A dry bag keeps your gear dry. The trouble starts when you have three of them in a pack and can’t remember which one has the socks. The Sea to Summit Lightweight Dry Bag View fixes that with a clear window down one side. We paid $30 for the 8 litre version in blue.
What’s in the box
A light roll-top dry bag in recycled 70D nylon, with a clear TPU window on one side, an oval base and a buckle with a D-ring. It comes in three sizes: 5, 8 and 13 litres. Ours is the 8 litre in Surf the Web, a strong blue.
What we like
- Clear window: you see what’s inside
- Light: 70 g on our scale
- Packs to almost nothing when empty
- Fully taped, double-stitched seams
- Buckle can be replaced if it breaks
- 8 litres holds a thick beach towel
What we don’t
- Thin fabric isn’t for rough use
- Not made to be held under water
- Sling is sold separately
Quick Specs
| Spec | Details |
|---|---|
| Brand | Sea to Summit |
| Material | Recycled 70D nylon (bluesign approved)TPU window |
| Colour | Surf the Web |
| Weight | 70 g |
| Seams | Double stitchedFully taped |
| Closure | Roll top with Field Repair Buckle and D-ring |
| Base | Oval |
| Sizes | 5 L8 L (tested)13 L |
The window
The window is the whole idea. It’s a clear TPU panel that runs most of the way down one side, and through it you can see exactly what’s in the bag: clothes, a towel, the first aid kit, the charging cables.
That saves a lot of unrolling. With a few plain dry bags in a pack or a drawer, you end up opening the wrong one first. With this one you just look. The inside is white as well, which reflects the light and makes small things easier to find once the bag is open.
Size and weight
More than you’d think. The 8 litre takes a whole thick beach towel if it needs to, rolled up, with the top still rolling down three times to seal. For a day at the beach or a swim on the way to camp, that’s the towel kept dry on the way there, or the wet towel kept away from everything else on the way back.
It’s also a good size for a day’s spare clothes, or for all the small electronics in one bag. If you need less or more, it comes in 5 and 13 litres too.
Empty, the 8 litre weighed 70 g on our scale, and it folds down to almost nothing.
Fabric and seams
The bag is made of recycled 70D nylon, which is thin, light and soft. The fabric is bluesign approved and has a PFC-free water-repellent finish. It’s the same idea as Sea to Summit’s other Lightweight dry bags: a bag to organise and protect things inside a pack, not one to drag over rocks. The seams are double stitched and fully taped.
That makes it very different from the heavy-duty Big River Dry Bag, which is 420D nylon with lash points. The View weighed 70 g on our scale, against 189 g for the 13 litre Big River, and packs down to almost nothing when it’s empty. The Big River is the one for the outside of a boat or a roof rack.
It keeps out rain, spray and splashes, but like every roll-top bag it isn’t made to be held under water.
Roll top, buckle and base
It closes like any roll-top bag: push the air out, roll the top down at least three times and clip the buckle. The buckle has a D-ring on one end for clipping or hanging the bag.
The buckle is Sea to Summit’s Field Repair Buckle, and there’s a label on the bag to say so. If it breaks, it can be replaced, so a crushed buckle doesn’t mean a new bag.
The base is oval, which stops the bag rolling away when you put it down and helps it stand up while you pack it.
On the base is a small lash point, marked with a maximum load of 15 kg. That’s where the Sea to Summit Dry Bag Sling attaches: one end clips to the base and the other to the D-ring on the buckle, so you can carry the bag over a shoulder. The sling is sold separately.
Conclusion: Sea to Summit Lightweight Dry Bag View 8LConclusion
The Sea to Summit Lightweight Dry Bag View is a light dry bag that shows you what’s inside. It’s recycled 70D nylon with fully taped seams, a roll top, an oval base and a buckle you can replace, and it weighed 70 g on our scale. The thin fabric isn’t for rough use, it isn’t made to be held under water, and the carry sling is sold separately. I paid $30 for the 8 litre. For keeping a pack or a drawer organised and dry, it’s a very handy bag.
A light 8 L roll-top dry bag in recycled 70D nylon with a clear window, taped seams and a replaceable buckle, at 70 g.
Thin fabric, so not for rough use, and the carry sling is sold separately.
- Hikers
- Car campers
- Travellers
Yes. $30 buys a light dry bag that organises a pack and shows you what’s inside. If the bag will be strapped to a roof rack or a kayak, get the heavier Big River instead.
