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[Spawn Sack]

For years I wore a vest, but found when it was loaded up it was giving me a sore back. I stil wear it from time to time fly fishing when I'm traveling light, but for gear fishing, especially in the winter when I often carry a thermos, lunch, extra clothes, etc, it was just getting too much.

Last fall I bought the Simms Dry Creek Hip pack. It's big (6L) and between it and the pockets in my wading jacket I had enough room for all of my stuff. I definitley found it a lot nicer to carry the extra weight on my hips and in the back compared to the vest. For the first few months I LOVED the hip pack, then the rain came. Although this product is called "Dry Creek" and certainly looks waterproof, it is n-o-t. The problem is the zippers. They are water-resistant, but in heavy downpour they let water seep in. After a few hours fishing in the rain the maincompartment had a few cups of water sloshing inside!!

I contacted Simms and they were very helpful. The guy said that theres a little card in the main compartment that cautions purchasers that the product is not waterproof/submersible. I said the card was not in there and must have fallen out before I bought it. He agreeed that the hip pack certainly looks waterproof and with a name like "dry creek" it would be reasonable to assume that it was waterproof. Anyway, I mailed them back the hip pack and they mailed me a Dy Creek Roll-top backpack (no charge for the difference in price to compesate for my shipping costs and hassle).

The roll-top pack is NICE, I'd highly reccomend it for foul weather fishing. Good for steelheading when I like to carry a fair bit of extra gear and food as I'm often gone all day and experience all types of weather in a day's fishing. However with the nicer weather coming I don't need all that room, and once again am looking for a waterproof hip pack.

Has anyone found one that is 100% waterproof? I'm not too worried if it's submersible, but if I wear it in heavy downpour I don't want to go to get my wool bag or something out and find it sloshing around in water. I found these two online that look good, the Seal Line Seal Pack and the Sagebrush Dry Sure Dry hip pack.

http://cascadedesigns.com/sealline/packs-and-duffles/seal-pak/product

http://www.sagebrushdrygoods.com/product_info.php?products_id=26&PHPSESSID=38bf803c53776117daedc55eb4c7e8be

Has anyone had any luck with either of these? The Sealine looks good but I think the roll top would be a pain to roll up and down over and over. I'd perfer one with waterproof zippers. In addition to these I'd also be willing to look at William Joseph, Sage, Orvis, Fish Pond, etc.

Here's a link to each of the Simms products I was referring to earlier:

http://www.simmsfishing.com/shop/vests-packs/dry-creek-hip-pack.html

http://www.simmsfishing.com/shop/vests-packs/dry-creek-roll-top-backpack.html

[milo]

However with the nicer weather coming I don't need all that room, and once again am looking for a waterproof hip pack.

Has anyone found one that is 100% waterproof? I'm not too worried if it's submersible, but if I wear it in heavy downpour I don't want to go to get my wool bag or something out and find it sloshing around in water.

A bit of a contradiction there, eh?
Nicer weather - heavy downpour. Makes me wonder about your purchase motives. 
I think you just like shopping for gear and accessories. 

The solution to your problem is simple and it will cost you nothing. It is called a plastic bag. Get yourself a good quality plastic garbage bag - choose the colour you like - and in the very rare days of spring/summer that it rains cats and dogs for extended periods of time simply wrap your hip pack in it. Voila - problem solved. I have been doing that with my backpacks (I don't use hip packs - they look too yuppy-ish for my taste), and never have I had any problems with water going in.

[Spawn Sack]

What I meant is I am looking for something more suited for fishing when the weather is, by and large, nicer compared to winter steelheading weather. I have the Simms Dry Creek Rolltop backpack, but it is a bit much for the summer/fall, and I perfer the convenience of a hip pack when I am traveling lighter (especially when I have the fly rod out). However, if a nice day turns ugly as it often does here, I want to know that the gear in my hip bag will stay dry (unlike the Simms Dry Creek hip bag, which I returned).

Ummm...as far as the plastic bag idea goes... and I don't mean to sound like a jerk Milo as you have provided a lot of helpful responses to my posts and I have no doubt you are a much more experienced and knowledgeable angler than I am, but I am looking for something a little higher on the evolutionary ladder of waterproofness.

