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Reviews > Stuff Sacks > Dry Bags > Pacific Outdoor Equip Pneumo LTW Dry Bag > Heather Oakes Palmer > Initial ReportInitial Report Pneumo LTW Dry BagsApril 18, 2006 Tester Info:
Name: Heather Oakes Palmer Backpacking Background: I consider myself an intermediate hiker and beginning backpacker for over five years; my longest backpacking trip being only three nights. Day hiking and weekend backpacking comprise most of my weekend warrior experience averaging one backpacking trip per month and two day hikes per month averaging between 10-15 miles (16.1- 24.2 km) per day. I tend to backpack in warm, humid climates, with a good amount of hiking in the southern Appalachian Mountains and I have rarely hiked in below freezing or snowy conditions yet. I am a lightweight backpacker and buy my gear accordingly, often splitting various objects and amounts of weight with my husband. Product Information:
Manufacturer: Pacific Outdoor Equipment Product Description: The Pneumo LTW is the lighter version of the dry bags made by Pacific Outdoor Equipment with the same basic structure; long rectangle shape with fabric that does not stretch very much, bright orange color, roll-top closure on the ‘top’ with plastic clip closure, valve on the ‘bottom’ for inflating and deflating, and slits on either side of the valve for putting rope or cord through. The outside of the bag is slightly transparent with little lines like a grid on it. From the website: “These lightweight dry bags feature: welded construction, roll top closure, compression purge/fill valve, and a 40Dx30D ripstop fabric and a refined closure.” The bags are meant for anyone who might need to keep gear or food dry from boaters to backpackers.
Field Conditions: I will be testing the bags during day hikes, car camping, and overnight backpacking trips in the Georgia and North Carolina Mountains. The average elevations I will be hiking in will range from 2000 – 5500 ft (610-1676 m). The temperature could be anywhere from 50 F to the high 80’s F (10 C to high 20’s C) during the day and could drop to low 40’s F (4.4 C) at night, the humidity will probably still suck at 80% or higher. I will also likely be testing the bags while I am stuck in SW Florida over the course of the next few months. The temperature could be anywhere from low 70's F to high 90's F (20 C to 30's C) during the day and could drop to low 40’s F (4.4 C) at night if I’m very lucky, and the humidity go over 100% in swampy parts. I’ll be testing the bags in day hikes around the beaches, mangrove flats, swamp, some scrub forest type areas all probably below or at sea level. I will also test the bags while doing some easy kayaking trips in both salt and fresh water. Initial Impressions: The dry bag arrived inside of its store packaging in a large brown box. The store packaging is a long, tube-like paper container with color product information printed all over the carton. A description of the bag and its uses is printed on the back in English, German, French, and Italian; but the directions and manufacturer information are in English. After taking the bag out of the carton and unfurling it, after I recovered from the bright orange color, I noticed just how big it was. I guess I thought 25L (1526 cu in) looked more like 25 inches (64 cm), but this bag is huge compared to all of my tiny silnylon stuff sacks. Without reading the directions I tried to see how it worked. I stuffed my down sleeping bag into the bag, followed by warm weather camp clothes. Only half the bag was full, so I rolled the top down tight and began to squeeze it as I opened up the valve. I already knew I could compress that down bag into something the size of a cantaloupe (rock melon), but when I let the air out of the valve the bag and the clothes all flattened out to hardcover book size. I tried a few combinations of sleeping bags and clothing: first my heavier and bulkier synthetic sleeping bag, then I added cold weather clothes to my synthetic bag, next I stuffed in my husbands’ bag after a struggle due to the Pneumo's narrow shape and rigid material. Finally I stuffed my down bag plus cold weather clothes AND my husbands’ cold weather clothes. The valve was very easy to use both in letting air out, and then inflating the bag. In fact, all of the features were simple and user-friendly. Before taking the bag out for a test run, I filled up my bathtub and dropped the deflated/ compressed dry bag containing some cotton clothing filling up the bag only about half. Deflated and compressed, the bag still floated and kept everything inside dry after 30 seconds in the tub. The inflated bag had the same results; it was buoyant and the items inside were dry. Then I turned the shower on and kept the cold water on for a full minute with a dispersed spray of medium pressure, mimicking a moderate to heavy downpour. Water ran off the bag when I picked it up, but the items inside were dry. There was only slight dampness near the roll-top closure on the inside of the bag, most likely from me opening it to check on my clothes. Test Plan: As someone who has had to sleep in wet clothes because I was not fast enough with the pack cover, I’ve always threatened to get dry bags so I wouldn’t have to wrap my sleeping bag and clothing in a garbage bag in addition to the silnylon stuff sacks they are already in. I would have killed for one of these bags last year when I thought I was stepping into a shallow stream but it was actually freezing cold shoulder high water. Will I like dry bags enough to sacrifice the extra weight for security? Part of my summer’s resolution is to kayak more, which would induce my husband to finally get in a kayak. I’ve already planned one kayak trip per Florida visit as I plan to be helping my mother out after surgery on at least three different occasions. I could use the dry bags for storing anything and everything while I’m kayaking. While I do not have any nifty kayaking moves other than turning left or right, there is no possible way to stay dry the way I paddle (badly). If I flip the kayak, I’m pretty much swimming and so will the Pneumo.
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The Technical Stuff:
Reviews > Stuff Sacks > Dry Bags > Pacific Outdoor Equip Pneumo LTW Dry Bag > Heather Oakes Palmer > Initial Report | |||
