When I bought my first Polar Bear cooler, it was not to carry ice or anything like that in. I had gotten a tip from a friend that used them as a camera bag. Think about it, they keep water in pretty well, they should keep it out. They have incredible insulation that doubles as protective padding. They don’t “look” like a camera bag which gives a small amount of security. Someone would break into a vehicle to steal a camera, but probably would not take the risk to steal something that looks like it just held your lunch.

I moved to a different camera bag a while ago and for the first time actually used the Polar Bear cooler for what it was designed for. I was blown away by how well it did its “real” job. I have since used it to keep water and sports drinks cold for all day trips in the hot southern sun and used it to keep my catch in on days when I want some fish to fry. The latter job is why my wife made me get a new one, seems she thinks that her bottle of water should not taste like fish or something like that.

I took advantage of a deal that Polar Bear tends to run around Christmas time and ordered two new 24 quart models. These are large enough to keep drinks and food for a group of folks or one for several days of adventure. The 12 quart is perfect if I am heading out alone and want to keep my water and lunch cold. There are multiple models, colors and designs to choose from and they even have a backpack model. If you need a seriously good soft sided cooler, for sure look at the Polar Bear brand.

Sometimes, it’s hard to find the right tools for the job. Specifically, it can be difficult to find the right products for use on a kayak. Coolers are no exception. I have gone through many coolers while kayak fishing. Soft coolers usually rip or the zippers fail. Hard sided coolers don’t hold ice long, or in the case of Yeti, the cooler is large but has little space on the inside.

While at the Boondoggle in February, I talked to some of the guys from Polar Bear Coolers who promised I would have better luck with their products. I decided on the 12 pack cooler as I liked the dimensions. It was the right size for the space on my kayak that I allot for a cooler. It was shipped flat with directions for reshaping it to original specs. Once reshaped, I looked it over. I was impressed by the quality of the material. It’s made with heavy duty luggage grade 1000 denier nylon outer shell.

I noticed the thickness of the sides on the Polar Bear cooler. It was at least an inch of soft foam. According to their website, the Polar Bear cooler's 5-layer air trap design keeps ice for 24 hours in 100 plus degree heat and will keep hot up to 200 degrees for many hours.

The first day I used my new Polar Bear cooler, it was hot and sunny. It was the perfect day to test it out. I placed two large drinks, a couple of fruit cups and 2/3 bag of ice into the cooler. About two hours later, the sun was up and the temperature began to climb. I reached into the cooler for a snack and noticed the ice was still very fresh. I accidently left the zipper open and over the next few hours the sun beat down on my cooler.

Around noon, I reached for a drink and noticed the cooler was open. The ice was still frozen and there was very little melt water in the bottom. My drink was very cold. I paddled around for the rest of the day and while heading back to the launch, I took the second drink from the cooler. It had been a very hot day and I was surprised to find the ice was still mostly intact.

I used the cooler a few more times and had the same results. My drinks and snacks stay colder much longer, and I can put the cooler almost anywhere on my kayak without it getting in the way. The nylon strap handles and bottom are made for heavy duty use. The rubber coated zipper is well made but when I turn the cooler upside down, it leaks as all soft sided coolers do when upended. Cleaning the Polar Bear cooler was easy. I unbuckled the sides and pulled the heavy duty plastic liner out of the nylon shell.

All told, my new Polar Bear cooler is, by far, the best soft sided cooler I have used, and it can also hang with the best hard sided coolers as well.