A handpicked selection of the best cooler bags for breastmilk. The best cooler to travel with breastmilk and best cooler bag for breastmilk: top picks and how to choose the best one for you.
Pumped breastmilk is precious cargo and finding the right vessel to carry it from where you are to where it needs to be is paramount.
Safe and reliable breastmilk storage bags or bottles are a must, and so is a great cooler bag for breastmilk, a bag you can trust will keep the milk safe anytime you need to move it, no matter how long your commute or trip may happen to be.
I made great use of pumped milk with my first born and now I know what to look for when picking the best cooler bag for traveling with breastmilk from the office, on the drive to drive to grandma’s house or a long international trip!
A good breastmilk cooler is one of our recommended baby must have for travel. These are our favorites and tips for picking a pumped milk cooler bag that works best for you.
Important!
Always follow manifacturer instructions and official breastmilk storage guidelines for safety!
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Best cooler for traveling with breastmilk chart
This is a summary chart of the best cooler bags for breastmilk according to our research and experience.
Click on the links for official specs and prices or read below the criteria we used for this selection and some info on each product
Name of Cooler | Type | Size | N. of bottles* |
Medela Breastmilk Cooler and transport set | Breastmilk cooler with icepack | 5 1/2 x 6 3/4 x 6 3/4″ | 4 |
Lekebaby Breastmilk Cooler bag | Breast milk cooler with ice pack | 9.8 x 7.5 x 5.5″ | 6 |
Teamoy breast milk carrier | Breast milk cooler with ice pack | 9 x 6.5 x 13.5″ | 6 |
SkipHop Insulated breastmilk cooler | Insulated double bottle baby bag | 6.75 x 3.5 x 11″ | 2 |
JL Childress Maxicool breastmilk cooler | Carry bag with icepack | 4 x 11 x 9″ | 4 / 4+ |
Sarah Wells Cold Gold breastmilk cooler bag | Cooler bag with ice pack | 6.5 x 6.5 x 6.5 inches | 4 |
TiBlue Breastmilk Cooler Bag | Insulated cooler bag | 4 x 11 x 9.5 inches | 4 / 6 |
PackIt Freezable Baby Bottle Cooler Bag | Freezable cooler bag | 8.5 x 7 x 1.5 | 4 |
*Depends on the type of bottle used, see below for details or click on product link for specs.
The best breastmilk cooler bags for travel
Our selection. The specs for each product come from the manifactures: always double check the specs of each model before buying.
Medela breastmilk cooler and transport set – best breast milk cooler bag if looking for a full travel set
Medela makes excellent pumps and pumping accessories and their cooler for traveling with breastmilk is one of them.
The bag takes up to four 5 ounce/150 milliliters breast milk bottles (included) and keeps the milk cool with a shaped icepack that fits into the bag and hugs the bottles for the best possible cool exposure.
It opens at the top with a zip and has a white interior that is easy to clean and makes it easy to spot any dirt that may have come in contact with the bag.
The bag is BPA Free, Phthalate Free, Latex Free, Lead Free and it is 1.1 pounds of weight.
The bag comes with ice pack, bottles and lids, so it is the best cooler bag for breastmilk if you are looking for a stress free pumping travel kit.
It is compatible with the bottles provided with the Swing and Harmony breast pumps and Fits inside the Medela Freestyle and Pump In Style Breast pump Bags so basically with Medela you have a one stop shop for all your pumping needs.
This is a fabuloul cooler bag for breast milk both for functionality and style.
Lekebaby Breast Milk Cooler Bag – best large cooler bag for breastmilk storage while traveling
This Lekebaby breastmilk cooler bag is another excellent cooler for traveling with breastmilk.
Stylish looking, it has two carry handles but also a long detachable and adjustable strap to carry it as a shoulder bag or even a crossbody bag.
The bag has two handy zips that open from the top or the side.
It holds ups to 6 baby bottles and has an extra thin pocket at the front that can use useful for extra breastmilk storage bags, breastfeeding pads or tissues.
This cooler bag comes with a countoured ice pack and, if properly used, it is built to keep breastmilk cool for about 8 hours.
It is made with 600D Oxford fabric, water resistant and durable, high-quality alluminium foil lining and EPE foam insulation. This bag is BPA free.
Teamoy Double Layer Breastmilk Cooler Bag with Ice Pack, Travel Baby Bottle Cooler Bag Tote
If you are looking for a breastmilk cooler that also has space for additional items such as snacks or nappies, then this one by Teamoy may just be for you.
This cooler bag has a main insulated compartment that fits up to 6 baby bottles around a contoured ice pack, a separate top pocket for snacks or wipes and a front zipped pocket for smaller items like your phone and an extra slip pocket on the back.
The bag also have to net pockets on the side so it is the best cooler for traveling with breastmilk if you are looking for a bigger bag able to accommodate other items too
The interior is light colored, which makes it not just pleasant to see but great for easily spotting potential dirt that may have come in contact with the bag.
The bag has a carry handle and a longer shoulder strap with padding, which is super handy.
Size: Dimension: 12” x9” x 6.5”
Weight: 1.35 pounds
Skip Hop Insulated Breastmilk Cooler And Double Baby Bottle Bag – best insulated breastmilk cooler to fit in larger bags
Skip Hop is one on our favorite brands for baby and toddler travel gear and their insulate cooler for breastmilk is no exception (see it here).
This is a smaller baby bottle bag than the one above and fits two bottles that can stand side by size in the main compartment of the cooler purse.
