Product Review: Fishpond Ice Storm Soft Cooler

Fishpond products are super-cool. Great style, fun colors, built using indestructible materials and manufacturing methods, and all seem to feature some innovative engineered feature. My favorite clippers are their Pitchfork models - I think I have one on my waders, another my jacket, and one on a lanyard.

Recently, I added an Ice Storm soft cooler to the arsenal of coolers in my basement. I've seen this cooler and it's smaller bretheren bouncing around in guide boats for years, so I knew it was rugged. But taking it a step further with a lifetime warranty is a nice bonus. 

Soft-side coolers usually haven't been especially good at keeping things cold in truly hot conditions for very long. But, Fishpond's done a great job. I had a cooler full of beer and food out in 90+ degree heat for most of Sunday afternoon with everything chilly and surprisingly little melt by the end of a canoe trip. It wouldn't be my choice for a weekend camping (for that, I'll stick to my hard-sided Igloo Max Cold which could keep beer cold in Hell), but for a day on the river, it's outstanding.

My other issue with soft-sided coolers is access. Flimsy zippers make it hard to access, and eventually fail. Not Fishpond. Big, beefy zippers with rubberized handles meant easily opening while balancing in a canoe speeding down the river. And, lots of zippered pockets mean convenient stowage for all sorts of gear.

I also really like the rigid plastic bottom. It offers both structure and durability, as well as keeping melted ice from leaking. Finally, the rubberized liner seems about 3X as thick as any soft cooler I've ever seen. It certainly seems like it will provide a long, useful life.

Yes, $90 is ridiculous for a cooler. But this one's top-notch and should provide me with years of useful life!

-Sean-