Deck Pod

Nice small bag. Good quality.
I use it as my hydration pack on nearly every trip and it works well for that. I have had to workout a system to clip my hydration nozzle to the bag, and if I am paddling in 'unclean' water it can be a little unsettling to drink from the nozzle since it will be exposed to the same water. I carry a small anchor, float and rope in the bag as well.. which allows to jump out and go snorkeling without pulling to shore :)
Something to know, the bag is NOT water proof, and it doesn't try to be. It has thick mesh built into the underside back as a drain panel. I imagine this could be helpful if you roll as this will allow fast drainage. Anything that needs to be protected from water needs to be in a dry bag. I use a few small drybags for things like my electronic car key, which I clip to the inside of the bag.

This is an awesome bag. Looks cool and it is perfect for what it's for. Each side can hold a paddle float or a bilge pump with adjustable straps to hold them in place. The bag is designed to hold a hydration pack with a hole for the tube to come out and a mesh pouch to put the tubing in. So so much quicker and easier to keep hydrated on the go. The bag is not waterproof although the exterior fabric seems splash proof. One part of the bag is mesh so I put items in ziplock bags just incsse I was to capsize. the bag is big enough for a fully filled hydration bladder, purse, keys, snacks and a tupperwear lunch box with still a little room to spare.

Points to mention.

I found it difficult to attach the straps to the deck line. It's still not perfect. I wonder if they cound be designed in a different way rather than just a closed loop at the end. Is there a guide available on how to attach it? (I have an Oru!)

I'm not sure why one part (of the bottom underside)of the bag is mesh. Just on the unlikely (but possible) scenario of a capsize, it would definately fill with water. ... But I guess it would also drain fast too! Is that why?

The back of the pod is flat and fairly rigid. I thought it would mould more to the shape of the kayak although it's not such a big deal. Just a point to mention.

When not out in a kayak, as a handheld bag, it's great (the handle also seems very durable) but when I have my hands full carrying a kayak and a paddle, it's just one more heavy item to hold. I bought some rucksack straps and attached them to the deck pod so I could carry it on my back.

I really recommend gearlab considers attaching shoulder straps in the future to make this awesome little bag even MORE awesome.

I really like the minimalist design it appears to be very well thought out and constructed. If it’s all of the essentials without being too big and bulky.

Brilliant design. A quick grab and go bag.

Perfect size and great durability. It contains what I need for a day trip - and more. I store food, water, snacks and also personal items such as keys, mobile and so on. It easily contains GPS and map also if needed.

Simply the Best. When we started doing off-shore paddling and kayak touring which require spray skirts we needed a good deck bag to hold all of our safety gear near at hand. The low profile GearLab Deck Pod fills the requirement admirably without adding to the windage common with most deck bags. On every trip it holds my bilge pump, paddle float, maps inside a rolled map case, flares, headlamp, garbage bag, small first aid kit, spare gloves, spare batteries for GPS and camera, toilet kit, cell phone, and snacks. When it's time to get off the water I stuff in my GPS, camera, and VHF radio and with 4 quick clips it separates from the boat (you leave the straps attached to your boat) and grab the HD strap to carry it away with me. I do NOT recommend using it to carry a full 3-liter water bladder as that's a tremendous amount of weight and strain on the stitching although a bladder will fit inside it. You can also buy extra straps (about $8 per set) to attach to each of your boats so you're just moving the bag itself from boat to boat. A much better solution than any other deck bag mounting system on the market. You can definitely tell this bag was designed by paddlers for paddlers. It's not water-proof, just highly water-resistant, so anything delicate that you stuff inside the Deck Pod should be inside a waterproof case or at least a zipper lock bag.

Organise all my stuff in the better way possible. The fabric is very sturdy and the conception is good! I enjoy having all my stuff near me and no need to carry bottle of water that you search all the time in the bottom of the kayak.. with this hydratation bag.. i can stay hydrated all day long! Thanks! Gearlab! This is an awsome and usefull deckpod to have.. i recommended it!

The workmanship looks good. It has a high level of functionality. I can't wait to get this out on the water.

I love how this deck bag is engineered. They really thought this one through! First off, it rides more securely on my deck than any other deck bag I have tried. My safety gear (paddle float, pump) are held fast but readily accessible with quick release buckles. The interior is just the right amount of space. Plenty of room for a 2L water bladder (with a hose slot), snacks, sunscreen, and more, without being excessively cavernous. And the quality of the manufacturing is excellent. One of my better equipment purchases in a long time.

This deck pod fit nicely, just forweard of the cockpit without getting in the way. Nice pouch access to store phone and GoPro. I had a 3 Ltr hydration pouch and still had room for a couple of coldies. My bilge pump and paddle float make everything easily accessible and compact. I am highly impressed and would recommend this product to anyone.

