Blog

New Simms Dry Creek Z Series

Sean Visintainer - 01/28/20

Simms Fishing Dry Creek Bags and Packs

Toothless, Waterproof, Ultra Smooth

The never ending evolution of fly fishing and outdoor packs and bags continues to evolve with the New Simms Dry Creek Z series. Myself and the guys at the shop are always on the hunt for the "perfect" pack to tote fly fishing gear around. Often we find ourselves gravitating towards waterproof variations do the mixed whether of the northwest, plus a little peace of mind when boating or rafting and the need to keep items dry. Or in my case... wading too deep because I'm vertically challenged!

With numerous high quality options from three of the industry leaders (Simms, Fishpond, and Patagonia) it has been hard to say which waterproof pack series is truly "the best". I think a lot of it really boils down to personal opinion, needs, and wants. We have never seen one pack that does everything perfectly, it doesn't exist. I've been using bags from all three of those brands and have good reports from all of them and some things I wish were different.

So what's the deal with the new Dry Creek Z bags from Simms you ask? Well one MAJOR change. The zipper. Simms Dry Creek Z now feature a "toothless" zipper by a company called TRU® Zip.

Waterproof bags have essentially been using the same brand of zippers over the years and while they overall are very good and relatively trouble free, nonetheless there are the occasional issues. We don't see them very often but once in awhile a customer, or one of us, will have a failure. The failure typically happens when the "teeth" of the zipper get jammed up in the zipper housing causing a tooth to break off, get bent out of shape, or cause the housing to break. Currently most of the waterproof zippers on the market are also "stiff" to open or close due to the tight, waterproof nature of the plastic zipper lubricants and a bit of force are needed to keep the zipper operating smoothly.

The New TRU® Zip. has replaced the zippers of the Dry Creek Z Sling, Dry Creek Z Backpack, and Dry Creek Z Hip Pack completely eliminating the major cause of waterproof zipper failure. When we first saw these new bags last summer we were very impressed right out of the gate. Smoother and self healing were the traits we noticed right away. We actually inflated one of the bags and had Bo stand on it with no issues! The self healing part is what I personally think is really neat. If for some reason the closure gets pulled apart you can simply unzip that section and re-zip it for a waterproof seal. Think of it like a rubberized ziplock bag! Pretty slick.

Mike is taking the new Dry Creek Z Backpack to Cuba to test in the salt (yes they are saltwater safe!) and I will be taking one to Patagonia for a week of testing. Check back for our report on how they hold up in the field once we are back, perhaps they will be the "perfect" waterproof packs with the new zipper!

Until then check them out on the site (remember free shipping over $75!) or fondle one at the shop next time you are in.


TRU® Zip Product Features

  • Waterproof/Dustproof (IP67)
  • Smooth glide
  • Silent
  • Self healing
  • High feature-to-value ratio
  • Closed at both ends
  • Durable extruded TPU
  • Can be used in both fresh and saltwater




Simms Fishing Dry Creek Bags and Packs