You are right though I do like new toys/gear and in all honestly do not NEED this product

Sure I could wrap the hip pack in a bag, or put the contents in a bag then inside the hip pack, but I find if I want something in the rain I want to get at it as quickly as possible, then back in the bag as quickly as possible. Plastic bags are simply too much farting around for me. Currently I'm using an old hiking hip pack that is not waterproof. When the rain starts, as it did when I was out on Friday, I just tucked it up under my jacket to keep it dry. It worked fine, but I would still like to find on that I can expose to downpour without water seeping in.

[milo]

No problem, LOL! Say it like it is.

IMHO, for the very rare occasions when you will be exposed to a torrential downpour that may compromise the water-tightness of your current pack(s) in spring/summer time, a solid plastic bag is a perfect solution. Sure enough, it won't be very flexible as far as taking stuff out and putting it back in the pack goes. But then again, when you realize you are dealing with serious sky water, you can simply put a couple of indispensable items in your jacket pocket and retrieve them from there until the rain stops.

FWIW, in the "evolutionary ladder of waterproofness", there is little out there that beats good plastic bags and tarps. They have saved many picnics and fishing days. It takes virtually no time to put stuff in a plastic bag or cover them with a tarp in the face of an impending downpour. And as long as the bag is intact and closed, it is 100% water proof.
Sure enough, a 100% waterproof SIMMS or William Joseph pack looks nice, whereas a regular pack put in a plastic bag looks less than fashionable. But who cares, you are only weathering a storm (literally).

Anyway, enjoy your shopping and as far as brands go, I would suggest you look into William Joseph before anything else. I am a happy user of their products (including an Exodus pack) and have only the best to say about them.

[cutthroat22]

If you are looking at a step up from garbage bags I suggest a ziplock double guard freezer bag. 

[milo]

If you are looking at a step up from garbage bags I suggest a ziplock double guard freezer bag. 

I was actually thinking of this:

http://www.lowes.com/pd_255927-1260-65676_0__

Practical, with a handle, takes no space in your pack when empty and folded, and it takes 10 seconds to put your pack with all its contents inside and shut it tight.

Works for me.

[Spawn Sack]

Milo and Cutthroat22, while I appreciate your advice on the latest and greatest plastic bags the market has to offer, I am set on trying to find a hip pack that doesn't require double bagging. If I am unable to find one, I'd go for the bags for sure.

When I go on canoe trips I use the big heavy duty zip locks to put all my clothes etc in...basically everything that can not get wet. Then those go inside of my big packsack. However when fishing in the rain, as I said in an earlier post, the bag method is too much farting around for me.

The Simms Dry Creek hip pack is pretty close to waterproof, too bad the zippers suck. Still hoping to find one that is waterproof without the annoying roll-top like the Sea Line brand. Surely someone out there knows of or has one

[Chrome Mykiss]

I too have been on the search for a 100% waterproof hip pack (getting tired of drying out gear after a downpour or deep wading). For most of my fly fishing pursuits I use a backpack. I bought the Sealine urban back pack about 4 years ago and have been very happy with it. The Simms Dry Creek roll top back pack was also an option at the time, but I went with Sealine because of the price. There are basically two designs for complete water proof packs: roll top or T-zip. The roll tops are generally more economical and usually require both hands to operate. The T-zip designs are generally more expensive and require some effort to pull close/open. Both can fail if not properly closed.

A buddy and I tried to order the Sagebrush Dry Sure Dry hip pack based on reviews from fellow hardcore anglers. I have a buddy who has the the Dry Day pack and you can tell by looking at it that it is well constructed. After trying to contact Sagebrush several times via email and no reply, we gave up. They look like great products, just too bad their customer support is not so great.

The Sealine Seal Pack is the most economical option at $32.00 from MEC. I have looked at it, but quickly put it aside as an options since it is too small for my application at just 4L.

