Gear Review: The Monstrous Goat Boxco Hub 70 Cooler and Modular Storage System

The Goat Boxco Hub 70 is a monstrous, heavy-duty cooler.

For many outdoorsmen and women, a good cooler is not just convenient, it is an absolute necessity when talking about outdoor adventures. Whether you are fishing, camping, or hunting, it feels like we are on a constant search for the perfect cooler that can take a beating and still hold ice for days at a time without constantly needing to refill.

Well, we may have just found the cooler you are looking for in the Goat Boxco Hub 70. After two camping trips, this monstrosity does more than just keep your drinks and food cool, it also provides some extra storage space thanks to the removable cans of the modular storage system.

That gives the Goat a little more versatility than we are used to seeing from a cooler. This is how the Goat cooler system stood up to a rigorous field test.

The Goat Hub 70 cooler

Have I mentioned this is a big cooler yet? Well, the photo above of it on the back of a Polaris Sportsman 450 should give you a better idea of the size. This cooler is approximately 36 inches long by 22 inches wide and 18 inches high. The weight is a hefty 42 pounds making this the largest cooler I have ever used. It has a volume of just over 62 quarts. You can put the largest bags of ice into this thing with room to spare. I recommend moving it with two people, it is that large.

The one thing you will notice right away about this cooler is how well it is built. Nothing about it feels cheap. Goat says each cooler is built using a heavy-duty rotomolded construction. I do not know exactly what that means, but I can tell you it will take a beating. After all, it does take a bit of muscle, especially when full of ice, to put the Goat Box in the back of a vehicle.  If you have been looking for something durable, you can basically stop your search right here. The rope handles are serious stuff, and the rubber grip over them is very ergonomic. I was continually bumping this thing, storing stuff on it, and even using it as a seat. It holds up to whatever you can dish out.

The rubber latches for this cooler are also extremely durable and you can really feel the tight seal every time you cinch them down. This thing is not going to pop open accidentally when going down a bumpy road. Even the drain plug feels heavy duty on this thing. It quickly screws in and out to drain out the excess water, of which there is usually not much. Speaking of which, let us talk ice retention. Because that is the most important aspect of any cooler.

Goat says this cooler uses what they call "Freeze Frame" insulation that maximizes cold retention while simultaneously keeping the cooler from turning into a total ice block on a cold day. My testing was only in warm weather, but I came away pleased with the ice retention. On my two trips with the Goat, I found myself buying ice every other or every three days. I rarely find coolers that match the advertised seven-day retention times you often see advertised, so I was extremely pleased with this. Especially when an expensive Igloo I bought before this cooler was turning ice into water overnight.

The Goat kept everything nice and cool throughout my vacation through Michigan's Upper Peninsula. I took along supplies to make burgers and they were always still cool and fresh at the end of a long day of exploring despite the cooler being in the Jeep all day. Probably most impressive was how quickly it will cool down cans of soda or beer. It does it faster than any cooler I've used in the past. It should make this thing the perfect tailgating accessory.

For hunters, you could absolutely trust this thing to transport your harvest from field to freezer. And because of the size, you will have plenty of room to do that. I even put a full-size deep dish pizza box in the back at one point and the leftovers tasted like they came out of the fridge the next morning. This thing keeps food and drink fresh. Although I think I am going to pick up Goat's cooler basket accessory. If only to keep the food out of the water. And so, I do not have to dig through the ice as much for the food. As I have stated here repeatedly, this is a BIG cooler with a deep wall depth, it can be easy to lose stuff if you are not organized.

The Gear Storage System

We have made it this far into the review and I have not even mentioned the additional functionality of the Goat Hub 70. That is the "Can system." Basically, Goat builds these coolers with an X-shaped design to the footprint. This gave them space to add a cargo net in the front for small odds and ends. More importantly, it allowed them to add four corner turrets. Each one of these turrets holds a detachable, polycarbonate, flip top, water-resistant container with a gasket. The whole idea here is the cooler serves as sort of a basecamp for all your most essential gear during your outdoor adventures.

While camping, I ended up using one of the Cans to store all my charging cables for my drone, my Sony camera, cell phone, and other electronics. In the other I stored my toothbrush and other toiletry items. I must say, the modular design and placement is convenient for these Cans. I never had to go hunting for either my chargers or my toothbrush on both trips, which is handy when you are camping out of the car for a week and have a lot of stuff stowed in the back. Goat Cans are designed to be easily swapped in and out depending on what you are using the cooler for each day. They also built a system they call "The Rack" which holds up to eight Cans in one spot so you can organize one with camp food, and another with hunting supplies, and so on.

I do have a slight con with the Can design, and that is the lid does not always lock down well causing the can to pop open when you pull it out of the cooler. Although this is a minor complaint because I found the Cans quite useful for keeping  essential gear organized otherwise.

Goat also sells pre-packed cans of supplies. The cooler they sent me came with camp food in one, but the thing that really impressed me was the first aid kit by MyMedic. I see a lot of first aid kits with my work here at Wide Open Spaces, and I rarely see one I would consider "complete." And I honestly did not expect a kit included as an extra with a cooler to be Earth-shattering. My criteria for complete is rather simple, the kit must have insect sting and bite relief, and it must include pain relief medication like Aspirin or Ibuprofen. Because first aid should not just be an emergency, it should be for those minor, yet annoying problems you might encounter in nature too. I'm happy to report the Goat Boxco's MyMedic kit has both insect sting relief, headache relief, and more. They also included an antihistamine for allergy suffers and even hydrocortisone cream for a bout of poison ivy. They even included sunscreen, electrolytes, and a water purification tablet.

Also included in the kit are supplies for an upset stomach, cold and flu, and even mild burn treatment and CPR. It also comes with a full-color survival booklet that covers everything from first aid to wild game preparation in a survival situation. There are not a ton of bandages included here, but it does have basically everything you need for an emergency.

Simply put, the quality is there for these pre-packed Cans. Mind you this was just one kit. Goat also sells a fire starter kit, basic shelter kits, hydration kits, nutrition kits, hygiene kits, game bags and field dressing packages, and even wild game cooking flavor supplies and power boost kits for your electronics. Consider me impressed.

The Bottom Line

This is an incredible cooler that earns every bit of its $499.99 USD price tag. That makes the price comparable to stuff from competitors like Yeti, only with an additional bit of functionality in the gear storage system. The only real knock I have against it is that the Goat Hub 70 is huge and a bit difficult to move around by yourself. Perhaps taking it on a solo, week-long camping trip was a bit much though. That is more on me than the cooler itself.

However, size is to be expected with a cooler of this caliber. And odds are, if you are looking at one, you already know what you are getting yourself into. For keeping your food and drinks cool during a camping trip or for transporting your harvested game from field to table, the Goat cooler will get the job done. And you will have plenty of space for all your little odds and ends using the Can system at the same time. That is why we can heartily recommend this cooler.

For more information on the Goat Boxco Hub 70, check out the Goat website.

Products featured on Wide Open Spaces are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our links, we may earn a commission.

For more outdoor content from Travis Smola, be sure to follow him on Twitter and check out his Geocaching and Outdoors with Travis YouTube channels. 

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