Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil Dry Sacks

[djessop]

I am interested in these "dry sacks."

http://www.seatosummit.com/products/display/7

They look great because they are so lightweight, but...do they really hold up?

Anyone have experience hiking with these in say, 4 days straight of rain?

Any thoughts on these or other lightweight dry sacks?

I'm thinking of going this route this time rather than trash compactor or other disposable plastic bags. Thoughts?

Thanks for any help...

T.W. Bull

[Hammock Hanger]

I am interested in these "dry sacks."

http://www.seatosummit.com/products/display/7

They look great because they are so lightweight, but...do they really hold up?

Anyone have experience hiking with these in say, 4 days straight of rain?

Any thoughts on these or other lightweight dry sacks?

I'm thinking of going this route this time rather than trash compactor or other disposable plastic bags. Thoughts?

Thanks for any help...

T.W. Bull

I have the one that lines the pack. I have been very happy with it. Since it was inside the pack it the contents within stayed dry, and I did not use a bunch of individual bags inside of it.

I use one for my food bag, it is not 100% waterproof, and the contents were a bit damp after a night hanging out in a hard rain; but then again I did not take the time to put an extra seam seal on it. However, my food was always dry enogh and the bags dry quickly.

[Sidewinder]

I use one for my sleeping bag and one for my clothes, both have kept the inside contents completely dry during 5-7 days of heavy rains. I think both are the 13L size other than that all I use is a sil-nylon pack cover.

Be sure to roll the tops down four turns to keep water out

[Summit]

They are just as great and functional as they look. I have a large blue one for my clothes and a small green one that is my ditty bag. A great feature is that you can unsnap and snap them very quickly and easily around tree/bush limbs to hang off the ground. They will absolutely keep your stuff dry unless you go underwater backpack diving! :eek: :D

[Wise Old Owl]

Far more durable and lightweight, However they are prone to scrapes So if it is outside your pack its easy to get holes when portaging.

[Blissful]

I want to go with this for my food / bear bag, so thanks! But for lining inside your pack, etc, I just double bagged my sleeping bag and clothes in reyonlds oven bags. Worked great. I did not use a trash bag liner.

[djessop]

Thanks for the answers...

I feeel like I am getting conflicted opinions on them, though.

My intentions are to buy the 35L one to use as an internal pack liner, such as one would use a plastic bag.

I also plan to buy a couple smaller ones for the following:

-electronic gadgetry (I may double bag this in Ziplocs)
-clothing

(I already have some SilNylon bags that I use for a sleeping bag and food bag but to this point they have been in an internal plastic bag liner. The Sea to Summit will replace the plastic bag liner.) So... what do you think?

Thanks...

[ChinMusic]

I love these sacks but would not get one for my whole pack. I have one for my bag (I put my clothes in this one in summer as the bag is small), one for my clothes (winter), and one for personal misc. They are GREAT.

[BigCat]

My local Walmart has a pack of three of them for around $10. I've owned Sea to Summit before and these things are exactly the same. Just much, much cheaper. The brand name is 'Outdoor Products'. I used them on a two-month hike (including the wettest April in Western Australia history) and had no problems.

http://www.outdoorproducts.com/proddetail.aspx?sku=153OP

[Matteroo]

http://www.seatosummit.com/products/display/5

those are actual pack liners. We used them and we had most of our individual items inside the pack also in their own sil-nylon sacks, maybe not waterproof, but generally that plasticyness layer that is at least a bit water repellant. never did it feel wet inside our pack, even after 12 hours of heavy wind and constant rain/clouds/fog/mist as we went across most of the presidential range. we were bone soaked but the contents inside of this was dry. I think you could get small tears or holes if you are rough with it (i am) for an extended duration - none the less the contents will be dry for even the heaviest rain unless you gouge monster holes or something - or if you dunked it underwater for extended time.

we used the smaller ones for (camera - phone - $/id/etc) - helpful. those walmart bags look like a great deal.

we used XPG Dry Sacks from Cabelas for our food - very very tough dry sacks. They are not a thin sil-nylon but a coated courdora or whatever- not a chance in hell to perforate them - heavier though, yes - but that was just our deal. worth checking out if you're slightly interested.

[Appalachian Tater]

but...do they really hold up?

Anyone have experience hiking with these in say, 4 days straight of rain?

Any thoughts on these or other lightweight dry sacks?

I'm thinking of going this route this time rather than trash compactor or other disposable plastic bags. Thoughts?


No, they do not hold up in the long run as a pack liner. They work as advertised when new but the friction against the pack eventually erodes their waterproofness. They do work well at protecting a contractor garbage bag liner from abrasion. What you end up with is a $40 laundry bag with an odd green color. Save your money and stick to contractor bags. Because they are not translucent, you can hold them up to the light and easily see if there are any holes that need a bit of duct tape.