When it comes to essential gear on a ski tour a dry bag is one of those pieces most often over looked. You may wonder why a dry bag is essential but in the post below I will explain why I love the Seal Line Baja Dry Bags.
What is a Dry Bag
A dry bag is a flexible container which seals in gear to keep it away from the elements.
What Type of Dry Bag do I Like
I use the Seal Line Baja bag by Cascade Designs, which is a Seattle Based company. I find that the roll top system is both fast and easy to work with. All of the seems are wielded compared to stitching to guarantee durability and waterproofness over the years. Most importantly the fabric is Rugged vinyl-coated which can take a beating from gear in your bag and not tear.
My First Reason for Using a Dry Bag on a Ski Tour
Have you ever been on a ski tour and noticed everything in your bag is soaked? If conditions are good, snow seems to get everywhere. Now for me personally I always bring extra gear and it is super important that it stays dry. This is where Dry bags come in.
For me personally I always have an extra coat and pair of gloves in my dry bag
Soaking wet day but at least my essentials are dry on the Crystal to Stampede Pass traverse.
Carrying extra gear
Have you ever been on a ski tour and your backpack is full without having everything you need? I found myself in this situation while doing a 2 Week Traverse of the Lyngen Alps. My 40 Liter backpack was filled to the top but I still had essential gear so what did I do? I took my dry bag and filled it with all the stuff I would use throughout the day (extra coat, snacks and sunscreen) and clipped it to the outside of my pack. Problem solved!
When on a multi day tour you can store all your extra fabric in the bag. Once it is filled I take a down coat and put it over the bag and now I’m sleeping in comfort with a down Pillow. Now that is luxury.
In conclusion
A Dry Bag will put you back about around 40 dollars but I would happily pay that for years of dry emergency gear. It is one of those things you buy once and never regret. It weighs nothing and gives you additional knowledge of knowing no matter what you have some dry gear. When out on multi day tours any gear I plan on using at night it goes in the dry bag. If I’m using it on a day tour I throw extra gloves and a down coat in it.
When riding resort and half way through the day your gloves are soaked you can switch to a dry pair of gloves. That alone is worth it.
In conditions like this no matter what you do snow is going to get everywhere
