The Coolest Pieces of Gear We Tested This Week

Dakine may have just launched the best surf/beach/boat backpack we’ve ever tried here. For a long time, dry bag backpacks have fulfilled one function: keeping your gear dry in the rain, river, snow or boat. But those bags tended to have one compartment – and while that compartment was kept dry, once anything got wet, it went in the same compartment with your dry stuff. And since it was all in one chamber, your wallet, fin key and granola bar were somewhere at the bottom of that mess of hoodies and damp towels.

Dakine’s strike mission has revamped all of that, to the tune of 40 liters, which means room for everything and separation of wet stuff and dry stuff in a well-designed, comfortable backpack. The main compartment is your trusted roll-top dry bag with sealed seams. But with the true surfer in mind, it can hold a 6-mm wetsuit, boots and gloves, which means it’s very useful, even outside of Florida and Southern California. That compartment can also be used to keep your clothes dry on a boat or in a downpour.

The separate, dry compartment has a laptop sleeve and room for clothes, electronics, etc, to keep them dry once the main hold is full of wet gear. What took so long? Now, say you have damp gear that you want to dry. There’s adjustable cording to allow it all to air out in the sun on the outside of the pack. And it keeps getting better. The top of the bag has a “lid,” a deployable module with its own easy-to-access tarp lined compartment for wax and other essentials. Even more brilliant, is within that is the standard fleece-lined pocket for your eyewear and another mini-pocket. You could even remove this part and use it as a pillow if need be.

Plus, there’s a completely separate bottom compartment with enough room for a few days of dirty laundry, hiking boots, or even a small cooler. While this is an ideal surf backpack, it could also be very good for hikes, a carry-on, a long weekend road trip and certainly for boating and fishing. In addition to all of this, the bag has all the standards you would expect from Dakine: ergonomic padded shoulder straps with adjustable sternum strap, YKK zippers, ultra-durable reinforced bottom, quick-grab side handles, two mesh water bottle pockets, front quick stash mesh panels and all made of recycled polyester materials. This is the pack you need this year.—Jon Coen, Men’s Journal contributor

[$175; dakine.com]

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