The cooling is provided with an ice pack that sits in a later pocket just beside the bottles. The bag has a good strap with buckle that allows you to strap it safely to the stroller handle.
Phthalate-free, this is a great cooler for outings with baby especially and fits a large variety of bottles, making it the best cooler bag for traveling with breast milk if you use different containers.
Size: 6.75 x 3.5 x 11 inches
Weight of the bag: 12.8 ounces
J.L. Childress Maxicool, Breastmilk Cooler, Baby Bottle & Baby Food Bag, Insulated
We first came across JL childress products when looking for travel bags for car seat and now love their bags and carrying solutions, like this one for keeping breastmilk fresh.
They offer several types of cooler bags for traveling with breastmilk to suit short outings and longer trips.
The Maxicoo, breastimilk cooler is our favorite. This is a nice looking bag that can fit up to four 9oz tall bottles, three wide-body bottles or more than four 4oz newborn bottles.
The bag is fully insulated and the lining is PVC, lead and phthalate free.
The lining is detachable for easy cleaning and the bag comes with its own reusable ice pack.
This cooler has a top zipped opening and two carry handles with a popper so that can be attached to a stroller handle or larger bag and a front pocket for extra bits such as wipes, muslin cloths etc.
This is a great breast milk storage solution to keep fresh breast milk cool and is a great breast milk travel cooler for all types of trips.
Size: 4 x 11 x 9.5 inches
Weight: 14.8 ounces
Sarah Wells Cold Gold Breastmilk Cooler Bag with Ice Pack
The Sarah Wells Cold Gold Breastmilk cooler bag looks amazing and it works great if you need to travel with frozen breast milk.
The bag is tall enough to fit 4, 8-oz bottles (or 6+ milk storage bags) and comes with its own icepack: depending on outside temperatures, the bag is designed to keep the milk cold for up to 8 hours.
The bag is designed to fit inside the Sarah Wells pump bag but can also be used alone: the top strap makes it easy to carry and it also allows to attach it to a stroller or a separate bag for ease of transport.
Both the bag and the ice pack are BPA-free, PVC-free, Phthalate-free and Lead Free.
Size: 6.5 x 6.5 x 6.5 inches
Weight: 1.5 pounds
TiBlue Breastmilk Cooler Bag Insulated Baby Bottle Bag
If you need a breastmilk cooler bag for traveling that holds up to 6 bags, then you may love this one by Tiblue, which has a compact size but a big capacity.
This is an Insulated cooler for breastmilk designed to carry up to 6 bottles, or 4 large 8oz or 9oz bottles and has a thick alluminium foil liner to keep breastmilk cold.
The bag is narrow and tall and has a carry handle with buckle so you can easily attach it to another bag or the stroller.
The inside is easy to clean and has a mesh pocket for the ice pack (please note: ice pack not included).
Ouside, you have an extra pocket for small items such as wiped or your phone.
The bags is designed to store, refrigerate or transport bottles from several brands: specifically mentioned by the manufacture as an extanmple are Dr. Brown, Comotomo, Philips Avent, Evenflo, Tommee, Lansinoh, Nuk, etc
PackIt Freezable Baby Bottle Cooler – best breast milk cooler bag without the need for a spearate icepack
If you prefer a bag that doesn’t require a separate icepack, then this PackIT freezable baby bottle cooler is perfect.
The freezing gel is in the walls of the bag and all you need to do is freeze it overnight and you are ready to go.
The bag is made of easy to clean materials that are PVC-free, BPA-free, phthalate-free, formaldehyde- free and lead-free. Fits up to four 5oz bottles and comes with a fun colorful pattern.
The bag folds small so you can easily collaspe it when done.
How to choose the best cooler bag for breastmilk
Breastmilk coolers for travel come in several styles and the best one largely depends on your specific needs.
Carrying Style
Depending on your setup and needs, you may choose between a stand alone bag vs bag that fits into a changing bag or other form of bag.
A stand alone bag is useful if you need to only move pumped breastmilk and do not need additional space for extra baby items such as changing great and clothes.
Breastmilk cooler bags of this type come in several shape and sized and they can be pretty stylish: you can choose standard shapes with short carry straps or you can pick a super handy breastmilk cooler shoulder bag, which has the added advantage of leaving your hands free,
The other style of bag is designed to fit into larger bags, so that your breastmilk cooler sits with the rest of the baby gear in your changing bag.
These bags are a great option if you prefer not to have an extra bag to look after and work very well especially for smaller quantities of milks, for instance if you are out for lunch and only need milk for a meal or two.
If you are on the market for a traveling changing bag too, these are our top picks!
Cooling mechanism
The other thing to consider, when choosing the best cooler bag for breastmilk is the cooling style of the bag, which usually falls into one of the following two categories:
Insulating breastmilk aka bags that have a built-in cooling mechanism. These bags go into the fridge themselves and come in just one piece, no extra ice pack required.
Breastmilk carrier bags that require a separate ice pack.
In this case, what you freeze is a separate icepack, which then you put in the bag to keep frozen breastmilk cool.
Size
Last but not least, you need a bag that is the right size and this depends on how many bottles/ breastmilk bags think you are in need of moving and how big they are.
The best way to make sure you pick the best cooler for your breastmilk is to consider carefully the storage containers you will use, their size and what type of bottles the bag is designed for and able to carry.
I hope you found this overview of the best coolers for traveling with breastmilk useful and it helped you find one that world great for you!