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Owner Review: Sea To Summit sn240 Ultra-Light Stuff Sack
Report Date: 28 April 2006
Personal Biographical Information:
Full Name: Karl Daniel Fuderer aka Buzz Lightyear
Age: 23 years old
Gender: Male
Height: 175 cm (5' 7")
Weight: 85 kg (187 lb)
Email: zkyf@yahoo.com
Region: Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Background:
I started backpacking about 9 months ago, after converting from cycle touring. I’ve experienced being a lightweight and middleweight backpacker, with my carried weight ranging from 25 kg (55
lb) when very remote for 2+ wks, to 14 kg (37 lb) when food is accessible every few days. I sleep in a 2-man tent, unless shelter is provided such as on the Bibbulmun Track where I carry a mosquito head net and ground sheet. I like to hike in as wide a variety of locations and terrains as possible, from desert to forest to mountain, using an extraordinary range of equipment.
Product Specifics:
Manufacturer: Sea To Summit
Year of manufacture: 2004
URL: http://www.seatosummit.com.au/
Listed Weight: 21 gm (0.7 oz)
Current weight: 20 gm (0.7 oz)
Listed size: medium 7" x 15" (18 cm x 38 cm)
Listed volume: 580 cu in (9504 cu cm) / 9 L
Colour: Opaque Dark Yellow with black cord and black reinforcement strap
MSRP: Not Listed
Product description: (paraphrased from website) 30 denier ripstop siliconised Cordura(r) nylon, this tiny, near weightless stuff sack comes with a slippery finish. Being 1/3 lighter than regular stuff sacks and with a high tear strength, Sn240 stuff sacks makes organising gear easy and keeps the pack light.
Field Review:
My Usage:
Over the last 9 months my Sea To Summit sn240 Stuff Sack has been used primarily for the purpose of containing 100% of my food while away from home. It has experienced extremely rough treatment, including being filled beyond the guideline set by Sea To Summit and subjected to high degrees of stress and pressure while in the pack. It has also been misused at times when I was required to improvise to achieve my goals at the time, like as a transport bag for disposing of food scraps and waste.
Treatment Received:
This sack has travelled over 1500 km (932 ml) of trekking and cycle touring, on terrain including sand dunes, swamp, mountain elevations to 1095 m (3592 ft), and very dense subtropical rainforest. Most of the sack’s life has been between 100 and 600 m (328 to 1968 ft) above sea level, on a well defined track in SW Western Australia surrounded by sparse trees and semi dense low lying shrub. Temperatures range from –14 C (7 F) on the coldest night to 35 C (95 F) on the hottest day, with averages ranging from 0 C (32 F) at night to 23 C (73 F) in daylight.
In that time it has had attempts on its life by, just to name a few, a set of reputedly the sharpest marsupial teeth in Australia trying to get in; an exposed, almost razor sharp blade thrown inside; being partly submerged in liquids including fresh water and sea water, had liquids spilt inside it, including syrup and jam, and had contact with many forms of other substances, including grease, charcoal, and super glue. Through all this punishment, in every case to date every contact from the outside of the sack stayed on the outside including gaseous substances like campfire smoke, and the reverse, including eliminating the impregnation of food odours in my other packed possessions.
Design And Features:
The fabric has a slippery finish that, although faded considerably in the first month of use, never fully disappeared, making the packing and unpacking of the sack comparatively easy even today, 9 months later. The slippery finish is not only on the inside of the sack. The outside of the sack is also slippery, making it easier to pack and unpack the sack from my pack. It adds an element of security to the contents in cases involving wildlife when I decided to tie the sack to the rafters of the campsites on the Bibbulmun Track, because it’s more difficult to friction grip a hanging, slippery object.
The fabric of the sack I purchased is dark yellow, which makes it easy to see in the dark. Since the sack's fabric is partly silicone, the contents can be somewhat seen through it, which makes it easier to find certain objects in the sack without too much rummaging or emptying out all the contents. There are also otherwise identical sacks in black available.
There is a nylon reinforcement support band at the base of the sack. The stitching is all double banded, triple threaded siliconised nylon, same as the sack itself, making the sack fully reversible.
Despite the superiority of the fabric, the tie cord mechanism irreparably broke within a few weeks of buying it. A small, plastic, spring loaded device, designed by Cordura(r), fell to pieces while on my Bibbulmun Track end-to-end, with one small piece left on the cord which I found to work more effectively broken than the working device did when new. This is because I would rather be able to pull on the device than depressing a spring first in order to access the contents. The cord is more than long enough to open the sack fully, and is tied at the end with a figure 8 knot to stop the cord mechanism from coming off, but this could be undone if I chose to.
Maintenance:
The sack is washing machine safe, however in my experience with other sacks of identical fabric, this accelerates the deterioration of the slippery finish. Hand cleaning stains off the fabric is time consuming and ineffective. Due to the slippery finish, foreign substances don't easily stick to the fabric, but it is also susceptible to discoloration and can still appear very dirty indeed after cleaning. Other than cleaning occasionally by hand, the sack has received no maintenance from me whatsoever.
Conclusion:
Summary:
Overall I really like the sack from an operational and aesthetic point of view, but still has room for improvement, including a simpler cord mechanism and lighter cord. It has very high durability, while staying lightweight and easy to use. I think the application of siliconised nylon in this case is perfect for functionality and, although very expensive gram for gram, is worth every cent.
Pros:
The ease of packing and unpacking
The cord is strong
The fabric is reflective
The fabric is strong
The stitching is strong
The fabric is opaque
Extremely lightweight
2 colours available
7 sizes available
The fabric is quiet to crumple
The sack can be put through washing machine safely
Cons:
The cord is heavy
The cord mechanism breaks
The cord is black, difficult to see in the dark
The fabric is stainable
The sack is comparatively expensive
Read more reviews of Sea to Summit gear
Read more gear reviews by Karl Daniel Fuderer
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