Whether you’re going the super affordable route or looking for coolers with the most high-end design features, you can find the perfect Igloo cooler bag right here. When compared to other soft coolers in our guide, a few design choices—like placement of the side handles under the hook point for the strap making it feel very cramped—knocked a few points off. Igloo® provides the best coolers, ice chests and insulated cooler bags. The Booe 30L Waterproof Insulated Tote at $199 is near that high tier. For this soft cooler guide, we examined the most popular, innovative, highly acclaimed, and bestselling products with diverse storage and carry capacities, ice retention ability, and across a price spectrum. Ultimately, due to the ice retention, the Igloo Pursuit Tote is a solid option for errands and small trips but be sure to cool the bag before use.
The eco-friendly design features a recycled polyester upper and recycled nylon bottom. However you’re getting in on the action — playing in the game/match, hitting the gym or tailgating to the stadium lot — we’ve got the coolers for staying hydrated while having fun. Beckett Dubay is a product tester at Reviewed, regularly using science-based protocol to test refrigerators, dishwashers, and laundry large appliances, and photographing the process in the lab from start to finish. Edibles that only need to be chilled should be placed closer to the top of the cooler. We’re the testing team at Reviewed, which means we designed and implemented the experiments involved in this article.
However, this Orca soft cooler is a direct and more affordable alternative to our best upgrade pick. The Arctic Zone Titan Deep igloo water cooler Freeze is the best soft cooler we’ve tested. A few factors are holding these coolers back from significantly longer ice life.
For grab-and-go, there’s a handle on the back and a carry tote-style strap. Since joining the Reviewed in 2012, Jon has helped launch the company’s efforts in reviewing laptops, vacuums, and outdoor gear. In the pursuit of data, he’s plunged his hands into freezing cold water, consented to be literally dragged through the mud, and watched paint dry. Aside from being colder than ice, the biggest advantage to dry ice is that, as it warms up, it evaporates, instead of melting.
As we’ve covered above, soft coolers are far easier to haul around than their hard-sided counterparts. In addition to weighing less, most come with padded straps and thick grab handles for carrying solo over your shoulder or by hand. Premium models tend to have great cushioning along the straps, as evidenced by Yeti’s Hopper M30, RovR’s TravelR 30, and Engel’s HD30. Backpack coolers like the Hydro Flask 20 L Day Escape are the easiest to manage with full harnesses that can be worn like a standard daypack (we outline these more in depth below).
We did our best to clarify in the write-ups and comparison table above, but it’s an important distinction to keep in mind when shopping for a soft cooler. REI has a knack for balancing performance and igloo trailmate affordability, and their Cool Haul 24 is no exception. 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.