Here’s our take on the Ozark Trail 26 Quart Cooler which we think is perfect for van life. The small towns in the Ozark region provide a peaceful atmosphere during winter, giving visitors a chance to experience the tranquility of the wilderness away from the crowds. The cooler months are the ideal time to enjoy the raw, natural landscape, observe wildlife, or simply relax next to a roaring fire. Everything from their bucket to their cargo box to their coolers are made super tough and their soft sided coolers are no exception to this. The Ozark Trail Soft Cooler lineup is a solid contribution to this ever-growing company. There are enough size options and configurations to make most people happy. And these thick walls are coated in a UV-resistant layer that helps to protect the cooler from sun damage over time. Depending on if you go with an Ozark Trail hard-sided cooler or an Ozark Trail soft-sided cooler, you can expect different features. We will break down the specific features for each type of ice chest in the sections below. We think this is one of the best coolers for camper van life. Many hotels offer lower rates during the winter, like the Margaritaville Resort, a family fun-filled accommodation with an indoor waterpark to keep the kids occupied. Lifetime coolers are made in the USA and are extremely similar to Ozark Trail coolers in most aspects, including their low price. If, after reading this, you want to steer away from Ozark Trail coolers altogether then they are a few different cooler brands that are quite similar but still cheaper than Yeti. There are very few head-to-head comparison tests between the Ozark Trail and other coolers like Yeti, so it’s hard to tell exactly where it stacks up in terms of ice retention. But from what I can see it’s one of the lower performing roto-molded coolers when it comes to ice retention. Luke is a co-founder of bestcooler.reviews, a cooler expert and author of 70+ reviews on this website. Not to mention, it has a built-in bottle opener and four drink holders on the lid, so you can have a good time no matter the temperature. So there you have it, when looking at just the ability to keep ice cold over a period of 6 days the Pelican has just slightly won, but we are talking about decimal points. I have to say that I am very impressed with the performance of the Ozark Trail 45Q cooler. This cooler is not only smaller in its overall size but also a fraction of the price of the competition. As far as color options go, you can purchase this in one of two colors, Greystone which is the one featured in this article and a lighter grey. The constant color feature among the two are the orange rimmed wheels which I don’t love but, it is not a deal breaker. I’m using my North facing deck as the staging area which receives direct sunlight at almost all hours of the day. I also placed  a small weather system on the deck rail to help get a sense of how hot surface temperatures are in the area. On one of the hottest days, the remote sensor reported temperatures exceeding 107 Degrees Fahrenheit while the air temp was in the high 80’s. REI had a member sale over Memorial Day weekend and we were able to save 20% on our cooler. Depending on which model you go with, you will find the appearance of these ice chests to differ quite a bit. The most affordable models, the non-premium soft-sided coolers, come in a very safe, solid color. There may be some subtle grays or white pieces of fabric but, for the most part, the primary color will dominate. That being said, the two premium soft-sided coolers were no slouches. The tote, in real-life conditions, should hold ice for around 1 ½ days while the backpack should last a full day. For the larger ones, you have side handles for a more comfortable haul. We still think they would do even better if they put wheels on the very largest cooler. In the great spirit of American entrepreneurship, they came up with a line of coolers that have a bunch of premium features but are also affordable. Both brand of coolers comes with a detachable shoulder strap so you can carry the cooler without your hands. If you don't love your purchase in the first 45 days, you can get a full refund with our hassle-free return process. Just fill out this form and we'll send you a pre-paid shipping label. Ozark Trail don’t have any coolers around the 40-Quart range. For that you would need to look at the RTIC 45-Quart Cooler. This issue seems more prevalent in the larger sizes, but can happen on the smaller sized cooler also. Some customers have experienced Ozark Trail coolers warping when left in the sun. More specifically the lid of the cooler seems to warp unnaturally. Given how affordable these coolers are compared to other roto-molded coolers like Yeti, none of these problems are deal breakers in my opinion.