Excellent product, fits to deck well low profile, convenient for water bladder

A very well made product. It’s the perfect size and so easy to access all the items that you need to have right at your fingertips! I love it!

Just got my deckpod from Gearlab as a replacement for another deck bag. Much better storage & it doesn't impede on paddling or rolling. Great storage for float & pump making them very accessible if needed & not tying up deck lines. Great work Gearlab. Cheers.

Brilliant design

I have been looking for a deck bag to fit my wants and this one does it flawlessly! I just got to use it today for the first time and was very impressed! i no longer have my pump and paddle float hiding behind my seat and feel a little more at ease having it just in front of me just in case. Build quality so far looks sturdy. I really was not expecting the storage area to be as large as it is while keeping a low profile. All in all this thing is perfect for me and i am very satisfied with the product!

Received my Pod a few weeks ago, used it on my Advanced Elements Inflatable Kayak. Mounting was a bit difficult at first, but when I found a good spot and mounting holes, installation is a breeze with the quick disconnects included. Excellent product!

During my sea kayaking in the past 30 plus years, I had never tried a deck bag that I've liked, and as a result I have had only a pump and a paddle float on deck, while most of the few other things that I keep nearby are stowed in the cockpit. I have recently purchased the first deck bag that I've liked, the Gearlab Deck Pod, to enable me to keep a few other things at hand without having them scattered all over my deck. At first sight, I liked its compactness and rather minimalist design. This avoids the problem of most deck bags having too many features and/or too much volume and ending up looking like ugly camel humps atop the boat and presenting more "sail area" for the winds to play with; they encourage people to carry too much stuff on deck and even interfere with the path of the paddle. I also have no problem with the Gearlab not incorporating a dry bag within it. I assume that anything I carry on deck will get wet (surprisingly enough, I expect kayaking to be a wet sport), but if I have something that has to stay dry, it will be in a dry bag inside the Gearlab. As to the quality of the workmanship and materials, it is quite high. The fabric, the mesh, zipper, buckles, etc. should be good for many years. Nowadays I have the following items inside or strapped to this bag: paddle float, pump, 32 ounce bottle, a sandwich or snack, a length of dacron line, LED headlamp, small multi-tool thing and boat repair kit, a Pelican case for car keys and wallet. Other survival gear such as a whistle, hand compass, etc., are stuffed in my PFD pockets. I rather like the way that the Gearlab bag is strapped to the deck lines with four YKK buckles. I've found that it takes only a minute to remove them when I want to switch the bag to another boat, and I dislike leaving the little straps on the boat when I leave the bag at home, or just going for a short creek paddle in the vicinity. All in all, I am very happy with the way that this bag works for me, and can recommend it highly.

Meets expectations, and expectations were high. This is a smart piece of gear. It has exactly what I need: a place to hold my pump and paddle float, and a zippered pocket to hold my hard case in which I keep wallet and car keys. I keep one side of the clips attached to my deck lines, so with four clicks it snaps securely on my deck. It's cut my setting-up-to-launch time down nicely. The handle is made to flop under the pod so it doesn't stick out and risk you accidentally grabbing it instead of your skirt loop in case of wet exit. In practice, it sometimes does poke out, but it's bright orange, so if that's a concern, you'll notice it and can tuck it back under. Construction seems really solid. I really wanted this for xmas and no one got it for me. Glad I got it myself; it's a genuine asset.

We have another type deck pod on another kayak, but this gearpod is way better!!! Plenty of room for stuff, food, water, etc. Outside straps for water/drink bottles. Simply amazing!

I've been researching different deck pods for my sea kayak and I decided on the Gearlab for several reasons: First, I had previously purchased a Gearlab Akiak paddle and their new paddle case and I was impressed with the quality of both items. Secondly, I liked the design of the Gearlab in that it has external straps to secure a bilge pump and paddle float (or in my case, a water bottle). The internal zippered compartment is roomy enough to store my GoPro accessories and waterproof case that contain my cell phone and wallet and some snack bars. It's easier to access items in the deck pod than in the day hatch making it great for the often used items. The case secures tightly to the deck using the included straps which attach to the deck rigging. The orange carry handle is sewn to the case in a manner that it naturally folds under the case when mounted to the deck so it will not be confused with the skirt loop if you need to make an emergency evacuation when upside-down in the water. The case will hold a hydration bladder, but I prefer to attach and insulated water bottle to the outside of the case because I paddle in hot temperatures and I like an ice-cold beverage to drink. The small opening intended for the hydration bladder tube, is also useful for stuffing energy bar wrappers back into the bag without needing to undo the zipper. Lastly, I like the low profile and design of the case. Time will tell how well it holds up under Florida sun and salt water exposure, but so far, I really like this deck bag.

