Fit & Fresh Cool Coolers Ice Packs are incredibly slim and come in a family-friendly set of four. The space-saving ice packs are best suited to small coolers and containers, so we tucked one in our lunch bag and observed how it held up to indoor and outdoor temperatures. Keep reading for our full assessment of the Fit & Fresh packs’ performance, price, and competition.
Size: Small enough to fit in a lunch bag
We love how small and lightweight these ice packs are. At just 4.75 x 4.75 x 0.5 inches, they barely take up any room in our freezer. They’re also compact enough that you can slip a few into a lunch bag with plenty of room to spare. If your bag has enough space, using all four at once will also prolong their cooling power. On the downside, their small size definitely limits their longevity. When compared with larger ice packs, the lifespan of the Fit & Fresh Cool Coolers is significantly shorter. These ice packs are perfect for those who pack a lunch in the morning and eat it by noon or so, but if you’re looking for something that’s going to last all day, we recommend you buy a more substantial ice pack.
Design: Attractive and stackable
Fit & Fresh Cool Coolers have a plain and simple design. The packs are square-shaped and a hard plastic shell encases the gel inside. While the design is simple, the packs do have grooved surfaces that allow you to easily stack and store them in the freezer.
Performance: Didn’t stay cool as long as we expected
Due to their compact size, Fit & Fresh ice packs are more ideal for lunch bags than large coolers. We do the majority of our work from home, so we don’t have to pack a lunch and bring it into an office, but we like the idea of a portable ice pack that can keep a bottle of water and a snack cool—especially when left in a warm car while we’re running errands. After freezing them overnight, we packed a small, insulated lunch bag with two of the ice packs, a yogurt, and a water bottle. Our plan was to leave them in our car while we did some shopping. While the outside temperature was 70 degrees, we did some research and found that our car could reach 90 degrees in as little as ten minutes and up to 115 degrees after an hour. We left the car around noon and returned roughly two hours later. The ice packs were almost fully thawed by then, but the yogurt and water were still fairly cool. After reading the manufacturer’s claims about longevity, we expected the packs to remain frozen longer than they did. Then again, the Cool Coolers are extremely small and the amount of gel each one contains is probably comparable to a handful of ice cubes. Even though we weren’t that hungry yet, we ended up eating the yogurt because we were concerned about it remaining fresh since the ice packs had thawed. We drank the water over the next hour, storing it in the lunch bag when it wasn’t in use. The water wasn’t super cold, but it remained cool enough that it was pleasant to drink. Even though the ice packs thawed out in two hours, they still remained cool for several more hours. For our next test, we wanted to see if the Fit & Fresh Cool Coolers would last longer in indoor temperatures. The following day, we packed the same snack—a container of yogurt and a bottle of water—into the lunch bag around 9:30 a.m. By 12:30 p.m., the two ice packs had almost fully thawed out. Both the yogurt and the water were still pretty cool, but not as cold as they were when we removed them from the refrigerator. We don’t mind if our beverages aren’t ice cold, but we’d be reluctant to use these packs to keep perishable items like milk, yogurt, or meat cool for more than a few hours. Prior to testing, we read numerous reviews saying these packs can last up to 12 hours, but that seems like a major exaggeration. After six hours, we found the Fit & Fresh Cool Coolers had already warmed to room temperature. Based on our experience, we’d say they only last about four or five hours max.
Price: Quite affordable
A pack of four Fit & Fresh Cool Coolers will run you roughly $9. The affordable price is a saving grace given the packs’ less-than-impressive cooling time. If you have children and need to pack multiple lunches, these are worth a purchase, but if you’re looking for ice packs with more longevity—say ones you can use on an all-day hike or road trip—there are better options out there.
Competition: Longer-lasting products are available for less money
YETI ICE: Retailing between $15 and $30 depending on the size you choose, the YETI ICE will stay cold all day. If you’re just packing a lunch for yourself, you would probably be fine with YETI’s smallest option: a one-pound block. During our testing process, we found that one YETI ICE block far outlasted two Fit & Fresh Cool Coolers. The YETI stayed frozen for at least two hours longer and keep food and beverages much colder. It was also better at withstanding warmer outdoor temperatures. FlexiFreeze Ice Sheet: If you want a big selection of ice packs at a low price, the FlexiFreeze Ice Sheet retails for roughly $22. These chemical-free, water-based ice sheets can be cut up to fit in almost any container—perfect if you have to prepare lunches for multiple kids and adults. They’re sold in sheets of three and each sheet measures 1 x 19.25 x 15.5 inches. The Fit & Fresh Cool Coolers didn’t wow us by any means, but they’re affordable and can handle office and school lunches. So long as you’re not using them on a cross-country road trip or 10-hour beach day, they’ll likely get the job done.
