Sea to Summit Lightweight Dry Bag (1.5L) Review

What’s in the box

A 1.5 litre dry bag in recycled, bluesign-approved 70D nylon with a 10,000 mm waterproof coating inside, double-stitched and fully taped seams, a hypalon roll-top with a Field Repair Buckle, an oval base and a bright white lining. It comes in sizes from 1.5 to 35 litres.

Quick Specs

Build

The fabric is soft and crumples down to nothing in your hand, but it feels thick and well made. The waterproofing comes from the coating inside, rated to a 10,000 mm hydrostatic head, with a water-repellent finish on the outside to shed rain. The seams are double stitched and taped on the inside, and the roll-top is non-wicking hypalon, so water doesn’t creep in along the fabric.

Using It

Roll the top down three times and clip the buckle, and it has sealed every time. The white lining makes small things easy to find, even in dim light, and the oval base stops it rolling off a sloping camp table. We keep our charging cables and a small power bank in ours, and clip the small D-ring on the buckle inside a daypack so it stays put. The Dry Bag Sling clips to the same buckle if you want to carry it over a shoulder.

Weight and Limits

At 35 g it adds nothing to a pack, and it squeezes into any gap. It’s made for rain and splashes, not for going under water: under pressure, water can get past a roll-top. At 1.5 litres it only takes small things, and the D-ring on the buckle is small, so it’s for clipping, not for hanging heavy loads.

Colours and sizes

The Lightweight Dry Bag comes in seven sizes, from 1.5 to 35 litres, and five colours. We tested the 1.5 litre in Burnt Olive. Heights are with the top rolled down three times. Prices are the RRP.

Lightweight, View or First Aid?

The Dry Bag View and the First Aid Dry Bag are versions of this Lightweight Dry Bag in the same 70D nylon, made for a different job: the View has a clear window so you can see what’s inside, and the First Aid is a small one with a window, made for a first aid kit.

	This oneLightweight 1.5L	WindowDry Bag View→	First aidFirst Aid→
Window	No	Yes	Yes
Made for	Organising a pack	Seeing what’s inside	A first aid kit
Size tested	1.5 L	8 L	1 L
Weight	35 g	70 g	32 g
Price paid	$18	$30	$22
Our score	9.0	9.2	8.9

Which Sea to Summit Dry Bag?

We’ve tested four main Sea to Summit dry bags, and they suit different jobs. This Lightweight Dry Bag is the light everyday one with a white inside; the Big River is the heavy-duty one in 420D nylon, with lash points to strap it to a rack or a kayak, the Ultra-Sil is the lightest per litre, in thin 30D nylon, and the Evac is the one with a base that lets the air out, for squeezing soft gear down. Our dry bags guide compares them with other brands too.

	This oneLightweight 1.5L	Heavy dutyBig River 13L→	Air outEvac Lightweight 5L→	LightestUltra-Sil 8L→
Lash points	No	Yes	No	No
Fabric	70D nylon	420D nylon	Recycled nylon	Ultra-Sil 30D nylon
Base	Oval	Oval, triple-coated	Air-expelling Evac base	Plain fabric
Inside	White	White	White	Same colour as outside
Size tested	1.5 L	13 L	5 L	8 L
Weight	35 g	189 g	53 g	42 g
Price paid	$18	$75	$35	$24
Our score	9.0	9.3	9.0	8.8

Conclusion: Sea to Summit Lightweight Dry Bag

The Sea to Summit Lightweight Dry Bag in 1.5 litres is small, tough and light: recycled 70D nylon with a 10,000 mm coating, taped seams, an oval base and a white lining, at 35 g. It kept our things dry in heavy rain. It isn’t made to go under water, the D-ring is small and 1.5 litres only holds small items, but for $18 it’s a fixed part of our kit for keys, cables and a power bank.