Great design, neat on deck storage of rescue gear with room for extras

Got my deck pod for mothers day and due to Covid 19 couldn't use it til last week. It was extremely useful holding my paddle float, pump, water bottle, snacks and camera, basically everything that wasn't on my body and it was super easy to access and kept everything neat and in a low profile format. Love it.

Nice looking deck bag. I still need to get a water bladder for it.

I expected it to be a bit more universal. However upon installing it i learned thats its a bit looser fit. I have the Dagger Axis 12 and it sits ontop of my net and mesh cover. Once on it was eventually able to be secured down. Waiting on a couple mote itema to arrive to see how it really holds up.

Great and practical bag. Plenty of storage space and easy access. It would have been the perfect bag if it was waterproof.

Great deck bag. Holds water sack as described. Also has a clip for car keys and a pocket for extras. Only grip, it is not waterproof. You will need waterproof bags to keep items dry

Haven't used it on the water yet, but it secures well to the forward perimeter lines. Should put almost everything I need within easy reach. I like the connection straps and how easy they can be moved.

High Quality design and construction. Keeps important items at arms reach in a compact, sleek holder.

It's the most organized bag that I've used. The materials are really good quality, and the space in the bag, more than enough for tour gadgets, food and a water camel bag. Perfect.

Finally I got a very useful thing to be fixed over the deck of the kayak to transport various accessories. Such as a kayak pump and paddle float, or for a water bag up to 3 liters. All always at hand while you are paddling which makes it unnecessary to use the watertight deck hatches or the cockpit to store them. The materials are of good quality and the chosen design gives the deck pod an attractive elegance.

It appears that Gearlab’s Deck Pod is a deck bag designed with considerable thought to the needs of sea kayakers.

Gearlab sent me the Deck Pod at no charge which I have agreed to on the proviso that any opinions (positive or negative) are mine to express. The below is an initial impression, with longer term outcomes to follow in time.

I don’t see that many deck bags of any brand about on the decks of sea kayaks around this part of the world. Most people stuff a number of items under the front bungee cords for easy access, and keep other items in their PFD, below deck in the cockpit or in the day hatch (if the boat has one). My approach has to date been the same (no deck bag).

So I feel it is important to first reflect on why a sea kayak would bother using a deck bag: • Neaten up the existing items one may store in the front bungees, PFD and cockpit. • Provide additional storage volume for longer trips. • Provide quick and easy access to essential items. This is especially the case on rough seas, where getting to items in a day hatch and especially below deck can be difficult to dangerous. The location of a deck bag means it is the easiest and most stable location to access out on the ocean. This is not only a convenience factor, it can be a safety factor.

Whilst I haven’t used a deck bag for specifically for gear previously I often fish from my sea kayak and so I have had a procession of insulated deck bags for storing my catch. This has given me some insight into a few issues with the designs. Some of the common issues I have seen with deck bags (and my insulated fish deck bags): • Poor attachments to the deck lines – leaving the bag too loose and subject to move about. • Components that fail too quickly. The deck bag needs to survive constant UV and salt exposure. They need to be tough. • Bags that impede efficient paddling or rolling. • Bags that catch the wind. • Bags that are fiddly or difficult to access on the water, negating one of the points of moving the gear on to the deck in the first place.

