Geckobrands

Opticool Backpack Cooler

$49.99

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Ships nationwide · or free in-store pickup

Carry it on your back. A backpack cooler leaves both hands free, which matters more than it sounds when you are also carrying a paddle, a rod and a life jacket down to the water.

Why a Backpack Cooler Beats a Tote

The walk from the car park to the launch is where gear gets dropped, and a tote cooler in one hand means everything else has to fit in the other.

Padded shoulder straps and a chest strap put the weight on your back instead. There is a three-section ventilated back panel, which is the detail that stops your shirt being soaked through on a Florida afternoon.

Backpack Cooler Capacity and Build

• 24 cans or 18 bottles plus ice

• About 16 x 12.5 x 5 inches, 1.4 lb empty

• Coated polyester exterior with a PEVA liner, leak-proof

• Hook-and-loop insulated lid plus a full zip top

• Two mesh drink pockets and a 10 x 8" front zip pocket

The double closure — hook-and-loop under a zip — is better than either alone, because the soft layer holds the cold in when you are dipping in and out.

One Honest Note on the Name

"Opticool" is Geckobrands' model name, not a cooling technology. They publish no definition of it, no insulation specification and no performance claim attached to the word.

So we are not going to imply it does something special. It is a well-built insulated backpack; the name is just a name.

About the Ice Claim

Geckobrands publish "12+ hours", and they hedge it themselves — it varies with how much ice you put in, how often you open it, and how hot the day is.

We will print their figure and their hedge and nothing more. You will see wilder numbers attached to soft coolers all over the internet; this is what the maker actually stands behind.

Two things genuinely extend it: pre-chill the cooler before you load it, and fill the air space. A half-empty cooler is mostly warm air, and warm air melts ice.