There is no shortage of dry bags on the market and many from well known brands with higher price tags. We were provided with another lower cost option from a lesser known brand for testing. After a summer of trips and testing we can say that the overall build quality, seal and features makes it a worthy option if you’re in the market for a waterproof bag for your next adventure.

Price	$24.99 (Amazon)
Pros	• Good build quality • Good internal seal
Cons	• Backpack straps are basic and do not carry weight comfortably
Rating
Rundown	A sturdy, reliable waterproof bag at an affordable price point.

Quality

Overall the build quality is good with good seams and sturdy material. I don’t anticipate any early failure or to easily be able to tear the exterior bag material. From our experience so far we’ve tossed it around without much concern and haven’t found any noticeable wear marks. The shoulder straps are not to be relied on for great comfort though. The weakest part of the bag would be the plastic clips and attachments from the bag to the shoulder straps. We’ve not experienced any issue with them but plastic always has to potential for cracking in the longterm.

Performance

We’ve had a number of dry bags over the years and many seem to have a single seal created from the rollover of the top of the bag. This bag uses a ziplock style seal on an inner bag to keep out the water. The out bag then rolls over and buckles shut like most dry bags. This inner seat helps to inspire additional confidence when leaving valuables in it.

The bag is on the small/medium size and would be ideal for an afternoon on the river or a day on the trail.

Value

At $25 on Amazon this is a good deal for the build quality and size. If I was in the market for a bag of this size then I wouldn’t hesitate to pick one up.

Manufacturer Information

Affiliate Disclosure: Affiliate links are used on this page and any purchases made with these links help to cover operating costs of this website.

This product was received directly from the manufacturer for testing and review. All opinions and comments are ours and we have not been compensated in anyway to provide this review.

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The comfortable, washable, odor resistant ExOfficio Give-N-Go underwear make packing light for multi-day travel a breeze. ExOfficio advertises right on the package “17 countries. 6 weeks. One pair of award-winning underwear.” Here is my honest review of these travel underwear.

Price	$20 (as low as $9 on Amazon)
Pros	• Washable on the go • Comfortable • Odor resistant
Cons	• Price
Rating

The Full Scoop

I own three pair of these underwear. Each of them in the not-so-lovely color of nude, and the not-so-flattering cut of full cut

brief. Yes, Y’all. They are granny panties. There is a reason I own three in this configuration, and that reason is that I am cheap. These underwear are expensive, and I have bought each of my three pairs on clearance, meaning I likely wound up with the least popular color and cut. I would say that is one of the downsides of the underwear: the price.

I’m not saying that the value isn’t there, however. They offer many benefits over standard underwear. While traveling in Europe, I wore each pair and washed them in the sink with Dr. Bronner’s castile soap every night in rotation. They dried extremely easily and the fabric responded well (didn’t have any stiffness or wear specifically from washing and drying them in less  than ideal conditions. So an immediate benefit is washability.  Even without a machine’s agitation capacity, the underwear were odor free and ready to go within a few hours of a quick sink wash.

They are also comfortable. I never find myself tugging at these or re-adjusting. Granted, I already admitted I have the full cut brief, so other styles may differ. That being said, during travel or other outdoor activities, it is important to be able to rely on comfortable underwear. I feel that all the important contact points stay in place, the leg bands do not gather or pull, and the waist band stays put. They never leave indentions on my skin after I swell during a hike, or after too much wine (did you know wine is cheaper than water in Rome?!?). So, comfort is also a benefit of these underwear. 

As I try to give these an honest review I also consider elements such as wicking ability. They are described as “breathable mesh fabric” on the ExOfficio website. I am struggling to remember their true wicking ability or ability to stay dry during strenuous hikes or jogging between close connections. The truth is I never thought about my underwear during these times, and I suppose that comes out to be a benefit. Apparently they weren’t a problem and isn’t “not thinking about your underwear” what you really are after?

Are they Durable?

Finally, in the durability category, I have had mixed results. Two of my pairs are as intact and nice as the day they were taken from the package. I have one pair that suffered a minor incident in an airport once. As I reached down to pull them up, my finger separated the stitching between the band and the fabric on the side. On the other side the stitching has begun to fray. I suspect this is likely because the pair I purchased was on clearance and may have even been marked “irregular” or may have been a “sample sale” item. That being said, I’d have to give these a needs more information/research in terms of durability.

Overall I would recommend these undergarments to anyone looking for something that is odor resistant, comfortable, and easy to wash during travel. These were definitely instrumental in supporting our minimal packing for our 2017 trip through Europe.

Manufacturer Information

ExOfficio has not compensated Outdoor Wanderlust for this review. These are the author’s true and honest opinions of the product.

Affiliate Disclosure: Affiliate links are used on this page and any purchases made with these links help to cover operating costs of this website. 

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Osprey Farpoint 55 is designed and marketed as a “travel & trekking” backpack. We bought it for traveling (not on a trail) because of its versatility and it’s built-in day pack. After years of lugging around roller suitcases down cobble stone sidewalks and busy urban streets it made since to try a backpack instead of traditional luggage.

We carried this pack for 2 weeks and across 6 countries in Europe. Get our full breakdown and opinion below.

