Soft Coolers / Head to head
Yeti Hopper vs RTIC soft coolers: where the warranty gap finally matters
On hard coolers, RTIC matches Yeti's term. On soft coolers it doesn't: 3 years against 1. With no replaceable parts on either, that is the comparison, and the measured ice numbers are the tiebreaker.
By Mike M.Updated Sourced · units tested by us: 0
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The contenders
Side by side
Stock photoYeti, duffel
YETI Hopper Flip 18
3-yr warranty5.5 /10The bigger Flip: 30 cans, 2.4 measured days, 4.4 lb, $300. Better ice hours than the Flip 12 per liter, same leakproof build, same 3-year term.
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- Stock photo
RTIC, duffel
RTIC Soft Pack Cooler 30 Can
1-yr warranty4.7 /10The Hopper look-alike at $129: leakproof design, 4 lb, 1.8 measured days. It undercuts YETI on price and on warranty, which is 1 year.
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Stock photoYeti, backpack
YETI Hopper M20 Backpack Cooler
3-yr warranty6.5 /10The longest-holding backpack cooler in OutdoorGearLab's Sept 2026 table (3.6 days) and Outdoor Life's Best Backpack (55 h). A magnetic closure instead of a zipper, and a 3-year term.
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- Stock photo
RTIC, backpack
RTIC Ultra-Tough Backpack Cooler 24 Can
1-yr warranty5.2 /10RTIC's answer to the M20: welded seams, waterproof zipper, press lid, 24 cans, 5 lb. Unmeasured, 1-year term, well under YETI's price.
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The verdict
Spec sheet, side by side
3 years vs 1
Yeti's document lists Hopper in the three-year group with Panga, Camino and SideKick Dry; the five-year group is Tundra, Roadie and Rambler. RTIC's chart: soft-sided coolers 1 year; duffle bags, tote bags, backpack coolers, wagons and chairs 1 year; day coolers (including the Lightweight Backpack and insulated totes) 90 days. Both exclude normal wear, both require the original purchaser, and RTIC additionally excludes eBay and unauthorized sellers. On a hard cooler this site calls the two brands a tie on paper; on a soft cooler it cannot. Yeti has also held those terms since at least the 2019 document we quote, while RTIC's hard-cooler term has moved over the years. The RTIC warranty explained and the Yeti warranty explained go clause by clause.
Ice: what was measured
OutdoorGearLab, September 2026, days below 40°F / 50°F: Hopper M20, 3.6 / 4.0; Hopper Flip 18, 2.4 / 2.6; RTIC Soft Pack 30, 1.8 / 2.0; Hopper Flip 12, 1.6 / 1.7; RTIC SoftPak 20, 2.0 / 2.1. Outdoor Life put the M20 at 55 hours with one-third ice. Read across sizes: the 30-can RTIC out-held the 24-can Flip 12 and trailed the 30-can Flip 18 by 0.6 days. The RTIC Ultra-Tough Backpack was not in the table. Soft cooler ice retention: what to expect has all 19 rows.
In detail
The contenders, in full
Stock photoYeti, duffel
YETI Hopper Flip 18
The bigger Flip: 30 cans, 2.4 measured days, 4.4 lb, $300. Better ice hours than the Flip 12 per liter, same leakproof build, same 3-year term.
Spec sheetSourced · not tested by us
| Category | Soft cooler |
|---|---|
| Warranty (quoted) | 3-year limited (YETI Hopper) |
| Wear parts | Not confirmed for separate sale on a fetchable page. |
| Capacity | 30 cans / 16.4 L measured (OutdoorGearLab) |
| Ice retention (reported) | 2.4 days below 40°F, 2.6 days below 50°F (OutdoorGearLab) |
| Exterior | 16.5 × 11 × 13 in (measured) |
| Weight | 4.4 lb (measured) |
How the 5.5 score breaks down
- Ice retention (reported) (30%)
- 6
- Warranty term (20%)
- 5
- Repairability (15%)
- 5
- Capacity per dollar (15%)
- 3
- Build & carry (10%)
- 8
- Fit for the buy-once buyer (10%)
- 7
What the spec sheet supports
- Nearly a day longer on ice than the Flip 12 in the same table
- Leakproof; 3-year term
- 30 cans without ice
Where it falls short
- $300 list
- Still out-held by the $200 Engel HD30
- Heavier than the Flip 12 by nearly a pound
Skip this if…
…you don't need leakproof; the AO Canvas 24 is a third of the price for the same day-and-a-half of use.
