Cooper Oversize Floatation

[Christov]

I emailed Wanda asking the dimensions, and she emailed back saying that, fully inflated, the bags are about five feet long. About how wide are they? How do you like them, and how do they compare to, say, the NRS branded bladders?

My wife's bugging me to give her ideas for Christmas gifts, and I'm thinking it's time to replace the small end bags I've been using in my not-as-old-as-it-looks German folding single which is the same length, but a bit wider than, the Cooper.

Thanks,

Chris

[Thatwouldbeme]

We've been using the Cooper floatation in our GII since they first became available. They leave sufficient room for day trip gear when fully inflated and certainly are a big improvement over GII's OEM bags and quite reasonably priced too.

[Christov]

Hi Graham,

Would it be too much of an imposition to ask you to post a photograph of one of the bags? I've got to tell my wife today or tomorrow.

Thank you,

Chris

[Thatwouldbeme]

Sorry to say I have no pictures of the floatation and as it's attached to the frame and folded away in the bag under a ton of other stuff at the moment.....

Perhaps a Cooper owner can jump in here with the required pics, or post for the information in the Cooper forum.

[Christov]

No problem, it was probably rude of me to ask. I've just emailed Wanda asking if she can email me a photo, and I'll tell my wife to go ahead and order them if that's what she wants to get me. $48.00 is pretty inexpensive for a pair of float bags.

Chris

[Karovaldas]

Christov,

Have you considered this:
[url]http://www.northernlightstrading.com/istar.asp?a=6&id=SB1657!594[url]
It'll be a bit more expensive, but you get two benefits over the Cooper bags:

1. Inflation tube so you can inflate the thing once it is inside the hull
2. Ability to use these as dry bags as well as floatation.

I bought the medium size version of this for my Greenland and I wish I had the large ones because there's extra space left over. I am able to fit the original Folobt flotation along with these bags in the Cooper and they work very well in tandem. Other than being about a foot too short, the fit to the Cooper hull is nearly perfect. Campmor had them on sale for $20 but only the small ones are left now.

[Christov]

Wanda emailed back saying they don't have any pictures of the product. From what you're saying, it sounds like the bags you're suggesting are more what I had in mind. Still pretty cheap for a dry/floatation bag.

Website said there was just one in stock, so I ordered it. It'll replace the end bag I've been using that's got a bad leak. Maybe will order its twin when it's in stock.

Thank you both,

Chris

[davekru]

The dual-purpose bags KV siggested look good, although they might be of a profile too small to make maximal use of the ends of the Cooper.

http://www.northernlightstrading.com/is ... SB1657!594

I've used bags like this (from a different manufacturer) and found them useful. However, having two chambers doubles the chance of a leak, and that happened in my case.

It may be better to get the bags Wanda says she has, and separately dry-bag gear. The Wanda bags when inflated will jam the dry bags in place. And, it is easier to have your gear in bags that you can carry to camp, separately, leaving the flotation in the boat for day trips.

[Christov]

The thing that kept me from going with the "Wanda-Bags" (and I'm guessing she won't thank you for thus naming the product - it conjures an image that is, well, best left unconjured) was the Karolvaldian implication that they have no inflation tubes.

I think the one I ordered will fit pretty well into the stern of my newer than it looks E68. Like you, I'm not too crazy about using it for a drybag - anyway, I've got a bunch of those already.

[davrutick]

I just showed Wanda this string. She is not exactly flattered by this product being named after her! But, she is laughing all the way...

[Karovaldas]

Actually, I don't know if Wandian bags have inflation tubes or not. Cooper standard bags don't so I assumed that the bigger ones are tubeless as well since there are no pictures and description on the website does not mention anything of the sort.

As for the fit, these Pacific Outdoor endbags fit Cooper very nicely. They do not fit through crossframes #1 and #numberless at that stern but otherwise fill the space completely. If I inflate them too hard, the top frame tube pops out of it's clip when the deck is unzipped

[RBrook]

Here's a pic that might help. Inflated they're about 4'5" by 18".

[davekru]

And, they have inflation tubes. They look perfect for the Cooper.

[Christov]

Yep. Wish I'd waited for that photo. Live and learn. C.

[Christov]

Here's a picture of the WXtex dry-&-flotation bag I got at Christmas. Used it for the first time yesterday, no problems. A much better fit than what I'd been using.