REI Cool Path Break up Pack Cooler Overview

Backside Line

Once you want a cooler to tackle any path, the REI Cool Path Break up Pack provides unmatched portability and simply the correct amount of storage for a day outing. Designed to appear like a backpack, the Cool Path includes a divided design, with the underside serving as a personal-sized delicate cooler and the highest with conventional rucksack open storage, uniquely offering area for each chilly necessities and climbing gear. 

Throughout testing, we packed the Cool Path with drinks and snacks on the backside and our climbing footwear and chalk bag on high to carry with us bouldering in California’s Japanese Sierra. For the hikes to the boulder fields, the Break up Pack’s twin storage compartments and comfy straps made it the perfect alternative to hold all the things we would have liked, whereas being simply transportable. 

The Cool Path doesn’t insulate as successfully or for so long as the opposite coolers we examined; it took 3 days for ice to utterly soften, and the cooler a part of the pack most closely fits 1-2 individuals. Finally, the Break up Pack’s restricted area and insulating potential make it extra helpful as a day pack, with its weight and extra informal design additionally making it much less appropriate for backpacking. 

Whether or not you’re out with a good friend or flying solo, the twin nature of the REI Cool Path Break up Pack ensures you may carry all the things you want for a day on the path. Its comfy design is sensible, transportable, and reasonably priced, making it a wonderful alternative for carrying wherever. Try our full information to the most effective coolers to see what different choices we suggest.

How We Examined

For this newest replace, we took a collection of coolers to California’s Japanese Sierra, the place spring days supplied limitless sunshine and heat temperatures to completely take a look at ice retention and temperature management. From sitting in sizzling autos in parking heaps to high-elevation days bouldering within the Buttermilks, we tracked ice soften, measured inside temperatures, and used the coolers in terrain starting from rocky excessive desert to marshy riverside to guage sturdiness, portability, and ease of use.

Insulation

To maintain the load mild for backpack carry, the cooler a part of the Break up Pack resembles a college lunch bag. A soft-shell insulated with a skinny foam layer, the cooler is a detachable insert that matches into the underside of the bag. 

We examined the Cool Path on heat spring days in sunny California and located that ice melted inside three days, with inside temperatures rising to 40 and 50 levels Fahrenheit by the fourth day. Even after the primary day, although, ice was extra melted and water was pooling greater than in different coolers. 

Minimizing weight is clearly the principle aim for the Break up Pack, which is mirrored within the cooler’s restricted potential to maintain chilly temperatures. With out exhausting sides or thicker insulation, the cooler struggles to lure the chilly successfully, and the consumer-grade zipper that seals it doesn’t present an additional seal. The Cool Path is finest for short-term chilly storage, making it best for day journeys moderately than multi-day adventures.

Sturdiness

Made with tear-resistant ripstop nylon, the Cool Path is constructed for outside use. We dropped and dragged the pack throughout terrain starting from prickly desert scrub to uneven dusty trails. It got here away unscathed and weathered falls with out noticeable harm.  

Backpack straps are the important thing carry factors for the Break up Pack. To check their power, we totally loaded each halves of the pack and slung it over our shoulder to place most stress on the straps. The straps held up below the additional load and, with their ample cushioning, stayed comfy on the shoulders. 

We significantly appreciated the detachable cooler insert. Having the ability to detach the cooler half from the remainder of the pack makes cleansing a lot simpler, which in the end encourages long-term care and use. Nonetheless, the insert’s zipper closure is the weakest level of the Break up Pack design. As a typical consumer-grade zipper, it could simply turn out to be misaligned or broken. 

The Cool Path won’t have the heavy-duty power of exhausting shell coolers, however its material alternative and robust stitching make it greater than able to dealing with outside use.

Quantity

Relating to chilly storage, the Break up Pack has the smallest quantity of all of the coolers we examined. With a capability of 12 cans, the cooler insert doesn’t depart a lot room for meals and drinks, and its smaller dimension is good for one or two individuals. 

The primary benefit of the Cool Path is its two compartments, providing area for cooler gadgets and different carry-ons. Whereas the cut up design reduces a number of the most chilly storage, it offers a particular spot for all the things else you have to carry alongside. 

