A hard cooler is a fixed box. On a boat that is a real cost: it occupies the same deck space whether it holds one fish or twelve, it slides under acceleration unless it is strapped down, and when the day is over it still takes up a full cooler's volume in the garage or the truck bed.
A soft kill bag conforms. Loaded, it settles into whatever deck or locker space is available and stays there rather than sliding. Empty, it rolls down to a fraction of its size — which is the property that determines whether a 120-litre bag is something a small boat owner can actually keep aboard. It is also substantially lighter to handle wet, and it will not crack when a gaff handle or a dropped weight hits it.
What a soft bag has historically given up is insulation performance. That gap closes with material thickness, and it is why the 25 mm figure on this product matters more than any other number on the specification sheet. Most soft insulated bags in this category run 10 to 15 mm, which is adequate for a cooler of drinks and inadequate for holding a catch through a hot afternoon.
Buyers ask how long a kill bag holds ice, and the honest answer is that the bag is one variable among five. We would rather set this out properly than quote a single figure that will be wrong for most of the people reading it.
Ambient temperature dominates everything. The same bag that holds ice through a two-day trip in 15°C conditions may struggle past a single hot afternoon at 38°C on an unshaded deck.
Ice ratio is the variable users most often get wrong. A working rule for a kill bag is two parts ice to one part fish by volume. Less than that and the ice is being asked to chill a warm mass it cannot keep up with.
Pre-chilling makes a larger difference than most people expect. A bag that has sat in the sun starts the day with its own insulation and liner at ambient temperature, and the first sacrifice of ice goes to cooling the bag itself. Loading a sacrificial layer of ice an hour before departure removes that cost.
Opening frequency — every opening exchanges the cold air inside for warm air, and on a busy day this adds up faster than any other single factor.
Meltwater management cuts both ways. Cold meltwater around the fish conducts heat away efficiently and is worth keeping early in the day. Once it warms it becomes a heat reservoir sitting against the catch, and that is when it should be drained.
With 25 mm insulation, a correct ice ratio, a pre-chilled bag, and moderate conditions, this bag will hold a catch through a full day and into a second. We would not state that as a guarantee, because for a buyer fishing the Gulf in August it would not be true.
This is the part of kill bag selection that gets least attention and affects eating quality most.
Fish flesh begins degrading the moment the fish dies, and the first stage is enzymatic rather than bacterial — the fish's own enzymes break down tissue, and that process runs faster the warmer the flesh is. Bacterial spoilage follows later. This means the critical window is the first thirty minutes to an hour after the fish comes aboard, not hour thirty-six.
The practical consequence is that a large fish laid on top of ice cools slowly from the outside while its core sits warm for hours. A fish buried in an ice slurry — ice and water together, which conducts far better than ice alone — cools through to the core in a fraction of the time. Anglers who care about table quality run slurry rather than dry ice layers, and a kill bag with a sealed liner and a drain valve is the correct tool for that, because it can hold the water rather than leaking it into the bilge.
It is also why the bag being long enough matters. A tuna or a wahoo bent to fit a short bag has a fold in it where the flesh bruises, and that is where the quality loss shows on the plate.
Three failure points account for nearly every kill bag that comes out of service, and each is addressed by a specific construction decision.
The shell is high-frequency welded, fusing the PVC layers into continuous material. There are no needle holes, so there is no seam tape to peel and no stitch line to weep fish fluids into the insulation layer, which is where a stitched bag starts to smell and never stops.
The handle webbing runs the full depth of the bag and around the base rather than terminating at stitched patches. A 120-litre bag holding fish and ice can exceed 60 kilograms, and load that passes through the webbing into the body is load that is not trying to tear a patch off the side.
A sealed zipper running the entire length of the bag does two jobs: it stops warm air exchange at the closure, and it opens wide enough that a long fish goes in straight. A short top opening forces the fish to be bent, which damages the flesh.
