Polar Bear Coolers 24 Pack Soft Cooler

Generally well constructed of good materials, and has good insulating properties. However, side latches that hold the zippered joint down and maintain the rectangular shape of the cooler are an awkward and difficult annoyance to have to latch and unlatch with every access to the interior. Price is quite steep for what you get; at about 2/3 this price it would be a more reasonable value as compared to a hardside cooler. For the added price you are primarily getting the convenience of "stuffability" when traveling and the ability to collapse the unit for compact storage.

We've had this cooler for about a year. It has worked well for keeping food cold on road trips in the heat and hasn't leaked so far, but we usually keep it upright when it might have liquid in it. We actually have used it most often as a padded bag for carrying our expensive camera & lenses around; extra protection, keeps everything together, and no one sees what we're carrying inside the bag. The bag fits the contours of a crowded trunk well.

This is a product that actually lives up to its advertizing. It does keep ice for 24 hours at 90f and it does not leak at all. I bought it to use as a shuttle cooler on my boat. Anchor, then wade or row to shore, walk to convenience store and buy a couple of bags, then return to replenish the main ice locker. Then keep a few drinks and snacks in the cockpit, without worrying about it sliding around and doing damage. It works great.

This cooler does everything it needs to. I brought this cooler with me on a week long trip to Maui, where it was 80-90 degrees the entire time. Each morning, I used a ziplock bag full of ice to keep lunch and drinks cold for the day; by the end of the day, the ziplock bag was still full of ice! It's the perfect size for day trips for my family of 4.

I packed a picnic w/ ice & blue ice for a day of flying. Didn't use nearly as much blue ice as I thought I'd need. Still, at the end of 12 hours (including a few hours in a closed airplane on a hot ramp) -- ice was solid. Drinks were COLD. Best ... cooler ... ever!!!

This is our second cooler. The first cooler lasted about 18 years and was wonderful. We took it camping and on many vacations and it survived all of our trips. The liner on the first one finally had a hole and gave out. I just ordered a second cooler because these are so nice and convenient compared to the hard coolers. I would recommend this to anyone.

This is an update on my review from two weeks ago after testing the product. I've learned that using a gallon bag of ice far outlast using "blueice" bags or blocks. I put two froxen 20oz plasic bottles of juice in the bag with three 7 1/2" x 6" x 1 1/2" blueice blocks in the bag for 24 hours without opening. The bottles of juice were thawed completely, but were still cold, and the blueice was also thawed totaly. Then I tried the same thing but using 1 one gallon ziplock bag filled with regular ice instead of the blueice. 24 hours later, only 1/4 of the ice was thawed, and the juice was still over half frozen. The bag does not leak, and I am satisfied that with a bag this size, I can put two gallon bags of ice and lots of juice, snacks, etc. and have it stay very cold for my three to four day trip. And the best thing is that it really dosen't take much ice to keep it cold for 24 hours. As I am taking the train, ice availability is limited. I am very pleased, and will be getting the 12 can cooler for day trips.Update:2 years later, The cooler is the best I have ever used. Use it all the time on trips. Going to casinos in different states that don't have mini fridges, the cooler looks like a suitcase so you don't get the eye from the front desk. As when I first purchased and reviewed, it still looks like new and the interior is the same. There's nothing more to say that this is a very well made and overall excellent product.

Seriously. This has to be the best soft cooler on the market today. I have tons of coolers and tried tons of coolers. My best coolers to date are the Coleman Extremes, but those are hard bodied coolers. These Polar Bear coolers are top of the line. They may seem a little more expensive than other soft coolers but take my word for it, they perform like a hard cooler when it comes to holding ice. Right from the get-go you can tell that the exterior nylon used to put these things together are heavy duty. I'm talking similar to those tools bags find at your local hardware store. The interior lining is nothing like any of the other liners you've seen in other soft coolers. It's very similar to the lining you see in those portable Intex swimming pools. Let me tell you, it is thick. As for the insulation...it's like they used a down comforter. It has to be almost 2 inches thick, which really helps to keep your items cold.Let's talk performance. Just before I bought this cooler I went over to my local Costco to purchase a so-called "keeps ice for 60 hours" soft cooler with this "foil type" liner. I used that for a trip to Kauai to keep my beer and water cold... fail. Ice was melted within 8 hours and the material ripped after a day, so I returned it. I went on Amazon to see if there was something better. Needless to say I found it. With all the positive reviews I had to check this Polar Bear cooler out. I tested it with some beer and ice...by day 2 I swear the ice only melted down by a 1/3. I ended up dumping the ice out because my weekend was over and put my beers back in the mini fridge. I wouldn't be surprised if the ice in the Polar Bear lasted for 4 days. Might I add that there was no leakage or signs of leakage.Looks wise. I get compliments all the time. People think it's some kind of duffle or camera bag, mine is black. They all ask me wear I got it from and plan on buying one for themselves. I am so in love with these cooler bags I plan on buying the 12 pack for my lunch use and got my Christmas list set-up on buying one for each of my in-laws and family members. If I could I would be the rep to sell these myself. If you really need a soft cooler that can outperform most but the top hard side coolers, this is it!