Can anyone give me any info, good or bad, on this deck bag.
Pacific Outdoor Equipment Deck Nav Dry Bag.
http://www.amazon.com/Pacific-Outdoor-Equipment-Deck-Nav/dp/B003MSO9E0
Searched for reviews and only found a few older ones. a couple were good and a couple were bad.
Thanks
Your link is not working. If you are
willing to spend for the most water-secure deck bag made, check this Watershed link. It’s one of those long, long links you have to select and copy and paste on the address line of your browser.
http://drybags.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=D&Product_Code=FGW-DB&Category_Code=KayakBags
here is a different link
http://www.backcountry.com/pacific-outdoor-equipment-deck-nav-dry-bag
That link should work, the other one is a Amazon link.
This deck bag is regular $104.99 but on clearance for $52.49.
It looks decent but was wondering if any has one or ever saw one and was able to comment on its quality or usability.
I will only use it once or twice a year so I would rather not spend much on one right now.
Thanks
If you lived close
I’d sell you my orange one for $25. It was something I bought several years ago and rapidly learned I didn’t need.
I suppose if I went on expeditions and didn’t have a day hatch and/or were desperate for storage space. It just never turned out that way.
Keep your deck clear
There are a variety of reasons for this. Search the archive. Under deck bags work just as well for storage.
Reviews don’t seem that great
There are cheaper bags if that’s your priority.
I have a Seal Line Baja that I like. It’s pretty water resistant and holds a lot. I only use it on tour when I need the extra space. Otherwise I don’t like to have too many things cluttering up the visual space in front of me. For day trips in calm water I use a simple rubber-coated fabric fishing tackle bag in the cockpit. Cabela’s has some good ones. The fabric is waterproof but the seams and zippers aren’t.
yes
Yes I like a clean deck too but I’m going on a week long trip (flat water) and want the extra space.
The couple bad reviews are from 4 or 5 years ago. Thought maybe there was some changes made since then…
plus 1 or 2 bad reviews (of anything) doesn’t always mean anything. I have bought lots of gear that had bad reviews that worked fine for me, also bought gear that had great reviews that I didn’t care for.
Perfect example, I bought a Zeus exo tent a few years ago despite all the bad reviews and I love it.
desertdave
Desertdave I sent you an email.
dry?
Everything in the description for that bag calls it a dry bag, yet the zipper they show is not a waterproof zipper.
No Deck Bag
but I did buy a dry sack made by Pacific Outdoor Equipment from Sierra Trading Post and haven’t been impressed. What I got is pretty low end stuff and I have avoided the brand ever since. It’s difficult to judge quality without a chance to look it over before ordering off the net. Better to stick with brands you know.
Deck clear?
Why do some say to keep the deck clear? I was thinking of putting a cooler on the stern.
I sent you a response
You don’t want that deck bag. Really.
Clear deck
Stuff on the deck is just asking to be lost. Water bottles, pumps, etc. are easily washed off. Deck bags are never really waterproof and when water logged represent a lot of weight ready to unbalance your kayak. A cooler on the stern? Not only does that affect your capsize balance but also affects fore/aft balance which changes handling and makes the bow more affected by wind. I only put three things on my deck. A spare paddle, a map, and a compass.
I add a compact
to the spare paddle and compass I have a very compact tow line bag (the size of an iPhone but thicker) on the deck. Anything else is clutter that I would loose in the surf or would create windage.
A deck of a kayak is not a Christmas tree 
My review
Ok, I ordered two after posting this. I figured if they were really that bad I would just return them.
Got them this morning.
I obviously have not used them on the water yet but I am very happy with the quality and construction of this deck bag.
The complaints on the negative reviews were the way the bag attaches to the deck and the zippers were hard to operate. Those reviews were from 2006 not sure if they changed things since then or not.
I found no issues with the zippers, they do require a little more effort to unzip but they are not hard to open. They are pretty heavy duty watertight zippers with nice zipper pulls.
There are three 2" wide full Velcro straps for attaching to the deck, two of them have a quick release buckle. I’m happy for the buckles because I would not trust the velcro alone. With the buckles the bag can not come off the deck.
The bag appears to definitely be waterproof from drips, spray and waves. Looks like water could seep in where the zippers meet if submerged.
As far as keeping a clear/clean deck goes… It’s mostly personal preference and application.
If I knew I was going somewhere with high seas and/or big winds (ocean like conditions) I would want a clean deck.
90% of my paddling is flat water lakes, streams and rivers so A clear deck is not an issue for me.