RTIC Everyday Cooler
Review by Erin Trail
The RTIC Everyday Cooler is a well designed cooler that’s perfect for lunches and all day outings.
Details
- Available in 8-can, 15-can, and 28-can sizes
- Closed cell foam insulation
- Durable fabric designed for everyday use
- Coated bottom protects from wet surfaces and provides a bit of traction to keep it from sliding
- Coated interior for easy clean up
- Collapses into its own lid and easily stores away
- Lightweight and rigid
- Wide mouth, lay-back lid and easy-open zipper for simple access
- Inside mesh pocket for secure storage under the lid
- Removable, high-quality, stainless steel bottle opener built into the front face
- Removable shoulder strap, connected with clips that rotate to prevent the strap from twisting
- Handle on the lid for easy carrying
- Exterior pockets for easy storage (2 drop in elastic mesh, 1 zippered)
Functionality
As an active person with a day job, I need a cooler that has a good amount of storage for day trips and the ability to keep things cold all day long.
The RTIC Everyday Cooler does just that and then some.
I received the 15-can size and two large ice packs for testing.
I work in the office and eat both breakfast and lunch (and snacks!) while I work. Sometimes, depending on my training load, this can end up being a sizeable amount of food. I usually swim before work, so keeping things cold – especially in my hot car – is a definite need. My day job also feeds me really well (occasionally) and I’ll bring home delicious leftover that need to kept cold (inside my car) as I ride or lift weights after work.
I also end up bringing a lot of things with me for my in-office days (swim bag, gym bag, sometimes after work exercise stuff, my laptop, and food), so having a lunch storage solution that’s easy to haul around is really nice.
On the weekends, I flip into weekend warrior mode, often spending entire days running, biking, or exploring, and need a day-trip sized cooler to keep drinks and snacks cold.
On a day-to-day basis, the RTIC Everyday Cooler has PLENTY of room to store my breakfast and lunch for office consumption.
The interior is a rubberized/silicone fabric that has the ability to reverse out of the cooler (you can pull the liner out but it stays attached at the opening). This is handy if you have a sticky spill and need to rinse the inside out in a sink. The inner lining easily wipes clean and has welded seams to prevent icky buildup.
Inside the top lid are two elastic top opening mesh pockets. I’ve found these handy for segregating utensils and smaller packaged items, keeping them at the top and easy to grab.
The main zipper for the RTIC Everyday Cooler is pretty beefy with well sized zipper pulls. It does take a bit of oomph to move the zipper, but I expect this to get easier with more use.
The exterior of the RTIC Everyday Cooler is also really well thought out. There are large drop in elastic mesh pockets on the side walls of the cooler, extending to the full height of the cooler wall. These pockets are great for holding things that don’t need to stay cold. I like to put my hydration tablet sleeves there for easy access. I even managed to get an RTIC 20 oz tumbler to fit (and stay) in this pocket. It was a tight fit and I’m not sure I would do it often, but it did work!
The front face of the RTIC Everyday Cooler has a non-stretchy zip-top pocket, which is great for storing thin items like utensils or napkins. There’s also a stainless steel bottle opener attached to the front.
I have the large ice packs and they work ok with the 15-can size RTIC Everyday Cooler. I can easily fit one ice pack vertically along the front or back sidewall of the cooler. I can also easily fit one laying flat at the top of the cooler. I cannot pack both a vertical and a top horizontal large ice pack – they just don’t fit. The large icepack also doesn’t fit very well laying flat at the bottom – it’s a very tight fit and I usually end up having to slightly angle it to get it to work.
For the 15-can size, I think a mix of the small and large ice packs would be ideal, especially for long, hot days.
Performance
I have zero complaints about the RTIC Everyday Cooler. It holds all of the food that I need on a daily basis and keeps them cold.
I attended an 8 hour long mountain bike clinic over the weekend, on a day with temperatures in the mid-80s. I needed to pack a lunch, drinks, and a post-ride snack AND it all had to be kept cold while being stored on the inside of my all black interior SUV.
When we broke for lunch, my food and drink were wonderfully cold and refreshing. And after the day was done, the single large ice pack was still pretty frozen.
I also brought the RTIC Everyday Cooler on a day trip to the mountains, where we left the house at 8 AM to ride at Trestle Bike Park all day. We returned to the car at 5 PM and had wonderfully cold seltzer waters and snacks waiting for us.
The size of the 15-can cooler is also ideal for road trips. It will easily fit in between the two front captain’s seats of my Dodge Promaster, helping to keep drinks and snacks organized and handy. It also fits nicely into the floor well of the rear passenger area of vehicles.
I also really like the exterior pockets, allowing for easy access to other snack or hydration items that don’t require a cooler. This feature helps to keep me organized and I like that I can, at a glance, see these items and easily grab and use them.
The only thing that’s a bit of a challenge is squishing the RTIC Everyday Cooler flat. The mechanism is really smart, with hooks located at the inside front of the lid that connect to the bottom of the cooler when fully squished. Tthe sides of the cooler are pretty sturdy and you have to press pretty hard to get it to fully collapse. I also suspect that having larger and stronger hands would make this easier. This is a feature that I don’t see myself using very often, because I plan on using this 3-5 times per week, so it’s not an issue for me. Having the option to squish the cooler down when it’s not in use is a very handy feature for long-term storage or maximizing vehicle room when on car trips.
Closing Thoughts
The RTIC Everyday Cooler is a well designed and affordable cooler that packs a lot of food and keeps it cold all day long. The RTIC Everyday Cooler is available in three sizes (8-can, 15-can, and 28-can). Each size family is available in a range of colors.
Erin Trail
Trail Boss of Stoke
Erin is a former Montana park ranger with a degree in environmental engineering. She loves getting into technical details while putting her gear (and herself) through the paces. She shares her home in Colorado with her husband, Will, and her 3 cats (Zipper, Brewtus, and Simcoe).
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