| 495 | Uberlight DrySack | 2011-10-12 |
"Well, yes. I have to be able to find them. I hate not being organized," I responded.
We both had a good laugh about the stuff sack incident. My friend was really saying, 'aren't you taking gearhead to a new level?'
And I was innocently trying to authenticate my need for a sack full of stuff sacks. Ha!
Last Christmas, Santa, gave me a couple of new stuff sacks. One was the Granite Gear Uberlight DrySack. I had not asked for the dry sack. It was a surprise.
The bag was a true dry sack with the waterproof roll down closure; but instead of being made of heavy waterproof fabric, the Uberlight was made of a very lightweight, crinkly, material. The seams of the bag were not stitched; but were tape welded together. My first impressions of the bag were - this is going a bit to the extreme ... which was quite a thought from someone who had a stuff sack just to hold his stuff sacks.
I did not return the sack, after all, Santa had brought it; but the only home it found was in the stuff sack with the other unused stuff sacks. Then last spring in the Smokys, after getting my pack and contents wet again (the umpteenth time) I decided to do something about keeping my pack dry.
In the famous stuff sack that holds the other stuff sacks was the previously unused dry sack. I started playing with it to see how to incorporate it into my packing system.
This last summer, the Uberlight lived in the bottom of my pack. I (and Santa) had solved my wet pack issues.
A few Ubersack notes ...
My 13L (liter) model weighs 18 grams or two thirds of an ounce! Now that is Uberlight.
I keep the sack in the very bottom of my pack filled with things I bring but hopefully will not have to use. Included are my first aid kit, emergency kit, insulating clothing, rain pants, etc.
It is a bit more of a hassle to take the bag out every time I need anything out of it; but for my packs contents being dry, I can live with that.
The material is semi-transparent. I can see the location of big objects without opening the bag
The closure is the same as a dry sack. You tightly roll down the sack and then snap the buckle. Once again it is more difficult than a normal stuff sack; but the bag is dry.
After using it for the summer, it showed no signs of wear.
My only complaint was that the bag was expensive. Maybe, you can put it on your Santa's Wish List!
Happy dry pack trails