Those times would be shortened in direct sun and high temps, but the thick walls of the Walker are more than enough for a day at the beach. In our lab, the temperature inside the tote actually dropped 8 degrees between two hours and 24 hours after filling it with ice. This lightweight bag resembles a traditional backpack, with plenty of pockets and mesh bottle holders.
The Arctic Zone Titan Guide Series 36 Can Cooler is our new Best Buy. The build quality and aesthetics of each cooler were also taken into consideration. We’re the testing team at Reviewed, which means we designed and implemented the experiments involved in this article. And, with the variety of storage compartments, you’ll be able to carry everything you need. When you’re ready to store the Arctic Zone Titan Deep Freeze, the interior is treated with Microban, so it will resist mildew and odor-causing bacteria. Greg’s a co-founder of bestcooler.reviews and author of 100+ product reviews and comparisons on this website.
Like much of its soft-sided competition, the REI bag also includes daisy-chain webbing for securing extra gear, as well as a handy bottle opener. And because the Cool Haul’s inner insulated box can be separated from the outer shell, cleaning is a snap (the shell can also be used without the liner as a tote). From the office to the gym, on lunch break in between classes or weekend adventures, there is always a time and place for an Igloo insulated cooler bag. Our cooler bags come in a wide variety of silhouettes colors and patterns – it’s time to travel in style. Our cooler backpacks, totes and bags are great for day trips and picnics to keep your food cold during the day.
Waterproof Soft Coolers
Many of the coolers above utilize highly water-resistant zippers or openings, but very few have fully waterproof constructions. One exception is the ICEMULE Classic, which has a dry bag-like shape and exterior with a roll-top closure that can be fully submerged in water. This makes it particularly great for activities like kayaking or paddle boarding when it might be exposed to a lot of water. It also floats, which provides added assurance should conditions get rougher than expected. RTIC’s Soft Pack also falls into this category, and although it’s technically not fully waterproof, the tough shell and leakproof design should stand up well if it ends up taking a dip.
It’s the perfect companion and size for a group of three or four to have a few cans each throughout the day. Despite looking like a Yeti—and having thicker insulation on its lid (by half an inch)—it didn’t quite have the same performance as the Yeti Hopper. At the end of our 24-hour ice test, the Orca had no remaining solid ice, while the Yeti had some. And where the Yeti’s inner temperature increased by about 6 degrees over 24 hours, the Orca’s went up by about 13 degrees.
The brand recently launched the 28L TravelR 30 ($250), a tall-standing and oval-shaped soft cooler with generous space. The Mountainsmith Sixer ($35) was a great igloo water cooler cooler for lunch on the go. Our tester, a Colorado-based electrician and mountain biker, packed it with a canned drink, sandwich, fruit, and chocolate.
After several hours at the beach on an 80-degree day, only about a third of the ice had melted, and everything inside was still perfectly cold. Not only that, but it proved to be leakproof, showing no signs of drips when we flipped it upside down with melted ice inside. We didn’t throw this backpack cooler off the side of a mountain (yet), but we probably could, and it’d be fine. Icemule’s Boss Backpack Cooler is incredibly rugged and has some serious insulation.
Travel + Leisure contributor Theresa Holland is a commerce writer specializing in lifestyle, recreation, outdoor equipment, and luggage. For this story, she compiled insights from our long-term soft cooler tests, combed through igloo water cooler product specs, and researched various types and styles of coolers. It has a large, slightly flared main compartment with lots of room for produce, prepared food, drinks, ice cream, milk, wine bottles, you name it.
A trio took the cooler fly fishing on Colorado’s Gunnison River, carrying along water and various canned beverages. The OtterBox Trooper 20 Cooler ($250) bummed us out at first because it lacks a comfortable handle on the lid like its smaller, discontinued version. But it aptly redeemed itself as an extremely hardy, dependable, and easy-to-operate soft cooler.