Small dry pack suggestions?

[tanya]

Bo just got me a new one too that is suppose to be a really nice one!

Was that the one he handed to you for Water Canyon, that was nice.

Yep... Sea to Summit....

Just looked and its the same brand we always use only this one is more rugged. I love how they fold up tiny and they hang on my belt or backpack holding my very heavy camera.. they are easy to get in and out of. I have had other bags... the ones you can shoot photos through.. hate those!!! They scratch and make the photos dark. I have the Big hard case for my big camera.... talk about a pain in the rear! I took it when rafting the Grand Canyon and did not even use it there. The photos are just too dark.

I take my chances of taking the camera in and out of the dry bag each time.

http://www.travelcountry.com/shop/se...dry-sacks.html

Bag hanging.... plus guys... gives you more stuff hanging to impress the women!

[ratagonia]

Bo just got me a new one too that is suppose to be a really nice one!

Was that the one he handed to you for Water Canyon, that was nice.

Yep... Sea to Summit....

Just looked and its the same brand we always use only this one is more rugged. I love how they fold up tiny and they hang on my belt or backpack holding my very heavy camera.. they are easy to get in and out of. I have had other bags... the ones you can shoot photos through.. hate those!!! They scratch and make the photos dark. I have the Big hard case for my big camera.... talk about a pain in the rear! I took it when rafting the Grand Canyon and did not even use it there. The photos are just too dark.

I take my chances of taking the camera in and out of the dry bag each time.

http://www.travelcountry.com/shop/se...dry-sacks.html

Bag hanging.... plus guys... gives you more stuff hanging to impress the women!

I find the Sea-to-Summit bags to be too easily dinged, too fragile. Especially if you hang them from your harness, as in Illustration 103. The POE ones are more robust, yet still fold up nicely.

Tom

[skianddive]

I like the POE drybags. But you can't toss it in the bottom of your pack and never think about it. The bottom of your pack can take a lot of hits. I would put it INSIDE your other drybag.

OK, next time I'm in my pack, I'll take a picture of the POE drybag that contains my 10 Essentials. It stays on the top of my pack and only has 5 small pin-prick holes. But it has a couple of hard items in it which have caused friction points.

The bottom line: If you use POE bags, as well-constructed as they are, they are bound to develop some small holes that you will not be able to see - that is, unless you handle them with kid gloves which few canyoneers will. A few holes will not make the bag leak - only lose air slowly like a balloon. The more the holes, the more likely that the bags will leak if they are submerged.

YMMV

[hank moon]

A word of caution from personal experience on using these dry bags .....

The POE Pneumo bags are prone to leaking caused by abrasion within your pack.

Yes, any drybag is vulnerable to poor packing choices...

[skianddive]

Yes, any drybag is vulnerable to poor packing choices...

Drybags are especially vulnerable to people who think they know better.

You can be as careful as you want and place your drybags in the middle of your pack surrounded by cushioning. If your packs are tossed, dropped, ziplined, or dragged across walls and/or canyon bottoms like most canyoneers do, your drybags will come in contact with hard objects, and these will eventually wear small holes in them. The POE's, however, seem to have some of the best resistance, but they are not a panacea.

[hank moon]

Yes, any drybag is vulnerable to poor packing choices...

Drybags are especially vulnerable to people who think they know better.

You can be as careful as you want and place your drybags in the middle of your pack surrounded by cushioning. If your packs are tossed, dropped, ziplined, or dragged across walls and/or canyon bottoms like most canyoneers do, your drybags will come in contact with hard objects, and these will eventually wear small holes in them. The POE's, however, seem to have some of the best resistance, but they are not a panacea.

While true that any piece of equipment will wear out and/or fail given enough use, I have yet to experience a keg failure of any kind (though others have). I have had only one drybag failure ever (pinhole failure in Heaps) with a *very* lightweight fabric drybag, but damage to contents was negligible.

Careful packing helps a lot! One-wear accelerating practice I've seen : packing drybags to be "canyon-ready" a long time before hitting the water. This subjects the bags to needless wear.

Other drybag packing tips:

Triage/segregate: put stuff that can get wet into its own bag (i.e. lip balm, sunscreen, etc.). Some use ziplocks for this - I'm a re-use freak and like the lightweight sea to summit bags for this. Put more critical stuff in a better drybag (e.g. POE) and save the keg for the most critical (sleeping bag, electronics, etc.)

Please add to the list!

[skianddive]

While true that any piece of equipment will wear out and/or fail given enough use, I have had only one drybag failure ever (pinhole failure in Heaps) with a *very* lightweight fabric drybag, but damage to contents was negligible.

I have never had a POE failure because I was able to see, diagnose, and then fix a potential problem with the various bags that I own (3 different sizes, around 8 bags). I not only use them for canyoneeering, but also backpacking and hiking where water and/or rain may be an issue.

The intent of my prior posts was to warn others that the POE's are not as indestructible as some might make you believe, and that they do require some regular minor maintenance to keep them airtight.