Staples of any camping trip or sunny day at the beach, coolers or ice chests offer a convenient way to keep drinks and food properly refrigerated. However, no matter its size, hauling one around when it's full of ice and your beverage of choice is no easy task. Backpack coolers solve that problem by making the cooler much more portable. No more dragging an awkward cooler across beach sand or shuffling along a dirt path as you and a friend try your best to share the load. Instead, these portable ice chests simply strap onto your back and you're free to lug whatever else you brought along or just enjoy your surroundings.
Don't worry about these backpack coolers offering inadequate insulation. Thanks to modern manufacturing, many (if not all) backpack coolers are capable of keeping the entirety of their contents cooled and chilled for two, three, or sometimes four whole days
Since we know you want to spend less time researching these packs and more time enjoying their contents, we've sifted through all the backpack coolers to find the best of the bunch. While companies like Yeti or IceMule are who you'd expect to see, brands like Hydro Flask and OtterBox surprised us with their own unique products. So, throw away that old Coleman your folks gave you. A backpack cooler isn't just an inventive new way to chill beverages – it's the best way.
Here are our top picks for the best backpack coolers:Prices and links are current as of 6/18/20. We added more purchase links so you can choose which retailer you'd like to purchase from. We also added a selection of related buying guides.