Durable, Spacious: Engel Roll-Top High Performance Backpack Cooler Review

It’s annoying on a short trip to find melted ice in your cooler that’s left everything soggy and warm. The Engel Roll-Top High Performance Backpack Cooler solves that problem: It keeps ice cold for up to 4 days and provides ample space for everything you need to carry.

Measuring 20 inches tall, 14 inches long, and 9 inches wide, this backpack cooler offers a surprising amount of storage. The design easily fits food, drinks, and ice without feeling cramped. Whether I was heading out for a week-long hunting trip or a day at the river, this cooler provided the room and cooling power I needed to keep my stuff cold all day (and then some).

In short: The Engel Roll-Top High Performance Backpack Cooler ($190) is priced toward the higher range of coolers. While it’s not the cheapest option on the market, it performs as well as many of the more expensive coolers and offers superior storage capacity. If you’re looking for a reliable cooler that won’t break the bank but still provides plenty of room for food and drinks, I’d recommend this one. It can store 20 pounds of ice or up to 36 cans without ice — that is a lot of room!

During my ice retention test, it kept ice for up to an impressive 4 days. Whether heading out for a multiday adventure or packing for a large group, this cooler has the space and ice retention to keep everything cold. Its leakproof, dry pack design — with a roll-down top that clips securely on the sides — ensures that your food stays dry and protected even in unpredictable weather.

Read the full review or see how this backpack cooler stacks up in the Best Backpack Coolers buyer’s guide.

Engel Roll-Top High Performance Backpack Cooler Review

First Impressions

With its large frame and roomy interior, the Engel Roll-Top High Performance Backpack Cooler was already checking things off my cooler wish list. I love the big opening, which made loading and unloading my items a breeze.

The roll-top closure, which clips tightly on the sides, keeps everything inside protected from water while ensuring it’s sealed and leakproof, which is ideal for when the weather turns or the cooler unexpectedly takes a dive.

At 3.5 pounds, the cooler felt surprisingly light for its size, which was great since it can get heavy quickly once I pack it with ice and food. However, even when fully loaded, I didn’t feel like I was going to topple over while carrying it. The back and side handles make it more convenient to lift it up to my knee, and from there, I can swing it onto my back, just like I would with a backpacking pack.

The added convenience of the side mesh pocket is nice for stashing smaller items like water bottles or sunscreen, while the front zippered pocket provides a safe place to store valuables like keys and phones.

Those padded shoulder straps and the adjustable chest strap made it comfortable to wear, even when it’s fully loaded. I was initially skeptical, given the boxy shape of the cooler. But once on my back, it felt surprisingly comfortable with the chest strap helping distribute the weight.

Comfort

Given its boxy design, I wasn’t sure how comfortable the Engel Roll-Top would be to carry, especially once it was packed full. However, I was pleasantly surprised by how well the padded straps distributed the weight.

Even when fully loaded, the pack was comfortable to wear and the chest strap helped keep it snug on my back. The straps felt sturdy and didn’t dig into my shoulders when I was hiking down to the river for a fishing trip. That said, a waist strap would’ve been a nice addition to better distribute the load.

Roll-Top Closure

The roll-top closure seals tightly, keeps everything inside protected from the elements, and prevents leaking if it gets knocked over. Not that it easily gets knocked over; the rectangle-shaped base is sturdy and keeps the cooler upright. I did pack it on its side in the back of an UTV and found no water leaking out, despite the bumpy 4×4 road.

On a different trip, as a short rainstorm rolled through, I used the empty cooler in a pinch to protect my camera gear from the rain, discovering how versatile this cooler can be. It made me think of other potential uses, like using it as a weatherproof pack for other outdoor adventures.

Durability

The Engel Roll-Top Cooler is built to last. Made from 840-denier fabric and fortified with laminated thermoplastic urethane (TPU), this cooler can take on a lot. I took it on a week-long hunting trip where it got tossed around, dragged through camp, and generally put through the wringer.

After all that, it came home looking dirty but in great condition — no rips, tears, or punctures. It seemed as good as new after a quick rinse with a hose. The thick, flexible roll-top fabric held up impressively well under heavy use and didn’t show any creases or signs of breaking down.

Accessories

A simple but often overlooked feature that I’ve found helpful on multiple occasions, especially as I often forget to pack one, is the removable bottle opener. It snaps on the front daisy chain but can be moved to different attachment points. Just don’t forget to reattach it if you take it off!

The front daisy chain is another convenient feature, offering five attachment points (or four if the bottle opener is using one). I used a carabiner to attach a Nalgene bottle and a rolled-up blanket.

There’s also a side mesh pocket for other items, although it’s better suited for narrow water bottles or sunscreen. My Nalgene was too big to fit, hence the use of the carabiner to the daisy chain. On the opposite side of the mesh pocket is another daisy chain with three chains.  Lastly, there is a front zippered pocket (6″ x 5.5″) for valuables you don’t want to bounce out. My iPhone 16 (in a slim case) and keys just fit in it.

Technology: Vacuum Valve Technology

Engel’s use of 1-inch closed-cell foam insulation and vacuum valve technology is designed to keep your items colder for longer. The 1-inch closed-cell foam also makes the cooler thick and helps retain its shape. I originally ran two ice retention tests on the Engel cooler: one using the vacuum valve technology and one without.

The indoor temperature was around 67-68 degrees F for both tests. When I used the vacuum feature, I could see the exterior fabric tighten around the insulation foam as it sucked out the air.

However, less than 24 hours later, the tightness faded, and the fabric returned to its usual shape. In terms of ice retention, both tests resulted in nearly identical performance: about four days of ice.

I opted to run a third test, using both the vacuum valve and keeping the cooler sealed (I didn’t open the top to do an ice check) until day four to see if it would last longer. By the end of day four, when I opened it, the ice was still gone. While I understand the theory behind the vacuum valve to extend the chill, my at-home tests didn’t show a significant difference in real-world performance.

Ice Retention Test

I originally ran two ice retention tests on the Engel cooler: one using the vacuum valve technology and one without. The indoor temperature was around 67 to 68 degrees Fahrenheit for both tests.

Both times, I filled the cooler two-thirds full of store-bought cubed ice and then closed the top. I opened the cooler every 12 hours for each test to record how much ice melted. The results of each test were nearly identical: one-quarter of the ice melted on day one, one-third by day two, two-thirds by day three, and all the ice had melted on day four.

When I used the vacuum valve feature, I could see the exterior fabric tighten around the insulation foam as the air was sucked out. However, the tightness faded less than 24 hours later, and the fabric returned to its usual shape. The vacuum seal didn’t make a noticeable difference in my original test. 

Improvements

While the Engel Roll-Top Cooler does a great job of carrying large loads, it could benefit from a waist strap to help distribute weight. That small improvement would really make a big difference for users who max out the cooler’s space.

Final Thoughts

The Engel Roll-Top High Performance Backpack Cooler is a durable, spacious, and efficient option for anyone looking to keep their food and drinks cold during outdoor adventures. With the ability to retain ice for up to 4 days, it offers excellent performance, even on multiday trips or when packing for a group.

While the vacuum valve technology doesn’t extend ice retention in real-world conditions, the baseline performance is already higher than some of the more expensive competitors. The leakproof roll-top closure provides peace of mind in unpredictable weather or accidental tipping over, making it versatile for various outdoor uses beyond just keeping things cold.

This backpack cooler does an impressive job of balancing capacity, comfort, and durability, there is room for a slight improvement in its design, mainly adding a waist strap. Its price point of $190 makes it a great midrange option for those looking for a reliable cooler that can hold a large amount of food without reaching the price tag of higher-end models.