Sea to Summit Travelling Light™ TPU Clear ZipTop Pouch
Test Series by David Wyman


(image from website)

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Test Phases:

Initial Report - January 3, 2012

Field Report - March 24, 2012

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Tester Information

NAME	David Wyman
EMAIL	wyman(AT)wymanhq(DOT)com
AGE	33
LOCATION	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
GENDER	Male
HEIGHT	5' 10" (1.78 m)
WEIGHT	175 lb (79.40 kg)

While I've been camping for years, I've only been backpacking for a short time. I'm trying to find the right equipment, alternating between tent and hammock. My dog usually comes along on the longer hikes, and my wife and toddler join me on the shorter ones. I tend to carry more gear than I need resulting in a heavier pack, but I'm working on that. When I hike with my dog and/or my wife and son, we take it a bit slower, stopping frequently to enjoy the forest. I rarely hike fast unless I'm trying to make up time.

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Initial Report - January 3, 2012

Product Information

Manufacturer	Sea to Summit
Website	http://www.seatosummit.com/
Product	Travelling Light™ TPU Clear ZipTop Pouch
Year of manufacture	2011
MSRP	N/A
Features (from website)	* Made of TPU material for long life, durability, and abrasion resistance
	* Welded construction with a durable YKK leak resistant zipper
	* Grab tags for easy opening and closing
	* Includes 3 3 fl oz and 3 1.3 fl oz Sea to Summit leak-proof bottles
Weight:
Listed:	1 oz (28 g)
Measured:	1 oz (28 g) - 4 oz (113 g) with bottles
Size:
Listed:	8" x 4.5" x 1" (20 cm x 11 cm x 4.5 cm)
Measured:	8" x 4.5" x 1" (20 cm x 11 cm x 4.5 cm)

Initial Impressions

The pouch is large to easily hold the six included bottles and still have some room to spare. The closure along the top is reinforced with a nylon-backed YKK zipper and looks fairly rugged. The seams along the ends look well-formed. The included bottles are sturdy plastic and include a removable insert that allows individual drops to be released.

Trying It Out

The bottles and pouch look ideal for backpacking: able to hold hold denatured alcohol for my stove, olive oil and spices for cooking, soap for cleaning and do it without making a mess. In the winter, I carry my fuel and cooking items inside my coat to keep them warm and the combination of the bottles and leak-resistant zipper will hopefully prevent any spills.

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Field Report - March 24, 2012 Trips Taken

February 18 - 21: 4 days, 3 nights in Allegheny National Forest, Pennsylvania
Temps ranged from 40 F (5 C) during the day to 20 F (-7 C) at night.

• Day 1 - Henry Mills to a shelter - around 6 miles (10 km).
• Day 2 - shelter to Triple Forks area - around 5.5 miles (9 km).
• Day 3 - Triple Forks to just before Heart's Content parking lot - around 7 miles (11.25 km).
• Day 4 - day hikes around Heart's Content and then driving home.

Thoughts and Impressions

I was not as happy with the pouch or the included bottles as I had expected to be. For this trip, I filled two of the large bottles with alcohol for my stove and the third with olive oil. The small bottles were filled with hot sauce, camp soap, and a dry spice mixture. I packed the fuel bottles inside an additional freezer-strength plastic bag just in case it wasn't as leak proof as it seemed. I'm glad I did - one of the fuel bottles leaked while I was hiking as did the bottle of olive oil. The smaller bottles with hot sauce and soap fared better. But the leaking oil made a mess inside the pouch.

In order to clean up the mess, I put a little soap and some water in the pouch and sealed it. I then shook it to help clean the oil off the inside of the pouch - quite a bit of water leaked out of the pouch while shaking.

The bottle with oil was also a little frustrating because, not only did it leak, the removable insert that is supposed to let me control how much comes out kept falling out when I squeezed the bottle. The small bottles fared much better. The hot sauce and soap bottles did not leak and the bottle with the dry spices in it kept the oil from getting inside.

I'm interested to see if these problems persist or if they were isolated incidents.

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Summary

Likes:

• Holds quite a few bottles as well as room for other items

Dislikes:

• Bottles did leak
• Pouch leaked

Thanks to BackpackGearTest.org and Sea to Summit for this opportunity. Check back in two months for the final report.