Sea To Summit Ultra-Sil Dry Sacks

Well after last years wet out of my down sleeping bag and warming layers on my hike out from Mt. Rainier... I've been tossing the idea of getting some sort of dry bags that are lightweight and could help keep my gear dry under normal use. I won't be relying on a dry bag to protect my gear from a spill in a kayak or boat, but I would like a bag that would help protect my sleeping bag and warming layers from Washington rain storms and an accidental spill in a creek or small river.

Upon inspection of the bags I noticed a very uniform stitching and a noticeable taping of the seams. The consistency of the silicon impregnated cordura was similar to regular old silnylon but a bit more robust in feel. Overall they look like a quality product. I bought the 2L for my warming layers and the 8L for the sleeping bag or quilt. After stuffing my base layers, beanie and gloves into the 2L bag I realized that I'll need to get a 4L so that I can get more turns on the top and so that I can fit my insulating vest in it during colder weather. First off comes the weights: MFG weight of a 2L is .8 oz, on my scale it registered as .85 oz which is fairly darn close. The MFG weight of the 8L is 1.1 oz, on my scale it registered as 1.2 oz, which isn't extremely far off. The weight of the stuff sack that the 2L sack will be replacing is .9 oz and the weight of the sleeping bag's stuff sack that the 8L will be replacing is 1.1oz. So overall I'm not really gaining much or losing anything.

Now for the Testing... According to the manufacturer these bags are not for complete submersion, so keep that in mind through this test. I filled the bathtub up with enough water to submerge the Dry sacks. I filled each bag with a different number of shirts to fill the void and facilitate different amounts of rolls for the closure. The first test with the 2L I did the minimum suggested amount of rolls which is 3, and the second test with 5 rolls. The 8L (which when my sleeping bag is actually stuffed the lid rolls down 8 times...) I did the initial test with 3 rolls and the second with 7 rolls. I attempted to get as much air out as possible and seal the bags to the given rolled top specs. I then submerged, shook and squeezed the bags, I was over simulating any abuse that I could everforesee in my use of the bags.

The rolled out 2L


The filled and submerged 2L


The aftermath of 3 rolls, I attempted to keep external wetting contamination to a minimum upon opening the bag. As you can see though there is some water that made it in while shaking the bag, and squeezing the bag while being submerged. No water made it past any of the sewn and taped seams though.


I did not get the picture of the aftermath of the 5 rolls. basically there was one or 2 drops inside the rolled portion of the bag, but none reached the clothing.

Submerged 8L


The aftermath of 3 rolls on the 8L. There is a very small couple patches that got wet on the clothing, but very little.


Aftermath of 7 rolls... the one drop on the clothing was external contamination and can be ignored. There were no drops other than from the one that came from my wet hand that reached all the way to the clothing. The rest of the drops were somewhere in the rolls of the lid.


Overall I am very satisfied with the function of these bags, and believe they have passed enough examination to be able to rely on them for field use in my pack to protect my warming layers and sleeping bag from haphazard rain storms or minor slips in creeks. If I decide or find flaws down the road I will post an update. I will be purchasing a 4L for the warming layers and will more than likely keep the 2L and use it for my essentials bag, i.e. first aid kit, tp...

****EDIT****
I purchased the 4L today. The 4L's claimed MFG weight is .9 oz, my scale weighs it in at 1.05 oz.