Soft Sided Coolers?

Hate to admit this- but I use a Thirty One cooler every day. It's held up well. Not going to stay as cold as a hard sided cooler, but you don't deal with the bulk. My mother in law is a Thirty One rep, and we have a lot of their stuff around the house. It's not Maxpedition tough, but I've been impressed with the quality.
 
I've used a standard Igloo soft cooler for years, it gets packed in my work truck for lunches and strapped to the front of my kayak filled with frosty beverages. Sure, it isn't quite as effective as a hard cooler but it has been more then adequate. I just replaced it last month (after 5-6 years of service) because as it turns out, salt water over time breaks down the zippers and makes them seize, still, not bad for about 20 bucks.
 
I've used the Igloo MaxCold coolers. They work well, but eventually the zippers or straps fail. Are there any coolers made with 1000 denier Cordura or ballistic cloth and heavy duty YKK zippers? I work in construction and coolers get beaten up on the jobsite. Yeti should start making soft sided coolers!
 
I just found a company called StrongBags. They use ballistic cloth for their coolers.
 
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I'm all about buying quality and the "cry once" theory, but my one hesitation when it comes to a soft sided cooler is that if it gets funky, or if something gets left in it, and I can't get it clean I'm going to toss it before I put my lunch in something that smells bad. Are they machine washable or chemical (bleach cleaning) resistant?
 
not sure if you have pulled the trigger yet

but
polarbearcoolers are heavy duty

you could use the 6pack cooler as a lunch poke
 
I ended up getting a 12 pack deluxe model from AO Coolers.

The Polarbear coolers look good too.
 
I bought a Cabela's soft sided fishing tackle box (Large) & just put a hard plastic insert from an old lunch box in it. That way if i spill something or it leaks, i just take it out & wash the plastic insert. You could do the same with any plastic container.
 
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