Meltwater and fish fluids drain without opening the bag or lifting it. On a boat, a bag that has to be inverted over the side to empty is a bag that gets emptied late.
Closed-cell foam that does not absorb water. An open-cell or fibre fill soaks up meltwater, loses most of its insulating value once wet, and cannot be dried out properly between trips.
A smooth, non-absorbent inner surface that rinses clean and can be sanitised. The liner is the part of a kill bag that determines whether it is still usable in year three.
White is the volume colourway, and the reason is thermal rather than aesthetic. A dark bag on an open deck in direct sun absorbs a substantial amount of solar radiation, and that heat goes straight into the insulation layer from the outside. A white shell reflects most of it.
The difference is measurable and it compounds across a day. On a bag that is already working against ambient heat, giving away surface absorption for appearance is a poor trade — which is why virtually every serious sportfishing kill bag on the market is white or light grey.
We produce black as well, and buyers who need it for range reasons should have it. For fleet, charter, and commercial buyers, we would steer toward white and reserve dark colourways for products that do not spend their working life in the sun holding a temperature.
| Model Numbers | SL-C377 (30L) / SL-C379 (90L) / SL-C380 (120L) |
|---|---|
| Product Type | Insulated Fish Kill Bag |
| Capacities | 30 L / 90 L / 120 L |
| Insulation Thickness | 25 mm closed-cell |
| Shell Construction | High-Frequency Welded |
| Closure | Full-Length Airtight Zipper |
| Drainage | Side-Mounted Drain Valve |
| Handle System | Wrap-Around Webbing, Full Body and Base |
| Shoulder Strap | Adjustable, Detachable |
| Water Protection | IPX6 — sealed against spray and washdown; not submersion rated |
| Pack-Down | Rolls flat when empty |
| Outer Shell | Scrim-Reinforced PVC Tarpaulin |
|---|---|
| Insulation | 25 mm Closed-Cell Foam, Non-Absorbent |
| Liner | Food-Grade Non-Absorbent Film, Welded Seams |
| Zipper | Airtight Moulded Tooth Chain |
| Webbing | Reinforced Polyester |
| Drain Valve | Threaded Plug with Gasket, Welded Mounting |
| Colourways | White (standard) / Black |
| Country of Origin | Guangdong, China |
| Primary Function | Cold retention for caught fish aboard and in transit |
|---|---|
| Recommended Ice Ratio | 2 parts ice to 1 part fish by volume |
| Recommended Method | Ice slurry — ice and water together cools the core far faster than dry ice layers |
| Cold Retention | Full day into a second day under moderate conditions with correct loading; varies with ambient temperature, ice ratio, pre-chilling, and opening frequency |
| Liner Cleaning | Rinse and sanitise; non-absorbent surface does not retain odour |
| Drainage | Meltwater released without opening the bag or inverting it |
| Secondary Use | Provisions, drinks, and general cold storage on boats and at camp |
| Not Suitable For | Submersion; long-term unrefrigerated storage of catch beyond cold-chain limits |
| OEM / ODM | Supported |
|---|---|
| MOQ | 300 pcs |
| Sample Lead Time | 7–15 Days |
| Production Lead Time | 30–45 Days |
| Custom Sizes | Available — sized to specific species or to a named boat's deck or locker |
| Insulation Options | Thickness adjustable above or below 25 mm to target a price or performance point |
| Custom Colours | Pantone Matching; white recommended for on-deck use |
| Logo Application | Silkscreen, Heat Transfer, Welded Patch |
| Structural Options | Tie-down points, rod holders, internal dividers, carry strap specification, dual drain |
| Trade Terms | FOB Guangdong |
| Standard Packaging | 1 pc per OPP Bag, Carton Packed |
|---|---|
| Retail Packaging | Hang Tag, Header Card, or Custom Colour Box |
| Carton Quantity | 30L: 20 pcs / 90L: 10 pcs / 120L: 8 pcs |
| Shipping Methods | Sea Freight, Railway Transport, Air Freight |
| Export Markets | North America, Europe, Australia, Southeast Asia |
| Model | Capacity | Dimensions | Suited To |
|---|---|---|---|
| SL-C377 | 30 L | 50 × 26 × 23 cm | Skiffs, kayaks, small boats, bank and pier fishing; panfish, trout, bass, a day's catch for one |
| SL-C379 | 90 L | 75 × 33 × 36 cm | Inshore and nearshore centre consoles; striped bass, snapper, grouper, a party of two or three |
| SL-C380 | 120 L | 85 × 35 × 40 cm | Offshore and charter; tuna, wahoo, mahi, kingfish — long fish that must not be bent |
Size against the longest fish you expect to keep, not against total volume. A bag with enough litres but not enough length forces a long fish into a fold, and the flesh bruises at the bend. This is the most common sizing mistake in the category and the one that produces the most disappointed users.
