can check this airtight promise, as I did, by docking the zipper and adding weight-bearing to the bag. To do this I dropped the shades on my windows so my neighbors won’ t become more skeptical, then knelt on the bag and rotated it under my knees for 10 minutes. After that, I propped the Panga against a wall, stabilized the outside of the bag, and then stacked 100 pounds of weight on top. After 24 hours I checked the bag and determined that no air had escaped from the zipper and U-Dock.
I also checked the submergibility aspect, so I loaded the Panga with weight, followed by gift-wrapping paper( which I figured would best show any sort of leakage) and submerged it in a deep bathtub and turned on the jets, my simulation for that bag going through a rapid. I left the jets on for an hour, then turned them off. But I left the Panga completely submerged for 24 hours. When I removed the Panga and drained the tub I dried the duffel with a towel and then used a hairdryer to remove any water drops remaining on the bag or on the zipper. Then I opened the bag and checked the paper. As expected, not a drop of water had penetrated the zipper and the paper was absolutely dry.
Like other Yeti products, this one is built to last. The bag is made with Thickskin Shell, which is a high-density nylon and thick TPU lamination that is puncture and abrasion resistant. This is the same material Yeti’ s soft-side coolers are made with. In addition, this duffel can serve as a backpack because it comes with removable, high-quality straps and equally bombproof metal clips. Let’ s be honest, however; although the straps are comfortable and efficient, you aren’ t going to head into the Crazy Mountains with this bag, figuring it to be a replacement for your standard high-country pack. But, this will get you hands-free from the boat to a campsite and serves superbly in airports as you negotiate security and race to gates. If you need to carry your camera gear all day and hike into some remote bull trout, cutthroat or steelhead stream, this backpack capability earns big props, too.
If you are going to carry the bag with your hands you’ ll find eight different handles to choose from. These also serve as lashpoints so you can strap your bag down when the need arrives. These also allow you to pitch the bag from the beach to a boat if needed.
You can jam a lot of gear into these bags, especially clothing, and a“ zip assist” on the inside of the bag helps you get as much in as pos-
31