Tester Bio
I live outside a small town in northeast Alabama. I have access to a good hiking area right out my front door, a large tract of woods called Pall-Mill Hollow (pronounced holler). It has a creek flowing through it with several good swimming holes. Caves abound in the area. I spent my youth climbing around the bluffs, swimming in the creek and exploring the caves. I also enjoy hunting, fishing, canoeing, and most other outdoor activities.

Backpacking is my favorite pastime. I consider myself a knowledgeable backpacker but I am not an expert. I enjoy hiking with my friends and family or solo. I limit my hiking to areas fairly close to home, usually within a day’s drive of home. I hike throughout the year and actually hike the least in the hot humid months of summer. My style is slow and steady and my gear is light. However I will sacrifice weight for comfort and durability. A typical 3 season load for me is around 20 lb (9 kg) not counting food or water. I usually sleep in a hammock and cook with an alcohol stove. My backpacking trips are usually 2, 3 or 4 days in length.

Product Information

Manufacturer,	Outdoor Research
Manufacturer URL,	http://www.orgear.com/
Year of Manufacture,	2003
Size,	#4 = 9" x 17" (23 cm x 43 cm)
Volume,	1100 cu in (18 L)
Weight,	not listed
Weight Verified,	1.6 oz (45.4 gm)
Color,	Red
MSRP,	$15 US

Product Description
On the surface, the size #4 HydroLite Stuff Sack™ appears to be just a "normal" stuff sack. It has what looks like normal coated nylon material, a normal dust flap and a normal cordlock closure. But according to the information provided on the web site and information card, this is not a "normal" stuff sack. I took the following from the web site.

"Simply the best when it comes to durable, truly waterproof, ultralight fabrics, our HydroLite fabric is a coated nylon gossamer that is both ultralight and ultradurable. Through laboratory tests of the fabric's seam strength, waterproofness, DWR, tear strength, abrasion, and a full battery of other brutalities involving hours in rotating tubs, golf balls and pea gravel, we could not find a better ultralight material. In the tried and true tradition of Outdoor Research Hydroseal Stuff Sacks, we incorporated the design and features of the Basic Stuff Sack into the next generation."

The information card reads almost the same with this additional information.

"Each sack has a generous dust flap, and a drawcord that cinches down very smoothly and is held closely by a truly tenacious cordlock. A webbing handle on the other end aids in carrying and unstuffing the sack."

About the only thing I can add is that upon turning the stuff sack inside out, all seams appear to be secure and the inside color is white. I don't know if the nylon was white to start with and then dyed red on the outside or the other way around. Perhaps the white color is some type of coating? I can also see a grid pattern when viewing the stuff sack from either side. As for the HydroLite Stuff Sack™ being waterproof, I don't gather that the bag is designed as such. Without a way to seal the top opening, whether the bag body fabric is waterproof or not is really immaterial to a point. One advantage of the Hydrolite material over a non-waterproof fabric would be splash protection. I will say, the seams do not appear to be taped or seam sealed. But if the HydroLite fabric is truly water proof then at least some protection will be afforded.

Field Testing Location and Weather.
Testing was done on several overnight hikes in northeast Alabama. Some testing was done on day hikes to experiment on an ultralight setup I'm working on. I experienced some precipitation on a few of the hikes but most were just cold. The coldest temperature was 22 F (-6 C) and the warmest was 61 F (16 C) on a day hike one nice winter day.

Field Testing Results
My first evaluation was to find out just how waterproof the size #4 HydroLite Stuff Sack™ was. This was determined by filling the kitchen sink almost full of water, and putting the stuff sack (filled about half full of canned goods) down in the water. I waited for one minute watching for bubbles. No bubbles appeared but upon extracting the sack a few minutes later, it was obvious there was water inside. I removed all the cans (which were wet to various degrees) and promptly poured 4 fl oz (118 ml) of water in a measuring cup. OK, the stuff sack leaks. But did it leak at the seams or through the material. It was obvious the seams (not being seam sealed) were the most likely place to check. So, I dried the stuff sack as best I could and held a section of material in my palm, and filled the scooped out area with water. No water leaked so I balled this section up and squeezed it. Still no leaking through the material. Then I just poured some water into the stuff sack. Bottom line, the material is waterproof but the seams leak like a sieve.

So, the question became, what to do with an oversized waterproof/leaky stuff sack? I occurred to me that a great application for this particular sized stuff sack might answer a nagging problem I had last summer. I had bought a hunting vest pack (a vest with 2 large pockets on the front and a very large mesh pocket in back). I had used it to camp overnight a few times but my separate stuff sacks for gear would fall out occasionally. I had determined this would be unacceptable and basically given up on the vest pack for overnighters.

