This model is easy to carry though is a bit of a let-down when it comes to some feature usability
Credit: Backcountry Gear
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Price: $140 List | $104.96 at Backcountry Compare prices at 2 resellersPros: Durable, waterproof material, easy to carry, welded seams Cons: Harness is very involved to remove, uncomfortable for long distances, too short to easily get three rolls in Manufacturer: SealLine
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With the SealLine Boundary on your back, you are ready for adventure. It's a significant upgrade from the classic roll-top cylindrical bag; it consists of super thick material, a well-padded removable backpacking harness, and a robust lip with proprietary DrySeal design, making it a formidable opponent. We think it is an excellent choice for canyoneers. The main drawback to this product is its not 100% air and watertight and allowed a tiny amount of bubbles to escape during our most rigorous testing. Its backpack feature makes it incredibly convenient when portaging your raft, but it's not comfortable enough to serve as a proper backpacking pack.
Updated Logo
The logo has been moved around on the current version of this bag, but it still has the same features and functionality as the model we tested below.
Durable, waterproof material, easy to carry, welded seams
Completely watertight, durable, packed with features
Easy to pack, translucent material, welded seams
Lightweight, rectangular shape, simplicity is a feature
Three bag set, weather-resistant, small handy sizes, simple design, inexpensive
Cons
Harness is very involved to remove, uncomfortable for long distances, too short to easily get three rolls in
Not very streamlined (lots of straps), takes a moment to open and close
Not 100% watertight under pressure, can tear on sharp objects
Not abrasion resistant, must be part of a system
Durability concerns, 10L bag is very narrow
Bottom Line
This model is easy to carry though is a bit of a let-down when it comes to some feature usability
Packed full of useful features, this deck bag is well suited to the touring kayaker that likes to have their essentials at hand
Easy to compress and simple to close, this is a great choice for your day trip essentials and more
For backpackers and day hikers, this model is a packing cube dry bag hybrid
These bags offer reasonable weather resistance at a great price but are not the most durable option
Rating Categories
SealLine Boundary Pack
Watershed Aleutian...
SealLine Discovery...
Osprey Ultralight D...
Outdoor Products 3-...
Waterproofness(50%)
8.0
10.0
8.0
6.0
5.0
Ease of Use(25%)
7.0
6.0
8.0
8.0
7.0
Quality of Construction(15%)
8.0
9.0
7.0
5.0
4.0
Features(10%)
7.0
9.0
7.0
6.0
5.0
Specs
SealLine Boundary Pack
Watershed Aleutian...
SealLine Discovery...
Osprey Ultralight D...
Outdoor Products 3-...
Weight
43.2 oz
23.0 oz
6.8 oz
2.0 oz
0.7 oz (2L), 1.0 oz (4L), 1.3oz (10L)
Tested Size (liters)
35L
11.5L
10L
20L
2L, 4L, 10L
Closure Type
Dual strip roll-top
ZipDry
Dual strip roll-top
Roll-top
Roll-top
Attachment Points
2, double stiched fabric
6 plus mesh and bungee cord
1 plastic D-ring
1 fabric loop
0
Style
Dual strip fold-top w/ removable backpack
Deck bag
Dual-strip fold down w/ purge valve
Roll-top
Roll-top, 3-pack
Material
1000D vinyl-coated polyester
Polyurethane-coated nylon
PVC free 12 oz polyurethane film body; 300D 18oz polyurethane-coated polyester bottom
40D ripstop nylon
Polyurethane coated ripstop 60% cotton, 40% rayon
Show full specification detailsHide full specification details
Our Analysis and Test Results
We tested the 35-liter Boundary, a roll-top bag with removable backpack straps. It has a 100D 18.5oz vinyl-coated polyester body with a 100D 30oz vinyl-coated polyester bottom and welded seams. It features a removable backpack harness with padded straps and a webbing waist belt.
Performance Comparison
Work hard, play hard, and go farther with the SealLine Boundary.
