The Hydro Flask Day Escape Tote ($150) offers a streamlined, lightweight, and durable design. We used this cooler for park BBQs and loved how comfortable it was to slip over our shoulders and carry. The insulation is a metal-coated plastic blend, which did a solid job of preserving the ice and goods.
Performance wise, this Igloo soft cooler proved itself to be below average—keeping the interior cool for about 38 hours, about 60% behind the Yeti Flip. Ice is heavy so the ability to wheel it around rather than carry it is great. However, if you’re looking to spend up on a luxury soft cooler, the Yeti Hopper Flip 18 is a heavy-duty choice for holding ice. The Yeti Hopper Flip 18 is one of the most expensive coolers on this list and we can see why. While putting this compact and lightweight cooler through its paces, we found every aspect to be highly engineered and durable.
The exterior is made of synthetic plastic and nylon, so it’s not resilient for a rugged whitewater trip but is suitable for basecamp. The insulated walls have an interior aluminum coat that helps trap cold air, and the ice retention is adequate for single- and 2-day adventures. Despite being left in the car for a full day following the river outing, the cooler still had ice and felt cold. That well-founded retention is thanks to the brand’s blend of proprietary insulation, interior radiant barrier, and thick base made of three layers of SuperFoam. We also found the water- and stain-resistant exterior very durable.
Most of our choice soft coolers are either larger (30 L to 38 L) for group multiday trips or more compact (12 L to 19 L). During the warmer months, there’s nothing better than sitting on a beach or in a park with a cold can of something refreshing and some chilled snacks to munch on. While we’ve previously tested hard-sided coolers, we decided to focus on soft-sided coolers, which promise to keep food and drinks cold without the heft and bulk. igloo water cooler 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.
It proves itself incredibly easy to use and comfortable to carry. The large roll-top design allows easy access to its contents, so you won’t have to remove everything on top to reach that last cold soda at the bottom. Toss this on the kayak or paddleboard, or tug it along on your next float trip. Regardless, if it topples overboard, you can rest assured it won’t get soaked or sink. It also performs quite well among backpack models in our insulation testing and is solidly durable. This lightweight bag resembles a traditional backpack, with plenty of pockets and mesh bottle holders.
Soft coolers may have shoulder straps — which are typically removable — buckles, attachment points, and interior or exterior pockets. Some pockets have durable, waterproof zipper closures, but many are not weather-resistant or secured with a closure. But as long as you don’t drop it off the south rim of the Grand Canyon, you’re likely to have this cooler for a very, very long time. We had no problem filling the cooler with 20 cans and plenty of ice.
Our winner, the Engel HD20 22qt Heavy-Duty Soft Sided Cooler Tote Bag, kept ice frozen for three full days. Our Best Buy, the Coleman 30-Can Portable Soft Cooler, Space Blue, kept ice frozen for two and a half days—great performance for a fraction of the price. Dry bags are a staple of river trips, as are heavy, bulky hard-sided coolers. 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.
For instance, the REI Co-op Cool Haul Soft Cooler preserved ice for 60 hours during our test but only for 18 hours during one toasty car camp trip. Each soft cooler was stationed indoors at around 65 degrees, shaded, and filled with the same ratio and type of ice. The materials are high-quality with igloo trailmate closed-cell foam insulation, a vinyl-coated polyester exterior, and snazzy YKK zippers. But without a shoulder strap, it wasn’t ideal to transport the Hobie Cooler more than short distances. But even with a pad, the strap was not comfortable for the weight-to-weight ratio of this tall cooler.
One potential issue, especially when transporting for lunch, is the cooler leaked a bit from the zipper. Four tie-down points on the cooler will help with that during transport in a vehicle. Some clearance product and price points may not be available at all locations.
In our lab tests, it provides top-notch insulation, keeping raw foods appropriately cold (below 40 degrees Fahrenheit) for three days. While many soft coolers have bulky zippers that are difficult to use or narrow openings that hinder access, the Engel is remarkably easy to use. With corners that unclip, the top conveniently opens further to allow quick loading and locating of contents. On top of that, this is one of the largest coolers we tested, fitting an impressive 48 cans, making it a solid contender to guard your food and drink for a long weekend of camping. Despite its bulky size, the Engel is more portable than we expected, featuring an easy two-person carry using the end handles.