That’s where the Realtree group comes in, as you’ll be able to choose between the Tactical Duffel, Gizmo, Square 30, Launch 2 Go and HLC 12 Cooler Bags. Users have three color options for this ice bag, which include charcoal and acid green, black and blaze red, and black and agama teal. Do you have a vacation in the outdoors coming up and have plans for afternoons on the lake?
We didn’t throw this backpack cooler off the side of a mountain (yet), but we probably could, and it’d be fine. Icemule’s Boss Backpack Cooler is incredibly rugged and has some serious insulation. “The design reminds me of a single big backpack that people use for backpack travel,” is how one of our testers put it. Icemule uses proprietary fabrics, welded seams, and extra-padded straps to make this one heavy-duty yet comfortable backpack. Our testers loved this pack’s comfort compared to other large backpack coolers, thanks mainly to the extra padding and chest and waist straps. If you’re looking for a collapsible and durable option at a more affordable cost, we highly recommend the Icemule Classic.
This ice chest is designed to be easy to carry over your shoulders or under your arm. It has taken us a few years to recommend a wheeled cooler simply because none have seemed built to last longer than a season or two—especially in the handle. Once loaded with ice, drinks, and food, a 37-pound cooler can more than double in weight. When someone then tilts the cooler up, all that weight goes into the wheelbase or leans into the handle hinge. The RTIC 65 has rope handles with a plastic tube for gripping and two rubber latches for holding the lid closed, mimicking the design of most other, comparable coolers.
Colors range from dark gray to black, depending on which version you get. For retail purchases returned without a receipt, the refund will be issued as a store merchandise
credit at the lowest price within the last 90 days. Proper ID will be required in the form of a valid, state-
issued driver’s license or state ID card. Refunds are issued to the original form of payment, unless returned in store
where some exclusions may apply. Refunds are issued to the original form of payment, unless returned in store where some exclusions may apply. Wirecutter is the product recommendation service from The New York Times.
We also measured for cold and ice retention by taking the inside temperature of each cooler at two hours after filling them with cans and ice and then 24 hours after filling them with cans and ice. Yeti claims the Hopper BackFlip 24 can hold 20 cans igloo water cooler at a two to one ice ratio. And while our testers said the space inside the cooler didn’t feel as big as it should be because of the outside size, it fit securely and comfortably to their backs, especially compared to smaller coolers we tested.
Weights for Igloo Marine Ultra options range from 1.5 to 3 lbs., making it easy to carry over your shoulder. Color options include white and navy or gray and seafoam, emphasizing design for trips on lakes or at beaches. With better insulation, a cooler can maintain lower temperatures for longer, thus consuming less ice. That’s important, especially if you, like most people, don’t have a freezer that can produce enough ice to fill a cooler and you tend to resort to buying bags of ice from the grocery store or liquor store.
We’ve also used this cooler for nearly five years for grocery runs in Hawaii, and it’s still going strong. One charm of the RTIC 65 is its reasonable price, which allows us to be far less careful with this equipment than we are with something as expensive or desirable as a Yeti. With the Igloo IMX series of coolers to Igloo MaxCold and BMX cooler options, Igloo hard coolers make a great choice for many…
External Attachment Points
Many soft coolers, including YETI’s Hopper Flip 12 and REI Co-op’s Cool Haul 24, have daisy chain webbing along the outside for securing extra gear. In use, we’ve found this area useful for keeping valuables like keys close at hand (we use a carabiner to attach them). And we particularly like the stretchy bungee system on the Arctic Zone Titan Deep Freeze, which makes it easy to secure a lightweight jacket or small towel on top.