The is fun and easy to use and can insulate for up to 24 hours. It’s water resistant, with magnetic closures and a reinforced base for added durability. The volume amount is less than a lot of coolers in the category, but the tidiness of the bag almost makes up for that. Things are very compartmentalized, which allows you to stay organized and find what you need fast while out and about. There’s added comfort with the rubberized handle and the whole thing can stand upright, like a proper cooler. Here’s one of the more portable options, built extremely tough and ready for all kinds of mishandling while on the trail or in the boat.
Coolers like the OtterBox Trooper 20 Cooler with a broad, flat surface that rests against you can help absorb that swing and bounce. Our crew took these coolers through myriad conditions from summertime park BBQs to camping in Colorado’s Sangre de Cristo Mountains, and road-tripping to ski mountaineering in the Pacific Northwest. The lid has a small pop-up Velcro door to provide easy access when the cooler is zipped shut, though we wish the small entrance was a bit larger. It’d also be great to see the door and lid closures upgraded so they don’t leak.
The real win for the Igloo Reactor over the Yeti is the price factor. You’re getting a premium cooler at just a fraction of the price of the Yeti (for example, the Igloo backpack options is just $119 compared to $299 for the Yeti Hopper). The ice retention on the Reactor series is fairly good, even if it’s not breathtaking. The ice retention is advertised to be 2 days for the 30-can and a full day for the 18-can. The backpacks are particularly handy because they have interior zipper pockets to keep small accessories in. The greatest features for this bag are spaciousness, being resistant to water and other forms of damage, and being easy to carry.
When we picked up the with the detachable shoulder strap — which is padded — the attachment point completely broke within 20 seconds — thankfully, the cooler didn’t land on our toes. So we used a different shoulder strap to carry the cooler on our 15-minute walk to our picnic spot. But even with a pad, the strap was not comfortable for the weight-to-weight ratio of this tall cooler.
I have peace of mind knowing I won’t have to worry about getting it in the igloo trailmate. They have a wide array of products and, though the vast majority of their ice chests are not rotomolded, and they’re still not Yeti, we really admire how well they meet customer needs. The handle and wheels on the Yeti Tundra Haul are the best we’ve come across. This cooler feels like you can roll it across anything without the handle straining or bending, or the wheels breaking. When you click on links to buy products we may earn money to support our work. Learn how we create the world’s most carefully tested and objective gear reviews on our About page.
But in the 24- to 48-hour range, we haven’t seen a huge difference between using ¾ inch of closed-cell or open-cell foam in a cooler. Closed-cell foam is considered a better insulator than open-cell foam because the tiny bubbles of gas in closed-cell foam remain independent from one another. Air bubbles that do not share cell walls and in effect stay insulated from one another are better at reducing the overall transfer of heat through the foam.
Carefully designed with premium details and longer ice retention for extended adventures, our high-quality cooler bags are still more affordable than others out there with similar performance. This Hydro Flask option is a tote bag that works as a cooler. It has a zipper opening and opens easily like a regular tote, but it is a little difficult to pack as it’s not a traditional cooler. We were able to fit about 23 cans of soda without ice, which yielded a weight around 23 pounds. It did come with a manual on care and use, which is helpful when owning a certain cooler for the first time.
This cooler is constructed with a durable, UV-resistant outer shell and thick, closed-cell foam insulation that allows you to keep ice for up to two days. The leak-resistant, antimicrobial liner is stain and odor-resistant and is 0.35mm thick for added durability. But after using and testing 15 backpack coolers over the past seven years, we’ve found that the extra attention to detail becomes increasingly important the more straps and layers a soft cooler has. Fully loaded, this Yeti backpack cooler is still remarkably easy to carry. The waterproofing both within and without protects your body from any leaks or moisture sweating through from your load of ice. The clear winners in this category are the backpack-style coolers, as this distribution of weight across both shoulders and resting behind you will almost always beat out a unilateral carry.
We assessed durability over months of use, paying attention to how they handle daily rigors. We threw them around, dropped them on the ground, and filled them to the brim with heavy drinks. One of the most frustrating qualities of many of the models we tested is their challenging zippers.
Overall, like its YETI counterparts, this cooler did not disappoint. We were blown away by the power of the HydroShield closure, which uses magnets to create a leak-resistant seal along the top. No water can exit the tote, and when the cooler is open, the mouth is wide. One potential issue, especially when transporting for lunch, is the cooler leaked a bit from the zipper. Four tie-down points on the cooler will help with that during transport in a vehicle.