Best soft-sided cooler?

[Onski326]

Looking for a good soft-sided cooler on a budget. I don't have Yeti sponsorship or pockets that deep. Just want something economical that'll hold up ok to fishing and kayak camping trips.

[shoffer]

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ozark-Trail- ... lsrc=aw.ds

I use these to ice fish down in my boat and they hold ice pretty good. If you want durable, buy a Yeti or RTIC; if you are in Houston, they have an RTIC store that his good deals on blemished and cosmetic defect coolers. 20510 Hempstead Rd, Houston, TX 77065

[TexasJim]

I posted this on TFF, but will answer here, so that others can see how cheap(I mean frugal) I am. TexasJim

It was a little work, but I bought a Sam's Club soft bag cooler, for about 9 bucks. Then, I bought a large bubble foil windshield shade from Wal-Mart for about ten bucks. I cut and folded the windshield shade to line the cooler. Used clear packing tape to maintain the shape. It keeps ice or gel-packs all day. The cooler fits in the rear well of my Viking 400 just fine. It'll hold three slot Reds OK. Fish fins puncture the bubble liner, but, after about three years, it's still functional. We also use it when shopping to bring our frozen goods home. The outer cooler shell is wearing, so the useful life appears to be three years or so. Not bad, for a <$20.00 fish bag. Works for me. It ain't a Yeti, but I'm a practical consumer, not a trendy shopper. YMMV TexasJim

[Onski326]

Thanks guys.
I saw your response on TFF TexasJim. I've been looking at some like that from Amazon which happens to be almost exactly what shoffer suggested. Guess I will try going down that road first. Not out much money and if it doesn't pan out, I'm sure the wife will find a good use for them.

[mwatson71]

The Walmart cooler is the way to go. They are so inexpensive that they are almost disposable. Which is good if you can’t get all of the fish smell out of them.

[SWFinatic]

I’ve seen Justin with Clean Fun Fishing on YouTube put 3 slot reds, 2 black drum and a catfish in one of those Walmart soft cooler bags. They’re not going to last a long time and you’ll have to keep the zipper lubed but they work.

I’ve had several different brands of bag coolers including AO, the Walmart bag, Ice Mule and Yeti. The Ice Mule holds ice just as good as the Yeti for about 1/3 of the cost but is still 100 bucks. The AO was about 65 bucks back when Bucee’s carried them and it’s not any better than the Walmart cooler.

[Neumie]

Another vote for the inexpensive Walmart cooler. I start by stringing the fish up on my stringer and when I get to a stopping point I throw them in the cooler (which stays inside my front hatch).

[Ron Mc]

You only need fancy coolers if you need to keep cold provisions for 2 to 3 days.
Just about anything works for a day on the water. If you have both needs, you probably want both, and use them separately
The front bag on this bike has a dedicated 6-pack ice mule.


Engel will always get my vote for boat coolers. Something to be said for hard surfaces when you're spreading out lunch.
Besides, it's a place to put all those stickers you might want to collect.

[Kalait]

You only need fancy coolers if you need to keep cold provisions for 2 to 3 days.
Just about anything works for a day on the water. If you have both needs, you probably want both, and use them separately
The front bag on this bike has a dedicated 6-pack ice mule.


Engel will always get my vote for boat coolers. Something to be said for hard surfaces when you're spreading out lunch.
Besides, it's a place to put all those stickers you might want to collect.

Where did you get the kickstand for your bicycle?

[Onski326]

One of my kayaks is a Vapor 10 and they don't have a rear compartment that's conducive to square coolers. The other is a Ascend FS10 and that really needs one that will stuff in behind my seat as the rear compartment holds my fishing crate...which sometimes I could stuff a cooler in there if most of my fishing gear is stowed elsewhere around the boat.

[Ron Mc]

Where did you get the kickstand for your bicycle?

The double kickstand is Velo Orange, and it's better than the Esge double.
The Esge kickstand, you have to cut each leg to length, while the VO double, each leg adjusts length with a set bolt.
Very stable with a big front load - the fork doesn't spin under load.
It also works as a jack stand, letting you remove either wheel to repair a flat, and keeps the bike standing on 3 points.

I modified mine a little, used a plug tap on the 3/8" threads, converting to M10x1.5, which let me replace that big steel bolt with titanium.
(thread pitch is almost identical, and M10 is slightly larger diameter)
I also used the Esge Clamp F8, which distributes the clamp load, and glued closed-cell foam to the bottom plate - all to protect chainstays.
Of course if your frame has a kickstand plate, you don't need all this hardware.

[JimD]

I used the Walmart bag for years. The usual problem is sooner or later some fish will knock some holes in the cooler.

They still work well BUT carry a hard cooler or container to put the cooler into your car other wise the car will smell like fish when they leak. JimD