21.7.2014

The only way I can do this dry bag justice is to tell the whole story of a weekend where nearly everything went wrong, and the weather was horrible.We set off from Crewe to Sandbach to pick up the last of our group after my rucksack arrived late, delaying us by half an hour or so - in high spirits - the sun was shining and this was going to be an amazing trip. When we arrived in Sandbach to collect our friend, he promptly posted his keys through his letterbox after locking his tent in his car. Great. Undeterred by this, we spent around 30mins fishing through his letterbox with a magnet and cord until, finally, the keys came back with the magnet. Elated by our success,we chucked all the gear in the back of the car and continued on our merry way - heading North on the M6 towards our adventure. All seemed to be going well, until we hit traffic backed up 3 junctions. It seemed like the forces of darkness were conspiring against us, determined to halt our journey. I changed the route on my SatNav, and, by using A roads, avoided the worst of the traffic, saving us precious time. Further North we went, nothing could stop us now. The journey continued for a surprisingly short time (likely due to our excitement), and we arrived at Galloway Forest Park eager to start our adventure. After loading up my rucksack, we headed up the hill in search of somewhere to camp for the night. After around 2 hours of wandering through the forest, we found an almost ideal place to set up camp - a good view of the sky and plenty of dry wood. We quickly got set up, and while the midges were eating us alive (despite copious amounts of insect repellent), we were in high spirits - after all, we had made it here, with a clear view of the sky and set up camp in the middle of a forest like true adventurers.As the dark closed in, it became obvious that the sky was not going to be clear for us this night. Still, there was always tomorrow night - this was a dark sky park, of course we were going to see the stars, stars like we'd never seen before. Slightly disappointed by the sky, but still hopeful, we went to bed in our nice, dry and warm sleeping bags. We awoke the next morning raring to go - had breakfast while chatting about the day to come, got packed up and set off on our adventure - along the track and taking in every last morsel of the beautiful scenery, a small cave, waterfalls, lochs, and hills in the distance. When we arrived at the second loch, we had a decision to make: head around the loch on the track, or head through the pine forest and connect back up with the track on the other side. As the distance was so much shorter, we opted to trek through the pine forest. This, we would later agree, was a mistake.We started through the pine forest, after choosing what seemed to be the least dense area to head into - the reality, however, was that it was all dense. Incredibly so. We pulled ourselves through narrow gaps between trees, trudged through bogs, continuing despite the constant barrage of pine needles finding their way to places pine needles really shouldn't be. We continued, through the heart of darkness, deeper. Deeper still, the pine trees seemed to never end - the forest torturing us with the occasional sight of clearing. "Maybe that's the track, finally!". Foolish hope. The darkness began to close in, the once light sky now darkening, threatening. As we found a clearing in which to rest and regroup, mother nature saw fit to assert her control once more, and the heavens opened. Rain like bullets, seemingly on a quest to drown the earth. The rain continued, and so did the pine trees. The ground now becoming even more boggy underfoot and our packs getting heavier as they clung onto the rain, pulling us down toward the ground that the forest seemed so intent to bury us in. As our situation became worse, we resolved to using the compass to head dead North until we reached the track, desperate to find something, some landmark or clearing so that we could find our way out. We continued to head North, through the now squelching ground and thick forest, still pulling our way between trees, checking our compass every ten feet or so and discovering that North was not at all where we thought - the trees spinning our sense of direction to pull us back in, back towards the heart of darkness, so that it might claim us as it's own.After what seemed like an eternity, we reached the edge of the forest - freedom! We had made it through