Good New Stuff: Patagonia 30L Stormfront Waterproof Pack
Not cheap, but kind of unkillable.
Okay, let’s address the elephant in the room here right off the bat; this backpack costs 300 bucks new. For that, you can get a giant backpacking bag that can hold enough stuff to travel around the world like a prototypical young Australian. You’d even have enough cash left over for a bandanna and a couple bad stick-and-poke tattoos. Or 300 bucks is at least a couple nights out in most major cities in the world, provided you steer clear of 5-star restaurants and strip clubs.
So why would you want to burn that kind of cash on a backpack? Well, this thing is kind of incredible. As the caption says…if you cop it in grey this thing is basically a government building. Large, grey, expensive, and pretty darn secure. The pack fabric is that rubberized thick stuff that whitewater kayak guiding bags are made of, and it’s got Patagonia’s strongest rating for waterproof powers. According to them, you can submerge this bad boy.
Here at CC, we tried to find out. As there’s a stream in the backyard, we threw a couple pairs of socks, a pair of jeans, and an old MP3 player in the bag, and tossed it in. It passed! As this was a loaner bag (and we’re not made of money as of yet) we didn’t try it with things like phones or laptops inside. But it seems like this sucker actually has the abilities advertised by the maker.
A rare feat, indeed.
Specifically created for fly fishing, this bag has some straps pre-attached to the right side that seem to be designed for a rod tube. Unfortunately for non-anglers, these straps tie pretty close to the edge of the bag. Anything larger than a Nalgene kinda flops around a bit, though it also worked fine for our photo tripod.
What’s cool is that you can move the straps to any of the other tie-downs on the bag, of which there are a few. It could probably handle a pair of ice axes or a skateboard, but maybe not skis. Actually strike that, skis could work if the bag was filled up a bit.
One other caveat- the front pocket is not waterproof at all. So if/when you put your wallet in there, your stuff inside will get super-soaked. Wet money will still be accepted at convenience stores in exchange for beers, but the store clerks might give you some guff about it. Don’t ask us how we know.
The zipper pocket INSIDE the bag is where you wanna put that kinda stuff. Juuust saying.
Other than those points, this is pretty much your average backpack, just up-armoured for water protection. If I lived in London or Seattle, or did things like biking in all conditions regularly- I wouldn’t hesitate to cop this, probably in all-black as it’s the only color allowed in central Berlin. Also I have a pretty cold heart.
Anyway, this pack is recommended.
