AO Coolers Original Soft-Sided Cooler Bag, Leak-Proof, Insulated, Lightweight

I purchased the 12 can size in order to transport breast milk during a 6 day trip out of town for work. Every day I brought this cooler to the convention with me along with a gallon sized ziplock bag full of ice. After pumping I’d store the milk in the cooler. I was away from a fridge about 8 hours each day but the cooler kept everything very cold. In fact, at the end of the day the ice would still be mostly unmelted in the ziplock bag, and the milk would be cold.At the end of the trip I packed all of the milk into my AO Cooler along with another ziplock bag full of ice. I was able to freeze some of the milk before flying and when I got home about 8 hours later only two 6oz bags of milk had slightly started to thaw. The rest was still frozen solid. Most of the milk I transported was not frozen and the sturdiness of this cooler prevented any bags from opening, even when jostled by other carry-on luggage in the overhead storage bin on the airplane. All of the milk was extremely cold when I made it home. If you are going to be expressing breast milk away from home more than 6 days, I might recommend getting the 24 can size instead. I could only fit a very little bit of ice in the cooler on my way home with the 12 can size that I purchased.This bag made the very stressful process of transporting and storing breast milk while away from home as painless as possible. The 12 can size is large – don’t expect it to easily fit underneath the seat in front of you on an airplane. But it is sturdy, well-made, and can protect your precious cold items during long periods of time away from refrigeration.As a side note – when I got home I accidentally left a ziplock bag full of ice in my AO Cooler for over a day before I realized it was there. The cooler was unzipped that entire time, and when I pulled the bag out of the cooler, the ice had melted but it was still extremely cold. The insulation in these coolers is pretty amazing.

I wanted a soft cooler that I could fit into my luggage. The super cheap ones only pretend to keep things cool. This actually works and still has ice at the end of the day - it is worth every cent! I can't get over it - wish I had it years ago!

The inside liner is thicker than the old waterbed liners. It would be hard to puncture this with normal use. As far as it keeping ice in the form of ice in 100 degree temperature I'll do an update in July when I do a camping trip. I can say in 50 degree weather it kept icepacks cold for 3 days.I would recommend this cooler just on it's beefiness alone though. Incredibly well made! The outside is a heavy duty canvas with a tough zipper. You can buckle down the sides to save space in the car or leave them flipped up to pack more stuff inside.You can fit a lot of stuff in this thing. When we camp, we pre-make breakfast, lunch and dinners. We put them in food saver bags and then freeze them. We had 3 days of meals ( 9 or 10 food saver bags filled with food), a six pack of soda, 6 bottles of water and 3 6x9 ice packs. Being that it is soft side, you can really pack stuff in there (I did have the sides buckled down). The bags of food at the bottom were still frozen. Now kept in mind, this was in 50 degree weather. I'll do an update after my July camping trip.UPDATE -July 2015Wow...even more impressed with this cooler. I also bought the 24 pack cooler to use along with my 36 pack.I had 12 pre-chilled bottles of water and ONE Artic - Tundra series ice pack (these ice packs are fantastic) in the cooler in the car for 6 hours. The range of temperature inside the car was 83-110 degrees. In 2 hours I checked -the bottles directly under the Tundra ice pack were now half frozen -Amazing! Car temp was 98 degrees. 4 hours later the ice pack had unthawed a bit and the bottles of water were still ice cold. I like using ice packs when ever I can. Clean up after use is a breeze. Empty the cooler, put the pack back in the freezer with very little wipe down -I'm done. I have bought a lot of coolers both hard & soft sided looking for the best option without spending a couple of hundred on a Yeti. I have always preferred a soft side because they take up so much less room in the car. I have to say, I can stop looking now.