Imlay Canyon Gear – Canyon Dry Keg

Initial Report – May 29, 2004

 

 

Tester Information:

 

Name: Jason Boyle
Age:  27
Gender: Male
Height: 5’ 6”/ 1.68 m
Weight: 170 lb/ 77 kg
Email address: c4jc@hotmail.com
City, State, Country: Waldorf, Maryland, U.S.

Backpacking Background:

 

I have been camping and backpacking for about 15 years.  I started with the Boy Scouts when I was 11 and hiked mostly in the southeastern United States (Florida, Alabama, Georgia).  Later, I went to college in Connecticut and became versed in the New England outdoors.  I currently live near Washington D.C. and hike and backpack in the Mid Atlantic Mountains.  I have been section hiking the Appalachian Trail and have completed all of the Connecticut and Maryland sections, and I am currently working on the Virginia section. I used to carry everything and the kitchen sink, but I have become weight conscious in recent years and have attempted to lighten my load.

 

Product Information:

 

Manufacturer: Imlay Canyon Gear

Model: Canyon Dry Keg

Size: 6.4 L (1.7 gal) / 3.5 L (.92 gal)

Year of Manufacture: 2004

URL: www.imlaygear.com

Listed weight:

          For the 6.4 L model 15.0 oz (425 g)

          For the 3.5 L model 12.4 oz (352 g)

Measured weight:

          For the 6.4 L model 15.0 oz (425 g)

          For the 3.5 L model 12.0 oz (340 g)

          The lid alone: 3.0 oz (85 g)
**Disclaimer: the closest my scale will measure is in whole ounces**

MSRP:

           For the 6.4 L model: $23.95 U.S.

           For the 3.5 L model: $19.95 U.S.

 

Measurements:

          Listed/Measured

           For the 6.4 L model: Height: 10-5/8" (27 cm)/ 10-1/2” (27 cm) to the top of the lid
                                             Diameter: 7-3/4" (20 cm)/ too difficult to measure accurately
                                             Mouth Opening: 5-1/4" (13 cm)/ 5-1/4” (13 cm)
                                             Maximum Usable Depth: 9-5/8" (24 cm)/ 9-3/8” (24cm)

 

          For the 3.5 L model: Height: 6-3/4" (17 cm)/ 6-7/8” (17 cm)
                                            Diameter: 7-3/4" (20 cm)/ too difficult to measure accurately
                                            Mouth Opening: 5-1/4" (13 cm)/ 5-1/4” (13 cm)
                                            Maximum Usable Depth: 5-3/4" (14 cm)/ 5-3/4” (14 cm)

            

 

Arrival:

 

The kegs were waiting on the front porch when I arrived home.  They were shipped in two boxes that had been taped together to form a single box.  The shipping label had no information that the package was from Imlay, but upon opening it was clear who the box was from.  There was nothing else in the box with the kegs, including no packing of any sort.  The kegs themselves arrived in a new condition with no dirt or dings on them.

           

Description:

 

            The kegs are made of a polyethylene plastic by Curtec, a plastics manufacturer in Holland, and imported by Imlay for use in the United States.  Each keg is cylindrical in form with a midsection that is wider than either end.  The main body of the keg is white and smooth.  The bottom of each keg is concave and has a small lip that will allow the kegs to be stacked on top of one another.  There is a small hole molded into the body of the keg right below the lid that a small line can be passed through to secure the keg if necessary.

The screw top lid is made of the same plastic as the body and is red in color.  The top of each lid has a ½” (1.3 cm) lip on top and then is concave.  There are four 2-3/4” (7 cm) handles molded to the outside of the lid that make an x-pattern.  Each handle has two small holes, one at each end that can be used to attach a line or string to the keg.  The lid has a rubber gasket embedded in the lip to completely seal the keg and make it watertight.  The lids are interchangeable working with either size keg.

The only obvious marking is the 1-1/4” by 7” (3 cm x 18 cm) sticker on each keg.  The background of the sticker is an orange color with the Imlay Canyon Gear symbol in yellow and white and the words “Imlay Canyon Gear” written in yellow.  The writing in the center of the sticker flows vertically and says “ Specialized Gear for Extraordinary Places” in small black letters with “Canyon Dry Keg” written in large white print below it and the website in small black letters on the bottom.  The right side of the sticker has a black square with the size of the keg written in yellow.  The bottom of each keg has the non-obvious markings such as manufacturer information and other markings that have significance to the makers, but not to me as the tester.

