Which size dry compression bag

[kirkw12]

Hi everyone,

New to the forum and have a quick question. My wife and I have Mountain Hardwear ratio and heratio 15 sleeping bags. We are looking to pick up Sea to Summit eVent dry compression bags for them however we're not sure which size to get. Does anyone have an idea what the smallest size we could use is? Thanks! Kirk

[Opi]

I found 13L sacks are about right size for most bags. But bags do compress to different sizes. I can get my North Face Blue Kazoo in a 8L bag but it's a little tight. I use the Sea to Summit Nano sil dry sacks. 13L's are only 1oz too

[amylynn829]

Kirk,

Hi, I'm new to the forum as well and am planning on buying the Heratio 15 bag and trying to figure out what compression sack size will work. Would love to know what you decided on.

Thanks!

Amy

[kirkw12]

Hi Amy,

I picked up medium sized sea to summit eVent compression sack. I think it is a 15 liter sack. It worked fine for the sleeping bag but I'm now using it for clothing. I found that the stuff sack included with the mountain hardwear bags was plenty small enough to fit into my bag compartment on my pack. I hope that helps and I hope you love the heratio bag as much as my wife loves hers.

[tmountainnut]

I would go with the sea to summit ultra sil bags unless you are planning on being in some VERY wet environments (canoeing lakes, rafting rivers, etc). Ultra sil will keep stuff dry short of full immersion, and is cheaper/lighter. Also, the Event is only better for full immersion if you actually close up the dry bag portion, otherwise it doesn't help. If you're buying it because its "breathable", think about how much air it will actually allow in/out in a normal day, especially stuffed down into your pack....

[amylynn829]

Thank you! It's also nice to hear how many people love the Heratio 15; I think it's going to be a great choice for me as well.

Amy

[Aaron Zagrodnick]

My go-to bag is always a 20 degree and down, and I'd agree with Opi in regards to the ~13L size being about right. Previously I've used the Ultra-Sil dry sacks tmountainnut suggested and they work great. I've also found the cuben dry bags from ZPacks to work nicely as well. With any type of dry bag as light as these I'd suggest testing them out every year or two with average use just to check that no holes or leaks along the seams have developed that you might not be aware of.

The past couple years however I've mostly moved to just using a trash compactor bag and most recently an Exped Schnozzel since I also use that to inflate my sleeping pad. Can't compress the bags as much with the latter two options but my pack has the room and I find a pack without a lot of empty space to carry best.

[kwhowell]

My 20 degree bag is the Kelty Cosmic Down from a few years ago - I'm experimenting with the Sea to Summit Spark SP I, the Reactor Plus liner, and one of the SOL mylar bivies to see if I can shed some weight and still stay warm/comfortable under 30 degrees. Either way, for the Kelty I use a 10L compression sack from Outdoor Research. Here is a link for the 20L version: http://www.rei.com/product/848438/outdoor-research-ultralight-compression-sack#tab-description .

If I were buying today, I would go with an ultra sil like Aaron and Ted suggested. I use typical drawstring ultra sil stuff sacks for my cloths and other items that I like to give a bit of extra water protection to. Here is a good looking compression sack from Sea to Summit: http://www.rei.com/product/766677/sea-to-summit-ultra-sil-compression-sack .

Another thing to consider is the ultra sil pack liner: http://www.amazon.com/Sea-Summit-Lig...mit+pack+liner . This should offer the same protection as a trash compactor bag, just with a bit more durability. I have zero experience with either, but it seemed like a good long term option.