YETI Hopper Flip® 12 "Soft Cooler" Cool Bag 1 piece

Late in the afternoon, there's still ice rattling around inside

What is the YETI Hopper Flip 12? YETI's compact cool bag for a long day out by the car: twelve cans plus ice, and the meltwater stays inside. Not made for dry ice, not for submerging, and not as a spare seat in the paddock.

The YETI Hopper Flip 12 is YETI's compact cool bag for people who load up ice and drinks in the morning and still want to pull out something cold late in the afternoon. Twelve litres, one and a half kilos empty, a cube that fits behind the passenger seat. It belongs next to the folding table by the open tailgate, not at base camp by the river.

Half five, still dark, and you set the cube on the boot lip while the engine warms up. A couple of moves later it's sitting behind the passenger seat. And in the afternoon, when the last cars are shuffling out and everyone else is fishing lukewarm bottles out of a soggy cardboard box, you pull the zip open and reach into ice.

• The meltwater stays inside. The wraparound HydroLok zip is leakproof once it's fully closed. Around seven kilos of ice can turn to water over the day and the boot floor stays dry. No trickle into the spare-wheel well, no dark patch on the carpet when you unload in the evening.
• Twelve cans, and your footwell stays clear. Roughly 32 by 29 by 25 centimetres, holding twelve 330 ml cans plus ice. Without ice, 24 fit inside. The cube stays put behind the passenger seat instead of wandering across half the boot.
• One lid handle, two side handles, one strap. The lid handle for the ten metres from the car to the table, the side handles for lifting it fully loaded, plus a padded neoprene strap you take off when it's in the way. Up front there are six loops of the HitchPoint grid for a bottle opener, a carabiner or a SideKick case.

Day-to-day from Detailing1: The mistake doesn't happen on Sunday morning, it happens on Sunday evening. You get back, unpack, zip the bag shut and stick it in the boot. Three weeks later it smells, and the only way to shift that is two days of bicarbonate of soda and a second wash.

Doing it right takes two minutes. Wipe it out, rinse with clean water, dry the inside and then leave the zip open. YETI explicitly says several days open, not just overnight. And before it goes back in the corner, give the zip a thin film of lubricant.

Twice as much ice as contents, and then it stays shut

A cool bag doesn't chill anything down; it only holds on to what you put in. How it looks in the afternoon is decided the evening before, in your kitchen.

YETI doesn't quote a figure in hours for the Hopper range, and we're not about to make one up. What the manufacturer gives you instead is a formula: twice as much ice as contents, by volume. Everything goes in pre-chilled, nothing at room temperature. Gaps get filled, with an extra bottle of water if need be. And the meltwater stays in rather than being tipped out halfway through.

In the morning you grab it by the lid handle, put it behind the passenger seat and leave it there. At the meet it goes in the shade of the open tailgate, not next to the front tyre on black tarmac. According to the manufacturer, ice lasts up to twice as long in the shade as in full sun.

For the walk from the far end of the car park to the table, the neoprene strap goes on; otherwise it stays in the box. With twelve cans and ice the cube weighs a good eight kilos, and over thirty metres of gravel you'd rather have that on your shoulder than hanging from the lid handle. At the table you take the strap off again, or it just gets in the way.

And then it stays shut. Open it every twenty minutes because yet another person wants to know what paint that is, and there'll be nothing cold left by two. For the meets around Nordhorn we pack it the night before, open it for the first time around eleven and maybe four times after that.

Independent tests back this up. Treeline Review left the Flip 12 out at over 32 degrees in direct sun and still found about half the ice cubes intact after more than twenty hours. CleverHiker measured just under four days until the last cube was gone. The coffee for the drive over goes in the insulated tumbler alongside it.

Soft or hard: your boot decides, not the litres

With the Hopper Flip 12, the size question isn't about litres. It's about whether your cooler can be soft or has to be hard.

Soft means: it squeezes in between the toolbox and the tyre bag, fits behind the seat, rides on the back seat without a seatbelt. Hard means: you can sit on it, stand a camera on it, use it as a step. If your boot is a game of Tetris, take the Flip 12. If you need a spare seat in the paddock, take the hard cooler.

Below it sits the Daytrip line, and the real difference is bigger than the litre figures would have you think. The Lunch Bag and Lunch Box are lunch for one day and run on an ice pack rather than loose ice. The Flip 12 is the first size you can tip kilos of ice into without mopping anything up in the evening.

Within the Flip family, the 12 is the sensible middle. The Flip 8 takes six cans with ice and is meant for one person; the Flip 18 takes twenty and is for the group. Twelve cans is a long day for two or a very relaxed day on your own.

Honest about the limits, too, so nobody gets caught out later. There are no outside pockets, so anything that has to stay dry goes elsewhere or into a SideKick case. Loaded high and set down on a slope, it tips. It's leakproof when fully closed, but it isn't a container you can submerge. YETI explicitly rules out dry ice, and the washing machine, tumble dryer and bleach too. And the warranty is three years, not the five you get on Rambler drinkware.

For everyone who's in the car park by six in the morning

The Hopper Flip 12 earns its keep if you're out in a car park early in the morning with a folding table and a blanket more than three times a year.

