Bison Coolers

What Bison makes for hunters and campers

On this site, Bison Coolers covers two product types: hard coolers and soft coolers. The grid above splits into three groups:

• Rotomolded hard coolers: the 25-quart and 50-quart carry-by-hand models
• A wheeled hard cooler: the 55 QT Wheeled Cooler
• SoftPak soft coolers: zip-top bags sized at 12 and 24 cans, per the listings

Bison's own site lists more hard-cooler sizes than the grid shows: a 75-quart and a 125-quart. It also sells drinkware, bags and other gear. Those fall outside what this site covers, so you won't find them here.

The grid filters by type and changes as listings come and go. Some sizes show up twice in different colors or versions, which is why the SoftPak 12 can appear more than once. So I'll write about the groups and what separates them, not this week's count. Because Bison's lineup here is short, the grid also shows coolers from other makers in a separate alternatives block, picked by matching type and specs.

The capacities come from the Amazon listings, and the grid marks those values. The build details, can counts and warranty come from Bison's own pages. Where nothing says, the grid shows a dash. The maker's pages I read don't list empty weight or outside dimensions, so check the listing of the exact cooler if your truck bed is tight.

Lineup notes: the Bison hard cooler

What every rotomolded Bison has in common

Bison's 25-quart page puts the build plainly: a one-piece rotomolded design, which the maker says means fewer places for cold air to escape. The hard-cooler pages I read also say:

• Made in the USA, on each product page
• Certified Bear Proof, in the maker's words (more on that below)
• Black latches, which the maker's photos show as rubber on the 50
• Rope handles on the 25 and 50, in the maker's photos
• A lifetime warranty on the rotomolded body

A quart is a quarter of a gallon. I can't picture 25 of anything, but I can picture 21 cans, which is why I like that the maker gives can counts too.

The 25 QT: the one you can carry with one arm

The 25-quart page lists two inches of wall insulation and a capacity of up to 21 cans or 32 lb of ice. That's the day-trip size: lunch, drinks and the sandwiches Renee wraps twice because she's met me.

At that size you can carry it by the handle with one arm and open a cabin door with the other. That's the whole design brief, as far as I'm concerned. The small cooler page covers that size across brands.

The 50 QT: the weekend size

The 50-quart page lists room for 42 cans or 65 lb of ice. That's the size that feeds a three-person camp for a weekend if somebody (me) plans the meals before the trip, not in the parking lot of the grocery store.

Here's the ice math in plain words: a 50-quart cooler full of ice and food is a two-person carry. Rope handles on both ends exist for a reason. Use both. The 50 qt cooler page compares that size across brands.

The 55 QT Wheeled: the one that rolls

The 55-quart model is the wheeled one. Bison's page describes the Bison Trax Wheel System and heavy-duty handles, and the listing marks it as wheeled. The page doesn't give a dimension or an empty weight.

At Hemlock Run a wheeled cooler rolls from the truck to the bottom step, then two people lift it up four steps, then it rolls again into the kitchen. Walt calls that "the relay." He has never once run the relay, which tells you who's on the team. The cooler with wheels page covers rolling models from other brands.

Lineup notes: the Bison SoftPak soft cooler

SoftPak 12 and 24

The SoftPak line is the soft side of the grid, sized by can count: 12 cans and 24 cans, per the listings. Bison's own site says its soft coolers are hand-sewn in the USA, in Tennessee. The product pages for the SoftPaks weren't among the pages I could read, so the materials and insulation details are left to the listings.

A soft cooler is for the day trip, not the week. It goes in the blind, on the boat seat, or over your shoulder on the walk in. It holds less, weighs less, and squashes into a corner of the truck when it's empty. More on soft coolers across brands is on the soft cooler page.

Which SoftPak size

Twelve cans is lunch and drinks for one or two people. Twenty-four cans is the size for a long sit with a buddy, or for keeping the sandwiches cold while the hard cooler stays shut at the cabin. Real talk: if you're debating which size, ask how many people will put things in it. Not how many will drink out of it. Those are different numbers.

