Engel Roll-Prime Excessive Efficiency Backpack Cooler Overview

It’s annoying on a brief journey to seek out melted ice in your cooler that’s left every little thing soggy and heat. The Engel Roll-Prime Excessive Efficiency Backpack Cooler solves that drawback: It retains ice chilly for as much as 4 days and gives ample house for every little thing it’s worthwhile to carry.

Measuring 20 inches tall, 14 inches lengthy, and 9 inches vast, this backpack cooler affords a shocking quantity of storage. The design simply matches meals, drinks, and ice with out feeling cramped. Whether or not I used to be heading out for a week-long searching journey or a day on the river, this cooler offered the room and cooling energy I wanted to maintain my stuff chilly all day (after which some).

In brief: The Engel Roll-Prime Excessive Efficiency Backpack Cooler ($190) is priced towards the upper vary of coolers. Whereas it’s not the most cost effective choice available on the market, it performs in addition to lots of the dearer coolers and affords superior storage capability. If you happen to’re on the lookout for a dependable cooler that gained’t break the financial institution however nonetheless gives loads of room for meals and drinks, I’d suggest this one. It could possibly retailer 20 kilos of ice or as much as 36 cans with out ice — that’s a whole lot of room!

Throughout my ice retention check, it stored ice for as much as a formidable 4 days. Whether or not heading out for a multiday journey or packing for a big group, this cooler has the house and ice retention to maintain every little thing chilly. Its leakproof, dry pack design — with a roll-down prime that clips securely on the edges — ensures that your meals stays dry and guarded even in unpredictable climate.

Learn the complete evaluation or see how this backpack cooler stacks up in the Greatest Backpack Coolers purchaser’s information.

Engel Roll-Prime Excessive Efficiency Backpack Cooler Overview

First Impressions

With its giant body and roomy inside, the Engel Roll-Prime Excessive Efficiency Backpack Cooler was already checking issues off my cooler want listing. I really like the large opening, which made loading and unloading my objects a breeze.

The roll-top closure, which clips tightly on the edges, retains every little thing inside protected against water whereas guaranteeing it’s sealed and leakproof, which is good for when the climate turns or the cooler unexpectedly takes a dive.

At 3.5 kilos, the cooler felt surprisingly mild for its dimension, which was nice since it will possibly get heavy shortly as soon as I pack it with ice and meals. Nevertheless, even when absolutely loaded, I didn’t really feel like I used to be going to topple over whereas carrying it. The again and aspect handles make it extra handy to raise it as much as my knee, and from there, I can swing it onto my again, similar to I might with a backpacking pack.

The added comfort of the aspect mesh pocket is sweet for stashing smaller objects like water bottles or sunscreen, whereas the entrance zippered pocket gives a protected place to retailer valuables like keys and telephones.

These padded shoulder straps and the adjustable chest strap made it comfy to put on, even when it’s absolutely loaded. I used to be initially skeptical, given the boxy form of the cooler. However as soon as on my again, it felt surprisingly comfy with the chest strap serving to distribute the load.

Consolation

Given its boxy design, I wasn’t positive how comfy the Engel Roll-Prime could be to hold, particularly as soon as it was packed full. Nevertheless, I used to be pleasantly stunned by how nicely the padded straps distributed the load.

Even when absolutely loaded, the pack was comfy to put on and the chest strap helped maintain it cosy on my again. The straps felt sturdy and didn’t dig into my shoulders after I was mountaineering all the way down to the river for a fishing journey. That mentioned, a waist strap would’ve been a pleasant addition to higher distribute the load.

Roll-Prime Closure

The roll-top closure seals tightly, retains every little thing inside protected against the weather, and prevents leaking if it will get knocked over. Not that it simply will get knocked over; the rectangle-shaped base is sturdy and retains the cooler upright. I did pack it on its aspect at the back of an UTV and located no water leaking out, regardless of the bumpy 4×4 street.

On a distinct journey, as a brief rainstorm rolled via, I used the empty cooler in a pinch to guard my digicam gear from the rain, discovering how versatile this cooler could be. It made me consider different potential makes use of, like utilizing it as a weatherproof pack for different out of doors adventures.

Sturdiness

The Engel Roll-Prime Cooler is constructed to final. Created from 840-denier cloth and fortified with laminated thermoplastic urethane (TPU), this cooler can tackle rather a lot. I took it on a week-long searching journey the place it acquired tossed round, dragged via camp, and customarily put via the wringer.

