The first thing I stopped carrying to road games was the hard cooler. Not because it failed. Because it took up half the back of my 2019 Tahoe, and two people in their sixties do not need to wrestle a box out of a hatch before a long walk to the stadium. I bought the Lifewit collapsible cooler bag 38 months ago to replace it. It has been on about 20 road trips since, and it still lives on the same shelf in the hall closet between games.
I am Wade Thibodeaux. I am 61, retired from the parts desk at a truck dealership, and I drive to six to eight pro road games a season with my wife, Renee. We fly to about two. The Lifewit bag is the oldest piece of game day gear we own. It is not fancy. It just does the job I need in the back of the truck, and it does it without asking for much space in the garage.
The bag that stays in the truck and still earns its spot
I pack the Lifewit bag the night before with frozen water bottles and ice packs. It holds sandwiches, fruit, water and soft drinks for the drive and the parking lot. It never goes past the gate, and that is exactly why it works for us.
Amazon Check Today's Price on Amazon →It folds down to almost nothing between trips
The reason I sold myself on a collapsible bag was storage. We have one closet shelf for all the game day gear, and a hard cooler owns that shelf even when it is empty. The Lifewit collapses down when the ice packs are out and the liner is dry. It goes back in the closet, and the floor of the garage stays clear. That sounds small until you have tripped over a cooler for the fourth time in a season.
It fits behind the second row without a puzzle
The Lifewit is about 15.7 inches deep, 10.6 inches wide and 12.2 inches high. In the Tahoe, it sits behind the second row with room for the duffel and the clear bag. I do not have to slide the second row forward or stack things on top of it. If you have ever played cargo Tetris in a parking lot, you know why that matters.
Thirty liters carries food and drinks for two people
Ours is the 50-can size, which is 30 liters. For Renee and me, that is sandwiches, fruit, water and soft drinks for the drive and the parking lot. It is not a party cooler for a dozen people. It is the right size for two people who eat a tailgate lunch and then walk to the gate. I would rather have a little room left than a bag I cannot lift.
The shoulder strap frees up your hands
The bag comes with a shoulder strap, and I use it every trip. The walk from the Tahoe to the parking lot table is not long, but I am usually carrying a duffel and a folding chair too. A strap over one shoulder means I am not making two trips. Renee can grab the clear bag and the phones while I take the cooler. We get set up before the first cars are parked.
Two mesh pockets keep the small stuff findable
There are two side mesh pockets. I use one for a bottle of water and the other for a small pack of tissues and a bottle opener. Without them, that stuff ends up loose in the bag and I am digging around with one hand while people wait. It is a simple thing. Simple things are what I notice after 20 road trips.
Thirty-eight months, about 20 road trips, and the Lifewit bag is still the first thing I pack and the last thing I carry out of the Tahoe.
The 600D Oxford outer takes parking lot bumps
The outside is 600D Oxford cloth. That is not the same as a hard cooler, and I will not pretend it is. You cannot sit on it, and I would not drag it across gravel. But it handles being set down on asphalt, bumped against a bumper and slid into the back of the Tahoe. After 38 months, mine still looks like a bag that has been used, not one that has been abused.
The PEVA liner wipes clean
The liner is PEVA, and it wipes out with a damp cloth. I empty the bag when we get home, wipe the inside, and leave it open to dry before it goes back on the shelf. That takes about five minutes. A hard cooler takes longer because of the corners. If you have ever left a cooler in the garage for a week, you know the difference.
It holds cold through the drive and the tailgate
I pack it the night before with frozen water bottles and ice packs. It keeps the food cold for the drive and through a tailgate. I am not going to give you an hour rating, because I have not tested it in a lab and the day varies. On a hot afternoon it will sweat on the outside, so I put a towel under it. That is the trade for a bag that is light enough to carry.
It is light enough to lift out at the end of the day
The listing calls it lightweight and portable, and that matches what I have. After a long day, I do not want to deadlift a full hard cooler out of the back of the Tahoe. The Lifewit is easy to slide out, set on the tailgate and empty. The bag slumps when it is half empty, so I pack it close to full or leave the rest in the truck. That is a fair trade for the weight.
Thirty-eight months and 20 road trips later, it is still the one
This is the oldest piece of gear on my shelf. I bought it 38 months ago, and it has been on about 20 road trips. The strap still holds, the liner still wipes clean, and the bag still goes back on the shelf. I have not had to replace it. That is the whole review. If you drive to games and you are tired of a hard cooler taking up the back of your truck, this is the bag I would start with.
What I'd Skip
I would skip the hard cooler for game day. We still own a white one, and it lives in the garage for fishing. It is tougher than the Lifewit, it does not sweat, and you can sit on it. It is also heavy for two people in their sixties, and it takes up too much of the Tahoe. For a road game, the trade is not close for us. The Lifewit goes in the back, and the hard cooler stays home.
I would also skip packing the cooler on the morning of the trip. Pack it the night before with frozen water bottles and ice packs, and the drive starts easier. And if you are thinking about carrying any cooler through the gate, check that stadium's website first. Many pro stadiums publish a 12 by 6 by 12 inch bag rule, and this bag is bigger than that. Mine never leaves the parking lot.
Start with the bag that folds down and stays out of the way
The Lifewit cooler bag has been in the back of my Tahoe for 38 months. It carries the food and drinks, it wipes clean, and it goes back on the closet shelf when the trip is over. If that is the job you need done, it is the one I would look at first.
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