Lowe Alpine Dry Sack

Got for myself a smaller dry sack from Lowe Alpine. This is a little smaller than the Sea to Summit ones I have, which are large at 20 litres. This is size S which is 7 litres. In it I intend to pack all my stuff that is meant for the handlebar bag. I think I am going to carry most of my non-clothing items in this - like medicines, toiletries, emergency meds etc. It cost me Rs 850 on Amazon.

The packed size is very very compact, as you can see in the picture to the right. It has a rectangular base, making storage easier when stuffed. I believe it is not submersible but that's fine. I am not going for any river rafting trip with it. My Sea to Summits are good for that. This will be used mainly for packing my medicines and toiletries in future adventure trips. Nice and handy size.

I just have to see how durable the material is and how it handles small sharp objects and the nicks and cuts. The Sea to Summit, for example, looks very vulnerable. In fact that is one of the reasons why I hesitated to use it during my Stok Kangri trip in 2018. This is way cheaper and I should not have any problem using it in rough handling situations like a cycle trip or a trek. Lowe Alpine is a good brand and I am glad that it is now available in India.

February 13, 2019

I opened the bag last night at home. It is no match against the Sea to Summit that I have. The material looks coarse and it is obviously not submersible. S2S can be made airtight and like a balloon. This is just a stuff sack that is water proof. But then that is what I was looking for. I think it will serve the purpose for which I bought it.

My Amsterdam Purchases

Last night I came back from a very short trip to Amsterdam. It was a dealers' conference with lots of internal company managers. I was one of them. It was a short 3-day trip to the beautiful city. 

I took the opportunity of the visit to buy a few items related to my passion for trekking. All very functional things that are either not available in India or are very expensive if available here. 

I will just note down the main items in one place and hence this post. I will later individually review them. 

The absolute first item that I bought was a Black Diamond Storm. As much as 350 lumens of light. It came with 4 new Duracell batteries. Next on the agenda were two 20 lit Sea to Summit dry bags. One for Mampu and another for myself. I later realised that both come in the same dull blue colour. Next in line was a Granger detergent to wash my rainwear and other delicate type items. I finished the visit to Bever with two Nite Ize S-biners. 

After these two I also bought a 5-in Asics split from the Asics concept store next to Bever. But the most important purchase was from Kathmandu - a pair of Meindl Antelao mid rise boots. I also topped it off with a Nik Wax.

I had originally intended to buy the Scarpa R-Evolution from Bever but they goofed up my order on Monday and on Wednesday when I went to get it they said the original order was never placed. Quite a disgusting state of efficiency.

Anyway, the Meindl is a very good fit. One never knows how the Scarpa would have been. But it was available at a very good price as it was on discount. But anyway. All's well that ends well.