Exploring the Appeal of Soft Cooler Boxes and How to Choose One! Tips for Maintaining Cooling Power

Soft cooler boxes are indispensable for a wide range of activities, including camping, picnics, and beach trips. They are essential for keeping food, fresh produce, and beverages cold during storage and transport.

They are popular not only for outdoor activities but also for casual use in various situations such as sports days, lunchtime, and shopping.

What is a soft cooler?

Cooler boxes come in two types: soft and hard. As the name suggests, hard cooler boxes are characterized by their sturdiness and weight. In return, they offer high insulation performance and can maintain cold temperatures for long periods.

Soft coolers, on the other hand, are lightweight and flexible, making them easy to fold up for storage or carry when not in use. They come in a wide range of sizes and designs, offering plenty of options to choose from.

In this article, we’ll introduce soft coolers—a handy item to have this summer—covering their appeal, features, key considerations when choosing one, and effective ways to use them.

If you’re thinking, “Maybe I’ll buy a soft cooler this summer,” please use this as a reference.

The Appeal of Soft Cooler Boxes

Many types of soft cooler boxes are available from outdoor product manufacturers both in Japan and abroad. While they vary in character depending on the manufacturer or brand, they share some common appeal.

Attraction #1: Many Models Are Lightweight and Compact

Unlike hard-sided coolers, which are designed for extended use, soft coolers are best suited for use ranging from a few hours to overnight.

As a result, there are many lightweight and compact models available that are perfect for casual use, such as day trips, overnight camping, picnics, lunch breaks, and grocery shopping.

Soft coolers are particularly well-suited for solo camping and motorcycle camping, where you need to keep your gear compact.

Even first-time users can easily use them if they choose a smaller size.

Attraction #2: A Wide Variety of Designs and Styles

While they come in various sizes, unlike hard-sided coolers—which are mostly rectangular boxes—soft coolers offer a wide variety of designs and styles.

There are various types available, including the classic rectangular box shape, tote bag style, backpack style that can be carried on your back, small lunchbox style, shoulder bag style, and cylindrical bucket-like shapes.

The materials used on the exterior also come in a wide variety, and it’s great that they’re available in many colors and patterns.

Attraction #3: High Storage Capacity

One of the main attractions of soft coolers is that they are "foldable," making them easy to store when not in use.

Even if you pack a large soft cooler with plenty of food and drinks for a camping trip, once it’s empty, you can fold it up to make it compact, so it won’t take up space in the car on the way home.

Also, since you can fold it up when not in use, you won’t have trouble finding a place to store it, whether in a drawer or on a shelf.

When you go shopping, carrying a hard cooler box can be a hassle, but a soft cooler box can be folded and stored inside your shopping bag, making it easy to carry.

Attraction 4: Many products offer great value for money

Soft coolers come in a wide variety of sizes, and many offer excellent value for money, making them easy to purchase.

Another appealing feature is that they’re affordable enough to buy multiple units in different sizes and designs depending on your needs—such as a small one for daily lunch boxes or a large, high-capacity one for weekend camping.

How to Choose a Soft Cooler Box

With soft coolers available in such a wide variety of designs, styles, materials, capacities, and features, it can be hard to know what criteria to use when choosing one.

So, let’s go over some key points to consider when making your choice.

Tip 1: The Right Capacity Varies by Number of People

The first things to consider are the “number of people using it” and the “situation in which it will be used.” This is because the optimal capacity varies depending on these factors.

• I want to pack my own lunch and take it to work
• Want to use it for grocery shopping
• Want to use it for a picnic with your partner

• Want to go on a day camp with a family of four

Decide on the main situations and number of people before choosing the size (capacity).

As a general guideline for a two-day, one-night camping trip...

• About 30L for two adults
• About 40L: 2 adults and 1 child
• About 50L: 3 adults
• About 60L: 4–5 adults

Of course, this varies by individual and depends on how much food and drink you bring, so these aren’t set-in-stone rules—but please use them as a general guideline.

Also, in addition to capacity, if you want to store tall bottles such as 2L plastic bottles or wine bottles upright, you should check the “internal height” as well.

How to Choose #2: Insulation Determines Cooling Performance

One of the key concerns with coolers is “cooling performance.” This varies depending on the type and thickness of the insulation material used in the product.

For hard-sided coolers, there’s “expanded polystyrene,” which is lightweight and affordable.

"Polyurethane foam" is about 1.5 times more effective at insulation and is widely used because it offers a good balance of cooling performance, weight, and price.

Then there are “vacuum insulation panels,” which offer extremely high insulation and outstanding cooling performance but are expensive and heavy, so they are mainly used in hard-sided coolers designed for fishing.

On the other hand, the insulation used in soft cooler boxes is mostly made from one of the following materials—aluminum, polyethylene, or polyester—or a combination of several of them.