How to choose within the Bison lineup

Size first

Start with how many people and how many days. The 25 is for a day or a small trip. The 50 and the 55 are weekend sizes. Bison's bigger 75 and 125 sizes are on the maker's site if you're feeding the whole camp. The large cooler page covers that end across brands.

Then how it moves

Carry, roll or sling. The 25 and 50 carry by rope handles. The 55 rolls. The SoftPaks sling. Pick the one that matches the walk from the truck to wherever the cooler lives.

Hard or soft

On this lineup the split is simple: the hard coolers are rotomolded boxes with latches, the SoftPaks are zip-top bags that weigh less and fold down. Plenty of camps run one of each: a hard cooler that stays shut at the cabin, and a soft one that goes out with you. That's what we do, and it means the hard cooler gets opened less, which is the whole point. The rotomolded cooler page covers the hard side across brands.

Bear country

Bison's hard-cooler pages say Certified Bear Proof, and the pages I read don't name the certifying body. The Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee runs one well-known certification. It says its certification doesn't guarantee a product is bear-proof, and that an unlocked cooler isn't considered bear resistant at all. Its certified coolers can be locked with a padlock, a carabiner or nuts and bolts.

If you camp in bear country, follow the food-storage rules of the area. A latch is not a lock.

Packing and care for a Bison cooler

Bison's own prep guide covers this step by step, and for once the maker and I agree on every step, which Renee says has never happened with anything I've assembled.

Clean and dry it first

The maker says to rinse the cooler inside and out, scrub with mild soap or a cooler cleaner, rinse until the water runs clear, and let it air-dry with the lid propped open. Drying, it says, keeps mold and odors out.

Pre-chill it

Bison's guide says to put a sacrificial bag of ice or ice packs inside, close the lid, and let it sit for a few hours or overnight, then drain and dry it if needed. Skip that step, load warm drinks into a warm cooler in a warm truck, and the first bag of ice goes to cooling the plastic.

Pack it in layers

The maker's packing order:

• Ice on the bottom: ice packs or blocks as a base layer
• Food and drinks next, packed tight to cut air gaps
• Ice on top, a final layer
• Fill the gaps with crumpled newspaper or towels
• Close the lid tight

Open it less, and keep it in the shade

Bison says to open the lid only when you need to, keep the cooler in the shade when you can, and replace ice as it melts. Renee's version is shorter: "Decide what you want before you open it." She says the same thing about the fridge at home. She's right about both.

Store it open

After the trip, the maker says to empty and clean the cooler, let it air-dry completely, and store it with the lid open so air can move. Shut one up wet in the garage over the winter and you'll find out in spring that a cooler can grow its own science fair project.

Reading the Bison warranty before you need it

The hard-cooler warranty is short, so read it once at the kitchen table, not in the truck with a cracked latch in your hand. What the page says, in plain words:

• Covered: the rotomolded body, against defects in materials and workmanship
• Not covered: other components, parts, graphics and accessories
• Not covered: damage from misuse, abuse, accident, negligence, theft or alterations
• Who: the original purchaser only
• When: coolers bought on or after January 1, 2024
• Remedy: repair or replacement of the body, at Bison's discretion

So keep the receipt, and don't drill the lid for a rod holder before you've read that "alterations" line. Somebody at camp almost did. (It was almost me.)

Bison Coolers facts

Here's what I could verify on the maker's own site:

• Based: Fort Worth, Texas; the company describes itself as family-run
• Hard coolers: manufactured in American facilities; product pages say Made in the USA
• Soft coolers: hand-sewn in the USA, in Tennessee
• Warranty: lifetime on the rotomolded body of hard coolers bought on or after January 1, 2024, for the original purchaser; other parts and accessories excluded

The maker's pages I read don't give a founding year, so I left it out.

Pre-chill it, pack it tight, keep it shut. Then the ice math works out, and the relay team only has to run it once.