Manufacturer photography, supplied through our distributor.
Coleman CHILLER 28-Can Soft-Sided Backpack Cooler
12+ hours cold, leakproof, carried on your back
In stock at our distributor · ships in 3–10 business days · free shipping over $75
Twenty-eight cans of capacity with TempLock insulation that holds ice past twelve hours, in a soft-sided pack you wear rather than carry. Welded seams so meltwater stays inside, and a zippered front pocket for ice packs. The exterior is made from recycled polyester.
Why this one
- ▸Backpack straps free both hands for rods, nets and a tackle pack
- ▸Welded seams mean no drip trail across the car on the way home
- ▸Twelve hours is a full dawn-to-dusk session with ice left over
- ▸Front and interior mesh pockets keep ice packs off your lunch
Specs
- Brand
- Coleman
- Capacity
- 28 cans
- Ice retention
- 12+ hours (TempLock)
- Seams
- Welded, leakproof
- Carry
- Padded shoulder + waist straps
- Exterior
- Recycled polyester
- Height
- 18.75"
When it earns its place
Long sessions, hot days, and any trip you intend to keep fish.
Why moving water catches fish ↗Pairs with
How to get the most from the Coleman CHILLER 28-Can Soft-Sided Backpack Cooler
A cooler keeps fish good to eat. Most people get half the performance available to them because of how they pack it.
Pre-chill it the night before
Put a sacrificial bag of ice in the empty cooler overnight and pour it out in the morning. A warm cooler spends its first two hours melting ice just to cool its own walls. This single step buys you most of a day.
Use more ice than feels reasonable
Roughly two parts ice to one part contents by volume. Block ice lasts far longer than cubes; a mix of both is ideal, blocks for duration, cubes to fill air gaps. Air is what kills ice retention.
Bleed and chill fish immediately
Cut the gills and let the fish bleed out in the water for a minute, then straight into the ice. The quality difference between a fish iced immediately and one that sat in a bucket for an hour is enormous, this matters far more than the cooler itself.
Keep the meltwater
Counterintuitive but correct. Ice water is a better conductor than air, so draining it makes the remaining ice melt faster. Only drain if you need the space or the fish are sitting in it too long.
Open it as little as possible
Every opening dumps the cold air and replaces it with warm. Decide what you need before you unzip. If you're taking drinks all day, bring a separate small cooler for those and keep the fish cooler shut.
Worth knowing
- ▸Store it open at home so it doesn't grow mildew, the leakproof zip seals in damp as well as cold
- ▸A wet towel over the top in direct sun makes a genuine difference through evaporation
- ▸Rinse the zip with fresh water and lubricate it occasionally; the zip is the part that fails on any soft cooler
When to fish it
Any session where you're keeping fish, and any hot day. Long summer sessions on an exposed beach are where pre-chilling really shows.