The 3 best backpack coolers for summer adventures, tested and reviewed

It’s the height of summer, when hikes, beach outings and concerts in the park are all potentially on your calendar. If you’re like me, you’re always thinking about what to bring to eat and drink, and the logical next question is, how are we carrying all this stuff? The answer is a cooler — but not just any old one you may have collecting dust in the garage. We tested the best backpack coolers of 2025 to find comfortable, durable options that keep contents genuinely cold.

Depending on where you’re going and the size of your group, you may be perfectly happy with a budget-friendly backpack cooler, or you may want a top-of-the-line bag that withstands a ton of wear and tear. After browsing hundreds of coolers, I, along with two of my fellow kitchenware and houseware testers, gathered six highly rated backpacks and evaluated each on its ease of use, temperature retention and value. Once we narrowed down the pool to the top four, we sent them out to editors across the country for in-depth “field testing.” We took these backpack coolers on hikes in the Colorado Rockies, on a boat day cruising Virginia’s Rappahannock River, to the park in Los Angeles for an evening picnic and beyond.

Table of contents

Best backpack coolers of 2025

Janelle Randazza/Yahoo

top-tested water bottle of 2025), so we had high hopes. Although this bag didn’t stay quite as cold as some of our other picks, we could still see some chunks of ice when we opened it after 24 hours. We checked back four days later, and though the ice had melted, the interior temperature was slightly cooler than that of most of the competitors. For what it’s worth, the brand claims the bag will keep things cold for 36 hours.

Randazza was impressed with the Day Escape’s durability, materials and build: “It feels like scuba suit material and holds up really well when dragged across sand or rocks. My kid helpfully did both.” She also appreciated the quality of all the components. “I’ve seen this type of zip closure, these types of straps, etc., elsewhere, but Hydro Flask seems to have done it all the best. It’s a well-made beast, but still lightweight.”

Plus, like most of the coolers we tested, you can easily wipe it clean and it was entirely leakproof, even when we flipped it upside down after the ice melted. There are no grooves or crevices to worry about. It’s also a cinch to rinse with a hose.

Pros

• Durable construction
• Sturdy toothless zip closure
• Sleek look
• Easy to clean
• Chest strap helps keep weight evenly distributed
• Leakproof

Cons

• Darker colors attract heat and are hotter to carry
• Zip top requires two hands to open

$198 at Amazon

Lisa Schweitzer/Yahoo

Pros

• Keeps drinks and snacks cold all day
• Lighweight
• Padded back and straps
• Numerous storage pockets
• Affordable
• Lifetime limited warranty

Cons

• Leaked melted ice from zipper when flipped over

$45 at Amazon

Nicole Sforza/Yahoo

Tundra 45 hard cooler, the price is, well, pricey at $325 when it’s not on sale. 

Pros

• Indestructible interior and exterior
• Comfortable
• Spacious interior
• Leakproof magnetic closure
• Comes in nearly 20 colors

Cons

• Expensive
• You can’t open it with one hand bc the magnet closure is so strong
• No outside pockets

$325 at DICK’S Sporting Goods

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What to consider when shopping for backpack coolers

You’ll want to ask yourself a few questions when buying a backpack cooler, including:

• Does it keep the contents cold? These coolers all kept at least some amount of ice from melting for 24 hours, and the contents stayed cool for even longer. Different brands offer varying levels and types of insulation, with closed-cell foam, like what Yeti uses, one of the most effective.

• Is it comfortable to wear and easy to use? If you’re going to load up a backpack with ice, cans and food, it should be easy to carry, comfortable and not too heavy before you fill it. Of our top picks, the Yeti Hopper weighs the most, at more than 5 pounds; the Titan by Arctic Zone backpack is just 1.5 pounds. Padded straps and a cushioned back can help balance the load; you may also want to look for chest or waist straps to help you manage a lot of weight.

• How will you use it? If you’re heading out for a hike, comfort is essential. But if you’re putting the cooler in the car and only carrying it from there to the beach or the park, capacity is probably more important. If you have a large group, you’ll need a cooler that can hold more food and drink, but also consider that the more you put in the backpack, the heavier it will be.

