Basically, you have a small cooler, you have a medium cooler, and you also have a fairly large cooler. They also have some great but more mainstream designs for the tightest of budgets, by the way. Now, the general assumption here is that this cooler brand is actually owned by Walmart since they’re mostly sold at their stores. However, we cannot definitely say whether Ozark Trail is a Walmart company or not but it looks as a private label brand of Walmart. It’s not as expensive but it’s also not as good both in terms of build quality and performance.
The brand’s hard-sided coolers are sized according to how many quarts they hold. Hard-sided coolers are the largest ozark trail coolers and the most durable, so you’ll pay more for a hard-sided model. The Engel HD30 has the best ice retention of any soft sided cooler on the market. They have attractive features and sharp edges which all but catch the eye.
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.
Something that should stand out to you (because it stood out to me) is just how much cheaper Ozark Trail coolers are compared to other brands. Some products are made to order please allow up to 14 days for them to ship out. Consequently, unless you really need those extra couple hours of ice retention, you will be just as satisfied with an Ozark Trail as you would with a Yeti Tundra.
That being said, the two premium soft-sided coolers were no slouches. The tote, in real-life conditions, should hold ice for around 1 ½ days while the backpack should last a full day. But from what I can see it’s one of the lower performing roto-molded coolers when it comes to ice retention. For a day-trip or shorter adventure, the Ozark Trail 12-can cooler is ideal to keep drinks cool all day long and is perfect for budget-conscious shoppers at $29.97. This high-performance, water-repellent cooler has a removable hard liner and shelf featuring antimicrobial protection for the ultimate freshness. The adjustable padded shoulder strap makes for easy transport, and the mesh pockets provide extra storage space.
Rather, they are a good companion for a lunch outing or small picnic. Specifically, the smaller models will have ice life that starts at just a couple of hours and creeps up to around half a day. The more capable premium models should keep ice for up to a day and a half.
Unfortunately, the deal breaker is that it intermittently leaked water from the drain spout. Prior to purchasing the cooler I had read several reviews that said this cooler collects condensation around the drain ozark trail canopy spout. I didn’t think much of the comments until I saw the amount of water leaking from my cooler. We tightened the spout and it leaked three more times over two days, so the cooler went back to Walmart.
Yeti Coolers, on the other hand, has a rock-solid reputation. Ozark Trail, despite their best intentions, doesn’t quite live up to the level of ice retention and toughness of a Yeti. While they do have many of the same features, there are more notable quality issues with Ozark Trail models.
Whether or not these fit and finish issues haunt you almost seems like luck of the draw. To achieve the extremely attractive price point that they did, Ozark Trail likely had to sacrifice a few things in the quality department. The result is a cooler that doesn’t have quite the level of fit and finish as, say, a Yeti or an Engel. To start with, you will find an oversized drain that makes short work of any melted ice that is inside. The threaded drain can easily be removed and will be held in place thanks to the mounted chain it is on. And to maximize how much squeeze the gasket produces, having strong latches that provide a lot of clamping force is necessary.
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.