| Application | Suggested Size |
|---|---|
| Offshore & Bluewater Fishing | 120L — tuna, wahoo, mahi at full length |
| Charter & Party Boats | 120L, often multiple units per vessel |
| Inshore & Bay Fishing | 90L |
| Kayak & Skiff Fishing | 30L — stows in limited space and rolls flat when empty |
| Lake, River & Bank Fishing | 30L |
| Ice Fishing | 30L or 90L; rolls flat for the walk out |
| Transport to Market or Home | 90L or 120L with the drain valve managed en route |
| Camping & Provision Storage | Any size — a kill bag is a soft cooler when it is not holding fish |
Inspection runs at three stages — IQC on incoming materials, IPQC through welding and liner assembly, and OQC before the container is sealed. SGS or QIMA third-party inspection is available on request.
On this product the test that matters most is the liner seal. A kill bag that leaks fish fluids into its insulation layer is finished — the smell never comes out, and the foam loses insulating value as it absorbs. This is the single most common way a kill bag reaches the end of its service life, and it is a manufacturing failure rather than a wear failure.
| Test | What It Establishes |
|---|---|
| Liner Seal & Water Retention | That the inner chamber holds slurry without leaking into the insulation layer. |
| Insulation Thickness Verification | That the 25 mm layer is uniform across every panel, including the base and lid. |
| Cold Retention Test | Temperature held over time at a controlled ambient with a defined ice load. |
| Bonding Strength Test | Weld integrity at shell seams, liner seams, drain valve mounting, and zipper interface under peel load. |
| Loaded Handle Test | Webbing, wrap path, and base integrity at and beyond a fully loaded weight. |
| Zipper Fatigue (3,000 cycles) | Airtight sealing retained across a full service life on a zipper opened many times a day. |
| Drain Valve Seal Test | Gasket performance under a full head of slurry, and after repeated opening. |
| Salt Water & Cleaning Agent Exposure | Shell, liner, and hardware resistance to salt and to the sanitisers used on fish handling equipment. |
| UV & Colour Fastness | Shell retention under the sustained sun exposure a deck product receives. |
Roughly double the thickness of a typical soft insulated bag. This is the number that decides whether a soft bag holds a catch or merely delays its warming.
Opens the whole top so a long fish lies straight. A bent fish bruises at the fold, and that is where the quality loss shows.
No stitch penetrations. Fish fluids cannot weep through a seam into the insulation, which is how stitched kill bags reach the end of their life.
Webbing runs the full body and base, so a 60 kg load passes into the structure rather than pulling on a stitched patch.
Empty warm meltwater without opening the bag or lifting it over the side — which means it gets done when it should be.
A sealed liner holds ice and water together, which cools a fish to the core in a fraction of the time dry ice layers take.
Specified for solar reflectance on an open deck, not for appearance. Dark shells absorb heat straight into the insulation.
