Next, we packed them with drinks, food, and ice and brought them along to multiple outings to see how they performed in real-life settings. In our experience, the sweet spot is often right in the middle, with many of our most frequently used soft coolers offering space for around cans with ice. These designs are sufficiently sized for day trips igloo trailmate or weekend road trips, manageable in terms of weight and portability, and won’t take up a ton of space in your vehicle or garage. The benefits of a soft cooler are flexibility, lighter weight, and portability compared to hard coolers. Still, as you add insulation thickness and rigidity to improve performance, those benefits start to diminish.
Boxier coolers can be easier to stack — as long as the walls and base are rigid — while sleeker coolers can more likely slip behind a seat in your car. Shorter, more compact coolers are easier to fit in tight spaces on a boat. We also tested the Orca Walker Tote ($225), which is equally well-made but in a slightly different style.
Two and a half hours after filling them, we checked to see how much of the ice had melted. We considered how comfortable the coolers were to carry and whether they made the experience more convenient or enjoyable. They also went through a durability test, which involved slamming them onto the ground, throwing them down a flight of stairs, and flipping them upside down to check for leaks. We also tested 23 backpack coolers in our lab, and included the best in this roundup.
Since the heavy-duty zipper is extra-tight and water-sealed, it’s sometimes hard to unzip, but it comes with lubricant for this exact reason. Durability varies considerably between soft coolers, and a good way to differentiate between models is to look at denier (D), which is a measurement of fabric thickness. RovR’s TravelR 30 is another standout in terms of durability with a burly TPU base and welded seams that give it a very hardwearing feel.
However, when you open the main zip, you’ll find one large insulated compartment for all the best goodies. The cooler is large enough to hold a wine bottle inside or outside in the mesh pockets. With comfortable straps and plenty of storage, there’s not much you can’t do with this bag. Take all your favorite goodies to the lake, pack up for a barbeque, or carry a lunch to the zoo.
You may be looking for the perfect lunch cooler bag for the kids, or maybe you’re searching for a small beach cooler bag to take your oceanside lounge session to the next level. Whatever it is, answering these simple questions can help you find the right soft cooler for you. Our designer tool gives you complete control of how your custom design comes to life. igloo water cooler Color print your name or a funny design, your favorite sport, or your own artwork. Many soft coolers do not have tiedown points, which would be a good feature for river or motorcycle trips. When you use a cooler outside, many factors influence a pack’s ice retention, including frequency of opening the cooler, direct sunlight, and ambient temperature.
Capacities in a soft cooler are often stated in sheer storage capacity listed in various volume measures such as gallons, quarts, or liters. Many companies also list capacity in terms of the number of cans, which can be easier to visualize. We’ve taken this cooler and Yeti’s igloo water cooler BackFlip 24 on many fishing and fly-fishing trips. We like the Hopper Flip because of its size and ability to keep drinks cold all day, even in the warm sun. It’s the perfect companion and size for a group of three or four to have a few cans each throughout the day.
We fully loaded these coolers, walked with them for miles, and went through hundreds of pounds of ice. No matter your budget or needs, our exhaustive testing will help you identify the perfect cooler for you. While we like the large size, the bulky design can be somewhat awkward to carry in that you might accidentally knock into someone if you bring it inside a store. It’s not necessarily difficult or uncomfortable, though, thanks to the cushioned shoulder strap.
We periodically checked, making notes regarding melt rate, condensation, and leaks. Each reported time is based on when 100% of the ice was converted to water. But when traveling outdoors, these controlled variables disappear and the ice will likely melt faster. We took this cooler on a two-person, 3,400-mile road trip from Colorado to Washington for ski mountaineering followed by ocean surfing.