The thicker the insulation material, the better the cooling performance. Insulation is generally about 10 mm thick, but products with superior cooling capabilities may have insulation as thick as 20 mm.

You should choose based on how long you plan to use it—whether for short outings like picnics or day camps, or for overnight camping trips.

▪︎Aluminum

Used as aluminum foil or aluminum-coated film, this material is found in low-cost products and those that can be folded thinly. It is suitable for short-term use, such as for lunch boxes or everyday shopping.

▪︎Polyethylene

Due to its high insulation properties, polyethylene is the mainstream material for soft cooler boxes. It is widely used in a range of models, from low-priced to high-priced ones.

▪︎Polyurethane

With excellent insulation and strong cooling retention, it is often used in high-performance models. However, this also makes it difficult to fold compactly.

How to Choose #3: Pay Attention to Functionality

When purchasing, be sure to check the functional features of both the exterior and interior.

[Internal Features]

• Includes "dividers" to separate food and drinks
• It has a pocket for ice packs (ideally located on the underside of the top lid)

• Models with a removable inner liner that can be machine-washed are easier to maintain

【External Features】

• The lid features a small window to minimize cold air escape (if you only want to take out a single plastic bottle, the window allows you to do so without fully opening the lid, helping to retain cold air)
• It has a strap to secure the bag when folded
• It has exterior pockets and carabiner loops
• It’s convenient to have a shoulder strap in addition to the handle so you can carry it over your shoulder
• Bottom studs help prevent dirt buildup when placed directly on the ground

Tip 4: Products that fold down compactly for storage are convenient

Soft coolers that are designed to fold up compactly when not in use are convenient.

However, large-capacity models with sturdy construction and thick insulation are difficult to fold down small.

Consider your intended use and choose based on whether you prioritize “compact storage” or “strength, capacity, and cooling performance.”

Tips for maintaining cold temperatures longer

Soft coolers generally have inferior cooling performance compared to high-performance hard coolers. However, with a few simple tricks, you can make the contents stay cold longer.

Use multiple coolers for different purposes

When using them outdoors during hot weather, we recommend bringing multiple soft coolers.

For example,

• A box dedicated to cold drinks that everyone opens frequently to take out

• A box for ingredients to be used for dinner (which doesn’t need to be opened until it’s time to cook)

By storing items this way, the cooling performance won’t deteriorate as much as it would if you put everything into a single cooler.

Also, by keeping small cooking tools like tongs and cutlery together in a kitchen tool organizer, you can keep them separate from the food in the cooler, making meal prep during your campout go more smoothly.

Be strategic when placing ice packs

You also need to be strategic when placing ice packs. Cold air tends to move from top to bottom.

If you place ice packs at the bottom of a soft cooler, it takes longer for the cold air to circulate throughout the entire box. After packing all your food and drinks, place the ice packs on top.

Also, if there are many gaps, cooling efficiency tends to drop. We recommend placing ice packs on the sides or filling the spaces with frozen water bottles, fruit, or damp washcloths.

Use a stand to avoid ground heat

No matter how high-performance a soft cooler is, its cooling power will diminish if placed on the ground under direct sunlight in the middle of summer.

To keep items cold longer, it’s important to place the cooler in the shade, off the ground, to avoid sunlight and ground heat. Use a foldable “cooler stand.”

Cooler stands come in a variety of types, ranging from affordable options to high-performance models that allow you to adjust the size and height to fit your cooler.

We recommend models that offer high convenience, such as easy assembly, a high weight capacity, rust-resistant materials, and a carrying bag for easy transport.

For soft coolers, we recommend the "Kiba Soft Cooler"!

The Kiba Soft Cooler is a 10L soft cooler box ideal for solo to duo camping. Designed to be hung from a cord unit, it keeps contents cool while avoiding ground heat and dirt. Rotate it 90 degrees to open it sideways, making it easy to retrieve drinks and food even from a low position.

It features 2cm-thick insulation and an interior with dividers to enhance cooling performance, and a highly water-resistant PVC coating that keeps it dry. With a shoulder strap and built-in bottle opener, you can carry it and open bottles with ease. It can be used on its own and is a reliable piece of gear that’s perfect not only for camping but also for picnics and grocery runs.

A soft cooler that fits your style is sure to come in handy this summer!

Soft cooler boxes are incredibly versatile and useful in a variety of situations.

When purchasing, please refer to the selection tips introduced here, consider your intended use and the number of people using it, and choose the product that best fits your lifestyle.

It’s sure to be a big hit this summer!

TOKYO CRAFTS is currently recruiting new team members. If you love the outdoors and camping and are interested in working with us, please check out
our job listings. Job Listings (Outdoor & Camping Gear Manufacturer) [Saitama / Tokyo]