( 5 reviews )
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Posted: Jun 28 2008
I bought this bag for a trip to puerto to rico, where we planned to hike through the jungle, go to waterfalls and go caving. It kept all my equipment dry walking through the rain and visiting waterfalls and such, but it really amazed me when I took it caving. Nearly 5 hours were spent crawling through mud or up to our necks in underground rivers. The pack was very literally floating along behind me or partly submerged for most of the trip. It was dragged over rocks, pushed through holes and floated along in places too small to fit through with it on my back. By the time it was over I had little hope for me gear, yet found not a drop of water on it when I finally got up the courage to open the water proof seal. I was quite astounded at the amount of abuse it had taken. When used properly this bag really does what it says it will do, and even though it warns against submersion it will handle even that if need be. However, when sealed this bag is not easy to get at, and if you happen to get a lot of mud or dirt on it, it is not advisable to open the seal and then close it again due to contaminants getting into the zipper. I can fit a canon xti with battery grip, 70-200mm f/2.8, 100mm f/2.8, 85mm f/1.8, 75-300 f/4-5.6, 430EX, tokina 11-16 f/2.8, plus lens hoods for the 70-200, 100, and 11-16 all in the main compartment, plus all other odds and ends. It is a task to get stuff out once the seal is zipped up, but you dont always have to keep that shut. The tripod carrier is also a big help. If you really need something waterproof, this is your bag, if not, then dont get it. I would not advise getting this as your main bag, and thinking of the waterproof as an added bonus should you ever need it.
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( 1 of 2 found this review helpful ) Posted: Dec 7 2007
Last week when the Nikon D3 came out, I decided to buy a waterproof backpack to protect my new camera from the elements. Last year, I got caught in a fierce rainstorm while taking photos with my D2X and luckily I placed my camera inside an extra plastic bag that was in my Lowepro regular duty camera bag because it got soaked right through! To avoid an expensive disaster, I invested in this waterproof backpack. This bag is quite heavy when empty, but the real reason why I am only giving it 4 stars is that it is very difficult to open, and the tiny lubricant for the zipper that came with it is only good for one time use. Even after properly lubricating the zipper it is still difficult to unzip. I can place my D3, D300 bodies, along with the 17-35mm F2.8, TC17 teleconverter, 70-200mm F2.8 and the 80-400mm Nikkor lenses inside, however, that is about it for the Dryzone100's capacity. While the DryZone 200 has more room, it is also larger and doesn't qualify as a carry on, and for flying I want my cameras and lenses with me.
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Posted: Nov 9 2007
This bag holds all my gear: 2 SLR's, 3 lenses, Extra Film, a point and shoot camera in a smaller case, batteries, and recharger's all in the water proof section. Over all its a great bag. The T-Zip zipper is a little difficult to open, especially the first time you open it. But just for walking around you can leave the T-Zip open, the only reason to close it is for complete water-proof-ness (if that is a word). I love this bag and I take it on all my over night trips.
