They have seem to have the best reviews on amazon but I've never bought any gear from there before so I'm a little reluctant. Do you guys have any experiences with this company or dry bags in general? This company isn't in the gear guides.
I researched SeaLLine and Sea to Summit and they seem to have mixed reviews online. I'm willing to pay a premium for high quality, which I'm hoping these are.
Dry bags are not a very sophisticated piece of gear. If you see poor reviews for a particular brand, see if you can see a real reason, or if it's just the usual online griping. People usually place a priority on either ruggedness or light weight (not both at the same time, obviously), but the actual brand probably doesn't matter much in most cases (but see below). I've been using the same Seal Line bags for ten years, and can't imagine wearing them out. However, the see-through models don't last as long as the standard ones (I've seen them fail at the folds, and this may be what leads to poor reviews online). The solid-color bags by Seal Line are pretty indestructible.
Bear in mind that the basic kind of seal used on most dry bags won't be 100-percent waterproof if forced below the water's surface for an extended time, but they are pretty close to 100-percent waterproof in the average dunking, especially if you are careful to make the folds nice and clean. There's a brand of dry bag that uses a double seal, which does a better job of keeping out water (if you really need that - most people don't). I don't recall the name of that brand, but Pete (pblanc) is one person here who would know.
I have one bit of advice regarding bag failures. Don't carry them by the loop if that loop is closed by the usual Fastex buckle (or any look-alike brand), or at least be careful to provide a large area of support beneath the buckle when doing so. When carried that way and if the area of support is small, a bending force is applied across the center of the buckle which can cause the female half to split open. If the area of support is large enough, the buckle will simply be in tension and that's fine. I tend to carry as much as I can on trips between the boat and car, which often meant hanging a dry bag across a few fingers while that hand also carried something else. That turned out to be a really good way to split buckles, and I don't do it anymore!
Yeah, Watershed If you are willing to pay a premium price and want a bag as nearly waterproof as possible get a Watershed. The closure is akin to a very heavy duty ziplock closure.
No roll top closure bag will be absolutely waterproof if fully immersed. A less expensive option that was made by Outdoor Research is the “Double Dry Window Sack” which appears to have been discontinued but still may be available from some vendors in some sizes, such as:
This is more like a conventional roll top closure dry bag but it has two roll top closures, one inside the other, so that the relatively small amount of moisture that gets past the first probably won’t get past the second.
The double closure does decrease internal capacity relative to external size a bit, but the system is pretty effective and I don’t know why it was discontinued. I bought several in different sizes at closeout prices in the last few years, but the vendors I bought from are now all sold out.
Going to try them…will update Thanks for the awesome advice everyone!
I checked out the links everyone posted and it looks like there are some decent competitors (I like that window feature!) but I’m going to try this company out and see how it goes.
Three deciding factors for me:
Adventure Lion is on amazon prime…so I get that yummy two day free shipping
These bags come with what looks like a really sturdy shoulder strap which the all the rest of these companies seem to lack.
I sent them a message inquiring about bigger sizes and they got back to me super fast! Unfortunately their bigger size (20L) is apparently out of stock until end of March, but I appreciate the quick service nonetheless.
As for price, most of the ones that seem like they’re on the sturdy side are priced pretty similarly so no winning there.
I’ll be sure not to submerge these too deep/long regardless of how waterproof they claim to be, though thanks
I’ll report back to you folks when I get/test them!
taking the dive Thanks for the awesome advice everyone!
I checked out the links everyone posted and it looks like there are some decent competitors (I like that window feature!) but I’m going to try this company out and see how it goes.
Three deciding factors for me:
Adventure Lion is on amazon prime…so I get that yummy two day free shipping
These bags come with what looks like a really sturdy shoulder strap which the all the rest of these companies seem to lack.
I sent them a message inquiring about bigger sizes and they got back to me super fast! Unfortunately their bigger size (20L) is apparently out of stock until end of March, but I appreciate the quick service nonetheless.
As for price, most of the ones that seem like they’re on the sturdy side are priced pretty similarly so no winning there.
I’ll be sure not to submerge these too deep/long regardless of how waterproof they claim to be, though thanks
I’ll report back to you folks when I get/test them!
Follow up on Adventure Lion dry bags After reading all the threads in this post, I wanted to know if wetwetwater ever purchased the dry bags on Amazon and if so, how did they perform for you?
thanks