Gear Talk: Dry Bag for backpacks, what to get?

[BenOnAdventures]

Hey adventurers, I need suggestions. I'm looking for a dry bag to put my backpack in for crossing rivers, bodies of water, etc. My pack is a 45L pack, are there any dry bags out there that are that big? If so, please leave a link or just tell which brand it is so I can look it up. Thank you so much for all of your suggestions and help!

[Deacon]

Hey adventurers, I need suggestions. I'm looking for a dry bag to put my backpack in for crossing rivers, bodies of water, etc. My pack is a 45L pack, are there any dry bags out there that are that big? If so, please leave a link or just tell which brand it is so I can look it up. Thank you so much for all of your suggestions and help!

ZPacks has bags of all sizes up to about 50 liters. I also like Granite Gear bags with the e-Vent bottom.


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[samb.]

Garbage bag, it's cheap light and easily replaced if worn out.

[BenOnAdventures]

ZPacks has bags of all sizes up to about 50 liters. I also like Granite Gear bags with the e-Vent bottom.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Thank you so much for the suggestion!! I will definitely look into it!

[BenOnAdventures]

Garbage bag, it's cheap light and easily replaced if worn out. Thank you for the advice, I really appreciate it! Also, I've used this before inside my bag as a pack liner to keep gear dry, do you think it'd be good enough though for crossing rivers and stuff like that though?

[tarditi]

Contractor bags are much thicker, but a bit heavier too - they are puncture resistant (not puncture proof!) and meant for wood scraps, building materials, etc. to be dumped into them.

[bigcranky]

The Zpacks cuben fiber roll top pack liner is the bomb. Much easier to seal than a compactor bag, they are also easily repaired with duct tape. Cuben has some issues when used as a pack material, but as a pack liner it works well.

My Circuit had some serious leakage last summer when we were out for a month; much of the waterproof coating had peeled off the black fabric and the whole thing just got soaked inside and out. My gear was inside my Zpacks cuben liner and stayed perfectly dry, including my down quilt and all my clothing.

Edit: when you say crossing rivers, do you mean "oops I fell in" or "I'm using my pack as a raft to float across?" You need different liners for these situations.

[BenOnAdventures]

Contractor bags are much thicker, but a bit heavier too - they are puncture resistant (not puncture proof!) and meant for wood scraps, building materials, etc. to be dumped into them. Oh okay, thank you for the advice! Its great insight because I wanna be the most prepared as possible for next year's AT thru hike!

[BenOnAdventures]

The Zpacks cuben fiber roll top pack liner is the bomb. Much easier to seal than a compactor bag, they are also easily repaired with duct tape. Cuben has some issues when used as a pack material, but as a pack liner it works well.

My Circuit had some serious leakage last summer when we were out for a month; much of the waterproof coating had peeled off the black fabric and the whole thing just got soaked inside and out. My gear was inside my Zpacks cuben liner and stayed perfectly dry, including my down quilt and all my clothing.

Edit: when you say crossing rivers, do you mean "oops I fell in" or "I'm using my pack as a raft to float across?" You need different liners for these situations. Thank you for your first hand account, I really appreciate it! And I was talking in general but I'd say I was leaning towards the using your backpack as a raft to float across type thing is what I was leaning towards, thanks for any help!

[bigcranky]

OK, so my obvious follow up question is, which rivers do you plan to swim across on the AT? :) There's a few places to ford, but nowhere that I can think of that you need to swim the river. I guess you could swim the Susquehanna or the James or the Hudson, but there are bridges and swimming isn't exactly recommended.... :)

[Coffee]

I'm a huge fan of zPacks and just sent them another good size chunk of change last week, BUT I cannot recommend cuben pack liners (not just zpacks, in general). I had one for my circuit that developed numerous pin holes after a couple of years and let in some limited moisture during a huge downpour. Granted it had seen a lot of use and maybe I should have checked it before my trip. But in general I don't see the value proposition of using cuben to save a tiny amount of weight over a 20 gallon compactor bag that can simply be discarded at the end of each trip switching to a brand new one for the next trip every time.

[Coffee]

Should add that if you truly anticipate being totally submerged, then maybe you do need a true dry bag, but for most of us, a compactor bag used as a liner is enough. If super concerned, use a true dry bag for your sleeping bag and extra clothing.