             

Initial Impressions/Use:

 

            The kegs were what I was expecting based on the information and pictures on the website.  My first thoughts were now what do I do with these?  So I took them canoeing on the Potomac River and Antietam Creek and learned several good uses for them:

            The kegs are supposed to be waterproof so I figured they would be good at carrying stuff that I did not want to get wet.  I packed the 6.4 L keg with the following items: a 24” x 40” (61 cm x 102 cm) towel, a 5.5” x 4” (14 cm x 10 cm) notebook, pen, 10.64 fl oz (315 ml) bottle of suntan lotion, 2 granola bars, a Clif bar, a package of peanut butter crackers, and my truck key fob.  It all fit with little room to spare.  Next, I tried to figure out how I would attach the kegs to the canoe.  There are very small holes pressed through each end of the handles.  I tried to use some small nylon line that I had around and it would not fit through the hole, the sheathing on the line was too large.  The only thing I could fit through the hole was some standard kite string.  Using that I created a webbing to be able to clip the keg into the canoe. 

            I used the smaller keg (3.5 L) for a multitude of different things on the trip.  The first use was as a cooler. It easily held four diet cokes and ice.  It doesn’t have the same insulating properties as a regular cooler, but it did a great job!

            Neither keg was float tested on the first day of canoeing, they just had some water splashed on them from scouts in the other canoes and from the paddles as I switched from side to side paddling.  I checked the keg with my dry stuff in it and there were no leaks and nothing was wet. The smaller keg was wet, but I had ice and diet coke in it, so I expected it to be wet.

            The second day of canoeing provided a chance to float test a keg.  I only took the smaller keg (3.5 L) since I would be leaving to go home after the run and did not need any of the stuff in the larger keg.  I only placed my sunglasses and a pair of keys in the smaller keg.  After the first rapid though it was quickly put into use as a bailing bucket, instead of just holding equipment.  My canoeing partner weighed a good seventy pounds more than me and that caused the bow to be submerged when we hit the first rapid. It proved to be very handy as a bailing bucket, but it could not be used as a bailing bucket and gear storage at the same time, so I had to hold my sunglasses and keys as my partner bailed our canoe.  Once the water was bailed, I put me gear back in to the keg and reattached it to the canoe. 

About two hours into the trip the keg was finally float tested.  I misjudged a log and the bow missed it, but the stern didn’t and we were tipped. We rescued the canoe and contents and there was the keg floating keeping the contents high and dry.  There were several more rapids that day and the keg was used to bail each time, an unplanned use that turned out to be very beneficial!

Upon examination at the end of the trip, I noticed that there were several scrape marks on the small keg, but nothing that would hinder the function of the keg.

 

Improvements:

 

            Based on the amount of testing already done, I have a few ideas that would make the keg easier to use.  The first is to make the holes larger on the lid, or on the body of the keg so that a heavier piece of line can be used for securing the lid to a canoe or raft.  Since I used the lid to secure the keg to the canoe, I had to unscrew the body of the keg to access the contents.  I couldn’t just spin the lid off.  If I there had been heavier equipment in the keg I would not have been able to easily unscrew the body.

                       

Testing Plan:

 

Specific things I will look for, however, this list is not all-inclusive:

Durability:
How strong is this thing?  If I cinch down my pack will it cause the keg to deform?  Is the lid stay snug once it is screwed on?  Is the surface of the canister easily marred? 

Convenience:
How easy are the kegs to use with my pack?  Can I stuff them inside my pack or can I somehow hang them on the outside?  Can I use a normal marker or do I need to use a special marker to label the keg?

 

Uses: Can I hang the Kegs and use them as bear kegs?  Will they work as “dry bags” while canoeing/rafting? How well do they protect my food/delicate equipment? How much stuff can I fit in a keg?

           
Thanks again to BackpackGearTest and Imlay Canyon Gear for the opportunity to participate in this test.