I took this Yeti cool bag to the beach on the hottest day of the year — and the results are amazing

It's a fact of life: many of the best coolers cost a premium. But I'm telling. you that the Yeti Hopper M Series Portable Soft Cooler is totally worth it.

Especially since it's $60 off right now.

In my 4-star Yeti Hopper cool bag review, I talked about how it managed to keep cans cold for 48 hours. I couldn't real-world test this on my beach trip for obvious reasons — I was hungry, and everything got consumed.

I can, however, wholeheartedly say that the Yeti Hopper cool bag kept everything cold for the duration of my beach trip. I would 100% take the Hopper 15 on any beach outing I go on for the rest of my life. Here's why the Yeti Hopper 15 cool bag is so good.

Yeti Hopper M series cool bag: was $300 now $240 at Amazon

The Hopper cool bag comes in two sizes: the M15 and the M30. I have the M15, which I think is enough for two people. Yeti also makes the Flip cool bag, which has a zip opening, and the M series backpack.

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My Yeti cool bag stayed cold a the beach all day

Let me just set the scene: Britain, 85°F (30°C). If you're not a Brit, you won't realize how much of a novelty this is. Usually summertime hovers around 68°F, absolute max. This Saturday was actually the hottest day of the year, so I took my Yeti Hopper 15 cool bag to the beach for some real-world testing.

Thanks to the high-density mold-resistant fabric, the Yeti cool bags are excellent at keeping food cold all day long. I stuffed my Hopper to the brim with eight cans, two sandwiches, a dip, a big bar of chocolate, fruit, and a salad. Of course, not forgetting the four ice packs — they're kind of essential.

Throughout the day, my food was refrigerator-cold. I opened the bag about twice an hour, which I thought would let in a lot of hot air, but it didn't seem to affect the overall temperature of the bag.

My favorite part of the Yeti Hopper cool bag is the MagShield opening. This magnetic opening snaps shut, even when the bag is stuffed to the brim. Once it's shut, it's shut. I was worried the cool bag wouldn't close, but after I managed to squeeze it shut, it didn't open again until I was at the beach.

Another great feature is the padded shoulder strap. My boyfriend carried the cool bag from the train station to the beach, and even when it was full, it wasn't too heavy on his shoulder.

I arrived at 10.30am, and by the time I left at 5pm, the cans were still ice-cold. Considering the bag was left in 85°F (30°C) heat, in direct sun, all day, I was really impressed.

My Yeti cool bag is seagull-resistant

If you've ever been to the beach, you'll know the sand is often plagued by hoards of seagulls that feast on our food. If you ask me, seagulls are getting too confident.

While I went for a quick dip in the ocean, I left a packet of chips lying on the picnic blanket. But after my swim, when I started walking back towards the beach, I saw a huge flock of seagulls swarming around a picnic blanket. My heart sank and I ran back to the camp.

What I saw... it was a crime scene. The seagulls had torn open my chips and consumed 95% of them.

Despite eating their fill on my chips, there were seagulls still flying around the Yeti Hopper. But I soon realized not a single one had managed to figure out the MagShield opening.

So while my chips were lost, all the food inside the Yeti cool bag was safe. I thank the MagShield opening for being too confusing for the seagulls and saving me from even worse heartbreak.

My Yeti cool bag doubled up as phone storage

Some cool boxes come with a designated dry box attachment so you can hide your electronics away on fishing trips or beach days. While the Yeti Hopper cool bag doesn't have an explicit 'dry box' attachment, when my iPhone hit me with the "iPhone overheating", I knew I had to take action.

I wrapped my iPhone 16 Pro in my shirt and tucked it away inside the cool bag. Within a few minutes, it was cool enough to use again.

I wouldn't recommend just putting your phone in the bag without protection, as the ice packs can leak and condensation can get into your phone. I would recommend always wrapping it in a paper towel or fabric, or even bringing an extra plastic bag or plastic box for times such as these.

Even so, I'm impressed that the Yeti Hopper cool bag managed to keep my food and phone both cool and free from seagulls.

Only big enough for 2 people

As I mentioned earlier, I put the following things in the Hopper M15: eight cans, two sandwiches, a dip, fruit, a salad, and a big bar of chocolate. This doesn't sound like a lot, because it wasn't, really. But the Hopper M15 was absolutely stuffed — it wouldn't have even fit another dip.

So if you've got a bigger family or you're going for multiple days, I'd recommend the larger Hopper M30.

For me, though, the Hopper M15 is the perfect size. It fit on the overhead racking on the train, it's impossible to fill it so heavy it can't be carried, and it's compact enough that the food gets cold quickly.

I absolutely adore my Yeti Hopper M15, and I can't wait for the next heatwave so I can head back to the beach and do it all again. 10/10, no notes. British weather, don't fail me now. (Famous last words.)

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