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How we tested backpack coolers

I’m Yahoo’s resident cookware expert, and I teamed up with two fellow home editors to conduct two levels of testing, one in the office and one in the wild. To start, we unboxed the backpack coolers in our office, inspecting their design, closures and insulation. Our top picks excelled in the following:

• “Can jam” test: If a cooler is described as having the capacity for 24 cans, does it hold truly 24 cans when the average person is packing them in? To check whether each brand’s promised capacity was accurate, we counted the number of cans we were able to fit comfortably in the bag without ice.

• “Mr. Frosty” test: How long does it take ice to melt, and, once melted, how cold do the cans stay? We filled each backpack about halfway with fresh ice, then added several room-temperature cans of different beverages. We took the temperature inside each cooler after 24 hours and then after five days. Only the bags that kept the cans the coldest made it to the next step.

• “Splash zone” test: Once the ice had melted, we flipped the backpacks upside-down and shook them to see if they leaked.

For our field testing, we asked Yahoo’s staff of shopping editors and writers, who live all over the country, to use the coolers in various ways at least a few times. They then filled out a rubric with their thoughts, commenting on how comfortable each pack was to carry, how well it kept its contents cold, how difficult the cleanup was, how durable the pack was and how easy it was to open and close.

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Other backpack coolers we tested

Ninja FrostVault Go 24 Can Backpack Cooler ($200): Yes, this pack is built like a tank and keeps everything nice and cold, but it’s not quite as nimble as our top picks. Field tester and Yahoo Editor Saundra Latham explains, “It’s a breeze to carry while it’s empty, but once it’s loaded down with ice, food and drinks, it’s quite heavy. It’s more of a ‘toss it on your back and go find a spot for a picnic’ cooler than a ‘hike with it all day’ cooler.” That said, she appreciated the separate compartment for snacks and dry items, the padded straps and the thoughtful bonuses, like the integrated bottle opener and expandable mesh pockets on the outside.

Sparter 30 Can Backpack Cooler ($37): The Sparter looks like a regular backpack, but with an insulated lining. It’s on the smaller side, but has lots of pockets, a padded mesh back and cushioned straps. It was easy to open and put stuff inside, unlike some of the others, but it leaked when we turned it upside down after holding ice for 24 hours, and it didn’t keep its contents as cold.

IceMule Jaunt Collapsible Backpack Cooler ($90): The IceMule rolls closed, and you clasp the ends together like a traditional wet bag. It’s a bit hard to open and get into, and it’s not particularly can-friendly. The padded, thick straps are comfortable, but the back is less so. After 24 hours, when the ice melted, water escaped from the ends of the bag when we tipped it over, and it didn’t keep its contents as cold as others. It’s worth noting that water rolls right off the exterior.

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Backpack cooler FAQs

What is the best way to pack a backpack cooler?

The key to keeping drinks and food cold is to either chill the cooler itself before using (which only works with small coolers) or to fill it with ice or reusable ice packs before using. Chill or freeze items you want to bring along before packing them in the cooler, and open it up as little as possible to keep the temperature from rising.

How do I clean a backpack cooler?

We cleaned all of the coolers we tested with a damp cloth and dish soap (the Titan) or outside with a hose (the Hydro Flask and Yeti), or we did a combination of both. To prevent mold and mildew on any cooler, it’s imperative to wipe the inside completely dry before closing it up for storage.

Can you use dry ice in a soft cooler?

In a word, no. Most soft coolers are airtight and not designed to be filled with dry ice, as it can cause the cooler to explode when the CO2 pressure builds as the dry ice sublimates. Another reason to avoid dry ice with soft coolers? Their linings are not designed for exposure to the very low temperatures of dry ice and may dry out or crack when exposed to it. Hard-sided coolers are designed to vent when CO2 pressure builds, so using dry ice in those should be ok, but always follow the manufacturer’s instructions for any cooler.

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We received complimentary samples of some products and purchased others ourselves, but we reviewed all products using the same objective criteria.

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