We hope all of you have been enjoying memorable summer adventures with friends and family! We’ve been busy here at our warehouse in Colorado, but still finding some time to get outside this summer. One of the new gear items we’re most excited about are the Waterproof duffel bags and roll-top dry bags from Koyukon Gear.
Among the Caribou Gear team and ambassadors, we’ve had the opportunity to take these bags on recent adventures in Alaska, the Florida Everglades, float trips here in Colorado, striped bass fishing in Maine and even Hawaii. From whitewater to saltwater and everything in between, we are thrilled about what we believe is the best waterproof duffel ever designed.
On each of these recent trips, a handful of things have really stood out. Here are five of the top things we love about the Koyukon waterproof duffel bags:
1. Waterproof Protection
This might seem like a no-brainer from a waterproof bag system. But when you’ve got camera gear and other critical items strapped to a raft or getting hit with saltwater spray, it’s reassuring when you don’t have to worry about it.
The Koyukon duffel bags are completely submersible and waterproof. So whether it’s camping gear, camera gear or anything else you need for the adventure, it’s going to stay protected. Even when you’re not planning to get wet, you never know when your bag will be left waiting on a rainy tarmac.
2. Ease of Use
We’ve used a lot of waterproof duffels over the years. If you’re familiar with waterproof and submersible duffel bags, you know exactly what a pain they can be to use.
Submersible duffels are notorious for stiff and noncompliant zippers. You might need to brace yourself to open or close most other bags. The frustrations continue when loading and unloading many of these bags. The chunky zippers make it difficult to get anything in or out without beating up your hands, a problem that’s even worse in cold weather.
Koyukon waterproof duffel bags were specifically designed to address these issues. First, the bags are built with an ultra heavy-duty TPU lower (1680 denier nylon) and a more pliable TPU upper (840 denier nylon). This makes the bag much softer than most other submersible duffels and easier to work with. Many other brands use PVC in their waterproof bags. It’s less expensive, but it has many downsides – one of which, is that PVC becomes very stiff when cold. TPU on the other hand remains pliable.
Next, all of the Koyukon bags are built with extremely high quality marine grade zippers that are much easier to use than most other waterproof duffel bags. They’re smooth to open and close, unlike the chunky and difficult zippers we’ve used on so many other duffels. Additionally, all bags even come with silicone zipper lubricant to keep those zippers running smoothly.
3. Air Release Valve
All Koyukon duffel bags are built with an air release valve. At first glance, this might seem like a small and insignificant feature. But it’s innovative and it’s easily one of our favorite things on these bags. Never again will we have to put a wrestling move on a waterproof duffel bag in order to squeeze out the air while trying to close the zipper.
When loading the truck or stuffing your duffels into a float plane, being able to compress the bag quickly and easily is a great feature. Once the bag is zipped, simply open the air release valve and compress the bag.
On the other side of that coin, the air release valve can be used to inflate the bag. This has proven to be helpful anytime we’re recently been on a raft or boat.
4. Removable Backpack Straps
The Koyukon waterproof duffel bags all come with removable and adjustable backpack straps, complete with an adjustable sternum strap. On our recent adventures, we’ve found this perfect for wading across mangrove lagoons, carrying bags to and from the boat launch, as well as hours of combined travel through airports.
When checking bags with the airline or when stuffing them into tight spaces, it’s nice to be able to quickly remove those backpack straps and stuff them inside the bag.
In addition to the backpack straps, the Koyukon duffels are built with burly grab-handles on both ends. They also have grab handles at either end of the main zipper, making it easy to open and close the bag. We’ve also found plenty of uses for the removable webbing straps underneath the bags. And the Velcro fishing rod holders have a silicone grip to keep fly rod tubes totally secure.
5. Materials and Construction
Finally, we can’t get away without mentioning the high quality materials and construction from top to bottom. The heavy-duty TPU nylon is far superior to the PVC that is used in many other waterproof bags. Marine grade zippers are smooth and completely waterproof. And light–reflective logos make the bags easy to find in the dark – an excellent feature when hanging food near camp.
Having literally taken these bags everywhere from Alaska to south Florida over the past couple of months, we couldn’t be more excited about their ease of use, durability and performance.
Contact us with Questions
You can find all the Koyukon waterproof bags here on the website. And for those of you in Alaska or heading to Alaska, you can now find the Koyukon lineup at Barney's Sports Chalet.
The bags come in Storm Gray and Alpine Green in three different sizes: 40 liter, 70 liter and 90 liter. You can watch the videos and read the detailed specs on each product page.
If you have questions or need help picking out the right gear for your next trip, please don’t hesitate to contact us.