Curious if anyone has used either of the new coated nylon drybags for sea kayaking trips for a season or so, what is the durability like? Is it the same as the vinyl bags?
My take
The nylon bags (S to S, Gaia, others) are not quite as watertight as the vinyl ones. The vinyl’s stickiness seems to add to the tightness of the seal.
But the nylon bags are more durable, and do not split adjacent to the roll-down band as the clear vinyl ones are want to do.
Jim
sea 2 sea
I got a few of these at campmor.com a month ago, after I got sick of trying to wrestle vinyl dry bags into my small kayak hatch. So far, they’re fine. I don’t expect them to be quite as waterproof or last as long, but they sure are a lot easier to use in kayaks. The price at campmor.com was excellent.
Sea to summit
I’m a huge fan of their silnylon bags. I’m on my second season with them and they still look and perform like new. We’ll see how they do after their second 2 weeker at the end of August.
Of course I’m on my 5th season with the vinyl ones (Sealine) and they’re doing fine also, but as the previous poster noted, are a pain when you start packing for a longer trip.
I really disagree that these are less waterproof than the vinyl bags. I did a shower and bathtub test with both styles and they performed equally (some leakage when submerged in the tub but very dry in the shower).
Having said that, I went ww kayaking last March for the first time and after I wet exited, my kayak, with a silnylon bag strapped behind the seat, got caught in a strainer (without me, fortunately) for about 10 minutes before it was finally extricated. All the clothes in the dry bag were completely dry! I was quite surprised to be honest.
Lyn
I like them
I bought a bunch at REI to test out on my last extended trip. I bought varied sizes to see what made the most sense for me. I smaller ones worked best, to get in and out of hatches, and to utilize the space well. It was difficult to get the air out of the larger ones, hard to squish down when you are trying to hold the top together. They really are water proof, and I plan on replacing my “sticky” plastic Sealine bags with them.
I’m on my fourth season with some of my
nylon bags (mine are ExPed bags. I think they were bought by Outdoor Research). This last trip a couple of them started leaking. When I looked inside, I found the sealer over the seams had come loose. I resealed the seams with Aqua Seal. Also patched a couple of very small holes. Now they are as water tight as ever. I love them.