With corners that unclip, the top conveniently opens further to allow quick loading and locating of contents. On top of that, this is one of the largest coolers we tested, fitting an impressive 48 cans, making it a solid contender to guard your food and drink for a long weekend of camping. Despite its bulky size, the Engel is more portable than we expected, featuring an easy two-person carry using the end handles. After many years, its durable construction has proven worth the investment, with consistent performance, unchanged over time, and even looking like we bought it last week. Before diving into the finer details, it’s important to point out that soft coolers come with some inherent compromises. Unlike hard-sided models that can keep food and beverages cold for days (or even weeks) on end, soft models aren’t built to keep contents cold for more than a few days at maximum.
Chillin’ out is easy with genuine igloo soft coolers and lunch coolers! Hauling cold drinks and food is easier because soft coolers weigh less, and they’re ready to be custom printed with your logo for memorable gifts. There is a wide variety of sizes and all these promotional coolers are easy to clean and stow when you’re done. Most soft coolers work best when cooled by ice packs or ice cubes. However, dry ice reaches lower temperatures than regular ice and can be used in most soft coolers. It’s a good choice if you need extra cold temperatures to keep ice cream or meat not just chilled but frozen.
Many soft-sided coolers do an incredible job of retaining ice on hot days, sometimes for over 24 hours. This might be necessary in certain instances, but if you’re using yours for a day trip and only need it to keep pre-chilled items cold for a few hours, you might not even need ice. This lightweight cooler was easy to carry with the padded messenger-style strap. You can also use the grab handles if you’d rather not sling it over your shoulder.
There’s just one big main compartment, but it has the brand’s HitchPoint Grid, allowing you to attach other things to the outside. We believe in offering the very best value, quality, and selection. Refunds are issued to the original form of payment, unless returned in store
where some exclusions may apply.
The Hydro Flask Insulated 20 is one of our favorites thanks to its simple tote-style design and quick internal cleaning. Additionally, it packs down flat, not taking up much space when not in use. The REI Trail Pack is one of our favorites for fully loaded distance missions, offering all the comfort of a backpacking backpack with its perfectly padded weight-bearing waistbelt. We also looked at the features each came with and evaluated their actual usability.
This is due to its center ice holder, which closely resembles a hotel room ice box. This caddy is ideal for situations where quick access is preferred, like the kid’s soccer game or a backyard barbeque. With four storage compartments, you can create a fun party tray, with snacks in one and drinks in the others. It’s also built with igloo water cooler rugged materials, so you can trust that a few drops won’t cause much damage, though you might lose a snack or two. Aside from being colder than ice, the biggest advantage to dry ice is that, as it warms up, it evaporates, instead of melting. So, if you were chilling a gallon of milk, you’d use two gallons of ice to keep it cool.
Our other grievance is the zipper only goes around halfway, stopping at an awkward spot that limits access and ability to clean the inside of the cooler. So, when you grab one of the two handles to carry the cooler, it leaks all over the place. When we picked up the cooler with the detachable shoulder strap — which is padded — the attachment point completely broke within 20 seconds — thankfully, the cooler didn’t land on our toes. So we used a different shoulder strap to carry the cooler on our 15-minute walk to our picnic spot. Brand new to the soft cooler scene, RovR just bridged their long-standing hard cooler craftsmanship into their sister category.
We tried the 16-can size (which means it can fit up to 16 cans without ice) and were able to fit 13 cans plus enough ice to keep them chilled. Though wine bottles are likely too tall, you could also fill it with a picnic lunch, sandwiches, or snacks and juice pouches for a kids’ sports game. There are spacious side pockets where you can stash your keys, phone, sunscreen, or a book as well, plus an external securing bungee. The best option we tested was undoubtedly the RTIC Soft Pack Cooler.
Meanwhile, the Maelstrom and the Trail Split have a traditional backpack style that’s easy to get in and out of. The RTIC Backpack has a large internal capacity, and as a result, makes the rest of the bag rather large. The footprint of the pack can feel rather bulky, especially if you’re packing only a few snacks.
Whatever food and drinks are stored inside this ice chest will be able to stay cold for the entire day. While standing as one of the smaller options on this list, enough retention is provided for a day at work or an afternoon at the park with friends and family. Once again, everyday use is the focus for this section of Igloo’s offerings. If you plan on staying out in the woods for more than a day, then be prepared to carry extra packs of ice, as well as more than one of these coolers so that you enjoy tasty meals. And 1.2 lbs., while the Cool Fusion 36, which provides more space, weighs 6.4 lbs.