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. There’s nothing like traveling with friends and family out on the open road. And it’s even better with the right cooler bag (that you can easily carry and fit between seats) to keep you all refreshed with ice-cold provisions along the way. And we have a huge selection of cooler bags for the beach, perfect for keeping you and your crew refreshed all day long. For a variety of conditions, the soft coolers in this guide provide enough cooling power to serve a range of recreation needs.
Still, we didn’t find a much better option for your picnic outings. 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 igloo soft cooler chilled but frozen. The clear winners in this class are the backpack-style coolers, as the weight distribution across both shoulders and resting behind you will almost always beat out a unilateral carry. We’ve tested several of these styles, and the RTIC Backpack 30 is hands down our favorite for sheer carrying comfort.
Among the many tote and messenger style options we tested, we have our favorites. Models with flexible shapes, adjustable straps, and extra padding go a long way toward making these something you don’t mind carrying. Some of the other reasonably portable bags, like the Yeti Flip, scored well thanks to their well-padded shoulder straps and additional options to hand carry or partner carry them when they’re loaded down. The RTIC Soft Pack is also a favorite, with its soft, malleable body and long padded shoulder strap that makes it far more pleasant across your body when weighed down. The softer canvas exteriors and flexible insulated walls of the AO 24 Pack and REI Pack Away are much more comfortable bouncing against our sides and feel like a duffel bag.
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. We exclusively cover soft-sided coolers above, which work well for those who just need a simple and portable option for road trips or day use. For multi-day trips, however, hard-sided models offer several added benefits over soft coolers. Namely, they retain ice for much longer (two to 10 days is standard), are inherently far more durable and hardwearing, and come in larger capacities.
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. Our other grievance is we wish there was an exterior pocket on this soft cooler to help carry utensils and napkins or slide in trash. The exterior is made of a 600-denier polyester shell that’s waterproof. The zipper is completely watertight with welded seams, so leaking isn’t on the menu. We noticed the zipper is hard to pull one-handed, and we typically need to counter-pull the side handles to open or close it.
It’s also built with rugged materials, so you can trust that a few drops won’t cause much damage, though you might lose a snack or two. For the most part, this backpack did a good job preventing leaks, though a small amount of water seeped through once the ice melted. When filling it with perishable food, we were able to fit quite a lot inside, along with enough ice packs to keep everything igloo trailmate cold. We’re big fans of the retro appearance and structured design too. For the weekend warrior, the rugged adventurer, the daily luncher, the boater, the weekday commuter, the beach-goer, the Sunday hiker, the park picnicker, the snack provider (aka MOM)…the list goes on. And remember—when picking the size you need, keep in mind what activities you’re most likely to partake in.
Other coolers have external pockets with a Velcro latch, zipper, or waterproof zipper for security. Most soft coolers are simple with a central insulated compartment for food and beverages. Choose a soft cooler based on the storage capacity and type of support you need for the load.