GEAR NEWS
SEA TO SUMMIT
DRY BAG REVAMP
An old favourite made even better.
(This gear news originally featured in Wild #190, Summer 2023)
By James McCormack.
Sometimes, it’s the seemingly simple products that revolutionise outdoor gear. I believe such is the case with the humble dry bag. It simply seems hard to remember there was a time that they didn’t exist, a time when—in order to keep gear dry—adventurers wrapped everything in multiple garbage bags, or a time before that, before plastic and synthetics were ubiquitous, when keeping gear dry during extended wet weather was well-nigh impossible.
The dry bag changed all that. Stuff your gear in, roll up the top, snap the buckle closed, and voila; your gear is guaranteed to stay dry. Simple. But then there have been further advances in dry bag construction; take the use of highly breathable but waterproof membranes like eVent, so breathable that you simply squeeze the air out so that your dry bag can—instead of being filled with air like a balloon—compress down to easily fit in your pack.
Now, I love my eVent dry bags; I own a couple of Sea to Summit’s versions, and I sing their praises to all and sundry: In fact, in the first iteration of Wild’s ‘Unsung Heroes’, that ran in Issue #182, the product I simply had to talk about was these bags. Honestly, Sea To Summit’s eVent compression bag is, particularly for high-lofted cool-weather sleeping bags, such a no brainer that I can’t understand why every single adventurer out there doesn’t own one.
After a decade of use, however, my 13L one recently began showing enough wear and tear that it was time to replace it. And this year, Sea to Summit revamped its lineup of drybags, including its Evac Compression Dry Bag. It’s kept all the good stuff—the eVent membrane; the robust, reinforced double-stitched seams—but has improved upon it. The main body’s 70D nylon—which has a 10,000mm waterhead, BTW—is now recycled and Bluesign approved, and it also has a non-PFC DWR finish. And as opposed to my old one, it now has an oval base to make packing more efficient.
But Sea To Summit didn’t just revamp its Evac Compression Dry Bag; 2023 saw the entire dry bag line being overhauled. From its standard Lightweight dry bags to its superlight Ultra-sil dry bags to its heavy-duty Big River range with its 420D nylon, multiple lash points and 30,000mm waterhead, improvements such as recycled fabrics, field-replaceable buckles, and non-PFC DWR were made (although not every product received all those upgrades).
Additions to the range that I particularly like are the simple snap clip and T-bar attachments on all Lightweight and Big River dry bags. This allows you to easily attach Sea To Summit’s Dry Bag Sling, which you throw over your shoulder to convert the dry bag into a satchel of sorts. It’s not just handy for the beach, or for short forays into wet environments, it’s convenient if you’re walking and you want to ditch your heavy pack to head off on a side trip, but want to ensure your gear stays dry.
In short, Sea To Summit’s already great dry-bag range is now better than ever. To learn more, head to seatosummit.com.au