As an added bonus, the Break up Pack options sewn-in cup holders on both sides of the pack. Made with stretchy elastic that simply suits round our espresso mug and 32-ounce water bottle, the cup holders provide additional area for a drink or rain jacket. 

Though the small capability of the Break up Pack’s cooler part is healthier for brief journeys, the versatile design allows you to carry all the things you want for a day trip in a single bag.

Ergonomics & Portability

As a backpack-style cooler, the Break up Pack is likely one of the most transportable choices accessible. The thickly padded straps are comfy, even when totally weighted, and their adjustability makes it simple to dial within the pack’s place in your shoulders. 

We saved returning to the Cool Path for days once we biked to work. With loads of area to retailer our lunch and non-cold gadgets wanted throughout the day, the pack rested securely on our again for straightforward biking. 

Though the general weight is lower than different coolers, it’s considerably heavy as a pack and never best for lengthy, strenuous backcountry journeys. We additionally discovered the zipper to be a weak level within the Break up Pack’s design. Splitting the Cool Path in half, two layers of zippers present entry to the cooler insert. We shortly found that the zippers should not watertight. As soon as ice started melting, we skilled some seepage across the zippers, and if the pack tipped over, water leaked by way of, spilling in every single place. 

A sequence of buckles line the entrance of the pack, with two securing the principle rucksack lid and two on the underside that might be used to lash a camp chair or blanket to the cooler. Except you’re utilizing these backside buckles, we discovered them considerably irritating, because the straps are likely to get tangled within the zipper when accessing the cooler. 

Some design parts are minor inconveniences, however general, the Cool Path Break up Pack stands out for its unimaginable portability. It’s a cooler you may carry with consolation and ease, particularly when you may have a day journey that includes an extended hike alongside the path.

Options

Not like any of the opposite coolers we examined, the Cool Path is bought as is. There are not any different shade choices, no equipment, and it isn’t accessible in several sizes. If customization is necessary, the Break up Pack received’t meet that want. 

REI emphasizes how the detachable cooler insert permits the pack to transform into a conventional rucksack when chilly storage isn’t wanted. Merely take away the cooler insert, and the underside half turns into a daily space for storing. The 2-in-one design of the Cool Path offers it a novel benefit and expands its versatility past simply being a transportable cooler.

Ought to You Purchase the REI Cool Path Break up Pack Cooler?

For commuters and day hikers, the REI Cool Path Break up Pack strikes a stability between a rucksack and a cooler. It provides sufficient chilly storage for a day journey, together with loads of area for additional layers, water bottles, and different small necessities wanted for a day open air. 

The Cool Path’s minimalist insulation design helps cut back weight however sacrifices some temperature retention. Resulting from its restricted insulating potential and smaller quantity, the Break up Pack isn’t appropriate for multi-day journeys and is finest used for day-long outings. 

With its comparatively low worth, it’s an reasonably priced alternative that gives two-in-one worth in its cooler and pack mixture. The twin storage design of the Cool Path shouldn’t be solely fashionable but in addition one of the crucial transportable coolers you’ll discover.

What Different Coolers Ought to You Take into account?

For a full checklist of suggestions, take a look at our information to the most effective coolers. 

YETI Hopper Flip 12 Overview: YETI’s delicate shell Hopper Flip is one other extremely transportable cooler that’s each practical and trendy. Out there in varied enjoyable colours, the Hopper retains ice longer than the Break up Pack and provides double the can capability. Though it prices extra, the Hopper Flip is a sturdy, long-lasting personal-sized cooler constructed for robust outside use.

RTIC Smooth Pack Cooler Overview: Much like the YETI Hopper Flip, the RTIC Smooth Pack Cooler is a soft-shell possibility with much more space for storing. It options built-in handles and a removable shoulder strap, sustaining portability regardless of the bigger dimension. What actually units the RTIC aside is its potential to drift, making it best for days on the water. 

Hydro Flask Carry Out 20L Overview: In case you’re searching for a lovely cooler to carry to your subsequent picnic or yard barbecue, the smooth rounded traces and calming shade decisions make the Hydro Flask Carry Out an eye catching possibility. An off-the-cuff cooler constructed for day-use, its personal-sized portability provides more room than the Break up Pack, nevertheless it’s much less suited to wilder outside environments.