I have found some other options for 100% water proof hip packs:

http://www.patagonia.com/us/product/stormfront-hip-pack?p=48145-0-950
It is the most expensive option though at $219 us.

http://www.ortliebusa.com/prod-324.htm
Ortlieb is known for making waterproof packs for cycling, not really known in the fishing community. I am leaning to this option since it has a water bottle holder, has 5L capacity and has an exterior pocket/cradle.

http://www.mec.ca/AST/ShopMEC/Packs/WaterproofPacks/PacksDuffleBags/PRD~5024-394/mec-aegir-sling-pack.jsp
MEC has started a line of waterproof packs recently. This sling pack might be a decent option, but I am not a fan at the lack of features with this pack.

http://www.fishpondusa.com/westwaterseries.cfm
Fish Pond has a new line of water resistant packs too called "Westwater". However, like Simms these packs have zippers that are not waterproof. So in a down pour or submersion you are left with a pack full of water.

I wish someone would make a left shoulder, 100% waterproof sling pack for fishing. One with features found on the Orvis Guide Sling pack or the Patagonia Stealth Atom Sling pack, but in a waterproof format would be my perfect fishing pack.

[slick vic]

William Joseph has 1 waterproof backpack which I think is very good only cost about 60 dollars. I hate getting all my stuffs wet when fishing. Especially sometime when I have to get in water. They get wet from the bottom.

[Spawn Sack]

Chrome Mykiss, thanks a lot for the VERY helpful response! Glad to find someone else in the same boat as I am and looking for the same product. All look like an undisputable upgrade from garbage bags and ziplocks.

Like your self I generally go with the backpack, and stuff a few small things like my leatherman etc in my wading jacket. The Sealine Urban pack looks pretty sweet. I am very happy with the Simms Roll Top pack. There isn't much in the way of internal organization, but the external pocket is huge and holds most of the stuff I'd need to access to.

I checked out the four links. The Patagonia Stormfront looks awesome, but the PRICE!! I though my Simms pack was pricey at $150. I guess that's the way it is with Patagonia, very expensive but very well made.

The Ortliebusa hip pack looks pretty sweet as well. I agree the MEC hip pack is way too small. It's rated at 4L but by the time you roll it down there would not be a lot of room. the sling pack you had a link to looks decent but I'm not looking for a sling pack.

The fishpond one looks nice but, like the Simms Dry Creek hip pack I had, it will surely let water seep in under heavy rain.

The Patagonia one would definitley be my first choice, but doubt I would buy it for that price. I'll spend some time doing more reasearch on each. I'll try to contact Sagebrush as well and report back if I have any luck. Thanks again!

[HOOK]

I just recieved that very Fishpond waist pack. With my packs i just tuck my wading jacket overtop when it rains and im also not a deep wading person. I will go waist deep in soft/dead water mainly because i have gone in over my head twice now in heavy flow and no fish is worth my life 

this one is my first water resistent one, my other two are cloth material and soak up water/rain like mad which is why i would put my coat over them

I peeked at your links as well Chrome and i think the Sealine ones look like the best bang for the buck

 

[Spawn Sack]

I bought the Patagonia Stormfront hip pack. After much hunting around on the net I found it on The Caddis Fly shop for $189 USD taxes in and free shipping to Sumas. This is a lot cheaper than on Patagonia's website at $219 + tax and shipping. From Patagonia.ca it is $239 or something insane + tax and shipping - yeah right.

So far I L-O-V-E it. The design is simple: a large main compartment with a few pockets inside for some organization. The construction is very rugged/tough. You definitley get what you pay for. And it is without a doubt 100% watertight. If you zip it shut you can squeeze it and not a fart of air escapes.

I've worn it in downpour a few times and not a drop got in. Makes other hip packs like the Simms Drycreek look like garbage. Yes this one is expensive but I know I'm going to get years and years of use out of it and love it the whole time. There is definitley enough room inside to travel light and go steelheading for the day with just the hip pack to hold my gear. If you're after a watertight hip pack this is the way to go. If you only fish in fair weather then I would go with something else with many more compartments/pockets for much better organization of your tackle.

I would 100% reccomend this product. Just have it shipped to Package Express in Sumas and you're in business. Saved a lot of money ordering from this company.