On our road trips we typically take along a cooler for the car. This cooler usually holds a few drinks, but also is used for snacks such as cheese sticks, fruit, deli meat, yogurt.
When we fly into a destination to start a road trip we usually have to figure out what to do with the cooler that we don't want to fly back with. Sometimes we have gifted them on Buy Nothing Facebook sites, given them to hotel employees, or abandoned them in our hotel room. We've also traveled with collapsible soft sided coolers because we could put them in our luggage, but they usually leak which leaves us frustrated.
While shopping we came across this Titan Backpack Cooler. I had to ponder if this would be a good cooler for us to fly cross country. It wasn't collapsible so this would have to count as one of our carry-ons. And because it was "soft sided" in design, I worried that it would leak.
When we fly, we all usually take a backpack on the plane. Our backpacks are loaded down with our personal items as well as a computer. April and I both volunteer for national organizations so we find ourselves always needing our computers. So, there was concern if this backpack cooler would work to carry on personal items and a laptop. Plus, I struggled with the price tag, because I could buy something much more inexpensive in our first city (even if I would be abandoning it later).
I toyed back and forth but went ahead with the purchase.
We recently completed a great road trip through the PNW so we were able to put this Titan Backpack Cooler to the test.
April carried it as her personal carry on and loaded it with her personal items plus snacks, hand sanitizer, and her laptop. The cooler is loaded with pockets, all perfectly sized for the the things she was traveling with. Her laptop also fit perfectly inside and she felt that it was secure and protected. This backpack cooler also comes with reusable freezer packs. Knowing that those wouldn't pass security, those were placed in a suitcase for the flight. I also packed several freezer gallon and quart size zip bags.
Once we got to our destination, April's computer found a home in my backpack. This did make my load a bit heavier but doable. The reusable ice packs were placed in our hotel freezer (yay, for a good hotel freezer). Once we were ready to hit the road, I put the frozen freezer packs inside the cooler pockets. These freezer packs hug the front and the back of the cooler. I also got some ice from the hotel and placed this ice inside the zip bags. Our cooler now had some of our favorites and we were ready for the open road.
During the first few legs of this trip the weather was pretty mild. The ice in the cooler held up VERY well. We were quite impressed. We also loved the top pocket which was the perfect space for granola bars, flavored water packets, small packs of granola crackers, etc. It fit perfectly in the backseat of our car and was incredibly convenient to open/close.
Plus, because it was a backpack, it was so easy as we were taking our luggage from the car to our hotel.
As the trip continued, I was amazed at how well it kept the ice frozen. In fact, some days the reusable freezer packs stayed frozen the entire day. Putting ice in the baggies made it easy to dump out each evening as we put our items into the hotel fridge. Towards the end of the trip our hotel refrigerators did not include freezers so we simply refrigerated the freezer packs. I continued reusing the zip baggies over and over.
By the end of the trip the zip baggies that we used for ice did leak.....which was expected. However, despite water getting inside the cooler, the cooler never leaked. Never. The backpack never showed any wetness on the outside fabric. The inside contained all the water perfectly.
As our trip ended, we cleaned out the cooler and wiped it out, making sure it was completely dry. All of April's necessary plane items were returned, including her laptop. This was now the backpack that she took on the plane as her carry-on. Both times it fit perfectly under the plane seat.
We were VERY pleased with the functionality of the Titan Backpack Cooler. This was a good purchase and we can certainly see a good financial return.
The Travel Gritty: 10/10 recommend.
Awesome review of this cooler backpack and useful tips! I have also looked at this bag and wondered if it was worth it. Now I know. :)Thanks yall!