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Reviews > Stuff Sacks > Dry Bags > Watchful Eye Designs - Aloksak > Kelli Wise > Initial ReportWatchful Eye Designs Aloksak – Initial Report
Personal biographical information: Backpacking background: I've been car camping and hiking for 20 years and sport climbing for 10 years, but am new to backpacking. My backpacking style is not ultralight but lightweight and I still hike in boots, not shoes. I have started going for overnight and short trips with the goal of doing an extended trip next year. The majority of my hiking experience is in Western Washington so I get a lot of wet weather experience. Field information: Western Washington, coastal, lowlands and summer alpine hiking below 6000' (1829 m). Style: Lightweight but not ultralight. Striving for a suitable compromise between safety and comfort.
Product Information
Measurements: Note: due to the light weight of these bags and 0.1 oz resolution of my scale, I measured in both ounces and grams for greater accuracy. Features: The Aloksaks are certified to be waterproof to 200', close as easily as a zip lock bag, are flexible and tough. The O.P.Saks are odor proof bags that have the same closure as the Aloksak and are for food and toiletry storage use in bear country.
First Impressions I was quite surprised to see samples of the O.P.Sak as the test was originally only supposed to cover the Aloksaks. I hike in bear country and have had one close encounter in the spring and lots of bear tracks in the fall, so they are a welcome addition. The sacks are each marked, in black ink, with the Watchful Eye Designs name, phone number URL, the recycle symbol with plastic type 4, "Patented leakproof/airtight seal", "NASDS certified waterproof to 200 feet/60 meters", "Tested and approved by the US Navy", and instructions on how to open and close the bags. Bags A, C and D have the volume listed, and "Patented Super-Stretch, high tenacity polymer bag material – NSF, FDA approved." The O.P.Sak is marked with "Patented odorproof barrier polymer material – FDA approved." I was surprised to see the 6" x 6" (15 cm x 15 cm) and 12" x 12" (30 cm x 30 cm) bags have the same listed volume and I'm sure that the former is mismarked. The Aloksaks are a clear, flexible plastic with a black zip closure. I have used a waterproof cell phone case made with a zip closure that took both hands to get closed. The Aloksak zip closure is as easy to use as freezer bags. The O.P.Saks are a thinner plastic which has a slight yellowish tint. The bags have a gusseted bottom which will increase their volume. The zip closures were the same as the Aloksaks. I do not have a bear canister to try one in, but it looks like the bag was designed to fit inside a bear canister. Although the web site claims that these bags work well enough to allow you keep your food and toiletries by your side at night, I am not brave enough to try this myself. As an initial check, I put several items in these bags to see how well they will work with my backpacking gear. The 4" x 7" (11 cm x 18 cm) bag held both my cell phone and GPS. The 12" x 12" (30 cm x 30 cm) bag easily accommodated a pair of down mitts and insulated booties. My camera, in its padded bag, fit into the 12" x 12" (30 cm x 30 cm) bag. My first aid kit fits well in the 9" x 6" (23 cm x 15 cm) bag. I also filled one up with air and sealed the closure. It held air even with some moderate squeezing and is not a noisy plastic, so it may make a nice inflatable pillow.
Test Plan I carry food in my ziplock bags in the field and I plan on using one of the Aloksaks to carry my GORP and prepare any cold foods. Will the bag be reusable? Will it retain the taste of the food? Does it affect the taste of the food? I will be checking the O.P.Sak for odor proofness. To check this, I plan on filling the bag with catnip, sealing it, washing it well in a sink full of water and leaving it out for my cat. She has torn several plastic bags of catnip open, so if she can smell the catnip inside the bag, she will attempt to get to it. Washing the bag will remove any residue on the outside. I will also be checking to see how well the bag fits inside a bear canister and bear bag. The manufacturer claims that the electronics can be used while being protected in the Aloksak. I will test this by attempting to make a call on my cell phone. Will I be able to operate the buttons? Will I be able to hear the other party? Will I be heard? I will also take a couple of pictures through the Aloksak to see how much it affects picture quality. I'll be looking to see if he Aloksaks make it easier to organize and find gear in my pack. I like to pack my large, hard items in my pack and then fit small clothing items in the spaces left over. In the winter, my concern is that these items would get wet but the Aloksak should keep my soft items dry while allowing them to conform to all the nooks and crannies inside my pack. I'll also be trying some of the suggested uses for the Aloksak: inflatable pillow, map case. My destructive testing will be to fill the Aloksak up with air and apply greater amounts of compression to test the seal; fill up the Aloksak with paper (which will be weighed before and after the dunking) and subject it to the water pressure of a fast moving stream; subject it to puncture and abrasion to determine how much abuse it will take before it begins to leak. I don't white water raft, but I will fill the bag with dark tissue paper, seal it and run it through a front load washer with other clothes to see if it remains sealed during the 2 or 3 spin cycles. The paper will be used as it can be weighed before and after testing to see if it absorbed any water and dark paper will show wet areas better than light paper.
Reviews > Stuff Sacks > Dry Bags > Watchful Eye Designs - Aloksak > Kelli Wise > Initial Report | |||