Soft coolers are better for activities like a summertime picnic in the park or a day hike. And we always focus on providing you with long-lasting cold retention, the whole point of a cooler! Our affordable soft cooler designs are thoughtful, intuitive and reliable because we think of YOU and the ways you’ll use your cooler every day or on extended adventures.
Two final features worth calling out are the Arctic Zone Titan’s shelf for separating hard and soft items and the REI Cool Haul 24’s removable inner liner that allows you to use the shell separately as a tote. Waterproof Soft Coolers
Many of the coolers igloo water cooler above utilize highly water-resistant zippers or openings, but very few have fully waterproof constructions. One exception is the ICEMULE Classic, which has a dry bag-like shape and exterior with a roll-top closure that can be fully submerged in water.
Hydro Flask is a brand better known for its water bottles, but the company also makes coolers. The 20-liter Carry Out Soft Cooler carries the same design ethos as other products sold by Hydroflask. The Hydroflask soft cooler contains a BPA-free liner and has a jaunty exterior.
We previously noted that Yeti had suspended sales of our backpack pick, the Hopper M20, due to a potential safety issue with the closure, which could fail, releasing magnets, which would be dangerous to ingest. If you want a backpack cooler, we recommend the Polar Bear Original Nylon Backpack Cooler. 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.
Closed-cell foam is also much more expensive to produce than open-cell foam. The resulting product is strong and especially rigid feeling, and typically it weighs more than 1.7 pounds per cubic foot with more than 90% of its air cells closed to one another. Closed-cell foam is also water-impermeable—so it’s an ideal material for, say, surfers’ wetsuits. This simple lunch-box-style cooler is insulated with thick closed-cell foam and made from a durable coated nylon. Similar to any other true roto-molded cooler, the RTIC 65 is practically indestructible, which makes it great for tougher outdoor environments. In our testing, the RTIC 65 kept ice frozen for 10 days with some periodic draining.
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. We packed the coolers with the stated capacity of cans (when possible); we also filled the coolers with ice once the cans were packed. Once the coolers were full, we began testing for portability and durability by carrying the coolers around the lab and up and down steps and pushing them off tables onto a concrete floor.
Some 24 hours after we put ice into the Titan, the inside temperature only raised 5 degrees—better than both Yeti coolers we tested. There’s no zipper on the lid—just a Velcro-like closure—so be sure the cooler stays upright in transportation. And while it claims to hold 30 cans with ice, we found it much easier to fit 20 cans with adequate ice.
For the ultimate in portability, backpack-style coolers are the clear winners. And many of these bags, including Hydro Flask’s 20 L Day Escape, share a lot in common with regular daypacks. Other highlights include a waterproof exterior that stands up well to rough use and outer lash points for strapping to a kayak or boat.
To keep the weight down, this Pelican soft cooler’s insulation measures only half-an-inch thick. It kept its interior below 40°F for 27 hours—one of the lowest of any of the soft coolers we tested. A tough, reliable soft cooler can keep your food and beverages cold while you hike, take a day trip, picnic, or tailgate. Best of all, unlike a hard-sided cooler, many of the best soft coolers can be collapsed down for easy storage when not in use. Dry bags are a staple of river trips, as are heavy, bulky hard-sided coolers.