Best SOFT Coolers From $30 and Up (HANDS-ON)

Are you looking for the best soft cooler like Yeti but cheaper? Welcome to the most comprehensive guide to the best soft coolers of 2023! Whether you're searching for the best backpack cooler for hiking adventures or the best large soft cooler for camping or family picnics, this guide has got you covered. 🧊❄️

📌 IN THIS VIDEO:

1. Ice Retention Test: See how these coolers really stand up to the test of time, and which one keeps your drinks chilled the longest.
2. Buying Guide: Learn what essential factors you need to consider before investing in a soft cooler.
3. Top 8 Soft Cooler Reviews: Dive deep into a hands-on review of 8 of the best soft-sided coolers on the market. Experience first-hand insights, pros, and cons, ensuring you make an informed choice.

🎒 WHY WATCH THIS?
If you're in the market for a new soft cooler, this guide is tailor-made for you. With the coolers right in front of me, I'll give you a first-hand look and insights into the strengths and drawbacks of each model. No fluff, no sponsored content, just honest reviews for genuine buyers.

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💬 HAVE QUESTIONS OR SUGGESTIONS?
Leave a comment below! I'll do my best to get back to you.

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00:00 Ice Retention Test
04:59 Ice Retention Results
06:57 What To Look For
11:14 Best Overall Soft Coolers
17:51 Best Large Soft Coolers
23:43 Best Backpack Coolers
33:19 How To Choose a Soft Cooler

DISCLOSURE: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Some links in this description are affiliate links. If you click on a link we may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.

[JayeK]

On the water tight coolers with zippers - those zippers absolutely need periodic lubrication or they will fail prematurely. Before first use and afterwards when the zipper starts feeling stiff - lubricate it inside and out. Just a pea size blob on the zipper park and one more somewhere along the middle. Some coolers come with a tube of lubricant with purchase. For those that don't or if you run out, you can purchase zipper lubricant where sewing supplies are sold or if you can't find it, silicone plumbers' grease will do the job just as well. Use only silicone grease, petroleum based grease will degrade plastic and rubberized fabric coatings.

[urbandefinition]

Honestly this is a much more useful comparison than a lot of the ones I’ve seen. Thanks for posting this.

[simonspeckert]

love the rtic colors!

just got a petromax 8 cooler, very similar and really nice to bring lunch

[Pappagar]

I love my ice mule cooler. Did well on a boating trip for us, the backpack style is great for that.

[texasbbq]

Titan seems like the ultimate beer cooler. Good insulation, built decent enough, and easier to get into compared to the hard to open RTIC, Yeti, etc zippers that take two hands. Plus if you are opening it every 30 minutes it doesn't really need 1.5" insulation cause air is constantly getting in

Thanks for the vid!

[AnthonyMatute-gx]

I’m a cooler junkie now and I like it. Great videos!!

[Giambis]

15:46
Both Rtic coolers I’ve had had zipper failures within a three year span each. When those fail the cooler is then unusable. A top that cannot close is useless as a cooler.

[JWP]

Great review my man! I carry mail for a living and them LLV's are usually 15-20 degrees hotter than the outside temp and all last year had great luck with the RTIC brand backpack cooler! Thing I hate is it isn't a waterproof zipper but I just throw some of their branded ice packs in there and have ice cold drinks/snacks all day long. If the wife says you gotta clean feel free to send me that RTIC 😂😂

[healthy]

I love the dedication. Keep up the good work.

[HLFHUMN]

Great video! Love how you break down your choices and give us a good look at how the coolers work.
Just wanted to give a little more insight to the ICE Mule Pro that I didn’t see you touch on. The valve system on the ICE Mule is actually used to create more insulation. Once you put all of your ice and items in the cooler you can blow air into the valve to create more insulation between the outer layer and the insulation layer and thus increasing ice retention.
Just thought I’d share 😊.

[cheburashka]

Would like to see an update with a Yeti Hopper Flip!

[SEENinc]

Absolutely pumped about this video. After the comment section decided that the hard yeti coolers just aren't cutting it on some of these trips anymore..

[nauticman]

Great video. Waterproof zippers is the biggest thing I notice as you go between price tiers. On warranty, I'm on my 3rd yeti flip 12 each time the 3yr warranty reset, zipper teeth broke each time. So yes not cheap but when I got 3 for that price can't complain. 2nd time they asked me if I wanted to upgrade to a tundra for free.

[mrbryguy]

He’s right I’ll never need to keep ice frozen for more than a handful of hrs at best lol I do appreciate quality though. I
Bought a icemule because it doesn’t leak at all on top of that I can use it to get groceries on my motorcycle 👌🏾

[donjuandemarco]

A back pack strap broke on my black IceMule pro XL after about a year of use had miles of carry with it. Customer support sent me out a brand new cooler easily and didn’t ask for the broken one back. I love it so much I got the R-Jaunt 20l and used it on a recent vacation in Mexico. It came on every day trip and supplied a 8 person group of drinks easily. It also packed well in my luggage.

[nickrusso]

Thanks for the great reviews. I've been looking for a good soft cooler and couldn't stomach buying the Yeti. I purchased the Cordova using your affiliate link.

[amymanley]

Really helpful video! You pointed out all the features I'll look for in our next backpack cooler. Thank you!

[infamousS]

Great experiment! Reminded me of science ones we did in school :) I ended up choosing the RTIC since it was just at $100 and seemed like it can fit some eggs and bacon for breakfast fam of 4.

[bobbygeorge]

Great video, lots of effort you put into this. I have owned the engel HD30 for a few years now, still going strong. One thing to note, and I'm not sure if anyone else has mentioned yet, but on the engel HD30, the vacuum port isnt to remove excess air from the interior chamber where the food and ice are. Its to remove the excess air from the walls so the insulation can do its job. Opening the top of the cooler after vacuuming the air out will not undo what you did. I vacuum mine before each trip to increase performance. It does help! Thanks again for the great video

[polockexpress]

Crazy all the coolers i didnt know existed in your videos.. we have very few choices in alaska at the stores. Im surprised more dont have lights in them like that frog one ..that was 😎