Redwood BB-CB350 48-Can Cool Bag

I bought this bag primarily because of it having a shoulder-strap in addition to carrying handles, and as a replacement for my old one (bought a couple of summers or so ago from Sainsbury's), as I thought the zip had `died'. Also, as we're into autumn now, it's virtually impossible to buy these soft cooler bags from the likes of Sainsbury's - because the Barbecue or Picnic Season has ended! Nevertheless, what also `sold' this bag to me, was the fact that someone else had kindly provided the measurements - it's exactly the same size as my old one! Unless you happen to have 48 cans of fizzy drinks lying around that you can stack up on top of each other to see how much space they take up; it's rather difficult to visualise the actual `size' of the bag without some other kind of reference point! However, just because the Barbecue/Picnic Season has ended, this doesn't mean my new bag won't be used until next summer. I don't have a family to shop for, but I use these type of cooler bags in general for small `perishables' shopping a couple of times a week (meat, fish, dairy products etc.) - hence the preference for a shoulder-strap, as I also don't have a car and so do all of my shopping `on foot' (I find it easier to carry shopping on my shoulder, than in my hands!). I believe that the metallic lining of this bag will provide good insulation when food shopping has been `shop-chilled'. I've yet to try the bag with hot food such as take-away meals (the information that came with the bag said 'protects contents from heat'), but I think in general these insulated bags are fine for either hot or cold food (I hope so, though I'm not overly concerned about hot take-aways!). You can also use the bag 'with or without ice'. It is useful to have those `freezer blocks' to keep food cool during the height of summer, but I doubt they will be needed for this bag (because of the metallic lining) at other times of the year. This size and type of cooler bags are also generally useful for when I'm defrosting my fridge and its freezer-box. I just decant the fridge's contents into a cooler bag with a couple of ice-blocks for good measure, leave for several hours while the fridge does its thing and defrosts, and then pop everything back into the fridge afterwards. Easy-peasy, lemon-squeazy, as a certain young TV chef might be inclined to say! The bag looks to be well-made (not sure if in UK, or elsewhere), and has two zip `handles' - so you can either `zip it all the way around' with one of them, or bring them both to the middle for later unzipping from side-to-side. There's also a little fabric `comfy-grip' type of Velcro fastener (sewn on to one of the carry handles) for when you want to put the carrying handles together and carry the bag that way. The fact that the bag is made from some kind of fabric (my old one was polyurethane, I think) - means the surface of the bag will undoubtedly get wet if you get caught in heavy rain, but I can't see this causing any problem with the bag's functionality. All in all, I feel pleased with my purchase (for general chilling and shopping needs), and so give it Five Stars. Delivery was prompt (and within Amazon's time-scale), and not too much packing etc. I've also since discovered that the zip on my old bag hadn't `died' after all, so I now have an extra cooler bag additionally available for fridge defrosting duties! What more can you want or need from something so practical in more ways than one, and which costs less than £10.00?

Did the job. Arrived in perfect condition. Is a good size and quality for the money so definitely good value. Water from melted ice leaked zipper area when it was knocked over by accident, but that is to be expected I imagine.

Bought to keep fish cool and fresh while out fishing for the day. Put bag in freezer overnight and next morning filled with cooler blocks and two bags of ice. Drove for 1 hour. Caught two 2lb rainbow trout early in the day. Nice sunny day - 20 degrees max. Placed in bag and covered with ice. Kept bag in shade. Fished for another 5 hours. No more fish. Drove home. The fish were still very cool and fresh... the ice hadn't fully melted. Bag didn't leak. Could have fit another 2 or 3 fish of the same size in the bag easily. Excellent.

Pl

Good decent size but does not cope well with weight. The handle snapped but did last a few camping trips in between does the job if you don't have to carry it for too long.

Used two of these cool bags to transport fridge food over 24hr trip and with ice blocks the cool bags maintained a low temperature and food was kept fresh. The external blue material is robust and the foil inside can be wiped and seems quite strong. Zips also work well. Excellent item for the price.

SEEMS OK BUT QUALITY NOT AS GOOD AS I WOULD HAVE LIKED. I USE IT TO KEEP THE SHOPPING COOL AFTER GOING TO THE SUPERMARKET

I bought this item to keep in the car so that I could load cold/frozen items in after "clicking and collecting" at local supermarket. After very little use, the silver lining came away from the stitching. I taped it up with some silver tape and used it once more. More of the silver lining came away on the lid. I then also noticed that there was a sheet of thin insulation in and that was breaking into little bits. In fact, every time I touched the bag I ended up with bits everywhere. Went into dustbin. Tried to get a refund but was told not able to as after 30 days. SO DONT BUY AS THIS ITEM FALLS APART AFTER VERY LIGHT USE & WILL ONLY LAST A COUPLE OF MONTHS.