The mildew resistant outer layer is a nigloo soft cooler touch if you’re like us and sometimes forget to fully clean the thing after each and every use. Beautiful color great size but the lining is kinda cumbersome because it is not attached to the inside of a cooler. I wish there was a piece of plastic to stabilize the bottom of the cooler.
But it aptly redeemed itself as an extremely hardy, dependable, and easy-to-operate soft cooler. For day-long roams, weekend adventures, road trips, or running errands, these soft coolers kept our provisions chilled without weighing us down. For more information about soft coolers, check out our buyer’s guide and FAQ at the end of this article. Most modern soft coolers have watertight zippers and seals, and openings that close with robust mechanisms. Most quality soft coolers also use materials and construction that avoid seams and junctures that could provide opportunities for leakage. Yeti claims the Hopper BackFlip 24 can hold 20 cans at a two to one ice ratio.
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.
Our testers liked that it has two drains that allow you to release melted igloo trailmate from either side depending on how the cooler is sloped or where it is placed. We appreciate the special instructions it comes with that describe how to prep it and subsequently care for it. The zipper comes with zipper lubricant that you apply to help maintain smooth opening and closing. It’s RF welded to prevent leaks inside and out, and even floats if you need it to!
It may not be as important as durability, but it’s still worth noting. While portable and fairly inexpensive, the look of this cooler is not the sharpest. The zipper does include a bottle opener and there is a germ-resistant liner for good measure. We like it as a tag-long to sporting events, where you can take in the game, sip a cold beverage, and secure said beverage on the table-like lid. The added mesh all over the bag is helpful for stuffing in last-minute items.
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.
If your fingers can compress the igloo trailmate more than 75%, you’re probably dealing with open-cell foam. If the foam feels denser than that and doesn’t compress much at all, you probably have your hands on closed-cell foam. But where do you want to go with your cooler, and how do you want to get there? Depending on the size and type you’re planning to take with you, you may have already put some limitations on your adventures. Without considering overall capacity, the most portable coolers will be more comfortable to carry for longer distances and amounts of time. Though robust and watertight, its zipper is much easier to use and comes with zipper lubricant included, helping it to remain explicative-free.
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.
However, taller coolers get trickier with access to buried items, so you have to be mindful when packing the cooler. The cooler’s multilayer insulation didn’t keep the ice very well, and the waxed canvas is stylish and soft but soaks up water and gets heavy. According to our ice retention test, this cooler is capable of holding ice for close to 45 hours. The 1-inch closed-cell high-density foam worked well to keep our food and beverages chilled while baking under the sun during a mid-summer music festival. We’re not surprised, given RovR makes one of the best hard-side coolers, hands down. The robust zipper closure takes some effort and time to open, but the wide T-shaped pull makes the job comfortable.
If you find yourself in need of a cooler while away from home, skip the cheap polystyrene cooler in favor of a compostable one. It’s A Cooler Bag A Perfect Classic Pairing Fashion trends are constantly evolving, and our Igloo Trend products are continually updated to stay… Sizing up the daypack market and choosing what is best for… We never had to worry about our ice not lasting all day in this beefy box. Even sitting in a puddle all day, it never took on any water.