⚡ Best Overall Small Soft Cooler - amzn.to/3EhYC5B ⚡ Best Large Soft Cooler - amzn.to/3szAVTx ⚡ Best Backpack Cooler - alnk.to/5jjlb5L *Affiliate links, FYI

I love the dedication. Keep up the good work.

@outdoorempirecom

10 ай бұрын

Thank you and will do!

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

@outdoorempirecom

10 күн бұрын

You're most welcome and thank you for watching!

Great job bro! Just what I needed!

@outdoorempirecom

6 ай бұрын

Glad to hear it!

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.

I have 2 rtic coolers about that size and larger. Both have failed corners on the lid top. I used some glue to slow the failure, but they are not water tight now. One cooler has a failed zipper so I can’t close the lid now. BUT, they are both 8 years old. They also seem better built with more features than the current versions. I’ll buy something else to replace, probably Cordova. Thanks for the great video!

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 😊.

@outdoorempirecom

10 ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing. That's an interesting concept seeing how most cooler companies claim air is ice's #1 enemy. I'll have to try that and see what happens.

@jaywellonsIII

10 ай бұрын

@@outdoorempirecom his point being that the air doesn't go into the actual cooler. It isn't an enemy because it is a separate layer like a vacuum bottle such as a Yeti or Hydroflask. The air layer in concept should make the ice last longer.

Thanks so much for adding the Costco bag, that’s been my biggest curiosity.

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.

@outdoorempirecom

10 ай бұрын

Nice, great to hear about the customer service! And good point on being able to roll it up and pack it for a trip, nice feature as well.

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.

@outdoorempirecom

2 ай бұрын

Good choice! And thanks so much for the support! I still like mine and use it.

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

@outdoorempirecom

10 ай бұрын

Haha awesome! I didn't know it was a thing until I made a couple of these videos.

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

@outdoorempirecom

4 ай бұрын

Good call!

Great videos. Could you do a comparative review of fish kill cooler bags? Not a lot of info out there on them.

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

@outdoorempirecom

26 күн бұрын

Thanks for pointing that out. I clearly missed that as well. But it seems obvious now since there is no port or hole on the inner lining.

The Titan is junk. My titan stays in an Ac patrol vehicle all day. I'll be lucky if it's lukewarm by mid day of a 12 hour shift. Don't throw your money away.

@outdoorempirecom

2 ай бұрын

Good to know!

@PetePuebla

21 күн бұрын

😮😮😮😮 And I just bought one.

@wades623

20 күн бұрын

@@PetePuebla could always bring it back

@justinconnor6661

11 күн бұрын

I thought about the Titan guide series cooler. The Titan with the hard interior liner doesn’t seem to be that good.

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!

@outdoorempirecom

7 ай бұрын

You bet, and great points! The quick access is definitely a nice feature on those Titans. Plus they're pretty cheap!

@anthonybarker9123

14 күн бұрын

I work in a steel stamping/heat treatment plant with no AC (it's been getting to over 115 inside this past week). I use the 30-can Titan for my lunchbox. It might not hold Ice as long, but with two ice packs It keeps everything freezing cold for 13-hour shifts and I can get into them with 1 hand quickly.

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..

@outdoorempirecom

10 ай бұрын

You and me both!

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

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.

@outdoorempirecom

10 ай бұрын

Good point! Great to hear they took good care of you.

@txmarine7557

Ай бұрын

I'm done with Yeti for the same reason. My company has purchased over 20 and the zippers are broke on all of them

The Cons of the Moosejaw are that the rubber zipper fails after the first couple uses. Walmart wont accept returns after 90 days and Moosejaw claims they don't have to honor their own warranty after it is sold from the retailer! I've never heard something so nonsensical. These items are too expensive for regular people to jsut blow money on and then be told to eat the cost of the poor quality.

@outdoorempirecom

2 ай бұрын

That is ridiculous. Since I did this video, Moosejaw was bought out by Dick's Sporting Goods. They cut the Ice Fort hard cooler line entirely. Perhaps that has influenced customer service as well. Too bad.

Great videos ! I will like to know about the chiladilla 36 cans with the latch leak proof and the titan same latch.

@outdoorempirecom

Ай бұрын

Noted thanks!

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 😂😂

@outdoorempirecom

3 ай бұрын

Awesome! Thanks for watching and for the comment. Good tips too. I'll let you know about that RTIC. 😉

@UncleRichard.

2 ай бұрын

I deliver mail also! I've been using the backpack cooler from Costco, Titan deep freeze. Its nice for a $35 backpack but the quality isn't there for the long term, especially with the abuse it takes in the LLV. I just switched to the Grizzly drifter 12+ which is really nice but doesn't really have a good place in the truck. Its rough out here haha.

Selling a brand new Moosejaw Chilladilla on Offer Up rite now for 75 bucks....come and get it!

Thank you for your wonderful research and review! If you are doing this again sometime could you try a geckobrands backback cooler? Work gave us one for free but our sporting store (Scheels) has them currently for $50. I absolutely love it! It holds ice over night and after 3 days the ice was all melted but still hadn't leaked out. Thats a win for my kitchen! Also cleaned up nicely after getting salt all over the inside. Not sure how that happened. But if you do one of these again check it out!

@outdoorempirecom

29 күн бұрын

Will do, thanks for the tip!

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 👌🏾

@outdoorempirecom

6 ай бұрын

Nice! The IceMule sounds perfect for that.