[BenOnAdventures]

OK, so my obvious follow up question is, which rivers do you plan to swim across on the AT? :) There's a few places to ford, but nowhere that I can think of that you need to swim the river. I guess you could swim the Susquehanna or the James or the Hudson, but there are bridges and swimming isn't exactly recommended.... :) Just in general for backcountry river crossings, just wanted to be prepared and obviously I'd use a bridge or whatever for crossing (if available)

[BenOnAdventures]

I'm a huge fan of zPacks and just sent them another good size chunk of change last week, BUT I cannot recommend cuben pack liners (not just zpacks, in general). I had one for my circuit that developed numerous pin holes after a couple of years and let in some limited moisture during a huge downpour. Granted it had seen a lot of use and maybe I should have checked it before my trip. But in general I don't see the value proposition of using cuben to save a tiny amount of weight over a 20 gallon compactor bag that can simply be discarded at the end of each trip switching to a brand new one for the next trip every time. Thank you for the advice and first hand account, I truly appreciate it!! I'll keep this in mind

[bigcranky]

in general I don't see the value proposition of using cuben to save a tiny amount of weight over a 20 gallon compactor bag that can simply be discarded at the end of each trip switching to a brand new one for the next trip every time.

I'm not trying to save weight with the cuben roll top liner. I find it much easier to get a waterproof seal with the cuben liner bag than with a trash compactor bag. The "twist and roll" method never worked well for me, and I have had water inside the compactor bag on several occasions. (One time was when my hydration bag came apart inside my pack, but above the "sealed" trash bag. Not so good results seeing as it was winter and my down sleeping bag was soaked.) With the Zpacks liner, just seal the top edge, push out any air, roll it a few times, and clip the two ends together. I've used the same one for a few years now and I do check it once in a while for small pinholes. I'll just repair them with cuben tape until I get enough that it's worth replacing.

Not trying to be disagreeable, just have a different take on this after many years of using and disliking trash compactor bags. :)

[Vegan Packer]

The Sea to Summit Big River Dry Bag (http://www.amazon.com/Sea-Summit-River-Blue-20-Liter/dp/B001PR070U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1436327557&sr=8-1&keywords=sea+to+summit+big+river+dry+bag)is available in sizes up to 65 liters.

[BenOnAdventures]

The Sea to Summit Big River Dry Bag (http://www.amazon.com/Sea-Summit-River-Blue-20-Liter/dp/B001PR070U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1436327557&sr=8-1&keywords=sea+to+summit+big+river+dry+bag)is available in sizes up to 65 liters. Thank you! I'll look that up!

[BenOnAdventures]

I'm not trying to save weight with the cuben roll top liner. I find it much easier to get a waterproof seal with the cuben liner bag than with a trash compactor bag. The "twist and roll" method never worked well for me, and I have had water inside the compactor bag on several occasions. (One time was when my hydration bag came apart inside my pack, but above the "sealed" trash bag. Not so good results seeing as it was winter and my down sleeping bag was soaked.) With the Zpacks liner, just seal the top edge, push out any air, roll it a few times, and clip the two ends together. I've used the same one for a few years now and I do check it once in a while for small pinholes. I'll just repair them with cuben tape until I get enough that it's worth replacing.

Not trying to be disagreeable, just have a different take on this after many years of using and disliking trash compactor bags. :) I love hearing the different sides of this.

[Coffee]

The zPacks pack liner is definitely a more elegant solution that a compactor bag and, I'm sure when it is relatively new, does a fine job keeping water out. For me, however, it isn't worth it as I would always wonder about the durability and the cost is pretty steep. There were dozens of pin holes in my liner. Way too many to patch and still have any confidence in it. FWIW...

[Vegan Packer]

Thank you! I'll look that up!

Rather than just use the bag for a liner, it is my entire storage pack. Check out the ULA Epic (http://www.ula-equipment.com/product_p/epic.htm).

[Venchka]

Just in general for backcountry river crossings, just wanted to be prepared and obviously I'd use a bridge or whatever for crossing (if available)
Here's the deal, see?
You line your backpack with something more or less air/watertight. Trash compactor bag, cuben bag, dry sack, whatever.
Inside that you have stuff in various stuff sacks/ziplock bags/sealed food pouches/etc/etc.
The backpack has various and sundry bits of foam padding scattered around.
By my back of the napkin calculations, guesstimations and speculations, your backpack would float high and support you for days.
Now, do you know the proper way to swim a river with a floating backpack?
That is the question you should be asking.
Colin Fletcher gives the answer for swimming the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon in his "Complete Walker" books.
Here's a hint: You don't wear the backpack while swimming a river.

Wayne

[BenOnAdventures]

Rather than just use the bag for a liner, it is my entire storage pack. Check out the ULA Epic (http://www.ula-equipment.com/product_p/epic.htm). Oh cool, I'll check it out!