It looks like a small gym bag. You know, the kind you’ll carry when you go to the gym with nothing more than a change of clothes and a few products for cleaning up after. Except, it isn’t. Instead, the Pelican Dayventure Sling Cooler is a compact ice box designed to hold your personal supply of food and refreshments for those days you just want to pig out and get drunk instead of getting a workout.
A soft cooler, it comes in a capsule-like shape that you can carry comfortably strapped across your torso. Whether you need a cooler for an afternoon of fishing, a lunchtime picnic, or a personal stash of libations for an overnight hike, this thing will let you pack enough supplies for one or two people.
The Pelican Dayventure Sling Cooler comes in a semi-rigid design that combines a compression molded base and a puncture-resistant 840D TPU shell, with the former providing the necessary structure and the latter protecting it from taking damage when used in the rugged outdoors. That structure allows it to be set down either on its side or upright with the lid on top, although it will be best to go with the latter if you use actual ice to chill its contents (unless you enjoy a puddle of water on the table, that is).
It uses high-density closed-cell foam to provide the insulation, allowing it to hold ice and keep the contents chilled for extended periods of time. No word on how long it can keep ice, but the outfit’s previous soft coolers do manage a decent 48 hours. Given that this looks less reinforced than those larger soft coolers, though, we’re counting on it holding ice for, at least, a day before letting them all melt, which should be good enough for most situations you’re going to use this thing in.
The Pelican Dayventure Sling Cooler has an interior chamber that measures 14.6 x 5.9 x 5.9 inches (width x height x depth), which is enough to fit either a dozen cans or four wine bottles, along with a fair bit of ice. A waterproof construction and leak-resistant zipper will keep all of the melted ice contained inside, ensuring there’s no leaks and no drips, no matter how long you’re on the road. The hinged lid is installed at one end of the cooler, so you can easily retrieve a cold one whenever you feel thirsty without having to set the whole thing down.
Like all sling bags, it comes with a padded, adjustable, and removable strap that you can use to carry it, either with the strap across your chest or on your shoulder like a duffel, while a rubberized carry handle allows you to carry it by hand for those times you’re carrying a backpack for your other gear. Just in case you have a few dry gear to bring along, there’s a large zippered pocket on the side where you can stash them.
The Pelican Dayventure Sling Cooler is available now.
- 840D DOUBLE COATED TPU - Puncture-resistant material stands up to the hard knocks of outdoor use