Costco’s Aloha + CleverMade Exclusive Cooler Is So Popular, You Can Only Buy 5 at a Time

Once it finally hits the spring and summer in New York City, I’m definitely spending lots of time outside. Sitting in the sun for hours can be truly revitalizing, but any food and beverages you’ve brought along will get unpleasantly warm if you don’t have a cooler. Not all coolers are fun to show off or even easy to carry, but this beachy tote bag-style cooler from Costco is both cute and super-practical, which is precisely why it’s selling out so fast.

It’s hard not to be charmed by this beach-friendly cooler from CleverMade and Aloha Collection. It has nine pockets and can hold up to 42 liters of liquids and snacks, but it looks like a cute, summery tote bag. 

It’s made of mesh and soft fabric but has a frame-based design, so it holds its shape without flopping over, but can also fold up small and flat when not in use. It’s spacious, measuring 11.35 inches wide, 21.25 inches long, and 13.5 inches tall. Between the bag’s interior and exterior, there are two water bottle pockets, three zippered pockets, and four slip pockets, plus carrying straps that double as towel holders, which is such a great idea. The bag’s main opening also zips shut, and mesh panels on the outside help keep sand from accumulating.

You can get it both in-store at Costco and online in two colorways: black with white leaves and flowers or beige with a teal and white palm tree pattern. And in case you were planning on getting one for all your friends, know that there’s a limit of five bags per customer. 

You need a Costco membership to purchase this trendy cooler tote, and even if you do have one, it’s so sought-after that it’s selling out and even being resold on sites like eBay. If you live in a beachy area, you should move especially quickly — on another Costco fan’s Instagram post, commenters in Hawaii and southern California say the Aloha + CleverMade bags were already sold out or almost gone at their local Costcos.

If you don’t live by a Costco or just don’t want to deal with the stress of buying something in high demand, there is a similar tote bag cooler at Wayfair. You won’t see any floral patterns, as this cooler comes in solid black, navy blue with white accents, and blue or green with a white abstract pattern. However, you do get a similar collapsible-yet-sturdy fabric and steel frame design, a 48-quart capacity (about 45 liters), a front pocket, and two types of carrying straps. It’s normally $80, but is discounted right now to $59.95, which is nice, but alas, still pricier than the Costco bag.