Engel Roll Top Backpack Cooler Review
The most portable and comfortable cooler you’ll find on the market just dropped.
Home > Gear Reviews > Camping
July 1st, 2024
Our Verdict
The new Engel Roll Top High Performance Backpack Cooler made our summer just plain easier — from day-hikes in the Smoky Mountains to picnics in Boston’s greenspaces to 17-hour road trips along the Eastern Seaboard, this cooler could accompany us on just about any adventure.
The padded straps and back made this cooler easier to carry, even for our testers with sore shoulders and bad backs, while the 1-inch thick insulation kept our frozen and chilled items pretty cool despite sweltering temperatures and direct sun.
Made with tough abrasion-resistant, puncture-resistant, and watertight materials, and designed with comfort, ample storage, and ease of access in mind, the Engel Roll Top High Performance Backpack Cooler earned a stamp of approval from Treeline Review. You can read more about soft coolers in our Best Soft Coolers guide or look at better insulated hard-sided options in our Best Camping Coolers guide.
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Specs
Weight: 3.5 lbs
Capacity: 25 qts
Number of cans: 24 12-oz cans
Price: $220
Closure: roll top
Max ice retention time: 3 days
Bottle opener: yes
Best for: Picnics, Day Hikes on hot days, Beach Days
Comparison table
| SOFT COOLER | COOLER TYPE | CAPACITY (L) | CANS IT CAN FIT | WEIGHT (LBS) | OTHER SIZES AVAILABLE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engel Roll Top Backpack Cooler | Backpack | 25 | 24 | 3.5 | 25Q |
| IceMule Pro 23L | Backpack | 23 | 18 | 3.5 | 33L, 40L |
| REI Co-op Cool Trail Split Pack Cooler | Backpack | 32 | 12 | 2.5 | N/A |
| Yeti Hopper M20 2.0 Soft Backpack Cooler | Backpack | 19 | 36 | 6 | 12 |
| Icemule Jaunt 15L | Backpack | 15 | 15 | 2 | 9 |
What we liked
The Engel Roll Top High Performance Backpack Cooler had several features we enjoyed that contributed to the comfort and practicality of using a backpack cooler:
Reinforced and padded backpack straps
Reinforced handles on back and sides
Welded seams
Abrasion-resistant & durable 840-denier exterior material laminated with TPU film for puncture-resistance
1-inch of closed-cell foam insulation
Water-tight roll-top seal
Roll top can clip to itself up top or to straps on either side
Water-resistant front pocket
Vacuum valve
D-rings included on sides for attachment points (I clipped on a dog bowl!)
Padded back plate
Flat base = free standing when placed on ground, didn’t spill contents on side
What could be better
We truly only had one gripe with this cooler — the topmost contents thawed out and melt more quickly than the rest of the contents. Our test with frozen meat road tripping from Tennessee to Maine showed that the top layer of ground beef was thawed out, although still cold enough to not be a health risk. This is due to the lack of insulation on the roll top.
In contrast, the steaks and ground beef in the middle and bottom of the cooler remained partially frozen. We tried putting an ice pack on top and while that melted more quickly, it kept the food cold below.
Therefore, these were the two points on what could have been better:
Insulation on roll-top
Ice retention (due to cold loss from roll top). In my experience, ice retention was 1.5-2 days. After that, it was melted, but still cooled my food. This is less than the stated 3 days. Of course, melt time varies on ambient temperature, sun vs. shade and all factors, so your experience may be different.
Features
Materials and build quality
If you need the kind of backpack cooler that survives being bumped and dragged along rough rock, snagged on tree limbs, gnawed on by that cute puppy that acts more like a velociraptor, bounced off a tailgate on a Forest Service road, and chucked down a cliff — this might be the cooler for you.
Engel designed their Roll Top High Performance Backpack Cooler with hardy 840-denier fibers, laminated the exterior with a Thermoplastic Urethane (TPU) film for abrasion and puncture resistance, and welded their seams for thermo and water-tight seals. (What does that mean? If water can leak out of your cooler, that means cold air can also leak out, and heat can leak in. Your cold items won’t be cold for very long if your cooler leaks a lot, so tight seals are great to look for in coolers!)
Not only designed for functionality, this backpack cooler was also designed to be comfortable. The author struggles with shoulder injuries and a bad back, and she found it to be comfortable enough, to wear for a few hours while exploring Tennessee’s Smoky Mountains, even with lunch and a few cans of seltzer water. The foam padded back support, plus ventilated mesh padded shoulder straps with attached chest strap, made carrying the cooler up and down steep trails easier and far more comfortable.
