Hunting Headwinds

Scouring the internet, I’ve realized there’s an obsessed community for everything. When I started looking for a way to keep food (and beverages) cold on trip, I found there’s one for coolers too.

Armed with temperature guns and digital thermometers, there are folks who have put every cooler out there to the test. The big name is still Yeti (good on them for some effective marketing), but there are other players with competitive products that have generated fierce loyalties. Pelican, Orca, and RTIC come to mind. Some of these coolers are hilariously expensive - especially compared to the $30 Canadian Tire special we all know and love. We’re talking prices well above $500.

I’ve always avoided bringing coolers on trips. Portaging is a nightmare, ice doesn’t last, and you’re stuck lugging the thing around even when the food is gone. Then I started to see companies coming up with innovative designs that had me wondering whether I could find one that works for the backcountry. I set my requirements and started hunting:

I want to be able to keep food frozen for 3+ days
I want to be able to carry the cooler around easily
I want it to be rugged enough to handle being tossed onto rocks/off a boat/out of a moving car

I found that the main distinction in coolers is hard shell or soft shell. Good hard shell coolers are generally rotomolded, they can keep food frozen for over a week, they’re super rugged, and they weigh an absolute ton. 20 pounds plus is normal for the cooler alone. Good soft shell coolers can’t keep ice cold as long, they’re not as rugged, but they’re easier to haul around.

The Icemule Boss is an interesting balance. It’s a roll-top backpack with a hip-belt, weighs about 5lbs, has unusually thick insulation for a soft shell cooler, and claims to be able to keep ice for 5+ days. It can carry 30+ pounds of whatever you want to put in it. In terms of usable space, it can fit a 24-pack of beer cans on its side plus ice. Or food. If you’re into that.

Filling the Icemule Boss. (Pic from Icemule.com)

The pack strapping. (Pic from Icemule.com)

The roll-top latching clip. (Pic from Icemule.com)

So in the summer of 2018 I picked one up at the REI in Rochester for $300 USD. That STILL feels like a ridiculously high price for a cooler, but I’m a sucker. If you’re a sucker too, you can get it at Wayfair for $399 CAD plus tax (as of July 2019).

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

I’ve run two real tests with this cooler so far.

A few weeks ago, I filled it with about five bags of grocery store ice and left it in the sun on my driveway, checking twice a day to see if there was ice. The temperature was anywhere between 15-25 degrees through the week. In that test it took the ice 5.5 days to melt, which honestly kind of blew my mind. This made the idea of having meat late into a trip possible.

4.5 days in: still three inches of ice and chilly water (brutal pic sorry)

So before my five-day Georgian Bay trip this year, we filled it with about 10lbs of frozen meat, filled the rest of the space with ice, and headed out on the water.

Long story short, it took the ice about 3.5 days to melt, so we still had frozen meat for our Day 4 dinner. I actually think we could have stretched it a bit further had we flash frozen everything - only two of the four meals were flash frozen, and the other two thawed much quicker.

Cooler strapped to the deck of my kayak - handled surprisingly well, and made a great backrest.

The pack itself is great to haul around, and certainly easier than carrying a hard shell cooler by its handles. Even fully loaded (40lbs+ if you’re so inclined) it carries the weight well. Unfortunately for my size (6’ 3”), the nonadjustable hip belt is pretty much useless. The waterproof pockets have been useful, but it’s more space than I need so they’re just extra bulk.

Icemule’s only real competitor here is Yeti’s Hopper backpack. I haven’t seen any comparisons between the two, and haven’t tested the Yeti myself, so the only differences I can highlight are the ones I see. The Yeti has fewer pockets and has a zippered ‘lid-top’ versus a roll-top. The two are about the same price here in Canada as of July 2019.

The Results

This cooler is great. I’ve hauled it on trails, strapped it to a kayak, and I’m sure at some point will try throwing it out of a moving car. Honestly the only way it could be better for me is with an adjustable hip-belt.

I will say that if you bury a few cans of beer at the bottom, it can be kinda tough to dig them out because it’s such a tight space. But that’s an acceptable price for a cold beverage 3-days into a camping trip.

Cons

One-size-fits all means the hip belt might be useless to you too
More pockets than I need, so it’s bulkier than it could be
The rigid walls and tight space inside the cooler make it hard to fit certain foods/drinks
People might make fun of you for buying a $400 cooler

Pros

Phenomenal ice retention
Rugged and easy to carry
Waterproof pockets and webbing mean it might be the only pack you need for a day trip

Rating: Treat Yourself