Sea to Summit eVENT Compression Dry Sack
- Cost: ££££ (£35) GET IT HERE
- Value for Money: 4
- Ease of use: 5
- Construction: 4
- Alliness: 2
As you may know from previous reviews I use a US Modular Sleeping System. This is a bulky bit of a beast when you have it at its maximum level of insulation. This in turn means that it can take up a good bit of room in a bergan. So, I went looking for a means to reduce it down.
Ever since the benefits of waterproofing my kit having been demonstrated to me by throwing my bergan in a lake during training I have, naturally, been a big fan of dry bags. Back then all that was available was the ultra-thick, but utterly bombproof, ortleib bag. Dry bags have come on a long way since then with lighter and lighter materials. One issue that has stayed has always been how to get the air out and compress in down as small as possible. Some dry bags have purge valves in them to let air out as you compress it. However, I have found that they will always eventually let the air back in, and therefore eventually water.
Having seen the above I was really interested in the Sea to Summit dry bag when I saw it. It’s made from a 30D Ultra-Sil ® fabric. What’s interesting about this fabric is its selectively permeable nature. Basically, it lets the air out but won’t let anything in. With a traditional dry bag you have to stuff your kit in as tight as you can, then try to squeeze as muck air out as possible and quickly roll it up closed before the air can get back in. With the Sea to Summit dry bag you just shove the kit in, do it up and the air gets forced out as you compress it down using the compression straps that are part of the dry bag. What you end up with is a much more evenly shaped and air-free bit of kit to stow away in your bergan. For my US Sleeping System, it goes down to about 1/3 of its uncompressed size, which is a considerable reduction.
In terms of its construction, the Dry bag itself has waterproof seams, that are double stitched and fully tape sealed. A waterproof and air-permeable eVent® fabric base, a roll top Hypalon® closure that does not wick moisture. Finally, it has Reinforced stitching on all stress points. At first look it appears that it could be quite flimsy due to the lightness of the fabric, but this could not be further from the truth. I have found it to be a totally reliable bit of kit.
The dry bag comes in five sizes from extra-small through to extra-large. The sizes roughly equate as follows:
- XL : 27 cm x 58 cm; 210g; 30 litre max; 10 litre min.
- L : 23 cm x 50 cm; 168g; 20 litre max; 6.7 litre min.
- M : 20 cm x 46 cm; 148g; 14 litre max; 4.5 litre min.
- S :18 cm x 40 cm; 129g; 10 litre max; 3.3 litre min.
- XS : 15 cm x 35 cm; 107g; 6 litre max; 2 litre min.
They are dearer than a traditional dry bag, but to my mind the extra cost is worth it due to how much more you can compress your kit. They only come in the one colour, grey, but as they are always going to be inside another bag that shouldn’t be an issue. I am gradually swapping out all of my dry bags for these as I love the compression and how easy it is to do using the attached compression web. You can get them here.
Just to round off this review I’d like to chuck out one of my top tips for bergan/daysack packing. Given that I have numerous bits of kit in various dry bags in my bergan/daysack I have cut a number of different shapes out of the plastic from an ice cream tub lid and zip tied them onto the buckles of the dry bags. This way I can easily tell which is which visually or by touch in the dark.
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