Zippered Cube Ditty Bags from Ultralite Sacks

Website – UltraliteSacks

It has been a while since I made my first contact with Luke from UltraliteSacks.  I had placed an order for a couple DCF compression sacks from them and had a question.  He responded right back with an answer to my question.  That led to a conversation about gear which led to another conversation about travel, which led to another conversation about backpacking, camping and on and on.  A month or two later, we were planning a camping trip together.

Although the stars were not aligned for that camping trip, we were finally able to meet up at Rendezvous in the Ozarks to meet in person and get to know each other better.  Luke and his wife living in north Central Arkansas and run a small business, where they create ultralight sacks, compression bags, backpacks and other items from a host of different materials.  They have been doing this since 2019 when they were residing (at that time) in the Pacific Northwest.  Although they have relocated to the Natural State, they have continued to produce many different kinds and styles of organizational, functional, professional high-quality containers geared toward backpacking and travel.  Being the gear junkie I am, I needed a quick fix and placed another order to get ready for fall backpacking season of 2024.

The first piece that my wife (Gia) and I were able to put to use was the Fully Recycled Zippered Cube Ditty Bag.  This Ditty Bag is described on the website (www.ultralitesacks.com) as “Perfect for staying organized on backpacking trips or general traveling.”  I have used several different packing cubes that I have obtained over the years via Amazon, Cotopaxi or other places and have had a lot of experience with difference sizes and styles.

The two we took on this hiking trip (yes, we actually used these and not just posing about general gear), were the UltraGrid in Coyote Brown, and the UltraTX in White.  I was carrying the new Outdoor Vitals CS40 Backpack, which is white, and since everything I own has to match (not sure why everyone doesn’t do this. It just makes sense to me.  It never matters to my wife except with clothes lol), I was using the UltraTX White and she caried the UltraGrid Brown.

The different materials that you can get these Ditty Bags in are as follows according to the website…

• ULTRA 200 (BLACK GRAY and WHITE)
• UltraTX (White)
• UltraGrid (Black, Avocado, Dark Chili, Blue Smoke, Coyote Brown, Tangerine)

The shape of this Ditty Bag was different than any I had ever used.  I was used to the square type or the barrel shaped (as most roll type bags are), so the shape kinda threw me off at first.  It was long and short, described as a CUBE by UltraliteSacks. At first, I didn’t know if I would like this shape or not due to the way I pack my backpack, but I was surprised… We both had the LARGE size, which again, I thought would be a challenge for me.  What to put inside?  Food, clothes, gear, “ditties” I did not know.  I was a large size for sure and for this day trip, I was not sure what I would be able to throw in there to make it worth my while for taking it, but I definitely wanted to take it as a trial run for future backpacking trips.  I wanted to see if this would be a future part of my kit, or this would be a one and done kind of gear (definitely have experience those pieces of gear I thought I would love but definitely did not).

The different sizes (with weights) available are as follows from the website…

Sizes – Dimensions (inches) and weights (grams) are:

• Regular – 9x4x2 19g
• Large – 10x4x3 21g
• XL – 13.5x5x4 29g

 

Size and Shape

We packed up the night before. We laid everything out on the counters and couch.  One of the main reasons we were taking packs on this 11-mile day trip was that we wanted to try out new gear, different packs, exercise and get back into backpacking shape, and weather.  The weather was going to be pretty cold to start out with, and then warming up with a chance of rain after a few hours.  We would need a place to store snacks, other food, clothing that we shed and possible other clothing (such as rain coats).  We didn’t mind carrying the weight as we were, like I said, getting into backpacking shape after being off for a while with my foot injury.

I packed my puffy vest on the bottom in case I needed that specific layer.  I would also provide some “filling out” to the pack itself.  I then took the Zippered Cube Ditty Bag and laid it long ways on top.  It actually fit inside the backpack perfectly.  It was the exact size I needed to be able to fill in that spot and lay horizontally on top of layers, followed by other layers that I shed on top of that.

Weight

My wife carried the UltraGrid and I carried the UltraTX.  I did not weigh the two to see if there was a difference, but it did seem as if the TX was a tad lighter.  It may have just been that I packed way less food than my wife did.  She is always afraid of being hungry in the woods without food.  But other than just a few grams the weight was not noticeable when empty.  21g is almost unnoticeable anyway, but when it is made well, you do not worry about weight as much.  I think the zipper was probably half of the total weight if I was guessing.

Price

When you are trying to go Ultralight, you do whatever you can to shed weight where and when you can.  For the price difference, you may not want to invest in a Dyneema (DCF) bag this size as those would be 2-4x the price tag offered.  Spending 3x the price to maybe save 2g is not worth it to me.  I know grams lead to ounces and ounces lead to pounds, but I still have to have some sense about me.

Quality

You can go over these bags with a fine-tooth comb, as my Granny used to say, but here’s the deal.  You can tell when someone who cares about what they do is put into what they do.  I know the cliché statement is always made about “attention to detail,” but when it is there, you have to bring it out and say it.  I love the quality zipper.  I love how they seams are sewn perfectly.  I love the little “UltraliteSacks” tab.  I have absolutely no doubt this little ditty bag will be with me for many miles and years toting my stuff around.

I decided to use this as a “storage locker” for my smaller items.  This means that it had no specific duty except to be a storage compartment for all things I did not want to have to dig in my pack for.  I kept my snacks, other food, extra shirt, and extra pair of socks all here in this one bag.  The only other things I had in my pack were outer layers.  This let me just have to dig in my pack for one thing, the ditty bag.  It was perfect.

 

Conclusion

You can just tell when something is made well.  This dynamic husband and wife duo at UltraliteSacks seems as if they care about who they sell to.  I love supporting small business and I love supporting local small business even more.   Whether or not you are in Arkansas, or feel the same way, you will get exactly what you want from Luke and his amazing wife at Ultralite Sacks.  They support their local communities, donate regularly to fundraising for charities and disaster relief, and love participating in events who support what they do.

Whether you are packing up for a backpacking trip, a road trip across the U.S. or heading off into another country, you can trust that these little organizer Ditty Bags will get your stuff where you need it to go and withstand any kind of abuse you can throw at it.

I hope to come back in about a year or so and thousands of miles later and tell you exactly how it has performed.  Until then, here we go!