A 120-litre hard cooler takes 120 litres of storage all year. This one does not, which is what makes it viable on a small boat.
| Method | Best Suited To |
|---|---|
| Silkscreen Printing | Large-format logos on the white shell; the method used on the stock product and the most economical at volume. |
| Heat Transfer | Full-colour artwork — charter branding, tournament graphics, species illustrations. |
| Welded Patch | A dimensional mark that adds no leak path to the welded shell. |
| Printed Capacity Marking | Size printed on the body — useful on boats and in charter fleets running more than one size. |
The white shell is an unusually good branding surface for this category: the panel is large and flat, and most logo colours read strongly against it. Charter operators and tournament organisers in particular get visible return from full-panel artwork on a bag that sits on deck all day.
The three questions buyers ask us first are minimum order quantity, price, and whether logo customisation is possible. For this product: MOQ is 300 pieces, logo customisation is available by silkscreen, heat transfer, or welded patch, and pricing depends on size mix and insulation specification — send us your quantities and we will quote against them rather than against a list.
Beyond logo and colourway work, we develop from the ground up: bags sized to a specific species or to a named boat's locker or deck dimensions, insulation thickness adjusted above or below 25 mm to hit a price or performance target, tie-down points for securing the bag on deck, internal dividers, dual drains for larger sizes, and alternative carry configurations.
It is worth noting that our capability is not limited to welding. Sewn and stitched construction is an equally established in-house discipline, and this product already combines the two — a welded shell and liner with sewn, bar-tacked webbing carried around the body. If your specification calls for fabric panels, bound edges, or sewn attachment systems alongside a welded core, that is standard work here rather than an exception.
Ground-up structural development runs longer than branding work. We quote a schedule you can plan a launch around rather than an optimistic one you have to work back from later.
Through a full day and into a second under moderate conditions, with a correct ice ratio and a pre-chilled bag. In 35°C-plus conditions on an unshaded deck, expect considerably less. Any supplier quoting a single hour figure without stating ambient temperature and ice load is quoting a number that will disappoint most buyers.
Two parts ice to one part fish by volume, as a working rule. Under-icing is the most common reason a kill bag appears to underperform. Loading a sacrificial layer of ice an hour before departure also pays for itself, because otherwise the first ice in goes to cooling the bag rather than the catch.
Both, at different times. Cold meltwater conducts heat away from the fish far better than air and is worth keeping early. Once it warms it becomes a heat reservoir against the catch — that is when to drain. The valve exists so this can be done without opening the bag.
The liner is non-absorbent and welded, so fluids cannot reach the insulation layer — which is where odour becomes permanent in a stitched bag. Rinse and sanitise after each use and dry it open. A kill bag that is zipped away wet will smell regardless of how it was built.
Washdown and hosing are fine — the shell is rated for spray and washdown. It is not submersion rated, so do not sink it or leave it floating full.
Size against the longest fish you expect to keep, not against total litres. A 120L bag at 85 cm long takes tuna and wahoo straight; a 90L bag suits inshore species; a 30L bag suits a kayak, a skiff, or a bank session. Bending a long fish to fit bruises it at the fold.
Yes — the liner is welded and holds water, which is what makes slurry chilling possible. Slurry cools a fish to the core far faster than layered ice, and fast core cooling matters more for eating quality than total hours of cold.
For different things. A hard cooler insulates slightly better at equal thickness and can be sat on. A soft kill bag conforms to deck space, will not slide, is lighter to handle, and rolls flat when empty — which is what makes a 120-litre capacity practical on a boat that has nowhere to keep a 120-litre box.
300 pieces, and yes — silkscreen, heat transfer, or welded patch. Custom sizes, insulation thickness, and Pantone colours are all available at the same MOQ.
Yes, and it is one of the more common requests on this platform. Send the internal dimensions of the locker or the deck space and the species you are sizing for, and we will develop against them.
Kill bags are judged on something a specification sheet cannot show: what the ice looks like at the end of a hot day. We suggest loading a sample with a known ice weight, leaving it in the conditions you actually fish, and comparing against whatever you currently source. Samples ship in 7–15 days.
Send us your size mix, target quantity, and branding requirement, and we will return pricing and a realistic production schedule.