North 40 Fly Shop eMagazine October 2017 | Page 33

sible. The zip assist is a hook-connector that
connects both sides of the bags, just under the
zipper. This keeps the zipper nearly tight, even
with the bag stuffed full. This allows you to zip
the bag tight without much trouble.
The inside of the bag is pretty straightfor-
ward—it’s a single open space, i.e. not parti-
tioned, and offers two small mesh zip pockets.
Because it is a single space you can’t place a
single camera in the bag and expect it to sit
tight—you would need to pack items around it
to keep it from shifting and possibly being dam-
aged. Ditto for any other items you place in the
bag. If you’re only placing clothing in the bag, or
a tent or a sleeping bag, etc., no worries brotha’.
One more thing: the Panga is made with a
molded bottom, which allows it to sit nearly
flush in the bottom of a boat or in an overhead,
and keeps it from rolling around.
Really, the new Panga submersible duffel
is exactly what you would expect from Yeti—a
highly engineered piece of equipment that is
built to survive in the outdoors and function
in the most demanding situations. That does
not mean it’s for everybody—there are scads
of rolltop bags on the market that cost signifi-
cantly less and function well, although I do re-
call that rolltops can easily fail, as mine did on
a trip down the Devils River in Texas last spring.
I ended up sleeping in a wet bag and had to dry
all my clothes, overnight, by hanging them on
thornbushes.
Additionally, there are other submersible
duffles on the market, but you might pay just
as much or more for these as you would for the
Yeti. So, the choice to spend a significant sum
on a duffel comes down to this: How much of an
enthusiast are you?
If you—and possibly your life—depends on
clothing and equipment staying dry, and you are
going to take this duffel onto the water and ex-
pose it to harsh elements often, and you need
peace of mind, the Panga is probably for you.
On the flipside, if you just need a bag to keep
the kids’ clothes dry until after a fall or spring
soccer match, I think you can find effective and
cheaper options.
So, why did I add a Panga to my arsenal?
And how did I justify the price when I bear the
financial responsibility for my children? I looked
at it this way: the Panga comes with a three-
year warranty and I expect the bag to survive
long beyond that; if it functions perfectly for 10
years the annual cost for this bomber 50-liter
duffel comes out to $30 a year, which is basical-
ly the price of one visit to Jimmy Johns after a
soccer match.
I could easily build our own sandwiches one
day this fall, instead of hitting Jimmy Johns,
and I would eagerly pay $30 every single trip to
know that my clothes, survival equipment and
camera gear is safe and sound. w
Watch Thacher Stone of Yeti give us the
Panga rundown at IFTD 2017 in Orlando, FL
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