This is a tale of two coolers. One that seems like a good idea but isn't, and another that surprised us with how much we liked it.
First, the Coolest Cooler, a ginormous beast that is, at first glance, a party on wheels. It has a blender, bluetooth speaker, four plates, paring knife and corkscrew/bottle opener. There's a bungee cord tucked away with the telescoping handle to allow you to put even more stuff on top for transport to and from the designated party location.
That's the good news. The bad news is you could buy all these things separately and get better quality for less money. Also, if one of these things breaks it makes the whole thing less valuable, versus replacing just one of the individual items. If you just really want an all-in-one cooler, the Coolest Cooler will do the trick, but be aware there is a backstory to the kickstarter for this product that may put some people off.
On the other end of the spectrum is the Coolest Vibe, a soft cooler that comes in 18 and 30 can capacities and has a bunch of actually useful tricks up its sleeve. First, it's a pretty great cooler thanks to the thick walls, even thicker lid and waterproof zippers all around. The Vibe has top and side handles and a shoulder strap for easy portability. There are even two plates and two sets of magnetically nesting - and actually useful! - utensils that store inside. A quick-release leash setup is include that can attach to a few different points on the cooler so you don't lose your bottle opener, flashlight or whatever.
The two coolest feature of the Coolest Vibe are first, the front Fliplock magnetic flap that automatically locks down but allows easy access without zipping and unzipping every time you need in or out, and second, the two straps that let you attach the cooler to your bicycle handlebars quickly and easily. Overall we found the Vibe to be a great combination of features that let you easily portage the cooler around town, on the trail or in a boat, just to name a few uses. And oh yeah, go ahead and abuse it; it's plenty tough enough for all those applications and probably a lot more that all you gear apes can think up!
Coolest Cooler $449.99 on Amazon
Coolest Vibe $199.99 on Amazon
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