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Stock photoRTIC, duffel
RTIC Soft Pack Cooler 30 Can
The Hopper look-alike at $129: leakproof design, 4 lb, 1.8 measured days. It undercuts YETI on price and on warranty, which is 1 year.
Spec sheetSourced · not tested by us
| Category | Soft cooler |
|---|---|
| Warranty (quoted) | 1-year (RTIC Soft Sided Coolers) |
| Wear parts | Not listed for separate sale on RTIC's accessories pages. |
| Capacity | 30 cans (maker); 18.0 L measured (OutdoorGearLab) |
| Ice retention (reported) | 1.8 days below 40°F, 2.0 days below 50°F (OutdoorGearLab) |
| Construction | Leakproof design (maker) |
| Exterior | 15.5 × 12.75 × 11.5 in (30 can) |
| Weight | 4 lb empty (maker); 3.7 lb measured |
How the 4.7 score breaks down
- Ice retention (reported) (30%)
- 5
- Warranty term (20%)
- 3
- Repairability (15%)
- 3
- Capacity per dollar (15%)
- 7
- Build & carry (10%)
- 6
- Fit for the buy-once buyer (10%)
- 5
What the spec sheet supports
- Out-held the Hopper Flip 12 in the same table at half the price
- Comes in 12, 20, 30 and 50-can sizes
- Leakproof design
Where it falls short
- 1-year warranty against YETI's 3
- 1.8 days is the low end of the soft coolers ranked here
- No parts sold
Skip this if…
…you keep coolers for years; the term says one, and the zipper is the part that goes.
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Stock photoYeti, backpack
YETI Hopper M20 Backpack Cooler
The longest-holding backpack cooler in OutdoorGearLab's Sept 2026 table (3.6 days) and Outdoor Life's Best Backpack (55 h). A magnetic closure instead of a zipper, and a 3-year term.
Spec sheetSourced · not tested by us
| Category | Backpack cooler |
|---|---|
| Warranty (quoted) | 3-year limited (YETI Hopper) |
| Wear parts | YETI lists replacement parts by category; Hopper-specific parts (straps, closures) were not confirmed on a fetchable page. |
| Capacity | 36 cans without ice (YETI spec via L.L.Bean); 20.1 L measured (OutdoorGearLab) |
| Ice retention (reported) | 3.6 days below 40°F, 4.0 days below 50°F (OutdoorGearLab, Top Pick) |
| Ice retention (reported) | 55 hours at one-third ice (Outdoor Life, Best Backpack) |
| Exterior | 15.3 W × 9.9 D × 19.1 H in |
| Interior | 11.6 W × 8.9 D × 14 H in |
| Weight | 5.6 lb (maker); 5.2 lb measured (OutdoorGearLab) |
How the 6.5 score breaks down
- Ice retention (reported) (30%)
- 9
- Warranty term (20%)
- 5
- Repairability (15%)
- 5
- Capacity per dollar (15%)
- 3
- Build & carry (10%)
- 8
- Fit for the buy-once buyer (10%)
- 8
What the spec sheet supports
- Longest measured ice retention of any soft cooler in OutdoorGearLab's 2026 table
- Magnetic wide-mouth closure: no zipper to strip or leak
- 3-year term where most soft coolers get 1
Where it falls short
- $325
- 5.6 lb empty before 36 cans and ice go on your back
- Hopper parts are not clearly listed for separate sale
Skip this if…
…you never carry it more than a parking lot; the Engel HD30 holds nearly as long for $125 less and has a shoulder strap.
#ad · Price set by Amazon · Disclosure for the link to YETI Hopper M20 Backpack Cooler
Stock photoRTIC, backpack
RTIC Ultra-Tough Backpack Cooler 24 Can
RTIC's answer to the M20: welded seams, waterproof zipper, press lid, 24 cans, 5 lb. Unmeasured, 1-year term, well under YETI's price.