After spending some time picking over Gearlab’s Deck Pod it is apparent how they have considered and tried to address all of the above (and probably a few other things that I haven’t thought of). Let me try to explain the bag in a series of dot points: • The bag is not large – maybe totalling close to 10 litres if the internal and external storage was all tallied up. It is also shaped like a limpet (or more accurately a slug) with a broad, concave underside and then all sides tapering up and in from the deck. This means it is relatively low profile on the front deck and does not impede any paddle strokes or rolls. • There are two adjustable ports on either side of the bag. The two most common items sea kayakers want easy access to when things get hairy out on the water are a bilge pump and paddle float. The two ports are designed to fit these items (or similar sized roughly cylindrical gear). On closer examination the attention Gearlab have put into designing these ports is impressive. The back port is padded, with both hook and loop fastener to adjust to the approximate size for your pump and also a webbing and buckle cinch to tighten a little further to hold the item tight. The front port is simply a loop of webbing and clip buckle so that the clip can be quickly released on the water to take out the item. However there is more to its design. Gearlab has used polyacetal buckles made by YKK of Japan for the various buckles and zip on the bag. However for the front gear ports they use buckles from another Japanese manufacturer – Nifco – also in polyacetal. This buckle has a little ‘lip’ under the clip where the webbing doubles back to tighten. Hard to describe without pictures, but the result is that the webbing loop cannot be tightened, or more importantly loosened, unless the buckle is unclipped. Meaning that even in the craziest surf wipe-out, your paddle float secured to your deck bag is not going to come loose. No doubt it would have been easier for Gearlab to specify another YKK buckle for this clip and pretty much no-one would have noticed. But I guess they wanted to be sure that webbing wouldn’t come loose under hard use. I am impressed, it is this sort of commitment to detail that separates the good brands from the pretenders. • The Deck Pod is in no way waterproof, indeed it has mesh drainage ports so water can get out of (but also into) the bag quickly. This is a good thing. Waterproof zips don’t stay waterproof for long, especially under constant sun and salt, and seize up too easily with sand and salt. Roll top dry bags work great, but have you ever tried to roll one up nice and tight – one, two, three – on the front deck in a big sea? Easy enough on a flat lake, but a rough ocean is when deck bags get wet. If you have a few items that need to be waterproofed, much better to store them in a small dry bag and put that into the Deck Pod. Most of the stuff you will want in there (water, safety gear, some snacks) can, and will, get wet. • The Deck Pod attaches via four webbing straps that can be tensioned through buckle clips. The webbing has loops sewn at each end with a half twist (to make it easier to thread). You choke the webbing on to your deck lines, clip the bag on and tension the webbing. As the buckles sit flat on the deck they don’t loosen. I have used a few other types of attachments for deck bags. The worst are those plastic clips or carabiners. They never sit flush, are hard to tension right and seem to break too easily. Better is two sided Velcro tape. A bit more fiddly and not as tight but durable and secure. The Gearlab solution is better again and the easiest and tightest attachment method I have tried. For a very narrow deck kayak they may not be able to be tightened enough with the above approach. But if you choke the webbing to each other instead of the deck lines and run a continuous loop under the deck lines it could be made tight enough. • Gearlab have added a carry handle to make the bag just that bit more ergonomic to lug around. Cleverly, the carry handle is stitched so that it always tucks up under the bag on the deck, and won’t get snagged on the water or confused with the grab loop on your spray skirt. • The bag opens via one non-waterproof zipper running lengthways across one side of the top of the bag. Internally, there is basically one big cavity, with a mesh pocket to one side and an opening towards the front where you can route a hydration tube or even wedge a GPS or other device from the outside. I could see myself slipping a wrapper into through this hole after a snack, instead of undoing the zipper. Internally there is a plastic hook clip for securing a lanyard to any items that are critical to not getting dropped over the side (e.g. mobile phone case). The plastic hook clip looks well made, though I have had plenty break in backpacks after a few years and only time will tell. Pretty easy to replace it with a small carabiner if it does eventually break as the fabric tape loop is exposed within the bag. • There is a long mesh pocket on top of the bag. This would a good spot for stuffing in a map or a couple of snack bars if conditions weren’t really rough. In really rough conditions I could imagine items could be lost from this area. • The bag is lightly padded (feels like maybe 3mm closed cell foam is used throughout the bags construction). I guess that is to reduce the impact from any hard objects rattling around in the bag from damaging the deck of your kayak. It also means that the bag floats, at least when empty. • Gearlab calls the fabric ‘450D DWR Hydrolysis Resistant Fabric’. I am assuming that means that the fabric is not nylon (which is subject to hydrolysis) and probably polyester. Polyester would be preferable also in being relatively resistant to UV breakdown.

Of course, the above counts for nothing unless the gear performs out on the water. An initial test has revealed nothing or concern or different to that noted above. The deck bags low profile means it doesn’t cause any issues either paddling or rolling. I added a couple of 500ml water bottles to the bag to see how they rattled about during rolling but didn’t even notice them. Pricing for the Deck Pod is pretty competitive with other deck bags on the market. Most, but not all of Gearlab’s products (for example I love the design of their dry bag, but it is too expensive compared to the alternatives) are competitively priced.

The Sea-to-Summit one is another reasonable deck bag, but the Gearlab bag is better designed for its purpose. For example the bungee cord webbing on the Sea-to-Summit is not going to hold items well enough in a combat roll situation. I’ve had a good look over the internet at other sea kayak deck bags as well – not the ideal research method – but I can pretty quickly see flaws in most of the other designs if they are to be used for serious sea kayaking.

I do like to get a lot more use on gear before I conclude an opinion and will post a second follow up review when that is complete. Some issues only become apparent over time. However at this stage, I do feel that Gearlab have produced a deck bag that is better designed than most for ocean sea kayaking.