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Yeti Dry Bags - design thoughts

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9.7K views 22 replies 19 participants last post by  stelz  
#1 ·
Ok - let's first address the elephant in the room - they're ludicrously expensive.

That being what it is, what are people's thoughts on the DESIGN of them? I played around with a couple of of them in the store and I'm still not sold on the zipper concept. How long it will last and if everyone will remember to fully zip it (the only way it's fully watertight).

I briefly played with two different sizes and filled them with air and sat on them. They didn't budge - even when bouncing.

I'm just not sure of the longevity of them and if the zipper could get fouled enough to let water in during a submerged situation.

Thoughts?

ref: https://www.yeti.com/bags
 
#6 ·
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.
 
#4 ·
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.
 
#7 ·
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
 
#9 ·
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.
 
#10 ·
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
 
#12 ·
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.
 
#15 ·
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.
 
#16 ·
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.
 
#18 ·
-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.
 
#22 ·
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
 
#23 ·
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.