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Reviews > Stuff Sacks > Dry Bags > Sea to Summit Ultra Mesh Stuff Sack > Test Report by Jamie Lawrence

SEA TO SUMMIT - ULTRA MESH STUFF SACK
TEST SERIES BY JAMIE LAWRENCE
LONG-TERM REPORT
May 30, 2013

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TESTER INFORMATION

NAME: Jamie Lawrence
EMAIL: jlawrence28 (at) gmail (dot) com
AGE: 32
LOCATION: Hobart, Tasmania - Australia
GENDER: M
HEIGHT: 5' 7" (1.70 m)
WEIGHT: 165 lb (74.80 kg)

I was introduced to bushwalking/tramping/hiking as a young child in Boy Scouts and through my school physical/adventure education. After leaving school, I mainly did short daywalks until recently when I have started to again re-walk some of Tasmania's key hiking routes and try walks I have yet to attempt. I mainly walk in the winter months, in Tasmania's central highlands areas. I prefer light gear, extended walks (3-5 days) in a group of 3 or shorter walks (1-3 days) walking solo. I would generally carry a base weight pack of around 8 kg-10 kg (17 lb-22 lb).


INITIAL REPORT

PRODUCT INFORMATION & SPECIFICATIONS

Manufacturer: Sea to Summit
Year of Manufacture: 2012
Manufacturer's Website: http://www.seatosummit.com/
MSRP: Not Listed
Listed Weight: 0.4 oz (10 g)
Measured Weight: 0.4 oz (10 g) - but my scales is not super accurate at this light weight
Sizes Available:
Ultra-Mesh Stuff Sack - XXS/2.5 Litre - 0.2 oz / 6g
Ultra-Mesh Stuff Sack - XS/4 Litre - 0.3 oz / 8g
Ultra-Mesh Stuff Sack - S/6.5 Litre - 0.4 oz / 10g
Ultra-Mesh Stuff Sack - M/9 Litre - 0.45 oz / 11g
Ultra-Mesh Stuff Sack - L/15 Litre - 0.5 oz / 14g
Ultra-Mesh Stuff Sack - XL/20 Litre - 0.6 oz / 17.5g
Ultra-Mesh Stuff Sack - XXL/30 Litre - 0.7 oz / 20g

I am testing the S size (6.5 Litre) which features a bright orange band around the opening of the sack.
IMAGE 1
Sack in Packaging

Being constructed of 15 denier multi-filament nylon mesh, this is a simple drawstring mesh sack that has double stitched seams and a round base. On their website, Sea to Summit claims that this sack is 45% lighter than their Ultra-Sil range of sacks.

INITIAL IMPRESSIONS

I've been a big user of stuff sacks for many years as I simply hate not being able to find things quickly and easily in my pack, so I use colour coded sacks to allow me to quickly identify what I am after in my pack. I have previously used a large mesh sack for food but the mesh was too wide and I found corners of packets or boxes would get caught up in the mesh so I steered away from this style of sack.

However I think I may start changing my mind. This sack is seriously light! I couldn't believe when I first took it out of the packet it feels smooth like silk but is nearly totally see-through. The mesh is seriously fine, which immediately relieved my previous concerns about mesh sacks. However it appears to be quite strong, as I grabbed a piece of mesh either side of a seam and pulled to see if the seam would struggle to hold together. Nothing! The double stitching appears to be quite strong.

My only initial concern about this sack is the size of the toggle on the drawstring. It is tiny, 1/4 of the size I would expect. I suspect this is a weight saving measure, which I hope is strong as I hate it when toggles break on stuff sacks and they slowly work their way open.

SUMMARY

I look forward to testing this stuff sack on my up coming camping/hiking trips. At 6.5 Litres, it is a little small so I will be interested to see what uses I find for it.

My thanks to Sea to Summit and BackpackGearTest.org for the opportunity to test this product.


FIELD REPORT

FIELD LOCATIONS AND CONDITIONS

Describe the locations, conditions (weather, terrain, etc.), and duration of your field experience with the item.

PERFORMANCE IN THE FIELD

Describe how the item performed during the Field Report period.

SUMMARY

A brief summary.

TESTING STRATEGY

Your continued testing strategy for the Long-Term Report period.


LONG-TERM REPORT

LONG-TERM TEST LOCATIONS AND CONDITIONS

During my testing of the Sea to Summit mesh stuff sack, I used it for various activates including camping, day hiking, sailing and kayaking. I estimate I have used the stuff around 2-3 times a week every week during the testing period.

My camping trip was during the new years holidays, based by the beach on the east coast of Tasmania for 4 days. During this trip there was no rain with temperatures ranging from around 30 C (86 F) to around 14 C (57 F). Winds were generally light with bright sunshine. From our base we undertook daywalks in the near by Douglas Apsley National Park.

I also used the mesh in my day pack when walking from home to work (8 km/5 mi) or when undertaking day walks around the Mt Wellington Park, near my home.

During all of these trips I would generally use the sack to store my wallet, keys and mp3 player and other items I wanted to be able to locate quickly and easily.

PERFORMANCE IN THE FIELD

As outlined in my Initial Report, I have been a big fan of stuff sacks for quite some time and the Sea to Summit mesh sack has proved to be a great little sack.

It has become the main item I carry around with me during the working week where I commute from home to the office by either walking, cycling or catching a bus. For all of this I carry a small day pack to hold my gear (lunch, a jacket or some work ect.). I have found the mesh sack is great for keeping together my wallet, keys, office access pass and other bits I want to be able to quickly pull from my pack together.

This certainly proved to be the case when walking and camping where I used the mesh sack to store things like my head lamp, keys or snack food I wanted to easily pull from the top of my pack. I also found that because the mesh is so thin I could not only easily see what was inside the sack, but put a small torch inside it and hang it from the roof of my tent as a make shift lamp. An extra bonus which I had never considered was when having lunch during a hike and I had half a chocolate bar inside the sack with some other snacks which I left sitting on the ground near my pack. I hadn't spotted the ants near by and was annoyed to find them making an assault on my snacks. The mesh was too fine for them to get in, saving my chocolate bar.... bonus!

SUMMARY

The Sea to Summit ultra mesh sack has proved to be a great addition to not only my backpacking and camping kit, but a generally useful piece of equipment for me to use almost daily. Despite the smaller size that I tested, it proved to be able to hold a good amount of gear and I could see a larger sack being great for clothes and other gear I wanted to keep organized inside my pack.

This concludes my testing of the Sea to Summit ultra mesh sack. My thanks to Sea to Summit and www.BackpackGearTest.org for the opportunity to test this handy product.

This report was created with the BackpackGearTest.org Report Writer Version 1. Copyright 2013. All rights reserved.

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