Price	$180 (Amazon)
Pros	• Large capacity, holds up to 50 lbs • Removable daypack • Comfortable padding and hip belt
Cons	• Daypack caused additional wear on t-shirts when worn for long periods of time • Main pack only has one large compartment
Rating
Rundown	If you’re planning a lot of travel backpacking then this is a go to option without a doubt. Great build quality, smart design and comfortable fit will make the investment worth it over time.

Quality

Osprey is a company that’s been around for a while and have a fairly good history of building quality packs. This pack is no different. Build quality and material choices are good. We pushed the limits of the pack with capacity and weight over the course of 2 weeks of traveling. Pulling on zippers, cinching straps, lots of buckling and banging the bag into numerous obstacles while on my back didn’t resort in any issues. The material selected is quite sturdy and easy to clean off after dragging a bag through the dirt or checking it on an airplane.

Both the main pack zipper and day pack zipper have the ability to use a TSA lock for added security while traveling. You can also remove the daypack from the back and buckle it to the front chest straps to wear it on the front. Looks weird but for the ultimate in preventing pick pocketing it can be handy.

Performance

The Osprey Farpoint performs well. Carries a large load and distributes the weight to your hips with afairly large hip belt. The daypack is secured with a zipper and straps. A storable fall can be zipped up to hide the shoulder straps and hip belt. This allows you to carry the bag like a giant duffle bag and prevents less damage when checking the bag at the airport. A very nice feature to have in my opinion.

The only issue I noticed was while wearing the daypack for 10+ hours a day for 2 weeks left many of my t-shirts with noticeable wear in the lower back area. This could be the result of the t-shirt material but the day packs has a fairly firm mesh material for the back panel. The material was designed for airflow but creates a lot of friction with your back. From my experience the small daypack still gives you a sweaty back even when it’s only 65 degrees fahrenheit outside.

The size of Farpoint 55 liter pack is carry on compliant for most airline carriers. We got through American Airlines, British Airways and Veuling without much problem. We were asked to fit it in the measuring box at the gate once and I could successfully jam it in (with the daypack bag already removed as a ‘handbag’ carry on). One additional thing to note is the bag is water-resistant but not waterproof so you might want to have a good pack cover for those random down pours to keep your clothes dry inside.

Value

This is not a cheap backpack. It retails for $230 but is easily found for around $180 at the time of writing this article. You can find any run of the meal roller bag for around $50 or similar sized but not as well designed backpacks for less than $100. The Osprey Farpoint 55 isn’t a bargain bag at the end of the day. If you plan to put in a lot of urban backpacking or travel by foot then you’ll find the investment easily worth it. For the average traveler who does the occasional trip once a year or always takes an uber from the airport to the hotel, then this will be a waisted investment.

Manufacturer Information

Affiliate Disclosure: Affiliate links are used on this page and any purchases made with these links help to cover operating costs of this website.

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Cairn is a monthly subscription box service that specializes in outdoor gear, snacks, apparel and skin care products. If your an outdoors freak and/or a gear hoarder then this might be a fit for you. I’ve been a subscriber for a couple years of there original subscription box program. Like most subscription box program every month a box shows up with a surprise collection of gear on the inside.

Price	$27.45 – $29.95 per month (Original Monthly Box) or $199 per quarter (Obsidian Box Quarterly Box)
Pros	Quality gear with a mix of well known brands and young brands Consistent delivery Simple and good reward program
Cons	Occasionally receive items that you’ll most likely already own Value of items in box can sometimes not present any savings compared to buying them yourself online
Rating	(4 out of 5 stars)

Quality

The gear received has always been good quality. You’ll find many recognizable brands mixed in with lesser known companies. They’ve partnered with Klymit, Cotopaxi and Hydro Flask in past boxes. Part of the joy of these boxes is getting unique cool gear that you haven’t heard of and in many cases this is the case. That’s a plus in my opinion. I received a Pocket Bellows and initially thought it was dumb until I tried it. It’s now in my fire kit at all times. The overall branding and packaging is great as well.

Performance

Box delivery is always consistent and you’ll receive an email with tracking code about 2-3 days before your boxes arrives so you can track it. After receiving your box you’ll typically receive a survey on the box. If you complete the survey you’ll get 25 points that you can redeem for merch or additional boxes from the Cairn website. An additional box is 250 points so you’ll have to do a lot of surveys for it to add up or refer a few friends for 200 points. The Cairn website has improved a lot in the past year as the company has matured. You can easily build your profile, specify your presences and apparel sizes so the gear you receive is better tailored to you.

Value

The majority of the time you’ll find that the value of the gear you receive is higher than the cost of the box, especially if you buy the box subscription for a longer period of time. This is based on the MSRP of the items versus the cost of the box. It’s possible if you were to shop for each item individually and get sale prices that you could beat the Cairn box price some of the time. You can make your own interpretations of this but for me it doesn’t bother me that much. Part of the allure of a subscription program like this is getting the gear as a surprise. I’ve received many pieces of gear that I wouldn’t have normally purchased simply because I didn’t know it existed. I’ve received one box in the past twelve months that left we feeling bummed in my investment.

I’ve seen reviews for other subscription box programs and this appears to be one of the better options for value and quality gear. In each box you’ll also receive discount codes for the companies represented in the box and others that are not. Some will give you the best discount online that you’ll find while others are not worth using compared to prices you can find through some thrifty online searching. These discounts can also be found on your online profile on the website.

Manufacturer Information

Affiliate Disclosure: Affiliate links are used on this page and any purchases made with these links help to cover operating costs of this website.

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