In spite of everything that, it got here house trying soiled however in nice situation — no rips, tears, or punctures. It appeared nearly as good as new after a fast rinse with a hose. The thick, versatile roll-top cloth held up impressively nicely beneath heavy use and didn’t present any creases or indicators of breaking down.

Equipment

A easy however typically missed characteristic that I’ve discovered useful on a number of events, particularly as I typically neglect to pack one, is the detachable bottle opener. It snaps on the entrance daisy chain however could be moved to completely different attachment factors. Simply don’t neglect to reattach it should you take it off!

The entrance daisy chain is one other handy characteristic, providing 5 attachment factors (or 4 if the bottle opener is utilizing one). I used a carabiner to connect a Nalgene bottle and a rolled-up blanket.

There’s additionally a aspect mesh pocket for different objects, though it’s higher suited to slim water bottles or sunscreen. My Nalgene was too huge to suit, therefore the usage of the carabiner to the daisy chain. On the other aspect of the mesh pocket is one other daisy chain with three chains.  Lastly, there’s a entrance zippered pocket (6″ x 5.5″) for valuables you don’t need to bounce out. My iPhone 16 (in a slim case) and keys simply slot in it.

Know-how: Vacuum Valve Know-how

Engel’s use of 1-inch closed-cell foam insulation and vacuum valve expertise is designed to maintain your objects colder for longer. The 1-inch closed-cell foam additionally makes the cooler thick and helps retain its form. I initially ran two ice retention checks on the Engel cooler: one utilizing the vacuum valve expertise and one with out.

The indoor temperature was round 67-68 levels F for each checks. Once I used the vacuum characteristic, I might see the outside cloth tighten across the insulation foam because it sucked out the air.

Nevertheless, lower than 24 hours later, the tightness pale, and the material returned to its common form. By way of ice retention, each checks resulted in almost similar efficiency: about 4 days of ice.

I opted to run a 3rd check, utilizing each the vacuum valve and maintaining the cooler sealed (I didn’t open the highest to do an ice test) till day 4 to see if it could last more. By the top of day 4, after I opened it, the ice was nonetheless gone. Whereas I perceive the idea behind the vacuum valve to increase the coolness, my at-home checks didn’t present a major distinction in real-world efficiency.

Ice Retention Check

I initially ran two ice retention checks on the Engel cooler: one utilizing the vacuum valve expertise and one with out. The indoor temperature was round 67 to 68 levels Fahrenheit for each checks.

Each instances, I crammed the cooler two-thirds stuffed with store-bought cubed ice after which closed the highest. I opened the cooler each 12 hours for every check to report how a lot ice melted. The outcomes of every check have been almost similar: one-quarter of the ice melted on day one, one-third by day two, two-thirds by day three, and all of the ice had melted on day 4.

Once I used the vacuum valve characteristic, I might see the outside cloth tighten across the insulation foam because the air was sucked out. Nevertheless, the tightness pale lower than 24 hours later, and the material returned to its common form. The vacuum seal didn’t make a noticeable distinction in my authentic check. 

Enhancements

Whereas the Engel Roll-Prime Cooler does a fantastic job of carrying giant hundreds, it may gain advantage from a waist strap to assist distribute weight. That small enchancment would actually make an enormous distinction for customers who max out the cooler’s house.

Remaining Ideas

The Engel Roll-Prime Excessive Efficiency Backpack Cooler is a sturdy, spacious, and environment friendly choice for anybody trying to maintain their meals and drinks chilly throughout out of doors adventures. With the flexibility to retain ice for as much as 4 days, it affords glorious efficiency, even on multiday journeys or when packing for a bunch.

Whereas the vacuum valve expertise doesn’t prolong ice retention in real-world circumstances, the baseline efficiency is already larger than among the dearer opponents. The leakproof roll-top closure gives peace of thoughts in unpredictable climate or unintentional tipping over, making it versatile for numerous out of doors makes use of past simply maintaining issues chilly.

This backpack cooler does a formidable job of balancing capability, consolation, and sturdiness, there may be room for a slight enchancment in its design, primarily including a waist strap. Its value level of $190 makes it a fantastic midrange choice for these on the lookout for a dependable cooler that may maintain a considerable amount of meals with out reaching the worth tag of higher-end fashions.