the heart of darkness, and out of the other side. We had escaped. Our happiness was short lived, however, as we took a break to pull the pine needles out of our clothes in handfuls, the rain now taking over from the forest in mother nature's mission to truly destroy our spirit. The rain hammered, and we knew we had to keep moving if we were to make it to somewhere to set up camp for the night. The track was nowhere in sight, and we realised that though we knew the general area we were in, if we headed in the wrong direction, we would go for miles without finding anything. We resolved to head North, as it was the most likely direction to find something we could use to pinpoint our location. As we headed down the hill, the ground became softer and softer, until one of us was swallowed up the the knee in marsh. We had to get out of the rain - there was no progress on this ground, in this weather. We began to look around the area to set up our tarp - struggling to find anywhere even remotely suitable. After a short while, we found somewhere halfway up a hill - the trees were a little close together and probably not mature enough to properly support the tarp, but it was something. Something that would get us out of the rain, and allow us some clarity of thought to work out exactly where we were. We got the tarp set and gathered underneath it, every part of us dripped with rain. We sat in a huddle under the tarp, staring at the map and our surroundings, hoping to find something other than pine trees and marsh. Nothing. Pine forest, marsh. Nothing of any use. Half an hour passed, and we came to the reckoning that we had to move, to go somewhere that we could set up camp properly, out of the rain. The only opton was to wander to the back of us, to the crest of the hill and hope that we could see a loch or other feature.As I headed to the top of the hill, I saw it, the track. The track that would lead us to safety, away from the heart of darkness that had tried so hard to devour us. We quickly packed up our gear, spurred on by the new hope of the track. The rain still beating down, we headed along the track, checking each group of trees for somewhere suitable. We walked a short while and saw what looked like the perfect place for us to pitch up - tall trees, with few low branches. Exactly what we needed. As we got closer, our spirits began to rise - it was going to be okay, we were going to pitch up and get dry. Relief so short lived, as we heading into the small wood, we quickly realised the ground was not suitable; grooves between trees preventing us from finding any flat ground. We had to continue on the track. As we left the woods for the track once more, our spirits we heading South, thinking we'd found somewhere to stay, only to have our hopes dashed by mother nature's seemingly endless cruelty. Trudging through the rain, we eventually came by a large group of trees on our left that one of our party went to investigate, and what a good happening that was - he found us somewhere to stay. We headed up and got the tarp up fast, collecting water that trickled off it in our now ironically empty water containers. We stayed under the tarp, out of the rain for a couple of hours, patiently waiting for a break in the rain in which to get our tents up. We sat, and began to unpack our changes of clothes from our "waterproof" rucksacks - clothes that were, at best, pretty damp, but much drier than what we were wearing. We started to cook our food, knowing that getting some warm fuel inside us would go a long way to improving our situation.Eventually, there was a break in the rain. We quickly got our tents up, and as the group pulled out their sleeping bags from dry bags to find them damp, I felt a mounting dread. My sleeping bag had been on the outside of my bag all day, protected only by it's dry bag (this product). I pulled my curtain that I use as a ground mat and my flannel pillow from my bag, and laid them down. Now was the moment of dread - I released the buckles on the dry bag to a hiss as the air rushed back in. I reached into the bag with a quivering hand. My sleeping bag was dry! Not even damp, not a single drop of this horrendous weather that had soaked everything else made it through, even though it was on the outside of my bag. Bone dry.In short, buy this dry bag if you want a complete guarantee that you can go against mother nature's will and still keep your stuff dry. This bag in completely unbelievable.

