Fishing Gear: Mammoth Frontier 50

Description and Application: While dry bags are nothing new to the boating, fishing and outdoor enthusiast crowd, any dry bag with added versatility is always a plus. Mammoth’s Frontier 50 is touted as a waterproof duffle bag, but it can be utilized across such a variety of pursuits, including serving as a 50-quart cooler.

The TPU inner and outer make the bag dang near bulletproof yet easy to clean while a molded, waterproof EVA bottom helps with stability and keeps moisture of any kind from seeping in.

The ultra-heavy-duty zipper with a molded t-shaped pull is one of the key features on this bag as it creates a leak-proof and airtight seal to ensure the contents stay dry and protected from whatever elements you’re in.

The Frontier’s duffle bag footprint differs from the traditional roll-top dry bag backpacks, but the Frontier can also double as a hands-free backpack by attaching the straps to the clips at both ends of the bag.

Staff Perspective: I was sold on the Frontier 50 when I zipped it up tight while it was empty, thinking I could collapse it down to be stored. Nope. It trapped all the air inside like a balloon. I’d basically created the Frontier 50 pillow. I have a few other bags that claim to be waterproof but never had I encountered a bag whose zipper created an airtight chamber. Supposedly, the bag is submersible, but I have yet to test it to that extent.

My first field experience with the Frontier 50 was during a four-day spring fishing trip on eastern Lake Erie. The weather was a typical mixed bag with cold rain and wind one day, blustery conditions another and a patchy sun and clouds the other days. The Frontier 50 served as a catch-all tackle bag for me and housed some camera gear and other valuables. After four days of hard fishing, the bag being tossed around the boat and fish being landed on and all around it, a quick rinse and wipe down was all it took to get it ready for the next outing.

Cost: $174.99

Mammoth Coolers