Ortlieb Medium size 60 Liter Dry Duffle

Update: In the 60 liter size, we are also carrying a new Ortlieb product with identical features called the Metrosphere Duffle. The difference is that rather than being made of pvc coated material, the Metrosphere is built with polyurethane impregnated nylon, yielding a tough, but even lighter weight, option for rafters and other folks who need to minimize every ounce. The Metrosphere version is all black, and runs $15 more than the standard 60L Duffle listed here. It is not on our cart yet, but you can phone us if you want to order one for the time being.

The new Ortlieb Dry Duffles are the highest quality bag of this type you can purchase, period. The German blended pvc of the Ortlieb's could easily be used to build inflatable touring kayaks. Not only does it have a tough 1000 denier polyester base, but the acrylic finish exterior is hard and abrasion resistant. This listing is for the "medium" (there is a "small" 40L Dry Duffle for about ten bucks less, though we have not decided for sure if we will stock that one - call for info) 60 liter volume bag, which measures 22" long, 13" wide, and 11.5" tall. If you look at the manufacturer's figures, you will notice they vary somewhat from ours. Many of Ortlieb's dimensions are too high, but on a couple of the Dry Duffles they are actually too low. Otrlieb says this one weighs 2 pounds, 8 ounces. Our scale says 2 lbs, 10 oz. Close enough.

All sizes of the Expedition Dry Duffles feature a completely watertight drysuit zipper, two inside pockets for small items or dirty riverwear, one outside zippered mesh pocket, a strip of daisychains on each side of the zipper that cam straps can pass through, pegs on the ends if you want to stand your bag on a flat floor, contoured carry straps (which double as backpack shoulder straps, though they are not very padded) that can be removed with a little fussing, cordura reinforced corners and bottoms, and an internal compression strap that can make closing the zipper easier if the bag is fully loaded. There is also a ladderlock piece of hardware at each end of the zipper that a camlock strap will pass though. Between these, the daisychain patches, and the handle webbing, there is no shortage of ways to tie this bag ultra-securely into your river boat.

We have been stocking this size in blue but Ortlieb has discontinued that color, so going forward we will be carrying yellow and dark olive in the 60 liter size. We know that there is only a small price difference per size, and it is probably tempting to buy the larger ones. But the rule should really be to get the smallest one that will work, especially if you run self-supported trips out of canoes or inflatable kayaks. Even in a raft, space can be limited.