Heavy dry bag, might be worth the weight

[Hoosier T]

So I have some extra Hyper D300 laying around as well as some standard silnylon. I’ve been trying to get myself to pull the trigger on a Zpacks lrage wide dry bag but have never used roll tops so wasn’t sure I wanted one. Tried a pack liner and hated it so this is the next step.

Anyways, I made two dry bags, one out of each material. The HyperD has a HH of >4000 so it should be very water resistant. After finishing both (don’t boot me from the forum) I actually really like the one made with the heavier material. I made it rectangular with the exact dimensions needed to fit my pack and it actually hold this form very well without rounding. One bag to hold my quilt, booties, pillow, sleep clothes, down jacket. I mean, this thing is bomb proof too and I really like this for protecting my stuff. Am I crazy to use such a heavy material for a dry bag? It’s total weight is 2.35oz and I’m ditching the weight of separate stuff sacks for all this stuff so surely it’s somewhat of a wash.

Just looking for conversation around going a little heavier for this application as the silnylon dry bag does not make me confident as it’s a little flimsy for cramming all this stuff into it. Thoughts?

[Mario Caceres]

For lining my pack I like the trash compactor bags.  They are pretty sturdy, completely waterproof (no seams) and I like that they are white so its easier to find your stuff inside your pack.  They don’t have to be the size of your pack, is OK (actually better) if they are slightly larger.

[Hoosier T]

Yea, when I said I tried a pack liner, it wasn’t a big dry bag. It was one of the pack liners from Gossamer Gear. It did fit well in my pack, but I much prefer to be able to pull the bag out or put it back in while loaded and the liner will not slide in or out. Since this roll bag is made to my pack’s dimensions, I can do exactly this and still consume all of the packs space in the bottom without wasting the corners like with a regular stuff sack.

[Lydia K]

It sounds like a good trade off.  Using the space better and providing excellent protection for your most vulnerable gear are excellent attributes.

I’m just beginning the process of building some new gear which will significantly lighten my load.  In-pack moisture protection is becoming even more important, especially as I’m switching from a synthetic sleeping bag to a down quilt.  I haven’t decided exactly what I’ll do,  but this has given me a new option I hadn’t previously considered.

I’m curious,  does packing your quilt this way allow you to compresses it sufficiently so it’s not taking up too much pack room?  I was considering making a water resistant compression sack, but have read that some people just place their quilt/sleeping bag loose in the bottom of their pack.  One concern I have (which your new dry bag solves) is that I generally use a hydration pack.  Being able to drink easily while walking works well for me, and I easily drink 3 (or more) liters during a day of hiking. So if I have a giant water bladder hanging in my pack, having peace of mind that a leak wouldn’t drench my gear might be worth a couple of ounces.

[Hoosier T]

Lydia,

Yes, I actually have to be careful as I’m able to compress things much more using the dry bag. I just velcro the top closure and push downward. Air is allowed to escape before it’s rolled. Then roll it down once it’s compressed where you want it. I also had the same concern as when I need to carry extra water beyond what’s in my side pockets, I like to just lay a 2L platy on top of all my stuff in the pack and now i don’t have to worry about it bursting if that were to ever happen.

I forgot to mention that the other thing I love about the Hyper D is that it’s PU coated on the inside and cuben tape adheres well to PU coating so I will be using some 1″ .51 cuben tape (on the way from Zpacks) to tape seal all of the seams and it will make them stronger too.

 

[David Thomas]

Depending on the length of the portages, I’ll sometimes use heavier dry bags while canoeing.  The boat floats regardless of the last few pounds you put in it and sometimes you’re sitting on the bags or the dog is, so thicker material is good.  For that application, a relatively large dry bag with shoulder straps built in can make it easy to grab a big pack, portage, and stow it again.

[Kevin Babione]

Lydia & Hoosier,

Move your hydration bladder to a side pocket.  I too drink a lot while hiking and really rely on my Platy Hoser to keep my hydrated.  Advantages of it being in the side pocket are pretty obvious:

• If it leaks you know it quickly and the only thing getting wet is your side and your pack pocket
• It’s a lot easier to add water to it when it’s not buried in your pack so you’re more likely to carry less water and refill more frequently
• You can easily see how much water you have to determine if you need to stop and add at the next water crossing
• Peace of mind knowing it’s not on top of your down quilts and clothing

The biggest disadvantage I’ve encountered is when I load it with a full 2 liters of water because I know I won’t be hitting water again for a while.  The extra weight on one side of the pack can make it carry a little oddly.  I try to balance a 1-liter Platy (with a sport top) on one side of my pack (usually containing Gatorade) with the 2-liter Hoser on the other side of my pack to reduce the imbalance.

[Hoosier T]

Okay, so here’s where I’m at and I need some opinions. I do not want to use cuben for this so that’s out. The HyperD has a HH of 4000. RSBTR has the Hex 70, which I think might me a perfect blend of weight and durability as its nearly half the weight of the HyperD and is still 70D so plenty durable. HyperD is 3.9 osy and Hex70 is 2.2 osy.

Aside from durability, I’m also after very high water resistance. The Hex 70 has a HH of 3000. These will be used in a Zimmerbuilt Quickstep with taped seams and roll top so there should be minimal water getting in. Nonetheless, do you think a HH of 3000 is fine if the dry bag has taped seams or is the HH of 4000 for the HyperD worth the weight increase when adding in the extra durability?

[Roger Caffin]

My 2c.
First of all, I only use a real dry bag when doing wet canyons, with abseils and swims. No shoulder straps on it: it goes in my old day pack. Rope etc goes outside it.

Next point: a lot of light materials, like silnylon, have a rather low HH, so relying on them is chancy. But that ignores the two real problems, which are the seams and aging. Proofing silnylon seams is tricky. It can be done, but needs either expensive tape or much testing. Quite a lot of fabrics degrade their HH after a while, so what might be ‘adequate’ at the start might not be that good a year later.

I have used a large plastic bag (aka trash bag) to line my pack for a swim, but all my gar was already packed in plastic bags inside silnylon bags anyhow. Triple layer in effect. Paranoid? Who cares: my gear stayed dry, and at a very low cost in weight.

So – a custom dry bag using HyperD? Or something a shade lighter with a slightly lower HH? Try both, on different trips!

Hint for seam sealing with tape: put the tape on the side where the hem is NOT. It will stick much better. But check whether the fabric has a DWR, as few tapes will stick very well to a DWR-coated surface.

Cheers

 

[Hoosier T]

Thanks, Roger! My biggest hang up is that I already own a bunch of HyperD but would have to order the Hex70. As far as taping, the inside of both of these is PU coated whereas the outside is DWR so all taping will definitely be on the inside. I can certainly do the hem (French seam is what I use) on the outside so that I have the nice flat surface on the inside for taping.

[Hoosier T]

The other thing I like about these fabrics is that they have the PU3000/4000 coating so the aged HH is really good compared to those fabrics with sil or sil/PU blend.

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