A wet & dry backpack for exploring
Ahhhh surfing. Such a radical pursuit. It takes you to the far reaches of this globe, chasing waves you’ve spent your life dreaming about. It gets you malaria. Or Dengue fever. Or just parasites that riddle your system for years. You get cut up on reef, bounced off rock, partly drowned and burnt or frozen. And then you want more, and Rip Curl want to help immerse you in all this…
More than any other surf company, Rip Curl stand for ‘the search’. So it makes sense that Rip Curl create carry gear to get you out there and back again. And this latest Ultimate Search backpack, soon to be released, aims to do just that. We were loaned the pack for the last month or so to put it through it’s paces.
At the heart of the pack is a big roll-top section, much like most trendy new packs out there today. However rather than going the velcro hold down, the Search Pack borrows from one of the roll-top pioneers with an Arc’teryx-like side cinch set-up (say that 6 times fast).
There are two big front organizing pockets. The top one deals with your tech and delicates, and the lower one with any fins or surf bits. There are then side and top pockets so every bit will have a home.
There’s a hydration section that can be coerced into a laptop section (what pro doesn’t haul a macbook around for Facebook stalking), and a pretty bomber harness that even avoids dastardly air-mesh (there is a god).
So after Rip Curl loaned it to us for a month or so of play and travel, how did we go? Pretty good really. But that’s never enough of an answer for this sort of thing…
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The Good
The Wet & Dry
Lots of cycling roll-tops are using heavy duty tarp for the sealed section. This stuff weighs a tonne, and is overkill when it’s already inside a layer of outer fabric. The Rip Curl has found a much lighter, but still totally solid lining fabric that works a peach, without weighing you down.
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Pocketing
There’s lots of it, and it generally works really well. There’s bits for tech and toiletries and surf stuff and whatever other stuff you like to haul.
All the tech
There’s a solid (and removable) waist belt, there’s gear loops, there’s compression, and there’s most of the other bits you never thought to ask for.
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The Bad
There’s not really anything too bad with this. Of course we can find some minor things…
Which way is up?
Haha, this one is a touch silly, but I must admit to double taking a few times to work out which way was up. The front two pockets can be a little fiddly with orientation, but it’s really not much of an issue.
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The roll
This is relevant to most roll-tops, where they can be a bit of work when you’re just trying to office hop. If you want to grab and go, it can be a pretty significant flap you have to deal with. It all cinches up really well, it just takes a little time to do that.
The fragiles
If the tech pocket had better water-proofing, and the pack was a little more capable at dealing with a laptop, I’d be happier. I just think most surfers now travel with cameras and tech, and while this deals well enough with them, it’s not amazing with them.
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The Summary
For a surf adventure, this is a great pack. It’s light, versatile, and really comfortable (so long as you’re a pretty average height). It has an innovative format, loads of features, and is valid for most water sport adventurers.
The Ultimate Search Series Backpack will be getting released over the next month or so (Oct/Nov ’11), and should find a very warm welcome from surf adventurers around the globe. Check your favorite surf shop or www.ripcurl.com around November to have a play.
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is this backpack imported or made in USA? is it water-resistant?
Ernie,
Bag Collector recently did a really interesting post on the whole domestic vs international manufacture. We recommend a read over at:
http://bagcollector.tumblr.com/post/10127225831/made-in-china
Be sure to check the comments too, as there are lots of interesting thoughts around the topic.
This particular bag is not made in the USA, as it’s going to be sold around the world, so it can’t be made in everyone’s own country for every market. It is made in the bag capital of the world, South-East Asia (where most of the great bag sewers live).
Regarding water-proofness, the large roll-section is very water resistant – it would be fine for hours in a tropical downpour. The external pockets are only resistant to a light shower, rather than a heavy drenching.
I hope that all helps!
Hey, Great article, just finished my Southeast Asia Backpacking trip and im missing it already!
Check out my blog
http://www.myalternativelife.net
For more tips and guides on backpacking in Southeast Asia.
Thanks
A worthy rival to this backpack is the Nixon Waterlock: http://www.dogfunk.com/nixon-waterlock-backpack
Instead of the rolltop it includes a separate waterproof bag for your wet/dirty/stinky gear which I kinda like. 2 bags for the price of 1.
Isn’t it interesting how both companies have added an external, dedicated laptop pocket for their ‘core’ market?
It’s an essential feature for every post-Momentum surfer who needs to update their Facebook status at ‘secret’ spots like Desert Point and Chicama: “It’s 6ft and there’s only 30 guys out. I bet it’s onshore and crowded where you are LOL ROFL FTW” etc.
Cough, cough… ummm, guilty as charged.
But to justify it to ourselves, I can give you 3 reasons why the surf companies develop them that way:
1. The pro’s are the worst for it, being totally addicted to their machines. And you want to keep them happy with your top end bags, so you make them ‘Facebook compatible’.
2. If a customer pays lots for a bag, they want to use it on more than just a surf trip.
3. How good is it being able to rub it in your mate’s faces when you’re scoring sick pits and they’re grovelling for slop back home! (And if they’re scoring and you’re skunked, you just don’t open the fricken machine).
Yeah Ando, agree with all three points. And yes, Pro Surfer’s are people with tech-addictions who also need internet connections to keep up their PR with the fans. Pro surfing has changed a lot over the years!
Re: Point 3 – Some of my best ever sessions have been in places where I can’t bring my bag/camera for fear of theft. This makes it very hard to rub it in when you’re scoring..!
Hi Ando, good review.
It’s hard to see how the bag opens up, do you have to take the top flap off every time you want to get into the bag? Also is the wet/dry part removable or stuck in?
Cheers
It’s essentially a giant sock, that you roll the top of to seal.
So the whole main section is a waterproof sock, with some pockets then stuck around it.
Does that make sense?