>>2353510If you're kayaking then you can afford the space and weight of a hard cooler. Look for something like the RTIC 20 QT or something similar. A key feature to look out for is locks, because on a kayak trip you don't want to worry about your lid popping open if the water gets choppy, or worse, you take a roll. Important thing is to measure your storage area and make sure the cooler you're buying is gonna fit.
For backpackers a soft cooler is gonna be a better choice because of weight, size, and general expected trip length being shorter. You don't need to go so light if you have a kayak or canoe, though. And something important to remember is that you will be able to extend the viability of your cooler on a trip if 1) you pre-chill it before packing, 2) you freeze everything that's going inside, and 3 use a block of dry ice. wrapped in newspaper to keep everything frozen for a few days.
