Marine Boatbag Series

This was a tough one. Not a clear 3 or 4 stars...First off let me say most cooler reviews are terrible....the usual.....”I put 48 hot beers into my cooler with 3 pounds of ice. It all melted. This cooler sucks”...... I’ll attempt not to replicate those.The summary....Overall this cooler seems well made and pretty durable. I used it this weekend for my wife’s birthday party. I put 40 pounds of ice in it on Saturday around lunch and it was still 30-40 percent ice after 2.5 days sitting in the shade on my back deck. Day time highs in the 90’s and lows in the 70’s. That’s pretty good for a soft cooler in my opinion.Now for the nitty gritty.The things I don’t like....I don’t like that the bottom is nylon, not waterproof tarpaulin like the rest of the cooler. Sit it on the wet sand on the beach or in the bottom of my boat, it’s going to be a problem. I can’t see how they let this slide. Most premium coolers you’d a better bottom material.The foam insulation is open cell, not closed. That means it will take in water, gaining weight and loosing its ability to insulate...not to mention taking forever to dry out and posibbly developing odor. My rtic uses closed cell foam construction with no stitching. All heat welded seams and a semi rigid waterproof bottom . Yeti or Engel is similar construction to rtic.I don’t own the cheaper boat bag version of this cooler, but I’m not sure the xtreme model is worth double the price. It says it has waterproof zippers. I was expecting it to be airtight like my rtic softpac 30. They are not. I can literally stand on my rtic cooler without squeezing the air out of it. Air rushes out of the NorChill zippers which means water will too as well as cold air out, warm air in. The water will leak out of this cooler if it’s turned over. Not the rtic, yeti or Engel.Also, the ice reeked and tasted of plastic....horribly so....from the liner material. Now, this was the first use, perhaps it will get better in time. Not an issue just keeping things cold, but a huge issue if you want to use the ice. I don’t want to be drinking china plastic water....who knows what’s in it.This is a small complaint but the side pocket zippers are smaller than the main zipper and feel a little too small for such a beefy bag. Now granted, it’s not like they’ll be subjected to extreme use, but paying a premium over the standard boat bag cooler, how much more would it really cost to use a heavier zipper? Like most coolers, the shoulder strap is lacking....Especially for a 48 can behemoth.This cooler cost more than my rtic which is better constructed. So why did I buy this cooler?The things I do like....Plain and simple....the size of the 48 is perfect for my needs and neither rtic or yeti make one.This cooler is perfect for 24 bottles of water or beer plus snacks with room to spare. A 30 can cooler means about 15 bottles with little room for snacks.The side pockets are large and you can put stuff in them.... I don’t know what yet, but stuff....sunglasses, phone, whatever stuff you like.The build and quality of materials seem pretty good. Nice stitching on the seams (just keep in mind other premium coolers don’t stitch seams). The white tarpaulin material seems the logical choice for outdoors in the sun. It will clean well too. Other premium coolers come in dark colors. Go figure.The liner didn’t leak a drop in 2.5 days. But as I said, turn it over and all the water is coming outta there.I really wanted to like this cooler better than I do. I hoped I had found my perfect cooler. This one could be great with some refinement but it’s just not there especially considering the rtic 40 is about $25 less or more on sale. I was so close to returning it, but I really like the size. If you don’t need one this big, buy the rtic.The major selling point for me was its the perfect size for me....I’m going to give it a little more use and see.

Not many things are perfect so that’s why 4 stars! However this NorChill 24 can Marine boat bag is darn close to perfect! I compared this bag to every similar bag including Yeti & RTIC. Save your money and go with NorChill. Ice lasted, without any melting, for 10 hours in 80 degree weather at the beach. It’s roomy with a wide enough bottom to accept square food containers.I packed: 4 food containers, 6 frozen water bottles, 5-6 baggies with snacks, 2 bottles of tea, 2 pieces of fruit, a large zip lock bag with ice, two large plastic lidded cups and had plenty of room left over. The zipper provides a large opening (better then Yeti, IMO) and everything stays in place! The liner DID NOT LEAK! The only moisture in the bag was sweat from the frozen water bottles, as expected. A half a sheet of a paper towel wiped the moisture up at the end of the day. The exterior material is very substantial and assume if it got dirty it would easily wipe clean. I love the white color as it does not attract heat. All in all I highly recommend this bag. I purchased two- one for food and one for drinks when it’s more than two of us.

The "boat bag" series of the Norchill soft-sided coolers are the way to go! If you want a bomb-proof soft-shell cooler bag that can stand up to anything you can throw at it, look no further! Its construction is 2nd-to-none! The outside is tough and robust as well as the super-tough, inside liner. I originally bought the 12-can (small) version which is light enough to carry on my left shoulder and store caught fish as I walk up and down the coast for hours, spin-casting. (Yes, the boat bag series are also designed to carry fish!) It's the perfect size to compliment my fishing sling bag slung on my right shoulder and I can now ice down small to medium-sized fish I am lucky enough to catch while spin casting. Good fishermen know that catching fish is only half of the equation....preserving your catch well, is the other, important half (ensuring freshness and preventing harmful bacteria growth). I've seen reviews that have stated you can't tip this cooler because it will leak. This is true and actually a design feature (and the directions do caution you to always keep this upright) when using ice because you will be able to tip your cooler as needed to drain any unwanted water even with the zipper closed, keeping your ice and contents from spilling out. Fyi, the drain in located on one side of the top zipper, so as long as it is kept upright, no water will leak out. All-in-all, I am very happy with my purchase and am confident it will stand the test of time, no doubt!

I have two of these the 48 and the 24. Both perform very well. Will keep food/drinks cold for up to 2 days. It holds enough food and drinks for two people for an afternoon.ProsIce retention for 2 days.Thick insulation.Waterproof exterior.Leakproof liner is thick and tough and can be pulled out for easy cleaning.Price is much lower than Yeti.ConsNot as tough as a Yeti, my 24 can cooler is starting to wear on the bottom.It sweats on humid days.Plastic buckle broke, I ended up having to order a new one.24 can cooler does not hold a whole lot, maybe enough food and drinks for 2 people for an afternoon.Awkward shape for certain dishes, sometimes you have to lay it on its side, it is really suited for drinks.Overall this is a good cooler and I would recommend it.

We bought this 24-can boat bag for use on our 2017 Princecraft Vectra 21’ Classic Pontoon boat. It’s a very well made bag that does exactly what they say. Sure, it’s pricy but worth every penny for this quality build!