Ozark Trail 55 L Crystal Cavern Technical Backpack

When my bag got wet from a few rides, it easily and quickly dried because of its thin material, I really liked that. The bag has one large compartment and then a smaller one on the front/side. Overall this is a great small bag to take along with you. I like how you can put water bottles and snacks in the main compartment and cell phone/wallet in the smaller one, so you don’t have to worry about them getting covered in crumbs or spilled water.

Plus, join discussions with other members about gear, guides, and more. To help us better protect your account security, please check the CAPTCHA box below. Join Outside+ to get access to exclusive content, 1,000s of training plans, and more. Wetlands give way to ridgelines at the start of the Blair Creek section. The 26-mile route follows Blair Creek south as it carves down a valley through oak-hickory-pine forest before merging with the emerald waters of the Current River.

One of the best parts of backpacking is settling around a campfire and enjoying a hot dinner after a long day of hiking. You may find it helpful to make a list of meals for each day you are out on the trail to ensure that you are not over- or under-packing for your trip. Exploring Missouri’s scenic ozark trail canopy Ozark backcountry is one of the best reasons to head out on the trail. The Ozark Trail Association marks and improves the trail and ensures backpacking campsites are well maintained. What’s more, the OT offers many things to see and experience for both seasoned and first-time backpackers.

One wrong decision and your sandwiches or produce will be smushed. Enter Arctic Zone’s Welded Backpack Cooler, which helps boost your strategic packing capabilities by featuring two major compartments. This will allow you to separate food and drinks, hopefully keeping your sandwiches intact.

Between the two- and 24-hour marks, we tested for portability and durability while they were filled with cans and ice. We wore the backpacks around the lab, including walking up and down stairs to test for comfort and ease of carrying. We also pushed the coolers off tables onto a concrete floor, turned the backpack coolers upside down, and tipped them over to see if they would leak or become damaged.

IceMule employs its double proprietary inner and outer fabric to boost durability. It also uses proprietary insulation to amp cold and ice-retention, making the Pro one of the best performers during our 24-hour ice test. A day after initially putting ice into the cooler pack, the internal temperature only raised about 7 degrees, and some solid ice remained. Pelican’s ozark trail chair Dayventure Backpack Cooler had some of the best cold-retention among all coolers we tested in our Brooklyn lab. Twenty-four hours after filling it with ice and beverage cans, the internal temperature had increased only about 2.5 degrees. Like similar high-end soft and backpack coolers, Pelican uses dense closed-cell insulation to boost its cold-saving chops.

It also includes loops to hang your trekking poles when not in use. Our testers also liked how comfortable and easy the pack was to carry—although they mentioned wanting to see a waist strap added to help distribute the weight. The waterproof zipper was challenging for the testers to open but not as tough as other coolers. The abrasion-resistant material held up well in our lab testing, and the waterproof material kept liquids from falling in or out of the pack.

After 24 hours, the RTIC still had about 50 percent solid ice, on par with Yeti’s Hopper BackFlip cooler. Also similar to the Hopper BackFlip, RTIC employs some serious premium insulation to help keep contents inside the cooler cold. Like the Yeti Hopper BackFlip, IceMule’s Boss is heavy-duty, rugged, and spendy.

Are you looking for a backpack for your next outdoor adventure that won’t break the bank? Ozark Trail backpacks are an excellent option for outdoor enthusiasts on a budget. Their backpacks have all of the technical features you need to support your hike or camping trip, but are available at unbeatable prices. That lightness likely came at the expense of insulation, as this pack also had some of the worst ice and cold-retention results. There were no remaining solid ice cubes 24 hours after the ice was placed into the cooler. And the internal temperature rose by about 17 degrees 24 hours after ice was placed in the pack.

And while the pack is good and cold and ice-retention (more on that in a bit), our testers particularly enjoyed how easy it was to carry it despite its bulk. “This is the best big cooler for carrying,” one tester noted. Our testers loved how the straps are not too thin and not too bulky, and the cooler’s back padding and ventilation.