Content Provided By: Brian Stephens, Stickemarchery.com Founder
Over the years I have been fortunate enough to harvest some quality whitetails that I took to the Taxidermist to be mounted. The great feeling of harvesting that deer or animal was just overwhelming. That feeling can last for hours and even days. The one thing that can put a damper on that feeling is when you have to transport that deer head/cape to your taxidermist. If you live right around the corner then easy enough. If you are out of state or several hours away it can be more challenging to keep the head/cape cool. Well, I do not know of many bucks that were going to be mounted that fit entirely into a traditional cooler. You know what I am talking about. Your deer head in the cooler but horns were sticking out with cooler lid half closed. Clearly not an optimal situation because you have to constantly re-apply ice to the cooler to ensure the head and cape remain cold.
I recently had an opportunity to get my hands on a new product called Trophy Totes. Trophy Totes is a soft-sided cooler designed to transport the head and cape of an animal from the place of harvest to the taxidermist for mounting purposes. The Tote features flaps that seal around the base of the antlers to shield from heat and lock in the cold, protecting your trophy until its final preservation.
One of the biggest issues a taxidermist deals with on incoming animals is epidermal and hair slip. They'll be quick to share with you many stories of damaged capes they've seen over the years. When heat and water come in contact with the cape, it causes bacteria, which creates bald spots on the deer. Trophy Totes consulted with Taxidermists as they developed this product to ensure it would avoid this common transport issue taxidermist’s face on a regular basis.
What I really like is your head and cape remains constantly cold because they are completely surrounded by ice within the cooler. The design ensures this will occur at the same time being compact and easy to transport. The plastic bag and cooler scenarios we have all used can work but are not ideal. If you are going to spend the money to have that trophy, not matter what the size or score, mounted. Then have something to transport that head/cape that will ensure it is properly maintained until you get to taxidermy shop. You want that trophy to last a lifetime but it all starts with how you get it to the taxidermist.
We travel a lot to hunt like many of you do. So, having a system that will allow us to store our head/cape plus being compact for travel is ideal! Another great feature of the Trophy Totes is it can be used as a regular ice chest when it’s not being used to transport your trophy.
Trophy Totes will also have the cooler embroidered with your companies’ logo. This is pretty cool feature for corporate hunts that want to send customers or employees home with hunting gear gift they can use over and over again. Yes, the Trophy Totes are made here in the USA with FREE SHIPPING on all orders. They are a Mossy Oak® licensed product and have the latest in camouflage patterns.
Quick Glance at Trophy Totes Specs
DIMENSIONS: 14″L x 21″W x 14″H
WEIGHT: 5.6 pounds
• Quality insulation
• Industrial grade liner
• Flaps that seal around the base of the antlers
• Can be used as a regular cooler to carry food and drinks
• Made in the USA
• Mossy Oak® camouflage
• Can be customized with your logo
• Makes a great corporate gift or souvenir for customers and clients
• Capable of accepting most species of deer
• Tested by a 3rd party laboratory for quality assurance
The Trophy Totes has been quality tested to ensure it can withstand the toughest environment and will not tear apart when put in back of truck or used year after year.
Tips on using the Trophy Totes as Ice Cooler
Tips for making your ice last longer in any cooler:
• Cool the inside of the cooler ahead of time by icing it down a day early or at least by storing it in a cold environment.
• Use refrigerated food and drinks. This keeps your ice from having to do all of the work.
• Ambient temperature is everything! The sun is your worst enemy. Keep your cooler in the shade as much as possible and ensure there is good airflow around it.
• Open your cooler as little as possible for obvious reasons.
• Don’t leave air gaps at the top of your cooler. Always fill your cooler as much as possible with ice.
• Block ice last longer than cubed or crushed ice. Cubed and crushed ice has space that is filled with air, which means less actual ice.
I look forward to putting the Trophy Totes cooler system to the test over the next several weeks. I really like the quality, design and field application of the cooler system that can be used year round. Go check out Trophy Totes today at www.trophytotes.com.
