That's a ludicrous price when you could have a top quality Watershed for 1/3 the price or Ortlieb for 1/2 the price.


But they come with window stickers so that's a plus.

 

That's EXACTLY why I was trying to focus on the design of it and not the cost/price.

 

I'll wait for K-mart to come out with a Ozark trail one for $60 and still not buy one. I prefer to pack in several water proof compression bags then toss everything in a marginally waterproof bag. Double the protection for 1/2 the price.

 

I'm super impressed by the silicon seal on the Watershed bags. Really easy to open and close, but they seem to stay closed well on their own.


I think if you're used to zipping a drysuit zipper, you'd be in the habit of fully zipping the Yeti zipper. They sure work well on their Hopper soft coolers.

 

I really like the zipper on my Aire Frodo bag, so I imagine I would feel the same way about the Yeti. It also *looks* more bomber than many of my dry bags...YMMV

 

I've never seen anything besides what's on their website so....

The rectangular design looks like it would hold more and stow more compactly with other gear. The handles on the ends look good to me, however the lack of a way to roll the bag shut means there's no way to adjust the bag so it'll be tight around the contents.

Also, the prominent and large placement of the "YETI" logo is sure to be a design feature that will satisfy the CFO.

-AH

 

Madwater

If you like the zipper drybag idea I suggest looking at Madwater Drybags. Made in the USA not China.

 

Having actually used one for a week this year I’ll say this.

1. The zipper sucks.
A. The opening it creates is narrow and hard to get larger items in.
B. The zipper itself is abrasive. Maybe I have soft skin, dunno but I don’t care for it.

2. The shape of it is pretty defined, meaning it doesn’t really allow you to mold the bag to fit weird stuff or a lot of stuff.

3. It kept stuff dry but we had no flips.

If you’ve used the yeti hopper coolers (gen 1) with the zipper directly on the top you will know exactly what I’m talking about. I gave my panga away to my buddy and stayed with my watershed. If you want a zipper buy an Ortleib and save some money. I always buy new gear stuff and try it out. This was one piece I didn’t care for at all.

 

For the money, go with Ortlieb

Bought an Ortlieb this year and love it. Square design makes packing and repacking easy, and things stay in place when you only puke some of the bags contents. Always seemed like I was repacking my entire dry bag every morning with the circular design of older bags.

Yes, it doesn't have a roll closure so you have to pack it full. But if you have that much room just bring a full size feather pillow to puff out and take up the space, or pull you sleeping bag out of the stuff sack and let it take up the additional space.

As for the design on the Yeti, yeah, looks like a pain in the ass to pack and unpack and keep things organized

 

I thought the Ortlieb's that I bought were expensive.

 

Like all Yeti products, I don't see anything special design or material wise that warrants the price tag.

I find it hard to separate price and design with them because others do it just as good or better for 1/2 or 1/3 the price.

I can understand the coolers before they had competition but now it's just flushing money down the toilet for a name.

 

Seems like ALL of the Yeti stuff is so over priced that their market is for people who want the name more than anything. I still use a dry bag that I stole from River Runners and Dave Smith ( because he owed me money ) in 87' or so and it still works great !

 

It would make a great Christmas present........if you were on the receiving end.

 

I bought two of these this year, as my older seattle sports roll top duffels fell apart.

https://www.nrs.com/product/55038.01/nrs-expedition-driduffel-dry-bag

I like the zipper since it is super easy to open and more so to close back up, but as mentioned it is a tighter closer and not as easy to find stuff inside compared to a roll top or watershed.

I'm glad I bought these and not the yeti, although I am sure the yeti is burlier fabric, but I tend not to drive around with my dry bag dragging behind my car. So I think I am good with the NRS bags.

 

The zipper definitely looks like the weak point. I don't like the form factor either. Looks like a grocery shopping bag. I'd rather have something that sits low in the bottom of a boat, like something designed specifically to fit in convenient spot in a raft.

That's what I don't like about their hard coolers either. They aren't really optimized to the dimensions of a raft frame. They should be wider, with a lower height. Maybe with some type of lip that rested on a frame rail.

 

Oops, I was confused, thought you were asking about their soft coolers. I didn't realize they made dry bags, but no way would I buy one. For that kind of money get a Watershed. Drybags made by anyone who doesn't have a whitewater background are phoney, leaky POS's.

 

-I wanted to try the zipper style drybag for daily packing/unpacking on trips. But I opted for an Ortlieb over the Yeti because of the price...and the overall reviews I found online. So far so good and I'm happy with the purchase. I like the zipper design, but I am skeptical on longevity. Only time will tell. It's seems likely that after a few years of use, I will eventually find some moisture on the inside. Just doesn't seem possible the zipper won't leak after lots of closing/opening.



also-I do like that I can use it for more than just river trips.

 

Zippers have come a long way! Alpacka pack rafts use a zipper on the outside of the tube so that you can keep gear inside the tube. I was skeptical at first but the design has seems to hold up well!

 

Watershed bags

Ive been in Grand Canyon flips with my Watershed dry bag under water for 20 minutes not a drop of water. Why would I buy a yeti? No thanks, too spendy no advantages.

 

Check out .....

RTIC

Great quality @ 1/2 the $4

 

RTIC bags are only water resistant. I do have one of their soft coolers and it is bomber. I prefer zipper duffel bags because of their shape. If you lash them to your deck boards it is easy access for your gear. I have a Yeti panga 50 and it works great for that purpose. I got it through a rewards program for free. I would not pay $300 for any dry bag. Watershed NRS and Ortlieb's are all better choices in my opinion

 

If you're looking for the zipper design specifically, I agree with other comments here... you can do better on price/ Quality than yeti.

And 300 bucks is a lot for any dry bag... I had a custom jacks plastic welding dry bag built for under my captains seat. I use it in place of a dry box and it's pretty good size. It was just over $300 and was a custom product.