I recently purchased a North Water Peaked Deck Bag because I needed storage space that offered a little more protection then merely stuffing items under the front bungee straps on my kayak.
At around $40 this bag seems reasonably priced, and it possesses some nice features that I think make it user friendly and some features that make it not so user friendly. So after trying it out a few times, I have decided on the following Pros and Cons for the North Water Peaked Deck Bag.
(Pros)
The deck bag is held on with four adjustable straps that firmly anchor the bag to the deck. No worries here about the bag coming off in rough weather.
The deck bag is tapered toward the front, which helps to reduce wind and wave resistance.
The criss crossed bungee cord atop the bag and the side mesh pockets are good for storing smaller items.
This deck bag comes with a polyethylene shaper, which helps to maintain the bags shape and offers some physical protection.
For those people who own peaked decked type kayaks, then this bag will fit nicely because of the manner in which it is shaped.
The shape and weight of the loaded deck bag did not seem to affect my ability to roll.
(Cons)
Because this bag is of a tapered design, you lose some storage space toward the front of the bag.
The bag only comes in one color, which is black. The nice thing about black is it blends in with any color kayak. The problem is it also blends in with the water (at least where I paddle) so it is less visible. I would like to see this bag offered in a more visible color so power boaters can see me better.
The biggest problem I have with this bag is with the design of the zipper. The zipper opens/closes straight across the bag and only gives you a small opening when open. The rear of this deck bag is seven inches tall, yet the zipper does not allow you to open it up fully, thus restricting the size of the items that you can put in it. I would like to see this zipper configuration replaced with one that opens the bag fully.
So, there's my Pro and Con list. Bottom line is for carrying items that you need ready access to, this bag is fine, but the zipper configuration is a pain and causes it to lose some points.