When not at work, Greg’s an avid sportsman who enjoys running marathons, loves snowboarding, hiking and discovering new single tracks on his bike. In stock expedited shipments will ship the same day, or the next business day for orders placed on a weekend, if the order is placed before 12 PM Central Time. Non-expedited orders are processed for shipment within two business days of payment verification, excluding holidays. You will receive a shipping confirmation e-mail once your order has shipped. The e-mail will provide your tracking number and link to the shipping carriers tracking page. These insulated carriers will keep your drinks cold and your perishables fresh.
The fully-welded waterproof cooler design includes a leakproof zipper, leakproof liner, and waterproof exterior that keeps the cold in and water out. Wherever your adventuring takes you, the Igloo 40-Can Rolling Cooler travels with you. In addition to testing soft coolers on their own, we also compared their performance with those of insulated shopping totes and hard coolers. On the whole, we found that the soft-sided coolers we tested kept things colder longer than an insulated shopping tote, but not quite as long as a large hard-sided cooler. This makes them ideal for a day at the beach or a few days of camping, but not for longer trips or when just running a few errands (where insulated shopping totes really excel). The best models were extremely portable and kept ice frozen for three days—impressive for a soft-sided cooler.
And where the Yeti still had about half of its ice frozen, our testers reported only about 20 percent of the ice placed in the Icemule stayed frozen. Instead, you should use freshly frozen cubed ice, ice blocks, or reusable ice packs. The prices of soft coolers in our guide range from the $30 Mountainsmith Takeout, which is the smallest cooler, to the OtterBox Trooper 20 Cooler ($250) with top-shelf ice retention.
One exception is REI Co-op, which offers a full refund or replacement within one year of purchase for members (90 days for non-members). Finally, it’s worth noting that many companies provide different warranties for their hard-sided versus soft-sided offerings. For example, YETI’s hard-sided Tundra series is covered with a five-year warranty compared to three for the Hopper collection. 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.
Each soft cooler was rated for size, insulation, design, and value, and those with the highest overall scores are featured here. This carrier has a 30-can capacity, though when we filled it with 30 cans and ice, it was extremely heavy and a struggle to carry. If you’re using it for drinks only, we suggest 20 cans, maximum, especially if you’re walking more than a couple of blocks. You can also remove the straps to convert it into a tote-style cooler and carry it with the grab handles. Dry bags are a staple of river trips, as are heavy, bulky hard-sided coolers. The Icemule Pro essentially combines the two into an insulated, durable dry bag perfect for a day on the water.
The soft internal material tends to get soggy and needs extra time to dry out. All things considered, the bag is fairly inexpensive, so if you’re only needing the occasional soft cooler, this will do the trick. To be sure, these top-end designs have their appeal for those who want the easier portability of a soft cooler without compromising on build quality, but they’re not worth the investment for most.
For being so small, it is expensive for the average consumer, despite its quality construction. The Yeti Hopper Flip 18 is one of the best soft coolers you can buy right now. Read on for igloo trailmate a look at the best soft coolers on the market right now. Whatever drinks and snacks your soft cooler holds will be able to stay in prime consuming condition thanks to the insulation.
It’ll keep your perishables reliably cold, even on the hottest days. However, it’s not leakproof, so you’ll want to be careful not to drop it when transporting liquids. A lifelong user of coolers, he appreciates the innovation of soft backpack coolers. For a few years now, Nathan has loved his Yeti Hopper BackFlip and Yeti Hopper Flip, but the Icemule cooler packs mentioned in this roundup are quickly becoming his new go-to’s in certain situations. Capacities in a soft cooler are often stated in sheer storage capacity listed in various volume measures such as gallons, quarts, or liters.
By adding a fully supportive, weight-bearing waist belt, this cooler is ideal for relieving your shoulders when you need your cooler filled to the brim with delicious picnic provisions. While the IceMule is our favorite for smaller and medium loads because of its comfortable straps and flexible body, the Trail Pack is our go-to choice for heavy cargo. It’s comfortable like a daypack and saves your shoulders over the long haul.
If you’re looking for a collapsible and durable option at a more affordable cost, we highly recommend the Icemule Classic. And it didn’t hold the cold as well (the temperature inside the cooler rose about 18 degrees between two hours and 24 hours after putting ice in it compared to just 7 degrees for the Yeti). But our testers appreciated how comfortable the Classic is to carry on one shoulder, how light it was, and its durability. According to our ice retention test, the REI Co-op Cool Haul is capable of holding ice for up to 60 hours.