Explorer Backpack

The Orca Explorer Backpack is a 30 L surf and travel pack that keeps a wet wetsuit well away from your laptop. It comes with a 10 L waterproof dry bag for neoprene and a 1.7 L toiletry bag for wax and sunscreen, gives the laptop a compartment of its own, and at 47 x 34 x 25 cm it is sized to go in the cabin on most airlines.

Who it's for

Surfers, open water swimmers and triathletes whose day goes from the water to the desk, and anyone packing for a surf trip where the board goes in the hold and everything else goes on your back. Picture a dawn session at Burleigh, the wetsuit rolled into the dry bag on the sand, then the laptop open at work by nine with nothing smelling of salt.

Capacity, and what actually fits

The pack holds 30 litres. The two bags that come with it are what turn it into a surf bag: a 10 L roll-top dry bag that swallows a wet wetsuit and the rest of your neoprene and keeps the seawater off everything else, and a 1.7 L zipped toiletry bag for surfboard wax, sunscreen and the small things that otherwise rattle around loose. Around those there is room for a laptop, a change of clothes and lunch, and smaller compartments take sunglasses or fins.

How it carries

A soft lumbar area sits in the small of your back and the shape is ergonomic, so a loaded pack stays comfortable on the walk up from the beach or the long way round a terminal. Straps under the base hold an extra layer, such as a poncho towel, on the outside, where it dries off instead of eating into the space inside.

Access and organisation

• Dedicated laptop compartment
• 10 L waterproof dry bag for wetsuits and neoprene
• 1.7 L toiletry bag for wax, sunscreen and small items
• Extra compartments for sunglasses, fins and other small essentials
• Straps under the base for a towel or extra layer

Travel

At 47 x 34 x 25 cm the Explorer is made to meet the carry-on size of most airlines, so the laptop, a change of clothes and your wetsuit bag all fly in the cabin with you. Carry-on limits differ between airlines and fares, so hold those measurements against your booking before you go.

Materials

The Explorer is made from 90% polyester and 10% polyamide (nylon), in black.

Looking after it

Rinse the dry bag in fresh water after a salty session and let it dry open before it goes back in the pack, and empty sand out of the pockets now and then. A pack that is put away dry stays fresh for the next trip.