Soft coolers that are wider or more bucket-style are easier to access, as far as finding a specific item. Coolers with a broad, flat surface that rests against you can help absorb that swing and bounce. The Igloo Pursuit Tote ($100) preserved our bubbly water, hummus, pepperoni, peppers, and arugula while car camping and crewing the Hardrock 100. Unfortunately, the shape and height of the cooler makes the storage space pretty narrow. Looking at it from the outside, the cooler looks like it will fit more than it actually can. The shape works well for canned drinks, but other than that, the narrowness of the storage space makes it difficult to organize.
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credit for the amount of the item at the time of purchase. For instance, YETI advises applying the lubricant to the front and back of the zipper including the teeth and seal. RTIC says to add a couple of drops then open and close the zipper a few times. The moisturizer can be applied every 6 months to help protect the zipper teeth — around the time you head in for an oil change.
Let the interior completely air dry or use a towel to wipe down before zipping shut for storage. A soft cooler’s materials include the exterior, insulation, interior liner, and handles. The most common are waterproof and leakproof zippers or non-waterproof and leakproof zippers. The exterior is made of synthetic plastic and nylon, so it’s not resilient for a rugged whitewater trip but is suitable for basecamp.
Truck Freight is used to ship items that exceed standard shipping limitations on weight and/or size. If the cooler’s seams are not welded and leakproof, they can leak. Soft coolers can also leak through the lid closure if the zipper isn’t waterproof or the clasp isn’t leakproof. We pay attention to that variable to know if a cooler needs to always be upright.
One exception is the Icemule Classic, which has a dry bag-like shape and exterior with a roll-top closure that can be fully submerged in water. This makes it particularly great for activities like kayaking or paddle boarding when it might be exposed to a lot of water. It also floats, which provides added assurance should conditions get rougher than expected.
Some soft coolers even have a mesh pocket that may hold a water bottle nicely. Importantly, not all coolers measure interior capacity in the same way. Some use cans as a unit of measure, while others use liters, quarts, or gallons. That said, “cans” is the most commonly used measurement for soft coolers (hard-sided models are generally listed in quarts), and we’ve utilized that spec throughout this article whenever available. That said, there are still some discrepancies to be aware of, the biggest of which is whether or not ice is included in that estimate.
From picnics to standup paddleboard trips and road tripping up the coast, soft coolers have a solid place in our lineup of on-the-go refrigeration tools. 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. To test the best soft coolers, we filled each one with ice to see how long it took for the ice to melt. Designed to be taken while fishing, kayaking, or backpacking, everything about this Pelican soft cooler revolves around being lightweight. This soft cooler performs very well, keeping the interior below 40°F for a little over 40 hours.
It kept our drinks and produce cool for the whole 9.5-hour drive with varying temperatures and sun exposure. Most soft coolers have smooth liners, which makes cleaning a breeze. After each trip, simply use a clean towel with a mixture of warm water and mild soap to wipe everything down. For tough stains, apply a solution of baking soda and water and let it sit for about 20 minutes before washing it off. Pesky odors can be treated with a diluted mixture of bleach and water.
While adventuring throughout the Southwest, Groos took these coolers on a multitude of activities ranging from day trips to the lake to go fishing and swimming to multiday road trips. According to the ice retention test, this cooler can preserve ice for 25 hours. We brought this cooler on a car camping trip to Colorado for five days and tested igloo soft cooler it out on the lake, in the car, and on the trail. We used this cooler for our snacks and drinks, and it did well to keep our things cold for a couple of days at a time. The RTIC 20 Can Soft Pack Cooler ($99) definitely compared to the Yeti Hopper Flip 12 soft cooler in that it had impressive ice retention and insulative effectiveness.