Bogley

Iceaxe · Joined: 07 Mar 2005 Posts: 7806 Location: Local Bordello

FWIW: I've seen dry bags leak, I've seen otter boxes leak, I've seen kegs leak when the lid cracked.... in other words, nothing is idiot proof.

A little hint.... I now toss a bandana into the bottom of whatever drybag I'm carrying my camera in. it will soak up any leakage unless it's severe. I believe this little trick has greatly increased the life of my cameras. YMMV.

:cool2:

Brian in SLC · Joined: 01 Aug 2006 Posts: 461

Iceaxe wrote: FWIW: I've seen dry bags leak, I've seen otter boxes leak, I've seen kegs leak when the lid cracked.... in other words, nothing is idiot proof.

A little hint.... I now toss a bandana into the bottom of whatever drybag I'm carrying my camera in. it will soak up any leakage unless it's severe. I believe this little trick has greatly increased the life of my cameras. YMMV.

Ditto that. Usually I forget to tighten my barrel lid...

I use one of them MSR super absorbant towels on top of, and beneath my camera in my dry box. That way, my dripping hands contact the towel first if they're wet, and, it pads the camera too.

-Brian in SLC

Pubalz · Joined: 06 May 2008 Posts: 19 Location: Sin City

I bought my dry box at wal-mart it fits my video camera just fine. It's taken alot of abuse and it's still water tite and only cost about 5 bucks. :mrgreen:

tanya · Joined: 18 Oct 2005 Posts: 5829 Location: Las Vegas

Bo taught me to always double bag my dry bags and one will always have a towel in it to keep things dry. I drag my camera out a lot while in wet canyons. I will take a look at the brand shortly...

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

trackrunner · Joined: 27 Nov 2007 Posts: 1011

tanya wrote: 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. :nod:

tanya · Joined: 18 Oct 2005 Posts: 5829 Location: Las Vegas

trackrunner wrote: tanya wrote: 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. :nod:

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/sea-to-summit/dry-sacks/sea-to-summit-lightweight-dry-sacks.html

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

ratagonia · Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 5:04 pm Post subject:

tanya wrote: trackrunner wrote: tanya wrote: 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. :nod:

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/sea-to-summit/dry-sacks/sea-to-summit-lightweight-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 · Posted: Sun Jul 13, 2008 12:29 pm Post subject:

ratagonia wrote: 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 · Joined: 16 Mar 2007 Posts: 1128

skianddive wrote: 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 · Posted: Sun Jul 13, 2008 12:56 pm Post subject: Re: Small dry pack suggestions?

hank moon wrote: 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 · Joined: 16 Mar 2007 Posts: 1128

skianddive wrote: hank moon wrote: 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 · Posted: Sun Jul 13, 2008 2:52 pm Post subject: Re: Small dry pack suggestions?

hank moon wrote: 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.