Keg or Dry Bag

[Iceaxe]

Just curious which is the most popular for keeping stuff dry while canyoneering.

Keg


Dry Bag

[Biner]

bag only because I haven't purchased a keg yet.........yet

[neumannbruce]

The dry bags are nice b/c you can put a whole lot more stuff in them and they are soft. I'd imagine those hard kegs are like placing a waterbottle in a side pocket - it will tear holes in your pack. Because of this - I haven't thought about testing it. Is this to be the case for the keg users?

[rockgremlin]

I think it depends on the canyon, but I typically use a keg for most canyons. It holds a bunch of stuff, and it has always kept all my stuff bone dry. I have a drybag, and I have used them before, but they have always leaked at some point for me in the past.

Another big plus to the kegs is that they will protect fragile electronic devices (GPS, cameras, etc) I packed my Canon 20D through The Squeeze using the drykeg, and it worked great!!

The keg will abrade the inside of your pack, and wear holes if you take it through tight canyons. Use with caution.

[hesse15]

I think the only case you need a keg is for a old style SLR camera

but considering that the keg is just a european food container (on the box bottom the logo with fork and knife) any food container with screw lid from a plastic store will cover the same much cheaper.

i prefer dry bag they adapt to the canyon walls much easier

[rockgremlin]

I think the only case you need a keg is for a old style SLR camera

but considering that the keg is just a european food container (on the box bottom the logo with fork and knife) any food container with screw lid from a plastic store will cover the same much cheaper.

i prefer dry bag they adapt to the canyon walls much easier

Ya, SLRs are sooooo old school. I think my grandma used SLRs back when she canyoneered in the 1920s.

[Iceaxe]

I've been using the

Black Canyon Dry Bag by SealLine
http://moontrail.com/accessrs/a-bags/sealline-bags.html

and never had a problem with leaking. The Black Canyon dry bags are really heavy duty since they are constructed from 500 denier Cordura. Only problem with the Black Canyon dry bag is they are NOT cheap and cost nearly $50 each.

I have had some minor problems with leakage when using the cheap $10 dry bags when they get old. With a dry bag you must be careful to fold and seal the top properly. Nearly all dry bag leakage I have witnessed was a result of improper sealing.

A word of warning about kegs.... twice I have witnessed the lids on kegs cracking and letting water in, both times destroying expensive camera's. Kegs are also notorious for wearing holes in packs if they are not padded properly.

[FOX]

I use both. I like the durability of the keg but as Ice pointed out, they can be really hard on packs if they're not padded correctly. I use one of the "Emporer's" Imlay packs but over the last year, the keg has split out the sides. Kegs are good protection for SLR's but it makes getting to them a bit of an ordeal. I haven't cracked a lid yet but I could see it happening. My pack has seen some long drops.

Drybags are awesome and I used those long before I tried out the keg. I've rarely had leakage issues with them. They do have to be sealed correctly for them to work however and you can't use "cheapies".

If I had to choose, I pick the drybag!

[Iceaxe]

Anyone using one of the Imlay Canyon Gear dry bags like in the picture above? If so I would be interested in a product review or hearing your opinions. I have never seen one of these dry bags, or if I have I wasn't paying attention....

[shaggy125]

Anyone using one of the Imlay Canyon Gear dry bags like in the picture above? If so I would be interested in a product review or hearing your opinions. I have never seen one of these dry bags, or if I have I wasn't paying attention....

I have one, they are really nice because they have a one way valve that you can leak excess air out of the bag, but no water gets into it. The biggest downside is they are thin, my first one got a hole in it and I bought one more, this time trying to be a little more careful about abrasion. I love the one way valve, but if the next one gets a hole within the year, I'll probably just get something more durable, like the Sea Line Shane mentioned.

Eric.

[Scott Card]

Anyone using one of the Imlay Canyon Gear dry bags like in the picture above? If so I would be interested in a product review or hearing your opinions. I have never seen one of these dry bags, or if I have I wasn't paying attention....

I have one and just ordered two more from Tom. Best dry bag I have used. I did Pinecreek (flowing) and Imlay tippy-top full and not a bit of water inside. Heaps is the next test. Needless to say, every other bag on my recent Imlay trip had some leakage... not major but some water that seeped its way in. Laying on the pack in a pot hole doing the back stroke puts quite a bit of pressure on the drybags that seems to force water in any little crack on lesser versions. I guess if we all didn't use the pack as a floatation device things would be different and the cheaper versions would work better.

[Scott Card]

One more little note, that pressure release valve is great. It eliminates the pressure on the inside of the dry bag so that you can get a good fold and seal and when dunking the pack/bag, there is no pressure to speak of on the bag that will cause leakage. Further, you can keep some air in for floatation if you want. I really like my dry bag from Canyoneering USA site. It has passed all my tests so far. All bets are off in the North Wash though. That is where I pull out the crap bags. I have used probably 5 other brands and my reviews on them were mediocre to piece of junk on them.

Also, I have been contemplating the keg but so far I have not talked myself into one for the simple reason already brought up and that is wear and tear on my new Imlay Packs. Further, I am not sure I have anything in my pack that needs that much protection. For water proof-ness, I am still a little paranoid with things like my sleeping bag. I will stuff it in a Ziplock even though I trust my dry bag.

[James_B_Wads2000]

Anyone using one of the Imlay Canyon Gear dry bags like in the picture above? If so I would be interested in a product review or hearing your opinions. I have never seen one of these dry bags, or if I have I wasn't paying attention....

I have one too, and I swear by them. I have a bunch of the heavy duty ones and they blow compared to the orange ones. I have done about five canyons with my orange and never had a problem. The one way valve is great for compressing the bag to size. I have a bigger one (25L) and it works on shorter trips because the excess bag is not a weight problem. In fact I have used my many times backpacking, wile not in a canyon, to hold my clothes. Again, it weighs less then the stuff sack I used to use and it compress more and it can be inflated to double as a pillow. You can see it in this picture on the blue tarp after I just slept on it.



When I was doing canyons with Team Stearns back in