Reliable Insulated Cooler Kill Bags

We’re indeed proud to bring a much needed new product to our private boating clients, the new Kill Bags.  These things save space on your boat, and preserve your catch for proper eating pleasure.  In the past, private boaters either had some deck space wasted with a cooler, or perhaps a fish hold that could be better used for other storage purposes. Lack of proper insulation resulted in either damaged meat or fast consumption of large amounts of ice. Either way, it’s a pain in the keester, and another inconvenience brought about by limits in space and design.  Here’s a solution to a basic problem faced by fishermen: a well insulated kill bag. 

Our Kill Bags attach to your rear cleats, hang off the transom and rest on the swim step.  They’re made with insulated heavy duty vinyl scrim material that is water/moisture resistant and are sewn with SunGuard UV protected thread.  The 1/2″ waterproof insulation material has excellent thermal properties, they really do keep the cool in!

The bags are bloused out at the bottom for maximum capacity.  An envelope type bag is less expensive to produce, and on the surface may seem like a good option.  Well, in my opinion it’s not so good of an option, simply won’t hold fish as well as having a wider bottom.  It’s also a lot more stable than an envelope type bag that does not become wider at the base/bottom. Reliable bags have a drain in the bottom and are zippered on top with tie downs in the top corners.  They save space, they preserve your catch, they work well.  Just dump in a few pounds of ice, toss in your catch, and keep the deck clear for more fishing. All Reliable bags are 12″ wide at the bottom for greater fish holding capacity. In the standard bag (not specialty kayak bag) specifications of size below, the first dimension is height, the second width measured at the zipper. The base is 12″ less than the zippered sections length.

We’ve had some requests for a slightly shorter kill bag recently.   Depending upon your boat, it’s swim step depth, the following bags might be a better option. The bags are vinyl coated using 18 oz heavy duty nylon.  They use 1/2″ dense closed cell foam, with drain spout.  They use UV and mildew resistant thread material for long term use.  Both Reliable and Precision (used to make ’em but are no longer marketed) make a great bag, the best we’ve encountered.  This supplier constructs their bags a little differently, with a bit more support with their straps. But, really both suppliers do an excellent job and offer quality products to us, and to you.  One thing for sure, they are well made, and we like ’em! If you were going to hang one off the back of your boat, and you didn’t have a transom for it to sit on, I’d opt for the Reliable and I’d be inclined to go with one of their shorter bags. One point, the dimensions mentioned by Reliable represent the material size, they won’t be quite as long once built since they bow in at the base and are wider up top.

I’ve used these bags quite a bit, the larger 72″ bag will hold fish for 24 hours with a few pounds of ice.  I’ve been out three days with 2 10# bags of crushed ice in the bag, and had the fish in perfect condition upon arrival back at the dock.  The block ice would have done even better.  I’ve used these on my own boat, as well I use my smaller kill bag instead of an ice chest when heading out on a long range fishing trip out of San Diego. The bag stores much more easily in my truck’s cab while I’m on the water, and upon my return I toss it in the back, load up some ice and make use of the 1 day service from Five Star or Mario’s back at the dock. One thing I should mention, the bags are sewn/stitched, so there’s some water that leaks from the bottom or corners. This is the way they are supposed to be. Don’t plan on ’em being a dry bag in the back of your Suburban. You can use some silicone sealant and reduce that “breathing” but that’s really not the way you’d want to go for use as intended on a boat. Allowing the water to slowly seep out is a good thing for the longer term purpose it’s designed for. The new 36 Can Cooler is a different type of product from Reliable. That particular cooler is water sealed.