Hi - I'm stumbled on this discussion. I work for GearPods so full disclosure up front.

@stevage: a typical system weighs the same as a sports bottle. The form factor -a bottle-shape - means it is very easy to pack. Inside or outside of a hydration pack. Or mounted to a bike using an adjustable bottle cage (like Topeak Modula offers). Or both. Flexibility and modularity provide options and I think that's true of the containers themselves and the kits. The modularity is nice IMHO - at the least I want my gear separated. Even better if it's easy to combine gear together depending on the trails I'm going to hit.

Back to soft sac versus hard case, the benefits of the latter include watertight (some vinyl pouches are waterproof, but most soft sacs are not) and durability - the contents will not get crushed. The hard form factor also allows you to store the kits in e.g. a cage.

I'm glad you like the tarp!

@paxtoncoyote: that's definitely creative thinking! They are food-grade after all.

Hope this helps. I just wanted to offer another way of looking at GearPods.