I set out to determine if all my summer gear would fit inside the size #4 HydroLite Stuff Sack™ stuff sack wishing I might be able to salvage using the vest pack. This has been all experimental so far as it has been too cold to use my summer outfit. But the good news is, I got all my basic gear in the stuff sack. I did rely on the vest's front pockets for my water and some other odds and ends

I was able to fit my MountainSmith Wisp sleeping bag, my Hennessey Hammock Backpacker A-sym, my cook kit, and a small food bag inside the #4 HydroLite Stuff Sack™. I first tried it by putting all my gear in individual smaller stuff sacks first, all of which then went into the #4 HydroLite Stuff Sack™, which then went into the rear mesh pocket of the vest pack. However, this resulted in lumpy places against my back and was not all that comfortable, even though the vest pack and gear all weighted under 10 lb (4.5 kg). I next put the Wisp in loose and put my other gear (inside individual stuff sacks) across the length of the size #4 HydroLite Stuff Sack™. By placing the side of the stuff sack with the sleeping bag spread across against my back (in the rear mesh pocket of the vest pack) it solved this problem.

On other hikes I found good use for the size #4 HydroLite Stuff Sack™. I was finding a 30 F (-1 C) sleeping bag needed some help to keep me warm on several nights when the temps were below the bag's rating. My solution was to use a pair of insulated hunting bibs, a down jacket with a hood, insulated gloves, and lots of extra pairs of thick socks. Normally I would just stuff the extra clothes inside my pack but lately I've been using 2 approximately 4000 cu in (66 L) packs, neither really all that adapted to carrying a lot of bulky winter gear. Fortunately the size #4 HydroLite Stuff Sack™ proved to subdue these extra clothing items to a manageable size. My XL insulated hunting bibs and my XL down jacket nearly filled my pack when just crammed in loose. By stuffing them inside the size #4 HydroLite Stuff Sack™ they only took up about half my pack's volume leaving plenty of room for my other gear.

I did tote some water with the size #4 HydroLite Stuff Sack™ but I found this impractical. The stuff sack did fine, other than leaking water like rain as I made my way from the creek to my cooking area. I found trying to pour water into my measuring cup to be messy at best but if I had enough water in the stuff sack I could dip out what I needed. I just had to work fast before all the water leaked out. However I found I soaked both sides of the stuff sack when I placed it in the water. Not a big problem since the stuff sack will dry very fast inside and out by shaking it vigorously twice (once for each side) then letting it hang for about on hour for each side. The drawcord remained damp overnight.

My other hope was that the stuff sack would hold water overnight. Not that I needed it to on any of my trips. However, I know that when I camp away from a water source this is handy (critical at times). The stuff sack will not hold water overnight. Filled nearly full it leaked down to half full in about 10 minutes. In a way this was good because when nearly full, I had to support the stuff sack, but once about half full I could get it to sit up without water spilling out the top. It took just over an hour for it to empty because the lower the water was (and thus the pressure) the slower it leaked. And too, the ground was partly helping to seal the seams except for the seam up the side of the stuff sack. My thinking is that the stuff sack will do in a pinch for water toting, but a dedicated water sack is worth taking along when much water toting is expected.

My last observation deals with the durability of the size #4 HydroLite Stuff Sack™. So far it has held up to being stuffed tightly with approximately 5 lb (2.2 kg) of winter clothes. I got the bag a little muddy when I was trying the stuff sack as a water tote sack. I washed it in the creek and got most of the dirt off. I later hand washed it in my kitchen sink with warm soapy water and it looks almost new again. I haven’t needed to use it as a food bag yet. The results of this should be in my Long-Term Report.

Summary Thus Far
While I would normally choose a smaller stuff sack I can see potential in this size. It is bigger than any single item I need to stuff but as I outlined before, I can pack most of my gear into the #4 HydroLite Stuff Sack™. In fact I can see using a slightly bigger stuff sack for the ultralight packing I plan to experiment with. Just how much bigger is the # 5 HydroLite Stuff Sack™?

Likes Thus Far

Will hold most of my summer gear
Cleans off very easily
Makes a great plant waterer

Dislikes Thus Far

Makes a great plant waterer

Continued Test Plans
As winter winds down I hope to be making longer trips than the single night trips thus far. I will continue to use the stuff sack for whatever gear the trip calls for. Then once really warm weather arrives I'll use the stuff sack in conjunction with my vest pack on a few overnighters. My one concern is keeping my down bag dry should I encounter rain. I think I can wrap my poncho around the stuff sack (saving more room for other stuff inside it) and do all right. I would be wearing the poncho if the rain was too hard and it should keep everything fairly dry in light rain or when scrubbing through wet underbrush. I won't be carrying an umbrella as I conduct these experiments because there is no way to secure it safely aboard.

Read more reviews of Outdoor Research gear
Read more gear reviews by Coy Ray Starnes

Field Report

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