1.2.2013

I use these to compress goose down sleeping bags for backpacking. They compress down as small as you like, squeezing the air out of the yellow e-vent panel on the bottom, and yet they are completely waterproof, ...and yet breathable so things can still dry out inside them. Genius. The roll-top closure clips together under the compression lid and keeps water out successfully.I also use one to pack a tent into. The poles and pegs go separately in my rucksack and the tent inner and flysheet get stuffed in one of these. (Stuffed - not folded.) It's brilliant because a wet tent can't then make anything else wet inside my rucksack. Plus, the tent then takes up less space. I've got it down to a fine art now,

29.4.2014

I initially bought a Large to hold my Kelty -20 sleeping bag. After starting to compress it, I quickly realized that I could fit much more than my sleeping bag into the sack. I could fit a tent, or all of my winter clothing (down jacket, sweaters, long underwear, socks, mits.) Thus, I'll have to disagree with another reviewer who wrote that they are smaller than you think. The large was much bigger than I had imagined.I'll be backpacking in South America for almost a year soon, and it's very convenient to be able to keep cold-weather things in one, organized, compressed, waterproof bag. I won't need a down jacket in the Amazon rainforest...I will put a silica pack in it before compressing it,

8.4.2015

The compression dry sack helps compress normally bulky gear and helps to keep it dry if moisture finds its way into your pack or you accidentally leave the sack outside when it starts to rain. I personally use on for my sleeping bag and my clothes. For my winter setup I am able to fit my 15 degree Marmot Trestles long bag and my ENO Vulcan underquilt in a large compression sack. Also during the winter I keep my clothes in a medium sack to keep them dry and to compress all of the down and synthetic insulation in the jackets. The eVent system makes it easier to compress because in many dry sacks it is tough to get the air out and makes it so the contents are not as compressed as they could

25.2.2021

I bought this in a medium size and this is a really impressive bit of kit. I was a little sceptical when I got it out of the box as it seemed really lightweight and nearly as thin as one of the Osprey roll top bags (of which I have a couple) but my scepticism soon disappeared after I tried it out. The stitching for the straps look to be triple stitched and the buckles are very well moulded. I managed to compress my Vango Nova 200 tent flysheet and inner down to the size of a small football (not including the poles and pegs) which astounded me. I have a regular Mountain Warehouse synthetic sleeping bag (not mummy) and, although it was a slightly tight fit getting it into the compression sack,

26.5.2014

I've had several stuff sacks. Many have blown out over time or during first use (I'm abusive, I'll admit it). This one (Large) I took on a canoe/camping trip and maxed it out. I stuffed 4 pairs of thick wool socks, 4 underwear, 4 tee shirts, 1 pair sweatpants, 1 hooded sweatshirt, small camp pillow, 1 long sleeve shirt, and 1 pair shorts.To pull in the straps I would sit it upright and lay on it with my chest smashing down everything before tightening the straps. I tightened it down about as much as I dared to before the straps sounded like banjo strings. Very well made material - nothing broken.I can't say I've tested the water repellent part just yet as I didn't dump the canoe or anything drastic.

22.12.2018

Excellent excellent compression bag! I needed something to replace the original bag that I lost for my sleeping bag , looked everywhere and found this one. I ordered a medium sized one before but it could not contain the size of my sleeping bag. I ended up keeping the other one to compress my pillow and I ordered the extra large one for the sleeping bag itself. There is extra room just in case you want to pack anything else you may want to compress. It fits this mummy sleeping bag extremely well and I still have enough room for additional things if I choose. It is extremely durable and I had it in the compressed position for about 5 days and there are no signs of fatugue on the retention straps whatsoever.

3.9.2016

I used this bag (size medium) to compress and protect my Kelty Tuck 30* sleeping bag on a 50 day Cross-America bicycle tour. The sack performed phenomenally, keeping my sleeping bag dry throughout the entire trip (even when cycling on those rainy days). The bag did a pretty good job of compressing my sleeping bag and it was easy to do so; however, it didn't compress as much as I would have liked - I've tried an Alps Mountaineering sack, which did a little better job of compressing (I think this is partially due to the narrow flaps that hold the buckles into place). Regardless, it compressed enough and more importantly, kept everything safe. While peers were hiding their sleeping bags away in their larger panniers,

14.6.2016

This is my second Sea to Summit eVent Compression Sack...both of which I purchased here on Amazon for the purpose of Hiking/Camping and Kayaking. I bought my first one roughly four years ago and loved it so much that I bought one in a smaller size so I would have two for full time use in my gear list...One for my sleeping bag and one for my clothes, as keeping both these items DRY is typically a good idea, right? In regards to protection from water, these seem to hold up very well, but due to their lightweight construction I wouldn't push your luck too far and would probably not recommend submerging them or leaving them sit in a puddle for too long if you cant avoid it. But,