Credit: Maggie Brandenburg
Waterproofness
The Boundary utlizes a double banded strip in its closure system which we found to keep things drier than the single banded versions. When taking care with each fold we made when closing the bag, the Boundary outperformed all the single banded roll top versions we tested.
It is essential that you get three tight folds into the closure in order to keep the interior of the Boundary dry.
Credit: Sara James
Ease of Use
The Boundary is a large cylinder with an opening at the top. This requires you to stack the contents inside. Fortunately, the flat bottom assists in the process as it allows the product to stand upright unsupported. Though it's taller than it is wide, it's not nearly as tall and narrow as many of the options we tested, which helps a little bit when you're rooting around trying to find something. However, 35 liters of space as just a single large cavern can make it a bit difficult to stay organized and find one that one small item you need, particularly if you don't have an organizational system in place.
A slightly oval shape helps this bag to stand up more easily and not roll away when you set it down.
Credit: Maggie Brandenburg
The backpack straps make it comfortable to carry, especially with lighter loads. The webbing waist belt on this model is unpadded and, therefore, quite abrasive when hiking with weight on your hips. If you find yourself hopping into a boat with this piece and wanting to take off the backpack harness, be aware that it's a rather involved process of velcro loops and unthreading several straps from buckles to get it off. Even when it finally comes free, there are two straps, and two buckles still left dangling off the bag. You can attach them together to provide some lash points for your sack if you desire. Putting the harness back on again is a similarly involved process.
Quality of Construction
The Boundary is made of some beefy materials that are very resistant to punctures and abrasions. The 1000D vinyl-coated polyester is thicker on the bottom than the body, further adding to its durability. Welded seams add another degree of impressive construction to this tank-like bag. However, paired with all this intense material, SealLine has added plastic buckles and clips that just don't match with the rest of the bag, and make us worried about how it might hold up under years of intense sunlight and water usage. We're also not the biggest fans of the relatively thin, easy to fray webbing. So while we love the bag itself, we think the details are a bit lacking here.
Leftover straps after the removal of the backpack harness can make a makeshift backpack for lashing down this durable, but not so watertight dry sack.
Credit: Maggie Brandenburg
Features
The Boundary offers two unique features. The first is the DrySeal roll-top closure system. The lip of the bag is reinforced with two independent strips of thick material that assist in creating a tight seal. Previous versions of this bag had taller tops, giving you more material to work with when rolling it closed. That extra space made other versions exceptionally watertight. Unfortunately, the current Boundary just barely has enough material to get three rolls in, and it's a squeeze to do that. The rolls run into the top of the backpack harness area, which pushes against it in a bad way, ruining the integrity of what otherwise would be a good seal. So while we like the DrySeal system, we think it's not at its best.
The main body of the harness is easy enough to remove, though all the extra straps are a pain in the butt.
Credit: Maggie Brandenburg
The second main feature of the Boundary is the removable backpack harness made up of adjustable padded shoulder straps, a sternum strap, and a webbing waist belt. This is another place where previous versions of this bag were much easier to use. The main attachment point of the harness is easy to remove, but the addition of load lifter straps means you have to un-thread the webbing from the top of the bag, as well as from the bottom where the shoulder straps attach. This is rather tedious and time-consuming. Even after you've removed the harness and the webbing waistbelt (separate from the harness), you're left with two dangling straps and the buckles from the load lifter straps still on the dry bag. Not the cleanest or the quickest design we tested, nor is it our favorite.
You have to unthread four buckles just like this one to get the backpack harness off, and two more to remove the webbing waist belt.
Credit: Maggie Brandenburg
Value
The Boundary is about in the middle of the price range of bags we tested and performed slightly below average. If it's exactly what you've been looking for, it might be worth it for you. We, however, think it's not the most impressive model we tested and believe there are better options out there for this kind of money.
Conclusion
The SealLine Boundary is a highly durable, easy to use backpack model. While it may not be ideal for submersions or attaching to your paddleboard for the day, it is very ready to stand up to rainstorms and being scraped along the walls of a slot canyon.
Carrying the Boundary around is pretty nice, though we wish it was more watertight.
Finding the right balance of features, functionality...
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