Yeti Hopper M12 Tender Backpack Cooler Assessment

The Yeti Hopper M12 Tender Backpack Cooler would possibly seem to be a easy, no-frills cooler. It’s modern and streamlined and isn’t dressed with equipment. However don’t be fooled by its minimalistic design. This Yeti does precisely what it’s presupposed to do and does it ridiculously properly: Its capability to maintain issues chilly is among the finest in the marketplace. Whereas it has a restricted variety of built-in bonus options, loads of extra equipment can be found for buy individually. 

In brief: There’s no denying that the Yeti Hopper M12 Tender Backpack Cooler ($275) comes with a hefty price ticket: a critical funding. For that price, you get a cooler that solely holds as much as 20 cans — with none ice. However at this value, you possibly can count on distinctive efficiency, which the M12 delivers. It retains issues chilly for 4 days and is constructed to final. The development is hard. And also you’d be hard-pressed to puncture, tear, or break it — this cooler is designed for critical sturdiness.

See how this backpack cooler stacks up in The Greatest Backpack Coolers purchaser’s information.

Yeti Hopper M12 Tender Backpack Cooler Assessment

First Impressions

My first impression of the Yeti Hopper M12 is that it’s a modern, compact powerhouse constructed for the outside. The fabric feels extremely powerful, and you may inform it’s designed to face up to tough situations. The scale is ideal for day journeys and has sufficient room to carry meals and drinks for our household of three.

The straps are surprisingly snug, particularly with the adjustable chest strap that helps stability the load. The magnetic closure is a transparent improve from the earlier zippered design that loved to chunk me if I acquired too shut. Whereas I’d have loved extra storage on the outside, you should buy attachments just like the Sidekick Dry Gear Case that attaches to the hitchpoint grid as an answer.

Sturdiness

As I anticipated from Yeti, the Hopper M12 Tender Backpack Cooler is constructed with sturdiness in thoughts. All through my discipline assessments, this design appeared bombproof and engineered to deal with a variety of out of doors situations, in addition to powerful consumer dealing with — which I used to be responsible of doing.

After I was fishing and shifting from gap to gap, I didn’t at all times cease to sling the M12 over my shoulder. As a substitute, I hooked my foot by one of many straps and dragged it alongside the financial institution whereas my line floated.

I strapped this cooler all the way down to the again of an ATV, tossed it out and in of my truck mattress, and left it baking within the solar throughout tenting journeys. However the Yeti held robust. There have been no popped seams, no tears, and only a few mild beauty scratches.

Consolation & Ergonomics

Whereas the design won’t scream consolation at first look, I used to be pleasantly shocked by the snug straps. The chest strap is extremely adjustable, making a noticeable distinction in how properly the cooler backpack suits, even when it’s packed full. A element that might be improved is the again panel. It’s stiff and lacks padding.

Nonetheless, the Yeti M12 is usually snug, along with being dependable and holding issues chilly for a very long time.

Magnetic Closure

The Yeti Hopper M12 has a magnetic closure system that considerably upgrades the zipper design present in older fashions. This magnetic high is faster and safer and creates a dependable, hermetic seal that retains your contents chilly and safe.

The closure snaps shut with ease, and the pull tab supplies a easy, easy technique to break the seal while you’re able to dig in. To make sure the cooler stays sealed and watertight, roll down the highest and safe it with the 2 sturdy clips.

I discovered the clip attachments to be a bit quick, so it was powerful to clip. I ended up kneeling on the highest as soon as I rolled it over, and that appeared to provide me simply sufficient additional house to attach the clips. I perceive why the clips should be tight; very similar to a dry bag, the seal received’t maintain by itself if the cooler is flipped the wrong way up, and so the clips are important for holding it waterproof.

Shoulder Straps & Again Panel

The Yeti Hopper M12 additionally has a cushty, customizable chest strap system. The chest strap could be slid out of the hitchpoint and adjusted to match the particular person carrying it. It’s a little bit of a decent match to get the material into the flat hook, so make certain the fabric is laid flat, and you might have to wiggle it to hook it in tightly.

