With 25% more foam, your items will stay cold for longer periods no matter how quick the ice melts. The attachment points and rubberized grip top handles provide an easy carrying experience, and the front pocket is deep enough for storing extra food. The shoulder strap is adjustable and removable in case you’re carrying small loads, and the liner is leak-resistant to keep everything outside dry. Whether you depend on Playmate for backyard parties, BMX and Sportsman for athletic activities, or Yukon and Trailmate for outdoor adventures, Igloo’s ice chest will make your occasion much more enjoyable.
We’re the testing team at Reviewed, which means we designed and implemented the experiments involved in this article. Carrying it around was comfortable, thanks to the padded straps and chest and hip straps, and the weight was evenly distributed. Greg’s a co-founder of bestcooler.reviews and author of 100+ product reviews and comparisons on this website. When not at work, Greg’s an avid sportsman who enjoys running marathons, loves snowboarding, hiking and discovering new single tracks on his bike. Prices at both websites range from $10 to $200, depending on what type and size you choose. For retail purchases returned with a receipt, please return the unused and unopened item, with the
original sales receipt, for a full refund or exchange.
From there, we purchased the best 30 coolers we could find to take to our lab in Brooklyn for testing. While our testers noted this cooler is large and heavy and not the easiest to lug around, we also appreciate that the cooler floats in the water, is spill- and leakproof, and comes in four sizes. We also found it to be an ideal road trip size as it’s small enough to fit easily into a car yet sufficient to carry drinks and snacks for a few people. We enjoyed using this cooler on a road trip from California to the Midwest and back to California and saw it as the perfect cooling copilot. For the weekend warrior, the rugged adventurer, the daily luncher, the boater, the weekday commuter, the beach-goer, the Sunday hiker, the park picnicker, the snack provider (aka MOM)…the list goes on.
In most situations, the best way to utilize dry ice is to place it at the bottom of your cooler, wrapped in newspaper. A soft cooler on wheels can be easier igloo trailmate to transport than one with only handles. It isn’t good for all- or multi-day use, but type type of cooler is sufficient enough for a half-day trip.
External Attachment Points
Many soft coolers, including YETI’s Hopper Flip 12 and REI Co-op’s Cool Haul 24, have daisy chain webbing along the outside for securing extra gear. In use, we’ve found this area useful for keeping valuables like keys close at hand (we use a carabiner to attach them). And we particularly like the stretchy bungee system on the Arctic Zone Titan Deep Freeze, which makes it easy to secure a lightweight jacket or small towel on top.
To test the best soft coolers, we filled each one with ice to see how long it took for the ice to melt. Additionally, give priority to coolers with closed-cell foam insulation over igloo soft cooler ones that employ other cooling methods. Designed to be taken while fishing, kayaking, or backpacking, everything about this Pelican soft cooler revolves around being lightweight.
Colors range from dark gray to black, depending on which version you get. For retail purchases returned without a receipt, the refund will be issued as a store merchandise
credit at the lowest price within the last 90 days. Proper ID will be required in the form of a valid, state-
issued driver’s license or state ID card. Refunds are issued to the original form of payment, unless returned in store
where some exclusions may apply. Refunds are issued to the original form of payment, unless returned in store where some exclusions may apply. Wirecutter is the product recommendation service from The New York Times.