Great review. The coho soft cooler is also very good

@outdoorempirecom

10 ай бұрын

Good to know!

I came here for the coolers and got coolers+. Nice Nordiques Hat btw.

@outdoorempirecom

20 күн бұрын

Glad to hear it. Go Nords! R.I.P.

Perfect timing

@outdoorempirecom

8 ай бұрын

Glad to hear it!

Can you do a soft cooler with ice packs test

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.

@outdoorempirecom

4 ай бұрын

That's great insight, thanks for sharing.

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 😎

@outdoorempirecom

29 күн бұрын

Ya that light is a clever touch.

I have that same rtic cooler. Worth every penny and super reliable

@outdoorempirecom

2 ай бұрын

Nice!

@tonym8358

2 ай бұрын

Until the zipper is cracked will be useless

Like your real world experiments ! Have you ever tried the beach coolers with big wheels ? I'm curious to how the hold up... can you try them sometime?

@outdoorempirecom

29 күн бұрын

I've tried a few. I did another video on coolers with wheels.

Yukon ice chest and backpack is part of igloo, but made in the USA Texas and Michigan.

@outdoorempirecom

5 ай бұрын

Good to know.

Ice muel you can blow air into to create more air insolation

I went to order the Cordova recently, after seeing another of your videos only to see "preorder now for October delivery" WTF!

Nice Nordiques cap!

@outdoorempirecom

9 ай бұрын

Cheers!

How does the Oyster vacuum insulated compare to the RTIC? Using ice on a camping trip? Thanks

@outdoorempirecom

9 ай бұрын

The Oyster will last longer. I took it on a 3 day 2 night campout and had regular ice and sodas in or and it kept those drinks delightfully chilly all weekend and there was still a bunch of ice when we got home. On another trip that softshell RTIC held some fresh food and half ice and the ice was spent after 2 nights, all water.

@theflyerpr40d

9 ай бұрын

@@outdoorempirecom o wow that is a huge difference. I have the 30 can RTIC and like you say by the 2nd day there was no ice, only water. Capacity wise is one much bigger than the other or they can carry about the same stuff? Do you have the weight of the Oyster with the shoulder strap? Thanks!

@outdoorempirecom

9 ай бұрын

@@theflyerpr40d The Oyster is definitely larger inside. Can hold 36 cans with the two ice packs included with it. But with ice, cut that in half about. The Oyster is also heavier than the RTIC soft cooler, but it's not near as heavy as a typical hard cooler.

@theflyerpr40d

9 ай бұрын

@@outdoorempirecom thanks for the detailed reply! That help a lot!

Scored a chilla dilla for 50$ today pretty stoked

@outdoorempirecom

4 ай бұрын

Sweeeeeet! 🤑

I guess I'll take one of your 50 coolers haha thanks

@outdoorempirecom

8 ай бұрын

Haha, you're welcome. It is becoming a problematic and space consuming habit. 😂

Bison coolers makes a soft cooler made in the USA

@outdoorempirecom

10 ай бұрын

Good to know, I'll check it out. Thanks!

Is that a Welch Springer Spaniel or a Brittany?

@outdoorempirecom

9 ай бұрын

A Brittany! His name is Huck and he's an old fella.

Does anyone have or tried the Magellan outdoors pro 24?

@outdoorempirecom

2 ай бұрын

I don't have any experience, no Academy Sports in my area. But it seems like a decent cooler and I believe it comes at a reasonable price.

I am bummed there wasn't an igloo backpack cooler in there. As I just bought one and it's solid so far. It was 30 plus tax. Holds 24 cans. Chest strap. I like it right now.

@outdoorempirecom

9 ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing! I'll check that out in the future.

Grizzly coolers are made in the USA with a LIFETIME WARRANTY!

@outdoorempirecom

3 ай бұрын

Yep, got me one recently and tested it out in another video.

@UncleRichard.

2 ай бұрын

@@outdoorempirecom Could you review the Grizzly Drifter series of coolers? I think the lunch cooler market from these high end makers is being ignored! I need a cooler that can hold my lunch/drinks as well as my light tools/pens/sunglasses ect. thanks!

If I’m going to be carrying beer for survival than we can all just carry a refrigerator and a generator

@outdoorempirecom

6 ай бұрын

🤔

Bison soft coolers are not imported.

@outdoorempirecom

9 ай бұрын

Good to know, I'll check them out!

No Yeti cooler?!

@outdoorempirecom

10 ай бұрын

Nope I checked one out in store, but couldn't justify the $300 price tag when others like the RTIC and Cordova only ran $120 for something just as good. I'm sure there soft coolers are excellent, Yeti makes quality gear!

@blink4nico

10 ай бұрын

@@outdoorempirecom but in order to be fair and comprehensive in your fun review, your need it. Because Decathlon (even if I m French) doesn’t deserve to be in your review. By the way don’t forget REi who sells one. Usually REi is always good in quality/price.

@HolmesFans2

7 ай бұрын

I never plan on buying a Yeti, but I've seen other tests that show despite being "identical" the Yeti soft cooler has a more dense insulation and keeps ice longer than the RTIC. Could be worth a test in the future @@outdoorempirecom

We are from the PLIDINNA brand.We have a lot to about high-value products that would be of interest to you? We have sent you an email inviting you to take a look.

UPS driver .. i currently run a Titan Cooler the large one which is a beast (not a yeti fanboy lol ) but Been in the market for a backpack cooler… i appreciate you 🫡