REVIEW: Mountainsmith Dry Tour

Mountainsmith is a client of ours through Blogs for Brands and sent us a Dry Tour Waterproof Fanny Pack to test, which is a waterproof version of their all-time best selling fanny pack, the Tour. That’s a big deal – they’ve been in the pack business for 40 years. I fished with this pack with the designer, who is a fly guide in Colorado and goes by the name, Code Red. I owe hundreds of fish to this bag.

Design/Aesthetics (5) ★★★★★

The Dry Tour is a sexy pack, no doubt about that. It comes in one color, olive green which is a good color for camouflage and a waist belt, optional shoulder strap, optional water bottle holster, three external waterproof zippers, and all sorts of loops designed to hang zingers or tippet holders. The water bottle holder is attached via velcro and when taken off, doubles as a fly patch for easy storage. There’s one main compartment with two mini compartments inside, and on the best strap, there are two small compartments. The zippers are IPX7, the highest waterproof rating, making this bag an emergency flotation device if you fall in on a SUP or while wading. No joke – the zipper will not let air in or out. It is completely bombproof.

The square shape is very space-efficient for fly boxes and such. Personally, I think the bag is a little big but in reality, all the competition is even bigger (some are massive) so I can’t really ding for that. Overall, the bag is beautiful. Five stars here.

Functionality (4) ★★★★

The big compartment has two small internal compartments, the back inside compartment is where I store all my licenses, and the front inside compartment is where I store my weight. On the outside, there are two compartments on the belt, one where I keep Gink and the other I put my keys. In the middle small outside compartment, I keep indicators. On the D Loop that is on the front of the back is where I put my tippet Holser (just like they show in the image in the product page) and on the side, I have one zinger that holds my nippers and hemostat. Everything is well placed for quick access and there are no unnecessary pockets or things hanging off that get tangled up in casts. There’s even a pass-through sleeve on the back part of the belt so you can slide in a net.

My only qualm from a functional standpoint is the rigidity of the zipper. IPX 7 zippers are stiff and require some oil to get them going. My suggestion is to grease them up upon unboxing with a little bit of Gink and the zipper will be gliding back and forth with ease.

Durability (5) ★★★★★

You can tell by the stiffness of the nylon (which is 500d TPU coated so it’s even puncture resistant) that it’s not going to tear anytime soon. Seams are fully welded and daisy-chained straps are reinforced. thing is bombproof. Plus it’s backed by one of the best warranties in the outdoor industry, Mountainsmith’s Forged for Life Guarantee which is a no-nonsense warranty that backs any manufacturing error for life.

Value (5) ★★★★★

At $179, this is the best deal you’re going to get on a waterproof hip pack. On top of that, compared to the competition in the same category, There are really only three bags on the market that are non roll-top waterproof fanny packs: the Fishpond Thunderhead, the Orvis Waterproof Hip Pack and the Patagonia Stormfront Hip Pack. Each have their flaws, and all are more expensive. (the Fishpond is just way too big, the Orvis has a bright green Orvis logo on the front which is like a flashlight to fish, and the Patagonia bag has a crappy belt that will not hold a net). I’m sure the Dry Tour has flaws as well but I can’t think of what they’d be.