Campground Review

Every year it seems there are changes at Devil's River. The campsite are still nice, though if you want privacy, there's not a lot. This is great for camping with friends or family. We usually have 4 sites with family over Labor Day weekend. This year they've added a deck off of the bathroom/shower building. It seems like it was almost done.

One night there was very loud partying at some of the seasonal campers sites. It was a bit obnoxious, but they were mostly quiet by 11pm. There were a lot of seasonal sites with Trump flags and I saw one Confederate flag…so interesting cross section of humanity.

One of the season campers had some giant inflatable climbing/bouncing things for the pond, so that kept the kids and some adults occupied. The same person also projected a movie in the new covered deck. He's a generous man, willing to share with the other campers.

We played cards and lawn games and Slammo and frisbee in all the open space and also swam in the pond. It was a great weekend, as always.

Product Review

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get products to test from time to time, this time I got to test the RōM Pack from RōM Outdoors.

I'll be upfront and honest…this might be the most disappointing product I've tested for The Dyrt. It definitely isn't all bad, but the concept, in my opinion is a failure.

The RōM Pack is a convertible backpack that can unfold into a poncho or a blanket.

As a backpack…

What I like:

• It is stylish
• The material quality is heavy duty

What I didn't like:

• It is very heavy…when empty
• The main pocket isn't very large due to the excess material needed for the poncho/blanket

As a poncho…

What I like:

• It is a poncho

What I don't like

• The snaps don't stay snapped
• It is too short in the front
• It is too warm….it has a fleece lining
• The hood is small
• It looks a bit funny when you where it with the backpack straps and the flaps…I was laughed at by my family

_As a blanket…_it is great. It is warm, large enough and water resistant.

Overall, the concept doesn't seem practical. If I'm hiking and I expect rain, I'd pack a raincoat or a lightweight poncho to wear over my regular clothes. I'd dress for the weather. I'd never need a fleece lined poncho. I likely wouldn't need a blanket either…and if I did I could roll up a blanket and put it in a regular backpack.

The RōM Pack is also quite expensive at $120. The build quality is very good, but the execution and the concept are where it fails. The best "mode" is blanket mode, but I can recommend any number of cheaper blankets. I wanted to like this, but I'm afraid I can't recommend it.