I have a soft side cooler last keeps cold for only a few hours
in the heat. What are some of the ones y'all use? It's time to
upgrade.

I have a Coosa Kayak and use the Igloo Sportsman 30 qt cooler. it fits perfect with a little extra room for some odds and ends behing the seat. It seems to keep everything cold that I need it to.

http://www.igloocoolers.com/Coolers_3/Golf-Turf/30-Qt-Contour-Sportsman

I just use an Igloo soft side 9 can cooler with a plastic insert. It works good enough for a few hours on the water and doesn't take up much room. It was only $10.00 at Wal-Mart.

Igloo marine cooler. Works great for a day on the water and cost less than $20.00.

You could spend $200 for a Yeti of the same size if you have a flaming hole in your pocket.

Guess it depends if you spend a day on the water or a week.

I'm using a cheap igloo right now but have an order in on a yeti. I'm going to mount it in the back and use it as a sight casting/poling platform.

I use the K2 30qt cube for two to three day overnighters and the 20 qt box for day trips. No problems with keeping anything cold.

depends on what yak you have.
do you want to put it in the tank well?
a bigger cooler can always be strapped across the back of your yak, but will catch a lot of wind.
on my fish-n-dive i use a small double handle white igloo cooler.
in my old ride 135 i could put this big boy behind me and it worked great for all day trips!


& i used the top to hold cellphone in a ziplock or a lil tackle!
what kayak do you have?

I use a Coleman Personal 16 for now.

I have been thinking of something bigger and better but I haven't pulled the trigger yet!

BigDozer66

Recent discussion on this topic

I would say look at your requirements and budget, that will determine what would work best for you.

Good topic. Lord knows I need one. I'm tired of drinking hot water and gatorade

I bought this one from Walmart recently. Took it on a couple all day trips, and used every day in Florida last week. Usually put in a quart of ice in the morning, and everything stayed cold until I switched out the contents for some brewskis in the evening
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Igloo-Realtree-Backpack-Cooler/16606380

It has D-rings for strapping down, lots and lots of pockets, expands, and holds a couple sandwiches, couple bottles of gatorade, 6 bottles of water, ice and room to spare, while still being very compact. it's about the size of a juvenile book bag backpack. I'm super-impressed with it overall.
I wouldnt suggest sticking fish in it though...plastice liner and all.

any small cooler will do. Hard coolers tend to work better than soft ones. An important tip is to freeze about half of the gatorades and water bottles. That way they keep the cooler colder and when they are half way melted you can start drinking them. Also when you leave a half frozen gatorade out in your lap or a cup holder it doesnt get hot right away.

If I were fishing for meat a lot I'd consider one of the higher end rotomolded jobs like the Yeti and the Engel Deep Blue... My experience is the quicker they go on ice the better they taste. When you're tossing them into melting tepid water it's affecting the quality when it comes outta the grease...

All I really need is a small durable cooler that holds ice most of the day to keep water and Gatorade cold. Engel makes a 13 quart 'dry box' level cooler that I've thought about getting, but I'm thinking that insulation-wise it's no better than an igloo from Walmart. Anybody have one of these and if so are they any better than the cheapos?

Engel Dry Box Cooler

28 Quart Coleman

I got two that I uses a small 9qt.Coleman that will hold 6 water bottle/softdrink can for just a few hours to a day outing and the second is a 25qt. Igloo marine cooler for a longer trip or if I am carrying drinks and other food that need to be kept cold for myself and other people.