staehpj1

I used Sea to Summit's Ultrasil ones for the Southern Tier and they were pretty shot at the end. I confess that I am not very careful with them though. They might have made another coast to coast trip, but they were really pretty ratty and patched up. I don't think most silnylon would hold up any better than S2S's ultrasil.

So depending on how long you expect it to last, how careful you are with it, and how good your silnylon is it may or may not be acceptable. I am pretty fussy about weight and still go a bit heavier than silnylon for bags. Sea 2 Summits Evac fabric suits me pretty well and if making my own, I would look for something similar in durability as even the Evac ones require fairly careful handling.

MassiveD

That sounds par for the course to me. I'm very careful with gear, but it probably amounts to the same treatment you mention. I would never put a coffee cup down on my table without a coaster, but I am fully ready to toss it into the truck's empty back seat if something comes up down the road. I take extreme care, but the road dictates what that will be.

So the deal with ultralite is that it really helps to sew. Most of the real gear is dead simple. People shelling out cash want value, which in part is unnecessary rubbish. But made stuff satisfies for other reasons. It takes under an hour to make a bag, and a couple of bucks. So if it "only" held up cross country, I wouldn't be too ticked. And likely a ripstop bag with serious seam sealing for a few bucks from MEC would do well also. I have my own brand tags, so I don't get that feeling I am using stuff from goodwill.

arctos

arctos

With my minimal sewing skills clearly in mind, I had Carousel Design Works make another rear stuffer shell for my dry bags. It is somewhat larger than my original one pictured in reply #28 above and adds six pockets. The extra capacity is for longer and colder tours requiring more and warmer equipment.
Dimensions: 12 inch diameter and 24 inches long with drawstring closure making it functionally shorter. The cinch down straps fit between the pockets and under the ladderloop up top. I have used 35L or 50L dry bags inside. The reflective triangle also has a tab for a blinking tail light.

spinnered

I use dry bags to carry extra things I need for touring in cooler weather conditions. For warmer weather, everything fits in my panniers.

djyak

I was looking at doing something similar with the front racks on my bike. I have a bunch of dry bags, and it looks like the way I'll go for a little extra gear.

bent4me

Arkel dri-ites