Whatever the outdoor adventure, having a mobile stash of cold beer is often essential. However, there is a problem. Many coolers are leaky low quality love affairs with the uncool. This, the cooler from White Wing Label, is not.
construction
The cooler’s body is primarily constructed out of canvas that covers a 22 oz. Vinyl liner. Personally, I would have preferred the entire cooler be covered in leather. This is mostly a stylistic preference since it is plenty functional. However, the liner that actually protects your ice-cold beer is good stuff. It is welded using a special radio frequency process that is designed to guarantee this item will never leak. The process is similar to welding, except instead of using regular convection heat, White Wing Label uses radio waves to seal the seams. This allows for a much greater degree of precision. You can learn more about plastic welding by checking out this Wikipedia page.
functionality
The zipper on this model is from molded plastic; however, the website talks about brass zippers. It is a heavy plastic, but still plastic. It is very easy to open thanks to the thick bridal leather tabs that are fastened by brass buttons. Something worth mentioning is that the zipper does leak. When I filled the cooler partially with water and held it upside down, water streamed out. While most coolers have similar problems, please do not consider the White Wing Label Cooler airtight in all directions.
If one wants to modify the shape, the cooler has buttons on both sides that can be released, changing the shape from box like to purse like. This is a handy feature if one needs a little extra room for that bottle of wine or needs to store the cooler in some awkward locations. The cooler also has a small pocket just behind the White Wing Label insignia; which one could store bottle openers or other small accessories in.
As for weight, the cooler clocked in at 1.9 pounds. And it works well, I placed a 10 ounce bag of ice in it and left it in the corner of a 76 degree Fahrenheit room. The White Wing Label cooler still had ice in the bag, plus a lot of water, after 7 hours. I also ran the same test on a cheaper, plastic-covered Airlok cooler that I had bouncing around my apartment. Its performance was almost exactly the same when I compared how much ice was left. The White Wing label Cooler holds its own but does not feature some breakthrough in cooling technology.
aesthetic
My first thought when encountering the White Wing Label Cooler was that it looked like a man purse. However, it has been growing on me since then. One thing that has not been growing on me is the color. I think the classic duck canvas does not look very good. There is no need to conceal my cooler from satellites. Fortunately, the cooler is available in several other colors. Below is the selection from the White Wing Label website.
BestLeather conclusion
More leather on the cooler would be nice, perhaps acting as side paneling, replacing the canvas. If I did have to stay with canvas, I would also select a different fabric pattern then classic duck (AKA cheesy camouflage). On the plus side, the high tech radio frequency welding and heavy liner promise to regulate leaks to a thing of the past. If I had a different color fabric, I could fall in love with this thing.
Check it out on the White Wing Label website.
+ Very effective cooler
+ Novel design
+ Heavy duty construction
– Will leak from the zipper if tipped
– Maybe skip camo canvas if you are looking for classiness
– I would pay a bit more for more leather
