While this isn’t quite as high as we have seen in other premium coolers, the much lower asking price helps to justify it. For most people, being able to keep ice for 3 days or more is plenty. And it makes Ozark Trail Coolers great for any weekend outing. Lastly, being able to safely and comfortably transport the cooler is extremely important. And when you fill it up with drinks, food, and ice, it can weigh 100 pounds or more! You will find an overhead stainless steel handle with a comfort grip on the 26-quart model and the 52/73-quart models will come with heavy-duty side handles with comfort grips.
Having a soft sided cooler that holds ice for almost two full days is better than most budget hard sided coolers. So for the price I think the performance isn’t too bad, ozark trail cooler not as good as premium soft sided coolers but not too bad. And the premium cooler backpack and cooler tote take this up a notch by having an EVA compression molded base.
However, that kind of handle won’t work for the larger coolers, so they utilize side handles made of rope for those ones. However, if you treat it well you’ll get some good performance out of it for a ozark trail chair tiny fraction of the price. Both coolers have leak proof zippers that are 100% watertight. Both of these coolers are packed with features and the Ozark trail has very similar features to the Yeti.
The ice melted in the Coleman in 39 hours and the Ozark Trail in 73 hours. The water turned warm in both coolers fairly quickly after the ice melted. Unfortunately, I realized a little too late that I purchased the wrong size and the larger size won’t be available until after we leave for vacation. This cooler claims that it keeps ice for more than 4.5 days in mild temps.
For us, while a YETI required a larger initial investment, we will save money (and use less water) over time. Many companies and sporting stores make or sell rotomolded coolers. If you are interested in purchasing one, considering waiting for a sale, like the REI 20% off member sale. The weather was in the high 90s during the test, the coolers were in full sun for most of the morning, and we opened them several times throughout the day.
In most cases, the coolers feature a large, insulated inner compartment and exterior storage pockets on the front or sides. Front pockets usually have zippers, while side pockets typically have no closure and are made of mesh to hold non-food items. Some soft-sided models also have expandable tops that can increase the height of the cooler by as much as three inches to fit stacked cans or larger bottles. Ozark Trail soft-sided coolers have soft fabric exteriors and are lightweight and easy to carry.