Rapid Drypack
Remember that conversation you used to have when you were a kid – the one you still possibly have after a few beers around the campfire – about what superpower you’d choose if you could?
Everyone always picks flying. Boring. Me, I’d rather be able to explore the life aquatic than flounce around up in the clouds. What are you going to find in a cloud? Nothing, that’s what. There’s so much more going on in waterworld.
Kermit reckons it’s not easy being green, but – except when eating in French restaurants – I’ve always been a bit jealous of amphibians, with their ability to swan around between land and water with utter impunity. So that’s my choice – my superpower will be amphibianess.
However, while I wait for some sort of nuclear accident to turn my ears into oxygen-absorbing gills and cause webs to form between my fingers and toes, I’ll just have to content myself with the occasional dive and a life spent playing on the edges of water – kayaking, canyoning, coasteering, that kind of stuff.
We human wannabe amphibians have a problem, however. While we might be happy to get soaked in the line of recreational duty, much of the gear we like to cart around with us doesn’t respond so well to submersion – as my DSLR camera found out the other day. RIP expensive camera.
So, how to carry around gear that doesn’t mix well with H2O when playing in the wet stuff? Well hello Rapid Drypack, where have you been hiding?
While this 26-litre high-performance multifunctional day bag is something of a revolution in dry bag technology, really it’s quite simple: it’s a fully functional fold-top, heavy-duty dry bag that’s properly equipped with a real daybag harness and some external (but still waterproof) pockets.
I’ve been testing this bag’s claims for six months now – on the bike in the peeing Melbourne rain, in the sheeting snow in the icy bosom of New Zealand’s South Island Alps, coasteering in the UK and whilst kayaking all over the place – and it’s come up trumps every time.
It also operates as a great day bag in completely dry circumstances. The side locking system maintains the integral ’pack’ shape of the bag, meaning you can take full advantage of the 26 litres of space inside. It has a proper harness featuring padded, quick-drying shoulder straps, plus removable waist and sternum straps, and an ergonomic back panel for elevated comfort levels.
Plus there’s that front pocket for stashing smaller items you need to access quickly, it has mesh bottle holsters on the side and, besides keeping water out, it also has a hydration pocket so you can carry a bladder of H2O to keep you juiced up while you’re exploring.
All in all, it’s a piece of kit with serious super powers.
RRP $189 www.seatosummit.com.au
