| |
Gear Reviews
Documents
Tools
|
|
Andrew, the tester:
I am a 46 year old male, 180 cm (5' 11") in height,
I weigh 111 kg (245 lb). I have been bushwalking in Western Australia
for approximately five years. For the past four years I have been
regularly walking and leading on and off-track pack carries with the Perth
Bushwalkers Club. I have also got into geocaching. I consider myself as
moving towards being a lightweight tent-carrying bushwalker with my pack
base weight in the 8 to 12 kg (18 to 26 lb) range. I have completed my End
to End of the Bibbulmun Track (2003), the Cape to Cape Track (Nov
2001), the Coastal Plains Walk Track (numerous times), the Larapinta Trail
(July 2005) and Fitzgerald River National Park (April 2006).
I have experience with dry bag type stuff sacks, having
being a user of
Sea to Summit Lightweight Dry Sacks since 2001 and more recently I have
started using
Sea To Summit Ultra-Sil Dry Sacks.
[Click here to
return to the top]
|
|
Andrew's testing
playground:
The bushwalking environment of the south-west of Western
Australia allows for bushwalks and backpacking from coastal plains to
forest. Elevation ranges from 0 to 585 metres (0 to 1,920 feet). Within this
region, I walk in varying conditions from forestry roads, to sandy tracks to
single-purpose walking trails, to rock hopping, to beach walking to
completely off-track walking through open and dense country.
[Click here to return to the
top] |
The testing environment:
During the summer period, daytime temperatures average 30° C (86° F),
whereas from March through to December the daytime average temperatures
range from 15° C to 26° C (59° F to 79° F). During the autumn, winter, and
spring periods the normal weather pattern is fairly wet with frequent heavy
rainstorms evident. It does not normally snow in Western Australia.
According to The Times Atlas of the World
(Concise Edition - Revised 1997) our weather is described as being
"Mediterranean - rainy climates with mild winters, coolest month above 0°
C (32° F), but below 18° C (64° F); warmest month above 10° C (50° F)."
The atlas depicts the coastal area north of Los Angeles, California, US as having the same
climate.
|
|
Product Details:
-
Manufacturer:
SealLine
-
Year of Manufacturer: 2006
-
MSRP: US$18.95
The SealLine Storm Sack is described by SealLine as a
"lightweight, watertight stuff sack." It is a cylindrical shaped dry bag
with roll-down closure and is of a sewn and taped seam sealed construction.
The Storm Sack is made of PVC-free 210D PU-coated nylon.
[Click here to
return to the top]
|
Specifications for 20 L Storm Sack as tested:
-
Manufacturer's specified weight: 108 g (3.8 oz)
-
My weight: 118 g (4.2 oz)
-
Manufacturer's Dimensions: 23 x 53 cm (9 x 21 in)
-
My Dimensions: 37 x 58 cm (14.5 x 23 in).
The length is measured along the vertical seam from the top
of the closure to the bottom seam and the width is measured with the bag
layered out flat.
-
Manufacturer's Volume: 21.5 L (1310 cu in)
-
My Volume: Not measured
|
|
Field Report:
My field use of the
SealLine Storm Sack was somewhat less than I had planned. I did use
it over a week on a car-camping geocaching trip through the south-east of
Western Australia, but my weekend backpack in August was aborted due to the
bad weather so only carried the Storm Sack one day. I have also used
it occasionally on my "John Howard" (read walks) to work and back again. On
these walks I carry my laptop in the Storm Sack inside my day pack.
I used the Storm Sack on the car-camping trip to
store/carry my and my son's sleeping bag. Whilst this was a car-camping trip
the Sack was thrown around a bit in the car, on the ground at campsites etc,
it didn't get any serious exposure to rain as we pretty much didn't get any.
On the August backpack in the Wandoo National Park near
Perth, Western Australia it rained and rained and rained so much we decided
to abort the trip as everyone was soaked through and not keen on pitching
tents in the rain etc. So at least on this trip the Storm Sack got carried
for a day in my pack in wet conditions.
It has done well during the Field Test keeping my clothes
and sleeping bag dry and keeping the bags protected on the car-camping trip.
Reflecting back on my primary four
testing points outlined in my
Initial Report, I am pleased to report that:
-
Watertightness of the Storm Sack: As seems
to be the case when I test anything that needs rain, we seem to have the
driest winter on record. Well we have had a very dry winter here in
Western Australia so my testing of the water-tightness of the Storm Sack
has been limited to one day of a weekend back where it poured continuously
all day. In fact it rained so much we aborted the backpack. Anyway back to
the Storm Sack. On this backpack I used the Storm Sack to carry my
sleeping bag, thermals and change of clothes. It was closed up as
instructed and stored in the base of my pack, which in turn had a rain
cover over it. On this trip I experienced no issues with the Storm
Sack letting water in. When I removed my clothes and bag at the end of the
day everything was nice and dry. So a big tick there for the Storm Sack.
On the geocaching car-camping trip through the back
blocks of south-east of Western Australia up to the goldfields and
Kalgoorlie I used the Storm Sack as alluded to before to store my sleeping
bag and my sons. On this trip we didn't experience much in the way of rain
but we did get a lot of dust in to the car. The Storm Sack
worked well keeping the bags free of dirt and dust which got everywhere
through the car. The Storm Sack also did a good job of protecting the bags
in the rough and tumble of the back of the fourbie and around camp.
-
Ease use of the roll down closure. Does it seal well?
I have had no issues using the Storm Sack roll down closure and my
experience suggests its seals well. I am very happy the performance of
this feature so far with this test.
-
Durability of the Storm Sack in the normal rough and
tumble of my pack. As explained life in my pack has been limited, but
the Storm Sack has spent a week in the back of my four-wheel drive which
can be pretty rough. It has done a good job of standing up to the stress
of this, showing no signs of wear or damage.
-
Functionality of the grab handle on the base of the
Storm Sack. This is one simple feature that I really love about the
Storm Sack. With a bag and clothes stuffed tightly into the Storm Sack,
being able to grab the base of the Storm Sack whilst pulling out tightly
pack gear is a great little feature. So simple yet so effective. It makes
removal of tightly packed gear really easy.
All up I am very impressed with the Storm Sack so far. My
only dislike is its weight.
[Click here to
return to the top]
|
Read more reviews of SealLine gear
Read more gear reviews by Andrew Priest
|