Upon getting it adjusted, it received’t budge. The padded straps are stiff but snug sufficient to assist relieve the strain. Although, the again panel padding shouldn’t be actually a lot padding as a lot as it’s a neoprene-feeling board. It’s stiff, to say the least, and will do with a bit precise cushion. 

Between the 2 shoulder straps is a evenly padded (greater than the again panel) deal with that makes it simple to choose the pack up and go. It’s double-stitched into the again and is sturdy! I’ve been lifting up the totally loaded pack from the deal with and swinging it into my truck for months now and haven’t observed any popped seams or looseness. Yeti is aware of tips on how to make issues to final. 

Ice Retention: In-Home Take a look at

I examined the ice retention by filling the cooler two-thirds stuffed with store-bought cubed ice after which saved it in a room at 67 levels Fahrenheit. I checked the cooler each 12 hours.

After 24 hours, almost half of the ice had melted. By the 48-hour mark, three-quarters of the ice was gone. At 84 hours, just a few ice cubes remained; and by 96 hours, the ultimate ice cubes had lastly melted.

That’s one of many strongest ice retention outcomes we’ve seen amongst the entire backpack coolers our crew has examined right here at GearJunkie.

Attachments

A professional and con are the extra attachments you should buy for the cooler. For the worth of the cooler, I’d hope they might have come already connected. However they don’t.

You should buy a Rambler Bottle Sling that attaches to the facet of the cooler and might maintain your water bottle or bottle of wine. You can too purchase the Sidekick Dry Gear Case to retailer objects you don’t need to carry by hand.

TSA-Suitable

A handy facet of the Yeti Hopper M12 Tender Backpack Cooler is its compatibility with TSA. All the time double-check along with your airline first, however it ought to match within the overhead bin of the vast majority of airways.

I’ve a mother buddy who purchased this cooler particularly for flying, because it retains issues persistently chilly. She remains to be breastfeeding and was searching for the gold normal of coolers to retailer her breast milk whereas touring. If mothers can belief this cooler with their liquid gold, you understand you possibly can belief it to maintain something chilly.

A Few Minor Downsides

After all, no product is ideal, and there are just a few minor issues to think about. The slim opening of the Hopper M12 could make it a bit difficult to pack bigger objects or to entry every little thing inside shortly. I discovered one of the best ways to pack and unpack it’s to place a bottle (or two cans) horizontally between the 2 sides to maintain the highest open as large as it may be.

It additionally has one kangaroo pocket that’s slender. And by slender, I imply simply large sufficient to carry your telephone. I’d choose to have a bit extra wiggle room with that pocket and perhaps a spot to place water bottles. However once more, that’s the place buying the extra attachments is a potential answer. The value tag is already on the upper finish, and doling out extra money to purchase extra storage seems like rather a lot.

Conclusion

This backpack cooler is a stable selection in the event you’re searching for a troublesome, dependable cooler that may deal with every little thing from seashore days to tenting journeys. It’s compact, has glorious ice retention, and is constructed to final, making it an incredible choice for out of doors actions. Positive, it comes with a hefty price ticket, however you’re paying for the form of high quality and efficiency that Yeti is understood for.

The magnetic closure is an enormous improve, making it tremendous simple to open and shut whereas guaranteeing every little thing stays sealed tight. The adjustable chest strap and strengthened deal with add additional comfort, even when the cooler is packed full.

Whereas the again panel may use a bit extra cushioning, it’s nonetheless snug sufficient for brief treks. The cooler is constructed to take a beating and hold performing. And in the event you want extra storage, there are alternatives so as to add attachments just like the Sidekick Gear Case.

After all, no cooler is ideal, and there are some things to consider. The opening is a bit slim, making it difficult to load and unload bigger objects. Plus, the slim pocket is nice for utensils however not a lot else. And whereas you should buy additional storage equipment, it could actually really feel such as you’re spending much more on high of the already steep value of $275.

However when it comes all the way down to it, the Yeti Hopper M12 is a dependable, sturdy cooler that can hold your meals and drinks chilly and has earned its place as a best choice.