Insulation capabilities
While most “soft” coolers or backpack coolers will use a more pliable open-cell insulation, the Engel Roll Top High Performance Backpack Cooler utilizes 1-inch of closed-cell foam insulation on the four walls and base of their cooler. Why does that make a difference? Here’s a great article on the insulation properties of open-cell and closed-cell insulation from Wired.
Open-cell insulation allows for heat to travel through more easily since it’s more pliable, whereas closed-cell insulation is more rigid and keeps heat out (and cold in) more effectively. A full inch of insulation certainly helps out! (As noted, however, our only gripe with this cooler is that there is not insulation at the top where you roll the compartment, causing heat transfer from the top.)
Storage capacity and compartments
The Engel backpack cooler can hold up to 25 quarts, or twenty-four 12-oz cans. This is without ice, so plan ahead based off how cold you want your beverages versus how many you plan to carry! For a 17-hour road trip, the author used three 4”x6” ice packs for two frozen steaks, five pounds of frozen ground beef, and 4 cans.
Watertight seal
As we mentioned before, Engel engineered this backpack cooler for durability by welding their seams for thermo- and water-tight seals. Why does that matter, you ask? If water can leak out of your cooler, that means heat can also leak in. No one wants a melted cooler halfway through a hot day! Your cold items won’t be cold for long if your cooler leaks, so tight seals are important factors in your cooler search.
Roll top closure
As the author is a former river guide, roll-tops on dry bags are as familiar to her as turning a lightswitch on and off. After thorough reviews of several other soft coolers with difficult-to-use zippers, a roll-top design was welcomed for its ease of usability.
The top can either be rolled into a loop that meets at the middle of the head of the bag, just like you would for a dry bag on a river, or clipped to straps on either side of the cooler and cinched down. While we’ve discussed previously that the lack of insulation in this roll top presents an issue with ice retention, that doesn’t mean that this cooler isn’t a breeze to use for short hikes, picnics in big fields, or a walk through the city to your nearest park.
Weight
For a soft cooler with beefy features, our testers couldn’t complain about weight: the Engel High Performance Backpack Cooler weighs only 3.5 lbs, an impressive measurement for an insulated and padded pack. While we’ve tested several other lighter weight coolers with backpack straps for our Best Soft Cooler guide, none had the features nor the carrying capacity of this Engel backpack cooler.
Bottle opener
Each Engel backpack cooler comes with an attached bottle opener on the front face of the cooler. No more searching for one at the bottom of your pack or forgetting to bring one to the BBQ; this bottle opener is attached by a snap-on strap to the front of your pack to stay with you or detach easily.
Flat base
It seems like such a small feature, but the flat base design really made our testing process significantly easier. Rather than dumping over on its side, like a traditional backpack can do, this cooler stayed upright at the park, in the car, and in the kitchen as we packed it.
While another backpack cooler that we tested, the REI Co-op Cool Trail Split Pack, also featured a flat base, it tended to become top heavy and fall over thanks to soft, pliable sides. With the rigid insulation and structure of the Engel backpack cooler, it stayed perfectly upright on whatever flat ground we set it upon.
Performance
Ice retention time
In 85 degrees in East Tennessee, our ice started to melt after 3 hours of use. However, our ice packs were only 50% melted after a 17 hour road trip from Tennessee to Maine. When kept out of direct sunlight, the retention time was significantly better, although our frozen products on top closer to the roll-top were significantly more thawed each time compared to items in the center or bottom of the cooler.
Cooling efficiency
The hotter or more humid it is, the harder it is to keep your ice cold in a cooler. Keeping your cooler out of direct sunlight and pre-chilling your cooler will go a long way towards ice retention!
Ease of use
After thorough reviews of several other soft coolers with difficult-to-use zippers, a roll-top design was welcomed for its ease of usability. The wide straps, multiple handles around the cooler, and reinforced seams made this cooler easy to pick up, carry, and put on even under weight! The author carried about 15 pounds of drinks and lunches for a 3-mile hike.
Comfort
This backpack cooler was also designed to be as comfortable as a daypack. The author struggles with shoulder injuries and a bad back, and she found this cooler backpack to be comfortable enough to wear for a few hours while exploring the trails around the Smoky Mountains. The foam padded back support, plus ventilated mesh padded shoulder straps with attached chest strap, made carrying the cooler up and down steep trails easier and far more comfortable.
Cleaning and maintenance
Rinse out the inside of your cooler after any spills or leaks. Using small amounts of mild dish soap to wash the interior and exterior is recommended. Before you store it away for any significant amount of time, make sure that the interior is completely dry to reduce your risk of mold or mildew.
Price
This is definitely not our most budget-friendly cooler in our testing line up. However, for its portability, comfort, and durability, we do think it’s worth the price!
