While the Boss is very durable and comfy to carry, it didn’t do as well in ice and cold retention compared to Yeti’s Hopper BackFlip backpack cooler. Some 24 hours after we put ice in the coolers, the inside temperature of the Boss increased by 19 degrees compared to just 7 degrees in the Yeti. And where the Yeti still had about half of its ice frozen, our testers reported only about 20 percent of the ice placed in the Icemule stayed frozen.
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. Many hard coolers also boast helpful features like drainage systems to help you empty out water once your ice has melted and lockable lids to bear-proof your cooler when camping in bear country. If there’s one clear benefit to soft coolers over hard-sided models, it’s that they’re significantly lighter and therefore much easier to tote around. A quick glance at our comparison table above reveals that most options hover somewhere in the 2- to 4-pound range, with the largest and most robust designs clocking in at 7 pounds or more.
The Arctic Zone Titan Deep Freeze 60 proved to us that soft coolers can hang with their hard-shelled counterparts. Right off the bat, we liked the fact igloo soft cooler that the Titan Deep Freeze comes with a detachable rolling cart. This soft-sided cooler is durable and helps keep your items at the right temperature.
We also appreciate when these pockets are water-resistant, which provides a little extra assurance against splashes or precipitation. A few models that include functional stash pockets include the RTIC Soft Pack Cooler, ORCA Walker Tote, and Arctic Zone Titan Deep Freeze. We placed two sensors designed to track temperature changes over time inside each soft cooler. We put one sensor at the bottom of the cooler, which was enclosed inside of a methylcellulose block.
The Icemule Pro essentially combines the two into an insulated, durable dry bag perfect for a day on the water. Like a good dry bag, the Icemule Pro has a roll-top closure that it claims will not let water in or out and allows you to trap air inside for extra insulation. Our testers noticed a bit of a leak from the roll-top closure when inverting the cooler. It also has the added benefit (significant on the water) of making the bag float.
Despite looking like a Yeti—and having thicker insulation on its lid (by half an inch)—it didn’t quite have the same performance as the Yeti Hopper. At the end of our 24-hour ice test, the Orca had no remaining solid ice, while the Yeti had some. And where the Yeti’s inner temperature increased by about 6 degrees over 24 hours, the Orca’s went up by about 13 degrees. Still, if you’re looking for a cooler that has the aesthetics, design, and durability of a Yeti but don’t want to spend quite the amount (we don’t blame you), the Orca is a solid alternative.
Non-expedited orders are processed for shipment within two business days of payment verification, excluding holidays. You will receive a shipping confirmation e-mail once your order has shipped. The e-mail will provide your tracking number and link to the shipping carriers tracking page. Edibles that only need to be chilled should be placed closer to the top of the cooler. A team of editors and testers from TripSavvy and Dotdash Meredith’s food group sites like Simply Recipes, Serious Eats, The Spruce Eats, and Liquor conducted testing in our Brooklyn lab.
And it didn’t hold the cold as well (the temperature inside the cooler rose about 18 degrees between two hours and 24 hours after putting ice in it compared to just 7 degrees for the Yeti). But our testers appreciated how comfortable the Classic is to carry on one shoulder, how light it was, and its durability. While it’s easy to get caught up in wanting the best, being realistic about using your soft cooler can help you choose one that works for your intended uses. Coolers have come a long way since glorified bags that offer a few hours of chilling, but that now-quaint level of performance may be all you need.
The charge will show on the product detail page of applicable products. Aside from being colder than ice, the biggest advantage to dry ice is that, as it warms up, it evaporates, instead of melting. So, if you were chilling a gallon of milk, you’d use two gallons of ice to keep it cool. That said, using more ice allows for better food preservation over a longer period of time.
Here are our reviews for Igloo soft coolers that combine convenience with fun. According to our testing, over a long enough period of time, a cooler with closed-cell foam will keep things cool for longer. But in the 24- to 48-hour range, we haven’t seen a huge difference between using ¾ inch of closed-cell or open-cell foam in a cooler. Closed-cell foam is considered a better insulator than open-cell foam because the tiny bubbles of gas in closed-cell foam remain independent from one another. Air bubbles that do not share cell walls and in effect stay insulated from one another are better at reducing the overall transfer of heat through the foam.