Recently I attended the CU v. KSU football game, and although the Buffs ended up losing a tight game 28 to 31, the memories and positivity that come from gathering with family and friends around a football game surpassed the agony of a 3-point loss. Unlike the Buffaloes, my day was a complete success thanks to the Riversmith 60 liter Hauler, and the great tailgate which they allowed us to easily organize and quickly pack up. The idea of bringing the Hauler as a multi-purpose bag and cooler was something that didn’t occur to me until a few days prior to the game, but once that light bulb had gone off in my head, it was clear to see how much easier the entire tailgate and pre-game day would go.
My intention with the Hauler was simple, load everything I would need for a great tailgate (spoiler… it's a lot of beer) into the bag before driving from Denver to Boulder, then simply and easily convert the Hauler from an extremely durable waterproof Boat Bag into a sizeable and effective cooler. This plan relied on one key design feature of the Hauler: its waterproofing and quality construction. The bag was designed for use on a boat, protecting valuables on the inside of the bag from water on the outside. My intended use was the opposite, to keep ice and, therefore, water on the inside while simultaneously not flooding my trunk. I expected the Hauler to complete this task easily, but I became slightly nervous when game time came around, and I had to provide cold drinks and food for my extended family. What if the Hauler leaks and we have no ice? What the drinks don’t fit? Is it going to be too heavy to carry the Hauler from one area to the next?
I realized early on that the 60L Hauler was not only going to meet, but surpass the expectations and intentions I had set for it. Arriving several hours early to the game (enough time to drink an appropriate amount of alcohol), I began to lug my beer and ice-filled 60L Hauler from one side of town to the other. I realized early on that even with some ice melt in the bag, there was no leaking on the sides or bottom. Even with 20 lbs of ice, 48 “cold ones”, several smaller personal items, and even 2 sweaters in the 60L, the bag was extremely easy and comfortable to carry using the shoulder sling. Once we arrived at our tailgate, we quickly unloaded all of our personal items, and easily converted the Haulers into coolers. Throughout the several-hour tailgate there was no leakage from either of the bags and most importantly, everyone had cold beer.
Another extremely easy and effective way to improve my tailgate setup was to pair the “Hauler-cooler” setup with a Convoy PackOut Bag. By attaching the PackOut Bag to the Hauler using the included MOLLE strapping, I instantly had a deployable trash bag and another area to store smaller items like a grill lighter.
The 60L Hauler was designed with fishing at the forefront, but the quality construction along with creative design features allow the Hauler to fulfill the role of several other bags in one. The waterproof construction means the Hauler can become an impromptu cooler along with many other things. Luckily I did not have to deal with bad weather, but in the case of a freak rainstorm, it would be easy to close the roll top on the hauler and have a waterproof bag available for non-waterproof items.
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