11.8.2010

The eVENT drysack is a great product - it does everything it promises. It's very light, but still quite sturdy. I have so far used it on a canoe trip, and it kept the sleeping bags perfectly dry despite some.. interesting weather.The XL size is bigger than I anticipated - I had planned it as a replacement for my old compression bag, but it actually fits 2 large sleeping bags, which is nice if you try to minimize the amount luggage e.g. in a canoe. As the material is so light/thin it also functions perfectly for only one sleeping bag. I will also use this bag for motorcycling tours, as the compression system is good, and the bag is waterproof, so it can just be strapped on top of the pack.

17.8.2011

It seems most people use these compression sacks for sleeping bags and camping gear (which I think there were originally designed for) but they are excellent for clothing too. I am backpacking with a 65litre pack at the moment and to stay sane you really need to have everything neatly organised, including your clothing. These sacks let you section off your clothes while saving you a good amount of space at the same time (either 1/3 or 1/4 depending on what is in it). I actually have a S2S medium packing cube for 2 pairs of trousers and 4 shirts then I put everything else in the sack. It is actually like a magic bag when you pull all the gear out of it. Also,

8.3.2014

I use dry sacks a lot on my hikes and kayak trips. These compression sacks are awesome since they utilise event fabrics and also because they are heavy duty. If you plan to use these for your sleeping bag I could hint that S size (10-3.3 litre) seems to be same size as the Mammut's XS compression sack which is used with their most smallest packing sleeping bags. I feel that the Sea to Summit Event Compression Dry Sack has a bit more traction inside the sack so that it's not as easy to stuff the sleeping bag in to the sack as it would be for the sleeping bags own sack. If you're looking for ultralight compression sacks which doesn't have to be as tough as Sea to Summit's sack I recommend Granite Gear's Event Sil Compression sacks.

10.7.2010

I bought one of these (medium) a few months ago, and liked it so much I bought two more - a small and extra small. I've now taken these on two 5-6 day treks and I'm pleased with my purchases.I was keen to get something that was both waterproof and acted as a compression sack. These do both well.The combination of medium, small and extra small works perfectly for me and has enabled me to ditch my 50 litre rucksack in favour of my much-preferred 35 litre rucksack.I've been out in some severe weather with my stuff packed into these bags, and not a single drop of water has got through, although the map I had right next to them was utterly ruined.The only thing I can fault them on is their colour

28.11.2011

Took this (in size MEDIUM) with me on a six-week Appalachian Trail backpacking hike. During the day, it held my -20 degree Big Agnes Long mummy sleeping bag and while I slept, it served as my bear bag. Anyone who has hiked the Appalachian Trail knows that it rains just about every day and every night. When my friend's bear bag got stuck in a tree, I let her hang her food in my bag. Filled to capacity and hanging all night long in a torrential downpour, this bag kept everything secure and dry. This bag NEVER ONCE let any of its contents get wet and it held my rather large sleeping bag easily. I am considering getting the Large sak, just in case . . . Other bags may be more colorful,

14.6.2019

We purchased two of these for a winter trip to Alaska where we were only bringing backpacks. It was a long trip covering from Seward all the way up past Fairbanks to the Borealis Base Camp. Space was limited and these helped maximize what we could bring. It was like added space without increasing the volume of the packs. Only one downside was that for some strange reason one of the bags came with a really foul smell. Not your typical plastic or rubber manufacturing plant smell either and it was only on the one. It smelled like rotten fish or some small mammal had died in or on it. We did not want to use it and were thinking of sending it back.

Sea to Summit eVent Compression Dry Sack M grey - Reviews

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