A cool bag lives a hard life in a car. It sits on hot tarmac, rides along next to sharp edges, gets wet, dusty, knocked about and crammed into corners. That's exactly where cheap bags give up. The seams pull apart, the liner tears along the fold, the closure goes slack, and after two summers there's a smell in there that no cleaner will shift.

The Flip 12's outer shell, by contrast, is a high-density welded fabric that you wipe down rather than wash. Treeline Review dragged a Flip around campsites, canoes and kayaks for three years and reports no structural damage. It picks up scuffs, but nothing comes apart.

It's not for you if you're catering for a family at the lake, and not if you need a verified number of hours on the label, because YETI doesn't give one for the Hopper range. Seven colourways, from Charcoal and Classic Navy to Olive Camo and Torch Orange, one size. The rest of the range sits side by side in the YETI category.

That's the link to everything else on our shelves. If you look after your car, you think in terms of surfaces that still look like day one years later, and you don't replace your kit every other summer. Same mindset, just on the boot floor instead of the paintwork. And on a practical level: what stays inside doesn't end up outside. No meltwater ring on the boot lip, no damp patch on the leather seat.

The one line no manufacturer prints on the box: this bag doesn't die from the fabric, it dies from the zip. It runs tight, every test agrees on that; you need both hands and a firm pull.

Give it a quick rinse with clean water after every outing to get the sand and dust out, treat it to a thin film of lubricant a few times a year, and it'll still be going in ten years. Leave it gritty and force it, and after two seasons you've got a very expensive bag that won't close properly. Two minutes after every meet decide the rest.

How long does ice last in the YETI Hopper Flip 12?

YETI doesn't give a figure in hours for the Hopper range, so we won't claim one either. In independent tests, about half the ice cubes were still intact after more than 20 hours in full sun; in another test it took just under four days for the last cube to go. What really counts is how you pack: twice as much ice as contents, everything pre-chilled, and then keep it shut.

Does meltwater leak out of the cool bag?

Not as long as the HydroLok zip is fully closed. That's exactly what it's built for. Around seven kilos of ice can turn to water over the day and the boot lip stays dry. Even so, you shouldn't submerge the bag.

How much fits in the Hopper Flip 12?

Twelve 330 ml cans plus ice, according to YETI itself. Without ice it's 24 cans; filled with nothing but ice, about seven kilos. That's enough for a long day for two; for four people it gets tight.

Why is the zip so stiff?

Because it's leakproof. Every test agrees it's tight; you need both hands and a firm pull. Forcing it is the one mistake you mustn't make. Rinse the sand out with clean water after every use and give it a thin coat of lubricant regularly, and it'll keep running smoothly.

Hopper Flip 12 or Roadie 8 cool box?

Soft or hard is the question, not the litres. The Flip 12 squeezes in between the toolbox and the tyre bag and fits behind the passenger seat. The Roadie 8 is a solid box you can sit on or stand a camera on.

How do I clean the cool bag properly?

Washing-up liquid and water, rinse with clean water, wipe the inside dry. After that, leave the zip open for several days until everything is bone dry. No washing machine, no tumble dryer, no bleach. If it smells, dry bicarbonate of soda left in the closed bag for two days does the trick.

Can I use dry ice?

No. YETI rules out dry ice for all Hopper Soft Coolers, because pressure can build up inside the sealed bag. If you need dry ice, a hard cooler is the way to go.

Does it come with a shoulder strap?

Yes, the padded neoprene strap is included and detachable. On top of that there's a lid handle and two side handles. The bag has no outside pockets, but up front you get the HitchPoint grid for a SideKick case, a bottle opener or a carabiner.

How long is the warranty on the Hopper Flip 12?

Three years against defects in materials and workmanship, for the original purchaser. That's the Hopper Soft Cooler warranty, not to be confused with the five years YETI gives on Rambler drinkware and Hard Coolers. Normal wear and tear and commercial use are excluded.

Using the YETI Hopper Flip 12

Pack it the night before, just load it in the morning

The day starts the evening before. Drinks and food go in the fridge, the empty bag in the coolest corner of the garage. Load room-temperature cans in the morning and you've given away half the cold-holding time before the engine's even running.

When packing, go by YETI's maths: twice as much ice as contents, by volume. Twelve 330 ml cans plus ice fit inside; without ice it's 24. Fill the gaps, with an extra bottle of water if need be, because air is where the cold escapes. Block ice lasts longer than cubed ice; a mix of both works best.

Close the HydroLok zip all the way with both hands; only then does the meltwater stay inside. Out and about, the bag sits in the shade of the open tailgate rather than next to the front tyre in the sun; according to the manufacturer, ice lasts up to twice as long there. Open it as rarely as you can, and the meltwater stays put until evening.

After the day, wipe it out with washing-up liquid and water, rinse with clean water and dry the inside with a cloth. Then leave the zip open for several days until everything is bone dry. Before you put it away, give the zip a thin film of lubricant on the front and back and wipe off any excess.

Good to know: No dry ice; YETI rules it out for all Hopper Soft Coolers. No washing machine, no tumble dryer, no bleach. The bag is leakproof when fully closed, but you shouldn't submerge it. If it already smells, put one or two cups of dry bicarbonate of soda in a shallow dish inside the closed bag for two days, then wash it out again with warm water. Store it fully dried and closed. If you'd rather have a solid box you can sit on than a soft bag, go for the hard cooler. The warranty is three years against defects in materials and workmanship, not the five years on Rambler drinkware.