Earth Pak Cooler Review – Neatly Designed Bag That Keeps Stuff Ice Cold

You would think that a soft cooler that only comes in light grey and forest green would be boring. We certainly thought that when we first checked out this bag.

Of course, as you might imagine, we had our minds blown because otherwise, we wouldn’t be dedicating an entire review to it.

The Exterior and Construction

Let’s start with the construction of the bag. Everything about this soft cooler screams quality. The exterior is among the toughest exteriors we have ever seen.

I think we’ve found something that can give Yeti a run for their money. It’s 500D TPU, which is pretty hard, as far as the Shore hardness scale goes.

With a hardness of 500D TPU, the exterior of this soft cooler will not be eroded by chemicals, or discolored by UV rays, or punctured or scratched easily.

In fact, we did have a good time trying it in every which way we could. We went at it with our fingernails, then graduated to steel brushes, then put it out in the sun, and spilled some vinegar on it. The bag seemed to be doing just fine.

To be fair, one day out in the sun isn’t going to discolor even a weak bag, anyway, but we have lots of faith in this product. We’ve seen nothing but glowing reviews for its durability online.

So that’s all great, but how is the bottom? For many soft coolers, the manufacturers go through great pains to make the exterior really hard, but seem to forget about the base.

Sure, you’ll be carrying this soft cooler around most of the time, but you’ll also need to place it on some kind of surface at one point or another, and that surface may well be rugged and harsh.

If the base isn’t well armored against this, then it’s going to be the first to be compromised in the wear and tear process.

Earth Pak seemed to have thought about this and made the base of their soft cooler abrasion resistant. No matter how rough the surface, it’s not going to easily stress the base of this soft cooler.

Earth Pak Interior and Insulation

On the outside we have hard thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), which does its job really well. On the inside, we have high density NBR foam.

The NBR foam is very good at insulation and will keep your food and drinks chilled for up to 72 hours.

While 72 hours isn’t the longest in the industry, it’s still pretty decent and makes this soft cooler perfect for short camping and hiking trips.

We actually enjoyed takin it fishing and kayaking, but for other reasons which we’ll explain in a bit.

Design and Features

To help with the insulation properties, they added an IPX-8 leak-proof zipper. This zipper keeps liquids from finding their way out of the bag and air from finding its way in, maintaining the cooler’s temperature as a result.

There are also lots of features that Earth Pak were kind and creative enough to add to the mix. There’s an attached bottle opener that comes with the bag to help you open your bottles and get the party going!

There’s also a spacious mesh pocket in the lid that you can store your personal items in. It’s great for your phone, keys, shades, and other essentials.

In case you want something even more reliable to store your keys in, then you’ll love the MOLLE webbing on either side of the cooler. It’s a really great idea because it provides you with hooking areas for stuff like your keys and all kinds of accessories. We found it very helpful.

The main reason why we favored this bag for kayaking is the set of d-rings that’s been fixed into the base. You can use it to fasten your cooler to your kayak or boat.

That’s something you don’t see with lots of other soft coolers, meaning you’re either going to get a hard cooler or you’re not going to take your soft cooler with your kayaking. Earth Pak were thoughtful here and became one of the few manufacturers to add d-rings to a soft cooler.

In case you’re wondering how easy it’s going to be to carry this cooler, you’ll be happy to know that it also comes with a detachable padded shoulder strap for easy carrying.

It also has double handles closer to the bag if you want to carry it in your hands.

Unique Mesh Iceolate™ Tote Insert

The best thing about this bag, though, is the Iceolate™ Tote.

The idea is pretty simple, and interesting. With a hard cooler, draining water away is as easy as unscrewing the plug on the spout at the base of the cooler. You tilt the cooler on its side and the water drains away.

It’s not as easy to do with a conventional soft cooler, though, because there isn’t a draining spout. Mostly you’ll just have to remove everything and turn the soft cooler upside down.

Earth Pak found a way around that. The inner tote, where you put the food, drinks, and ice, is actually detachable and meshed. You can lift it out of the cooler and let the water pour out into the soft cooler below, which you can then pour out later.

Meanwhile, you can replace the ice in your food and drinks without having to remove anything from your bag. Brilliant!

Yeti Hopper Flip 18

This would be more of a premium alternative to the Earth Pak Loch soft cooler. Yeti is a large brand and has quite a following in the industry.

I would say there isn’t much you’d be getting with a Yeti Hopper Flip that you wouldn’t be getting with the Loch soft cooler, except maybe Yeti’s great customizability options and, of course, the brand name.

So if you’re a die-hard Yeti fan, then get yourself a Yeti by all means. Otherwise, I would stick to the Earth Pak Loch soft cooler.

Polar Bear Coolers Original 24 Pack Soft Cooler

The original Polar Bear soft cooler is a great comparison to the Loch soft cooler, mostly because they are in the same price range and have many of the same features.

I would say the Polar Bear soft cooler, reviewed here, has more options when it comes to colors, so that’s a win. It’s also slightly larger. Other than that, there isn’t much to leave one as a clear winner here. Preferences dominate.

Check Polar Bear's coolers at Amazon

AO 24 Pack Canvas Cooler

AO is a reputable company with lots of different soft coolers, which we also reviewed on our blog. They’ve been in the market for a couple of decades now, so they definitely know their stuff.

Their Canvas coolers are a great option if you’re looking for a slightly cheaper alternative to Earth Pak. They also have lots of different colors to choose from ranging from Mossy Oak to Camo.

Orginal Series

Torrent Series

Summit Series

Viewpoint Series

Earth Pak Loch Series Soft Cooler