Spec sheetSourced · not tested by us
| Category | Backpack cooler |
|---|---|
| Warranty (quoted) | 1-year (RTIC backpack coolers) |
| Wear parts | Not listed for separate sale. |
| Capacity | 24 cans · 14 lb of ice (maker) |
| Ice retention (reported) | Unverified: no third-party test found as of 2026-09-21 |
| Construction | Leakproof design; RTIC EZ Waterproof Zipper; Cold Lock Press Lid |
| Exterior | 13.78 × 12.6 × 16.14 in |
| Interior | 9.65 × 7.48 × 12.99 in |
| Weight | 5 lb empty (maker) |
How the 5.2 score breaks down
- Ice retention (reported) (30%)
- 6
- Warranty term (20%)
- 3
- Repairability (15%)
- 3
- Capacity per dollar (15%)
- 7
- Build & carry (10%)
- 7
- Fit for the buy-once buyer (10%)
- 6
What the spec sheet supports
- Waterproof zipper and welded seams at a fraction of the M20's price
- 48-can version for the same design
- Press lid for one-hand access
Where it falls short
- No measured ice figure
- 1-year term versus the Hopper's 3
- 5 lb empty before ice
Skip this if…
…you want the measured longest-holding backpack; that is the M20 by the numbers we have.
#ad · Price set by Amazon · Disclosure for the link to RTIC Ultra-Tough Backpack Cooler 24 Can
Buy which
Buy the Yeti Hopper if
- You want the M20: the most measured ice of any soft cooler, on a magnetic closure.
- You keep gear long enough for a 3-year term to matter.
- You want the widest-mouth leakproof duffel (the Flip) and will lubricate the zipper.
Buy the RTIC if
- The price is the point: the Soft Pack 30 is under half a Flip 18.
- You want a welded, waterproof-zipper backpack (Ultra-Tough) without the M20's price.
- You would rather replace than claim.
More alternatives: soft coolers like Yeti but cheaper. The whole-brand picture: Yeti vs RTIC.
How we scored this
Units we claim to have tested: 0
Plenty of sites say they filled every cooler on this list with ice and watched it for a week. We don't say that, and we say so on every page. What we do instead: read the maker's published capacity, insulation, dimensions and weight; quote the warranty term from the maker's own warranty page with the date we read it; check whether the latches, gaskets, plugs, lids and straws are sold as parts; and cite the third-party ice-retention tests (OutdoorGearLab, Outdoor Life, Treeline, Outside, Gear Patrol) as their measurements, never ours. Every figure links to where it came from.
Scores are editorial judgments from that documented research, not lab results. Commissions never set a score or decide a pick. The rubric and its weights are published.
Corrections & updates
- First published.
Questions
Frequently asked
Is the RTIC Soft Pack as good as the Yeti Hopper?
Close on ice (1.8 vs 2.4 measured days for the 30-can RTIC and Flip 18), both welded and leakproof, and RTIC is less than half the price. The gap is the warranty: 1 year vs 3.
How long is the Yeti Hopper warranty?
Three years, per Yeti's warranty document, which lists Hopper with Panga, Camino and SideKick Dry. Tundra and Roadie get five.
How long is the RTIC soft cooler warranty?
One year for soft-sided coolers and backpack coolers; 90 days for day coolers, per RTIC's chart read 2026-09-21.
Which holds ice longer, Hopper or RTIC?
Hopper M20 (3.6 days) leads every soft cooler; Hopper Flip 18 (2.4) leads the RTIC Soft Pack 30 (1.8); the RTIC beats the Hopper Flip 12 (1.6). OutdoorGearLab, September 2026.
Did you test either?
No. Units we claim to have tested: 0. Ice figures are OutdoorGearLab's and Outdoor Life's.
Keep reading
Related on Chill & Chest
Receipts
Sources
- OutdoorGearLab — "Best Soft Cooler", updated September 15, 2026, comparison table (read 2026-09-21)
- Outdoor Life — "We Tested the Best Coolers Head to Head", May 28, 2026, one-third-capacity ice test (read 2026-09-21)
- L.L.Bean (authorized YETI dealer) — YETI Hopper Flip 12 product page (read 2026-09-21)
- L.L.Bean (authorized YETI dealer) — YETI Hopper M20 Backpack product page (read 2026-09-21)
- RTIC — Soft Pack Cooler product page (read 2026-09-21)
- RTIC — Ultra-Tough Backpack Cooler product page (read 2026-09-21)
- YETI — Warranty Information (YETI's warranty page as republished by Acme Tools, an authorized YETI dealer; read 2026-09-21)
- RTIC — Warranty page (read 2026-09-21)
We don't claim to have tested these coolers or tumblers and we don't pretend to. Units we claim to have tested: 0. Specs come from the maker's own product pages (linked on every product), warranty terms from the maker's warranty page with the date we read it, and ice-retention measurements are attributed to whoever made them. Amazon prices change often, so we don't print them. Where a figure isn't published, we say so. Read the full method.