Other backpack coolers to consider
Icemule Pro
Cooler type: backpack
Capacity: 24 L
Cans it can fit: 18
Weight: 3.5
Other sizes available: 33L, 40L
Ultimately, the Engel Roll Top Backpack Cooler did not win our top pick for Best Backpack Soft Cooler — and that’s because the Icemule Pro has years of proven durability and utility, whereas the Engel Roll Top Backpack Cooler is brand new. The Icemule Pro won its spot on the throne for several reasons: it doubles as a dry bag, floats on water, keeps ice retention beautifully, utilizes comfy and wide straps, and collapses down easily, making it the best storage option in a soft cooler across the board. You can read about the Icemule Pro in our Best Soft Coolers guide.
Compare prices of the Icemule Pro
Cooler type: backpack
Capacity: 32
Cans it can fit: 12
Weight: 2.5
Other sizes available: N/A
REI kept hikers in mind with their separate-storage-and-cooler system in the REI Cool Trail Split. The upper section is designed to hold your extra layers and other items that don’t need to be chilled, while the bottom section has a removable cooler insert to either keep your good cold or serve as additional dry storage space, if need be. While we appreciated the extra room for gear, the cooler itself was nowhere near as effective as either the Engel Roll Top Backpack Cooler or the Icemule Pro. You can read about the REI Cool Trail Split in our Best Soft Coolers guide.
View the REI COOL TRAIL SPLIT
The author managed to hike with the Engel backpack cooler while also controlling two large dogs on leash!
HOW WE TESTED
Based on our testing efforts for our Best Soft Coolers story, we implemented much of the same criteria when it came to testing the Engel Roll Top Backpack Cooler:
PRICE
While our most expensive tested cooler costs $350, there were features about it that stood apart from the $30 lunchbox-esque cooler. However, we wanted to find affordable options that still hold up to our durability and ice retention tests without breaking your budget. The Engel Roll Top Backpack Cooler still rings in on the more expensive side, but its features convinced us that it can be worth that price.
ICE RETENTION
While we tested this cooler much later than the rest of our soft coolers, we were able to test in similar summer conditions. While we understood that environments might vary, we wanted to pit the manufacturer’s claims against our experience. In this case, the Engel Roll Top Backpack Cooler did not retain ice as long as the manufacturer’s claim.
LEAKPROOF
Making sure your cooler doesn’t leak is vital for both ice retention and keeping the rest of your good from water damage. We tested the Engel Roll Top Backpack Cooler in various positions to see how it handled the leaking test, and it passed with flying colors, even with melting ice packs.
PORTABILITY
Backpack coolers are meant for easy transportation! We looked for coolers with easy-to-use top and side handles, shoulder strap(s), ergonomic shapes, and lighter weights to make transport significantly easier. After all, we love the hard-sided cooler cousins, but soft coolers were meant for on-the-go adventures. The Engel Roll Top Backpack Cooler proved easily manageable and portable whether light or under weight.
DURABILITY
If you plan to pay top dollar for a soft cooler, you expect a high-quality, durable product. In that regard, we sought and tested coolers with abrasion-resistant materials like high-denier nylon or waterproof Hypalon; the Engel Roll Top Backpack Cooler met that mark with their TPU coated exterior and welded seams. Reinforced straps, burly zippers, and strong handles were also huge pluses in meeting our durability standards.
Why you should trust us / about the author
There aren’t many things that I would claim to be great at, but bringing along the snacks and drinks for any adventure is one I’ll ecstatically claim. I started with extra homemade cookies tossed into a backpack for the trail or crag, eventually upgraded to coolers on rafts and in the back of beat up pick up trucks, and then packed for multi-day river and cross-continent road trips. I’ve been a backpacking, rock climbing, hiking, and rafting guide in Alaska and Colorado; packing food and beverages is second nature. You name it, and I’ve probably tried to keep it cold and bring it out into the wilderness — from steaks to cheesecakes to growlers of beer.
Transitioning from hard-sided coolers to soft-sided coolers was a no-brainer, especially in the realm of weekend-warrior adventurers, as I turned back to once I left the guiding industry. They’re more portable, lighter, and still get the job done while taking up a fraction of the space compared to hard-sided coolers. Read: soft-sided coolers made it easier to toss charcuterie ingredients and a few beers into the truck and take off after work for a quick hike, climb, or paddle session. But do they stand the test of long weekend camping trips and drives along the Eastern seaboard? That’s what I struck out to uncover.
My gear expertise stems from 6 years of gear reviews for Backpacker Magazine, 8 years of guiding, 29 years of camping adventures, and many gear-head friends. In addition, I’ve written outdoor lifestyle pieces for NRS’s Duct Tape Diaries, REI’s Uncommon Path Magazine, and Powder 7 Ski Shop’s Lift Line Blog. (For additional publications and upcoming articles, check out my website.) You can also read all my Treeline Review stories on my author page.
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