BackpackGearTest
  Guest - Not logged in 

Reviews > Stuff Sacks > Compression Sacks > Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil Comp Sack > Owner Review by alex legg

Sea to Summit Ultra Sil Compression Sack
Owner Review by Alex Legg
April 2, 2012

(Picture from
http://www.seatosummit.com)



Reviewer Information:

Name:  Alex Legg
Age:  30
Gender:  Male
Height:  6'4" (1.9 m)
Weight:  195 lb (88 kg)
Email address:  alexlegg2 AT yahoo DOT com
City, State, Country:  Tucson, Arizona, USA

I grew up backpacking in the Rockies.  I hike ranges near Tucson, Arizona during winter, Colorado during summer.  I carry a light pack, mostly water.  I make shelter with a tarp whenever possible to reduce my pack weight from my two person tent.   I enjoy day hikes, but I am known to spend as many as 5 days out.  Temperatures range from to extreme winter to 100 F (38 C) , and elevations from 2000 ft (600 m) to 14,000 ft (4,300 m).  I bag a peak almost every weekend, and walk my dogs daily through deep sand and overgrown mesquite trees in our local washes.

Product Info and Specs:

Manufacturer: Sea to Summit
Year of Manufacture: 2012
URL: http://www.seatosummit.com
Listed Weight: 3.3 oz (94 g)
Measured Weight: 3.3 oz (94 g)
Listed Volume: 20 L to 6.5 L (1,220 cu in to 397 cu in)
Materials: 30D Diamond Ripstop Siliconized CORDURA
Size: Large 9 in x 20 in, 3.3 oz, 20 L to 6.5 L (23 cm x 51 cm, 94 g, 1,220 cu in to 397 cu in)
Colors: Not listed
MSRP: Not listed

Product Description:

The Sea to Summit Ultra Sil Compression Sack is a lightweight and water resistant compression sack that makes some of my large items get much smaller.  The 30D diamond ripstop siliconized CORDURA material is very thin and surprisingly strong.  There is a slick finish on the material that helps the sack to slide past other objects in my back pack.  The sack I have is a dark green color with thick black seams.   The Sea to Summit logo is printed on a tag and sewn into one of the seams on the main body of the sack.

There are four compression straps attached to the Flip-Top-Lid.  They are about .75 in thick by 16.5 in (2 cm by 42 cm) long.  There are bar tack reinforced stress points for added strength.  Sea to Summit claims that the design of the Flip-Top-Lid will prevent the straps from tangling. 

The bottom of the sack has a black handle that assists me with pulling the sack from my backpack.  There is a tag saying CORDURA Fabric attached to the handle.


Field Conditions:

I went to the Rincon range in Saguaro National Park for a 3 day 2 night trip with one base camp.  It got down to 32 F (0 C) at camp in the early morning while making breakfast at 8,000 ft (2,438 m). 

I carried the sack on a 2 day 1 night, 20 mile (32 km) trip in the Sabino Canyon Recreation Area.  I began at an elevation of 2,600 ft (792 m), and climbed as high as 7,900 ft (2,408 m) on the top of Cathedral Rock.  The temperature ranged widely from the mid 30s F (0 C) before the sun came up, to the upper 70s F (20s C) in the middle of the afternoon.

The sack also came along on a 3 day 2 night trip along a portion of the Arizona Trail from the Mexican border to the town of Patagonia.  I started at around 5,600 ft (1,707 m) and got as high as about 8,400 ft (2,560 m).  The temperature ranged from 40 F (4 C) before the sun came up in the mornings, to around 75 F (24 C) by mid day.

Performance:

This has so far been a very useful piece of gear.  I am compressing a 20 F (-7 C) sinthetic-fill mummy bag.  The bag is approximately 80 in (203 cm) long and the compression sack can transform it into cute little packable size.  I like the slippery fabric as it really does make it easy to stuff the sack into tight spaces. The water resistant feature was unintentionally tested when my hydration bladder opened up inside my pack and to my surprise, my sleeping bag was still completely dry while my pack was soaked and had to be laid out in the sun to dry.  Luckily I was still at home and I didn't find myself with no water deep in the Arizona backcountry.

The compression straps are deceptively strong considering their skinny size and they are easy to grab and cinch down on.  They look like something that I could tear apart trying to use, but it hasn't happened yet.  I did manage to tangle one of them pretty bad resulting in a tiny fray spot that I hope will not get worse with time.  I also neglected to loosen the rear straps completely before stuffing my sleeping bag in and I tore about 1 in (3 cm) of the seam that connects the Flip-Top-Lid to the main body of the sack.  The tear did not affect performance as it was isolated on an exterior seam.  I honestly think that if the entire seam came apart the sack would still be just as functional as before.

So far the sack has held up to being tossed around the campsite and shoved into my pack numerous times and it still looks shiny and brand new.  I have not ripped the CORDURA material despite the rough terrain I have thrown the sack against.

Summary:


The Sea to Summit Ultra Sil Compression Sack is a functional product that adds minimal weight to my pack.  It does its job of minimizing the size of my mummy bag for easy packing and that makes me happy.  I will continue to use it on many backpacking trips in the future.

Things I like:

1.  Lightweight
2.  Slippery surface
3.  Water resistant

Things I don't like:

1.  Compression straps can tangle and get damaged.






 


Read more reviews of Sea to Summit gear
Read more gear reviews by alex legg

Reviews > Stuff Sacks > Compression Sacks > Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil Comp Sack > Owner Review by alex legg



Product tested and reviewed in each Formal Test Report has been provided free of charge by the manufacturer to BackpackGearTest.org. Upon completion of the Test Series the writer is permitted to keep the product. Owner Reviews are based on product owned by the reviewer personally unless otherwise noted.



All material on this site is the exclusive property of BackpackGearTest.org.
BackpackGearTest software copyright David Anderson