Well yes that article is a trifle worrying in some senses. Perhaps also worth remembering that modern rucksacks seem to stop most of the rain and that even down stuff won't spontaneously combust in the presence of a few drops of water!
Might depend what you're doing of course. If you're going deep into a wilderness with a few river crossings etc then a certain degree of paranoia might be in order
Got to now be my new mammut extreme cho oyu jacket. Bloody great! Worn it in heavy rain, some snow, plenty of wind and last sunday when it was nice and hot up tryfan's north face and bristly ridge. Just don't notice i'm wearing it. Its never hot its never cold. Durable to as i manged to scrape it all over most of the glyders as well and it hasn't shown a scuff while my champ pants are scuffed.
So many bits of kit that i like, bush buddy (need to be from another planet to not love these), pak-lite (the light that never fails), akto (still loving it), exped down mat (to sleep better than at home, jacks are better no sniveller quilt (so light, so comfy).. so hard to pick an overall winner.. after sitting here for a bit, uming and aring, i really cant !
this article put me off using the Sea to Summit ones.
Yes, some Yank demonstrating that a silnylon drybag couldn't handle being filled with water and then not leaking. Try it with that waterproof jacket that keeps you dry and you'll get the same result.
Drybagged kit in a rucksask is not subjected to the same water pressures that he was using. He obviously wants some kind of bombproof, submersible drybag for swimming across rivers with (probably been watching Bear Grylls) and I'm sure he's found one. It'll weigh a heck of a lot more than a silnylon bag and be over-engineered for what most of us need.
For 3-season UK backpacking (I can't comment on winter) the StS bags are perfectly adequate.
haglofs kaza. Awesomely cut, awesomely light, awesomely windproof, awesomely comfortable, awesomely breathable. Can't wait to get back to the hills in a couple of weeks to go trash some more gear: the Kaza was such a hit I've been buying more Intense Series stuff - Zodiac shorts a coupla weeks ago and am waiting for my special-ordered Ace M to arrive.
This time I have Roclite 315s to try out, too. Should be fun.
bloody tourists.
