We also appreciated the comfortable cushion and traction of the shoulder strap on the YETI Hopper M30 Soft Cooler. In our testing, we found the side handles of the fishpond Blizzard Soft Cooler and OtterBox Trooper 20 Cooler were stalwart and comfortable to grab. We liked the wide, soft material of the two swing-up straps on the Snow Peak Soft Cooler. Boxier coolers can be easier to stack — as long as the walls and base are rigid — while sleeker coolers can more likely slip behind a seat in your car. Shorter, more compact coolers are easier to fit in tight spaces on a boat. Soft coolers that are wider or more bucket-style are easier to access, as far as finding a specific item.
Others are fully collapsible and pliable, and we celebrate the space-saving option for storage. We’ll always have a spot in our gear closet for a hard cooler, but soft coolers have proven to be just as essential. They weigh less and are easy for one person to grab and quickly transport from
the deck to the truck bed. Yeti claims the Hopper BackFlip 24 can hold 20 cans at a two to one ice ratio. The RTIC Soft Pack Cooler has a similar feel and look to a Yeti cooler but comes at a more accessible cost. A lot goes into making a cooler, and we’re committed every step of the way.
From multi-day backpacking and hunting trips to simple road trips to weeks on Lake Powell in 100+ degree temperatures, he’s dependent on quality coolers in the field. He currently likes the Hydro Flask Day Escape 20L for quick road-tripping and the Yeti BackFlip for more serious cooling on the go. While the can measurement standard is helpful, keep in mind you’ll
need to devote at least some of that volume to ice. The amount of ice you put in a cooler is totally subjective and depends on how cold you want the cooler’s contents and the conditions and temperatures in which you’ll be taking the cooler. Just make sure to read the specs carefully and assume that max can carrying capacity listed is for only cans in most cases.
When fully loaded with a whopping 39 cans, we wish we had a waist belt to take some of the weight off our shoulders. But for lighter loads, wearing the IceMule is like carrying a grade school backpack. Among hard coolers, a 70-quart size is big enough for a variety of tasks. We’ve tested Polar Bear coolers for seven years now, buying them or receiving test units from Polar Bear.
We could fit 20 cans easily in this 24-can cooler or 12 cans with snacks and food. The thick and durable insulation kept our drinks cold for many hours. Hard coolers are still the gold standard in cold-retention, but soft coolers provide distinct benefits, such as portability made possible by their lighter weights and flexibility. To find the right cooler, browse our tested recommendations and read our tips at the bottom of this article. High-performance hard coolers from brands such as Yeti have raised the bar for what consumers expect (and what they expect to pay) from coolers. That shift has spilled over into the soft cooler category and has pushed quality soft coolers’ performance (and price).
Whatever their shape, they’re engineered to get you to where you need to go, keeping your perishables and liquids fresh and cool. After combing through the long list of offerings out there, we created a best of list just for you. The Original is made with an exterior of 840-denier UV-resistant nylon wrapped around open-cell foam. Technically less insulating than closed-cell
foam, open-cell foam performs fairly well for most applications as long as the cooler isn’t left in the open sun. The Original can do exactly what you need it to do, which is to keep things cold for the day while you focus on the fun at hand. This simple lunch-box-style cooler is insulated with thick closed-cell foam and made from a durable coated nylon.