Not a Horror Story – The Eagle Creek Pack-it Specter Quarter Cube

The choice for packing solutions for gear items is becoming ever more vast. It seems like every time I look on a website I find a new company producing stuff sacks, compression sacks and the like. It's becoming a bit of a minefield, there are some quite expensive products. I'm not keen on some of the ultra light materials as they can be a bit on the noisy side. I prefer Silnylon as it tends to be more abrasion resistant, and quieter. There's nothing worse than someone sat next to you rustling through a bag. I know that if you are wild camping there may be no one around. But I like to have minimum impact on my environment. Silnylon products are also generally cheaper. So I picked up an Eagle Creek Pack-it Specter Quarter Cube recently.

Eagle Creek are based in California and have been in existence since 1975. Although made of Silnylon, the Quarter Cube is not waterproof. It sheds rain or water that hits the Silnylon. The zip however is another story. The material the zip is set in is pretty much like a sieve, so don’t over estimate the ability of the bag to repel water. I know this because to test the bag I filled it as much as I could with water. It is sold as water resistant, which is about right, I’d just be wary of the zipper’s ability to resist water. My bag is being used to hold my water filter and collapsible bottles, so that isn’t really an issue. As long as I put the bag back in my pack with the zip facing up, then no residual water escapes from the filter and onto my stuff.

I like the tall design with the grab handle on top making it easy to get out of my pack. The shape also works well for fitting in amongst my other items. Not so highly important, but nice. The Silnylon is a rip-stop type and feels very strong. The material is very thin allowing you to see what is inside. This also makes the bag incredibly light. The quarter cube has a 1.2 litre capacity. The dimensions are 19cm x 11cm x 6cm. It is advertised as weighing 16g. I weighed mine and it was bang on 15g, so it’s light.

What else can I say other than Eagle Creek gear is a little on the expensive side, so shopping around is advised. But it is tough and well made, designed to last a life time, part of Eagle Creeks philosophy.

http://www.eaglecreek.com/