Made with soft polyester, the outer layer being a diamond ripstop material, the bag is both comfortable and durable. The zippers are sturdy, with no problems in the two years we have used them. I would not recommend this product to anyone unless I wanted them to freeze and get a terrible night’s sleep. I nearly froze to death on the trail, and craftsmanship is garbage (to put it mildly). We are committed to finding, researching, and recommending the best products. We earn commissions from purchases you make using the retail links in our product reviews.
It is water resistant, but not waterproof, and it stores extremely well. When it’s in the compression sack it comes with, it’s about 12 inches tall and 5 inches wide. The Ozark Trail cooler is made from polyethylene, which is the most common kind of plastic in use today. The coolers remained in the same location for the duration of the 6 day test, only being opened to snap daily progress pictures. As far as color options go, you can purchase this in one of two colors, Greystone which is the one featured in this article and a lighter grey. The constant color feature among the two are the orange rimmed wheels which I don’t love but, it is not a deal breaker.
The bag on its own is very comfortable down to the 30-degree range. With the return of the colder weather, it is time to pull out our winter sleeping bags. Mummy bags are very effective for keeping warm, but I am not comfortable in a confining bag. I purchased this sleeping bag for warm weather camping trips at the local lake.
Too bad too because overall I’ve had good luck with Ozark Trail stuff. Too bad the buyer at Walmart has gone to sleep on quality control on this product. I used this bag from February of 2002 to June of 2002 on the Appalachian Trail, and I still have it. The first night out it was less than 14 degrees F, and I had at least 50 nights under 40 degrees F. I can’t say I was warm, but I wasn’t shivering, freezing, or cold either, although I did wear 2 layers of clothing.
It did not even get down to 40, more like upper 40s at the most and probably low 50s when I used it. It’s easy to use, and has an inside zipper pocket, ozark trail canopy anti-snag zipper, full neck baffle, and ClimaTech fiber for warmth. It is easy to get in and out of, since the zipper runs down to your feet.
I was in a large tent (admittedly, a smaller tent would have been better) with one other person. I had to add a fleece sleeping bag for more insulation. And every time you move your feet you get to hear the crinkle of the fabric on the bottom. Yeti has clearly set themselves apart as the biggest player in the cooler space. Since they launched, they have carved out an incredible market share delivering products across the board from coolers to dog bowls.
It has ClimaTech fiber for added warmth, comfort, and durability. It is terribly heavy for backpacking and definitely not rated correctly. If you just can’t afford a better bag…DO NOT GO OUT IN COLD WEATHER OR YOU WILL REGRET IT. The only way you would sleep well in this bag is if you are under 5’5″ and very slender and use it summer nights or maybe push it to early fall. My own personal beverage drama every summer has really pushed me to do this review. To me, worrying about the temperature of the drinks I have on my boat is the absolute last thing I want to be thinking about when I am heading out on the water.
When it is very cold I also use a comforter over the sleeping bags. Hand warmers in our socks and body warmers in our shirts are helpful as well. Our sleeping bags zip together, allowing us to take advantage of the shared body heat. Pairing these strategies together made it reasonably comfortable at that temperature.
Overall the Pelican coolers have sharper edges and a bit more of an industrial feel than the competition. One of the first things to note about it’s design is that it has a larger drainage hole and a tethered drain cap, which is a nice feature. I have lost a couple of drain caps in my day which makes the cooler unusable until a replacement arrives. I’m using my North facing deck as the staging area which receives direct sunlight at almost all hours of the day. I also placed a small weather system on the deck rail to help get a sense of how hot surface temperatures are in the area.