Exped Waterproof Bergen Liner 140Ltr
[EXPBLL140]

I was given the full size range of Exped’s Bergan Liners and drybags to trial. The range can be can be viewed on RVOps site. There are a variety of reasons for buying kit. Sometimes we think it will help us close with the Queen’s enemies and kill them, sometimes we hope it will be more comfortable than the issue kit, sometimes having something ‘nice’ makes us happy and sometimes if we’re honest we want it because we think it’s ally and then there’s stuff that might make life a little bit easier. Exped's drybags are not glamorous, they probably won’t bring a smile to your face but they may make your life a bit easier.

The Technical Stuff.

The bags come in green (Olive Collection) or black and are made of ‘soft but durable and coated Taffeta nylon with 10,000mm water column’ with ‘hot taped seems all round’ and ‘Durable Water Repellent (DWR) treated webbing’ with a roll neck (3 times) and clip buckle system which creates a waterproof seal at the neck.

There is a good variety of sizes:
140 litre Bergan Liner (main bergans.)
13 litre Pocket Liner (side/rocket pouches.)
40 litre XXL (Larger Daysack)
22 litre XL (Smaller Daysack)
8 litre M
5 litre S
3 litre XS (fits nicely in a CS95 trouser leg pocket)
1 litre XXS
Exped make the following claims: 100% Waterproof, 100% Dustproof, Not Submersible.

How did I trial them?

I took them on a week long exercise at the end of November beginning of December and a weekend conference. OK I was staying in transit accommodation but I had to pack and unpack my Bergan a few times. I used the 140 litre liner in my Bergan and the 13 litre liners for my side pouches and used the other pouches to separate stuff like socks and underwear and as a washing and shaving bag. I also experimented with using the smaller bags to line pockets.

Because the liners are soft it’s easy to pack your Bergan without losing any of the space to folds in the liner which can happen with heavier liners like the Ortlieb drybags that I have. It’s also easier to get more of the air out before you twist 3 times and close the top. The soft bags work well in your pockets but the closures feel a bit bulky and I wondered if Velcro rather than clips might be an improvement.

The two other things I liked are that the bags are much lighter than the bags I’ve used before and you can write on them with a marker pen.

Although it snowed at the end of November and I can testify that the bags are not cold proof it didn’t rain on me so to check their claim to waterproofing I put the small one in the sink for several hours. The photo shows it floating but I held it under for a bit too. It didn’t leak.

They appear to be robust. I tried pulling the seams to see if I could break the stitching and they held out against a good tug. I tried to poke my finger through the material but couldn’t.

Conclusion

Do I recommend them? Yes, they're not glamorous but they will make your life a bit easier. Can you get by without them? Yes, certainly, bin liners and plastic bags will do the job but they damage easily and are not as easy to seal at the top.

Date Added: 17/12/2010 by Arrse Reviews