When my husband Greg and I were driving out to LA from the east coast, we wanted to bring most of our food with us for a couple reasons. First, I need to stick to my GAPS diet for now, because when I stray from the diet my joints flare up and a number of symptoms from my longterm antibiotic use for Lyme disease return. Secondly, we wanted to stay as healthy as we could and rest stop food is never very nutritious. We wanted a quality cooler bag not only for the trip, but also on days where we'd be away from the house for long periods of time and would need to eat (since restaurants aren't really an option if I wanted to stick to the GAPS diet).
Greg is notorious for researching the heck out of stuff before he purchases, so after an initial search, he narrowed it down to two bags- the iso bag and the six pack bag. We ended up going with the iso bag because the six pack bag has a plastic boning to keep the bag's shape. Since we travel and move all the time, we needed a way to store it flat and that wasn't possible with the six pack bag. The other reason is that reviews were more in favor of the iso bag's insulating material, which is very thick and durable. And then, to seal the deal, the iso bag came with more storage containers than the six pack bag. So we pulled the trigger and have been really pleased with it.
Besides our cross country trips, we often take it to the gym so we can work out, shower, and eat, before running some errands. We've also taken it to the beach, and hiking with no problem. Its lightweight structure makes for easy transport.
Iso bag review
There's a long strap overtop so you can carry it over your shoulder or across the body.
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge the above picture. I really love the front flap opening. There are slots for ice packs (which come with the bag) in the center and on the sides of the main compartment. And it works - it kept our food cold throughout the entire cross country trip!
Iso bag top compartment
The top of the bag unzips to reveal a large, shallow compartment that is perfect to store snacks, utensils, napkins, etc. I use it for storing some artisana packets.
Food prep
These are just a few of the food storage containers that come with the iso bag. The only downside is that they're plastic, which I'm not a fan of, but we don't have a microwave this summer so we aren't heating up the plastic anyway. Of course you could always sub your own food storage containers, but these stack nicely, are really durable, and have served us well so far.
In addition to the containers, the bag also comes with ice packs that fit perfectly inside the little slots throughout the bag.
If you're looking for a high quality cooler bag, you can't go wrong with this. They sell a smaller version, which holds three meals, and a larger version (shown) which holds six meals. As we prepare to make another cross country drive in just under two weeks, this will certainly come in handy.