Ultra Sil View drysack by Sea to Summit

If you haven’t noticed, Sea to Summit gave us a bunch of stuff to review and I am happy to be putting it through its paces. Next on my list is the super cool Ultra Sil View drysack. This little baby boasts 3 significant features: Cordura fabric, a View window and a super light weight.

First out, this is a bit heavier than the ultra sil nano we looked at previously, but that is because of their choice of cordura, a heavier duty fabric, and the clear view port for seeing what is inside… I guess I could stop there, especially if you know Sea to Summit’s reputation, but for the sake of sharing what my feelings, read on!

I really like their Waterproof nano, light weight drysack (1 oz for a 13 liter bag), but for those of us who are forgetful and don know where they packed Xyz, this is worth the extra weight (1.5 oz for the 8 litre model I got).

Let’s start with the window. Itś made of TPU and RF welded on. I didn’t know what that all meant so I took a look. TPU is a plastic Thermoplastic polyurethane. Say that fast 5 times. That stuff is supposed to be elastic, abrasion resistant, as well as grease and oil resistant. I’m guessing they chose it to go along with Cordura’s durability

The RF welding is a process that bonds the materials and leaves the join as strong as the material itself. That is supposed to translate to being free of weak spots, something you don’t want on a drysack. It looks and handles great IMHO and I don’t see that window breaking any time soon… But don’t worry, we’ll be doing a long term review as well.

So let’s move onto the Cordura. They’ve chosen the growingly popular cordura fabric for this view line (comes in 1,2,4,8,13,20 and 35 litre models). Although it’s been around since 1929, cordura has only recently come into my radar (read 1-2 years). It’s known to be strong and durable, resisting abrasions, scuffs, etc. They’ve siliconized it to make it waterproof to give that much needed dry feature of drysacks. he he he.

This pack is almost double its ultra sil nano cousin of the same capacity, but clearly designed for harder wearing and better organizational skills. Still, at 1.5 ounces, you’re not suffering by turning to this for longer or rougher trips. Especially if you’re not easy going on your gear.

If you haven’t seen this new line, check it out on Sea to Summit’s Ultra Sil View page.

Pluses: Heavier duty fabric and a nice view port to keep track of where everything is.

Downers: Results in a slightly heaver weight.

My conclusions: For light, but not ultralight hikers, you need to check this out for yourself.

Check out a first impressions take I did on the ultra sil view here: