This super-rugged series of backpacks and bags offers a waterproof rating down to 50 meters (164 ft), and floats so well you can use it as a makeshift life raft. And it's got other tricks up its sleeve, like an inflatable shockproof liner for your delicate electronics.
We've written before about floating travel bags for the (then) emerging sport of seatrekking, but to our knowledge we've never covered a backpack before that's rated as waterproof up to 50 meters under the surface.
Sweden's Subtech Sports touts its Drybag 2.0 range as the world's most extreme bag series, and we feel they've got a decent argument there. There are three bags in the series: a 45-liter backpack, a 100-liter bag and a 95-liter tote bag.
In addition to their extreme waterproof rating, each of these bags has air and waterproof zippers, pressure tested to 7 psi. The outer material is a durable thermoplastic polyurethane fabric with welded seams, much like what a decent inflatable raft is made from. Because they're airproof, they float in water fully packed, even enough to carry an adult as a makeshift life raft.
The 45-liter Pro Drybag comes with an additional inflatable inner liner system to shock-proof your sensitive electronics if the bag gets thrown about. If there's nothing you're worried about, you can deflate the whole thing and see the storage of the bag jump to 57 liters.
Optional add-on internal packing systems and dividers let you keep things separate inside, and the whole thing's small enough to use as carry-on luggage on a flight.
The 100-liter Pro Drybag can also be used as a backpack, or as a travel bag depending on its outer configuration. It comes with an internal divider system to help with packing, and the whole thing folds up pretty flat when you're not using it. It weighs in at 2.48 kg (5.5 lb) with all its bits and pieces included, and half that if you leave the internal dividers, backpack straps and waist belt at home.
The 95-liter tote bag … is a 95 liter tote bag. It's super light at 620 grams (1.4 lb) and has an internal mesh pocket for keys, phones and the like.
Subtech is pitching this as an extreme sports bag range, for the wingsuit, kite surfing and freeride skiing types. But it's reasonable to say these look like an attractive option to anyone that gets out into the great outdoors, particularly if there's kayaks or whatnot involved.
This whole thing is making us wish we had some more extreme things to do. The Pro Drybag series has already smashed its crowdfunding target on Indiegogo, where pledges for a 45-liter Drybag start at US$279, the 100 liter Drybag at $349 and the 95 liter tote at $69. There are also pledge levels for multiple bag combinations, and the company claims deliveries will start in July, if all goes to plan.
Source: Indiegogo
