the short term. I have found it pointless to waste precious cooler space (and ice) on beverages no one will consume for several days.
In the same vein, coolers should be kept closed as much as possible. Know what you want before you open the lid. Preserve the cold air as much as you can, as it takes considerably more energy (translate: melting ice) to cool air than it does to maintain an existing temperature.
Oh yeah, you can prevent soggy food in your cooler by keeping wet ice in sealed bags or plastic containers and conscientiously using resealable plastic bags for all food items.
I have learned each of these lessons the hard way at one time or another.
And all that being said, I like Coleman.
