Picnic Time Zuma Backpack Cooler – Lightweight, Durable & Convenient for Outdoor Adventures

The headline pretty much says it all, but read on if you want more. We originally purchased this 8 1/2 years ago specifically for visiting Disney World with our kids. We needed a way to carry snacks, drinks, diapers, etc. (anything you'd think you'd might need with a 4-year old and a 7-year old in tow). It performed beautifully. Diapers, wet wipes, changing mat, snack cereals, waters, fruits, you name it. We froze 4 1-liter water bottles the night before and put them, along with 4 other cold, but not frozen, water bottles in the lower portion along with some fruit and any other cold snack (cheese, chocolate). Then filled the top with crackers, nuts, diapers, hand towels, etc. and went to the park. We lacked for anything while in the park. Everything we needed was on my back. In the backpack. All the other parents in the park were jealous of it. They took pictures and began scrambling on Amazon to find their own. I probably accidentally sold 15 or 20 of these that day. It has two exterior pockets for extra items like wallets, keys, maps, tickets, or such. The pocket on the top flap is semi-protected from weather elements. While not waterproof, it's protected enough that it should keep things mostly dry in a moderate rain. The second pocket has more room. You could put belongings in a plastic bag, then in the pocket, and they'd be totally dry at the end of a day. There are also two pockets, one on each side, that can hold bottles, collapsible umbrellas, or sunscreen. I've added pictures showing the bag and how much it might hold. The bottom portion is holding 8 20-oz sports drinks and zips up nicely. The top section is pictured with 3 5-lb bags of flour and a 14.5 oz box of spaghetti noodles (for height comparison). The images are just representative of how much it could hold, not that I'm suggesting you go on your picnic with 15 pounds of flour! The bottom section is insulated to keep things cold and is one-piece so it does not leak even if drinks are spilled. In 100+ degree (Fahrenheit) temperatures in Florida sun, we still had cool drinks at the end of a 9-hour park visit. We have visited a theme park at least once a year since then and have always taken it with us. Add in the uncountable number of visits to the kids' sporting events and I feel that I've gotten outstanding use of the item. The backpack is still going strong. We also use it on the boat, for picnics, day trips, etc. One drawback I can think of is that each portion doesn't really stand up on its own and will collapse somewhat if empty. So, if there is little or nothing in the bottom, but the top still has a good amount of items in it, the bottom portion collapses somewhat making it difficult to operate one-handed. But, put two hands on it and and it still works like a breeze. You could purchase a plastic box-type item to place in each compartment to keep it standing upright if this bothers you. It really has never been a problem for us. I'd say that I'd buy it again, but after nearly a decade of use, it doesn't appear to need replacing. And just one seems to be enough for a family of four. This may have been one of the smartest, well-timed purchases I have ever made.

Used our new backpack for the first time this past weekend and fell in LOVE! We ordered two right away but only received one in time for our family fun day. I wish I would've taken pictures to show you all the stuff I put inside this thing, it was amazing!! We have 6 children and decided to venture to Universal Studios with wait for it...NO STROLLERS! First time in 15 years! We always pack snacks and bring a large cooler to store lunches and cold drinks/snacks as well which was big and bulky with no way to fold when empty. My husband is 6' 3" and a big guy (he was nominated the lunch carrier) and it fit comfortably on his back. In the cooler section I stored 6 deli sandwiches on hard rolls, 2 1/2 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, 8 snack size packages of large grapes, 8 snack size packages of trail mix (it had chocolate in it), a sandwich bag size of sliced sausage as well as a sandwich bag size of chunks of cheese, 3 juice pouches, some condiments AND 4 small frozen ice packs. In the dry/top section, we stored 8 small bags of chips, a tube of Ritz crackers, 8 snack size bags of peanut butter pretzels, 8 snack size bags of Chex mix and fruit snacks. The front zipper compartment stored plastic silverware and napkins. That baby was FULL! But had everything we needed to eat throughout the day. I carried a smaller backpack for extra dry clothes for the little ones as well as baby wipes, sunscreen, small first aid kid and some medical supplies. All of which will go in our second backpack once we receive it but there will be room to spare! It held together nicely and wasn't really all that heavy. After all, it gets lighter throughout the day as things get eaten and it was so nice to be able to just walk behind my husband and open the bag and get what we needed rather than have to pull over, crouch down and dig until you find what you're looking for. My husband prefers his phone in his shorts pocket so did not use the cell phone pocket but I will use it when we receive the second one. And couldn't really test out the side pockets for cups because the pack was full so we shared 4 refillable drink cups between the 8 of us rather than pack 3 spill proof cups for the smaller kids so not sure how those will hold up. Overall, 16 thumbs up! #minionmayhem