Their products are over engineered and designed to handle absolutely anything you throw at them. It wore out at the bottom from my dragging my groceries in when the bag was too heavy to lift and it was finally time to replace it. These are insulated and zip-up, too, which is another plus for bringing the groceries in.
The tote and cooler backpack look much more progressive but are limited to just one color choice. We would welcome some additional color choices and perhaps a slight facelift to the more plain-looking models in the future. We like the sharp edges and progressive appearance of the ozark trail coolers. Also, the stainless steel hardware and orange accents on the latches and handles look very sharp.
The most affordable models, the non-premium soft-sided coolers, come in a very safe, solid color. There may be some subtle grays or white pieces of fabric but, for the most part, the primary color will dominate. Smaller Ozark Trail soft-sided coolers have padded shoulder straps for comfortable carrying. Larger models often have wheels on the bottom and a telescoping handle, so you can easily pull the cooler to transport it. Ozark Trail also offers backpack and tote soft-sided coolers, which allow for hands-free carrying. Ozark Trail hard-sided coolers are constructed of hard, sturdy plastic that locks in cold to protect your food and drinks.
Being a premium cooler, you’d expect the 12 can model to cost a lot more than $50 but it doesn’t. Unlike their hard-sided collection, the soft Ozark Trail line is surprisingly richer. Indeed, the brand seems to focus slightly more on their soft cooler collection since it is truly where it makes most sells. To be entirely honest, while Ozark tries, the ice retention isn’t quite on the same level as what you get with a Yeti. Here it’s really a battle of reputations, though, because, for the price, Ozark is a solid choice. So imagine our joy when we stumbled upon this little gem of a brand.
Ozark Trail coolers have similar features to the Yeti Hopper Flip coolers with thick insulation, a waterproof zipper and shoulder strap. They don’t keep ice quite as long as the Yeti but still hold ice for about 2 days. However, the build quality and durability is not comparable to Yeti and Ozark Trail coolers come with no warranty. Several weeks ago we finally purchased an Ozark Trail 52-Quart High-Performance Cooler from Walmart.
Having structure is important for protection in soft-sided coolers. A cooler without a hardliner is more prone to having its stored items be damaged while moving. Thankfully, Ozark Trail includes a removable hard liner in most of their soft-sided coolers.
While they don’t perform as well as leading brands of soft sided coolers they still performed relatively well and kept ice good enough to suit most people’s needs. You will find both low-cost models as well as a “premium” lineup. The low-cost model won’t wow you with features, build quality, or long ice life but instead tries to find a happy medium while still being extremely cost-effective. The premium lineup will cost more but will also utilize features that help it to hang with other premium soft-sided coolers.
The Backpack cooler on its part has some pretty comfortable straps for your shoulders. The tote comes with both a removable shoulder strap and overhead carrying handles. Yeti is an industry leader, so there will always be die-hard fans who don’t mind paying an arm and a leg for a Yeti product. However, if you’re on a tight budget and want something that’s pretty good for the price, then you can’t really go wrong with Ozark Trail. For the smaller 26-quart hard cooler, there is an overhead handle.