We enjoy the premium soft coolers and hard-sided coolers the most. But all models could make do with a few additional color choices. Also, there is nothing in the way of custom colors, decals, etc. This is a really handy thing to have and doesn’t appear on a lot of other soft sided coolers. Ozark soft sided coolers struggle to keep ice for more than 2 days, whereas the Yeti soft sided coolers can keep ice for 2-3 days and sometimes even longer than 3 days. A. Ozark Trail hard-sided coolers are the best option if you go camping regularly.
In this Ozark Trail soft coolers review we’ll look in detail at these soft sided coolers, the features and performance as well as do a deep dive into the build quality of these coolers. On the contrary, the ozark trail cooler premium soft coolers and particularly their hard-sided coolers have more of the traditional features we look for when we think of long ice life. So you can expect them to allow for much longer ice retention.
This is right up there with Yeti as one of the best soft sided coolers on the market and sells for about $100 less than the similar sized Yeti. Yeti soft sided coolers are much higher quality and perform better than Ozark Trail soft sided coolers. Yeti soft sided coolers are made from heavy duty 840D nylon that is TPU laminated and uses RF welding to seal it all together. ozark trail chairs 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.
All-in-all, the YETI lasted for five days and the Coleman for one day. Several weeks ago we finally purchased an Ozark Trail 52-Quart High-Performance Cooler from Walmart. I was so excited to get it home and run a test to see if it really holds ice longer than my Coleman 60 Quart Performance Wheeled Cooler. We purchased four bags of ice – two for each cooler – and got started. The Ozark Trail held ice one day longer than the Coleman and in general, the cooler felt cooler inside than the Coleman. Unfortunately, the deal breaker is that it intermittently leaked water from the drain spout.
Depending on what you’re using the cooler for, the leaky drain spout might not be a big deal. For us, however, we keep our cooler in our car while traveling and we often camp in bear country. I don’t want any cooler water intermittently leaking and leaving food smells. The other downside to the Ozark Trail cooler is that it weighs 31 pounds empty.
While this brand might not compare to something as legendary as a Orion, Pelican, RTIC…, it is still impressive how it successfully took over the budget cooler realm. The M30 also has 2 side handles for carrying with two hands when the cooler is full and heavy or for carrying with a friend. So if you want quality then you need to go with the Yeti, it is one of the most durable coolers out there – alongside the Engel HD30 – whereas the Ozark Trail is questionable quality. Ozark Trail coolers on the other hand are another story, they definitely aren’t known for their quality.
This can include things such as premature leaking, warping of the lid, and stitching coming undone. The asking prices for the various Ozark Trail Coolers will fluctuate quite a bit depending on which model you are going with. But seeing how Ozark Trail is in the business of making cost-effective products, all models should be affordable (particularly when compared to their industry competition). Also included in the 52 and 73-quart models is an internal wire basket. Oftentimes, this basket doesn’t come with the cooler and costs extra as an accessory. So we appreciate Ozark trail going ahead and throwing that in free of charge.
Ozark Trail coolers are often equipped with accessories that make them even more functional. Most models include a handy bottle opener to make opening beverages easy. Some hard-sided models also feature a molded fish ruler on the lid for fishermen, as well as two to four molded drink holders to prevent your drinks from getting knocked over.
Depending on the size you choose, you can expect two to five days of ice life, which is more than enough for a day at the beach or even a weekend camping trip. Ozark Trail soft-sided coolers are all designed to have multiple storage options. In most cases, the coolers feature a large, insulated inner compartment and exterior storage pockets on the front or sides. Front pockets usually have zippers, while side pockets typically have no closure and are made of mesh to hold non-food items. Some soft-sided models also have expandable tops that can increase the height of the cooler by as much as three inches to fit stacked cans or larger bottles.