Exped Waterproof Shrink Bag.

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Graham_S

Squirrely!
Feb 27, 2005
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Saudi Arabia
I recieved a little something in the post this morning so I thought I'd pop up a quick review.

Now I think we can all agree that wet sleeping kit makes for an uncomfortable night out.
Ever since I was a Cub Scout I was always told to pack my sleeping bag in a plastic bag to keep it dry.

These days we have such things as Dry Bags to further improve matters.

The trouble with dry bags though, is once they're closed they don't compress any further so you're left with a rather bulky package to pack in your rucksack.

The solution (to my mind) is this;
The Exped Waterproof Shrink Bag.
They come in 3 sizes 80 (95l), 40 (42l), and 20 (22l).
I picked up a 40.
Basicly it's a standard drybag with a valve on the bottom.
I put my hammock, quilt, underblanket and straps in it easily, the mouth of the bag is on one of the long edges making for very easy packing.
I pushed everything in far enough that I could roll up the top and seal it.
The opening has a strip of tape on one edge so you can open it quickly.
Once it was sealed up I opened up the valve and compressed the bag (I sat on it ;))
This took the volume down nicely.
Granted you can compress your stuff in a standard compression sack, then put it in a normal dry bag, but the advantage of this method is that once compressed, the bag is still malleable.
You can mould it to fit the interior of your rucksack without leaving dead space. far more efficient, leaving more room in your rucksack/allowing you to use a smaller one.
The bag also comes with a 5 year guarantee which is comforting.

It's a good piece of kit, Ideal for bulky soft items like sleeping bags and spare clothing.
Protection and compression in one lightweight package.
 
these things are fantastic - i must admit to being a bit of an exped fanboy at the moment - well ever since i bought my downmat but their kit seems to really be designed by people who actually use them.

Good mini-review Graham :)
 
Thanks Graham

Nice kit and the one I found is orange so it can double as a marker to attract attention if you need to.

Might have to get one of these when I get some spare money

Phill
 
Excellent, I used to use the Mountain Equipment dry bags but the materials was so thick and heavy (admittedly it was reinforced) that I stopped using it and went over to exped bags. Didn't realise that they did the ones with valves.
 
I used one of the Sea to Summit Evac E-Vent bags for a trip to Loch Lomond recently. It got a good soaking on the paddle out to the island and with rain on and off for the whole weekend the contents stayed bone dry. I had mainly spare clothes inside it and didn`t even bother putting it under my tarp I was that impressed.
The Evac are slightly different in that you roll it up as normal and then expel the trapped air out through the E-Vent panel in the base. Great bit of kit and very very light.
I also used one of the 30L DZ Kompressor bags which are similar to the Exped in that they also have a valve for air release.
Probably my favourite was a huge 120L Buffalo dry bag which I just dropped my fully packed Sabre 75L into. It`s one of the more heavy weight ones made with a thick gauge nylon and a clear plastic window. But I picked it up brand new on the forum for about £10 so I was well chuffed with my purchase.
 
I was just looking at the E-Vent bags on the Tamarack website...may plump for a couple of those now that I have heard good things about them.

Simon


I'd read good reviews about them Simon and then saw them over at Tamarack when I was in. The DZ are good aswell and worth a look when you're next in.
 

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