Are you a new adventurer or a seasoned outdoor enthusiast? Your needs will be different depending on your experience. Identify your needs, and then go through our reviews to find a bag made just for you.
You and your partner have been planning a romantic getaway for months. After considering all the options, you finally settle on camping in a romantic nature resort. You both take outstanding vacation time from work and clear your schedules. You invest in
a tent, fancy foods for your romantic night, an
outdoor stove, some lanterns, and everything else you think you might need.
When the day arrives, you drive the kids to their grandparents, kiss them goodbye, and fly to the resort, smiles on your faces the whole way. That first day, you busy yourselves with setting up the tent, gather wood for the stove, and make other camping preparations before turning in early. Sometime during the night, there is light rainfall and you wake the next morning to find some of the provisions to be a little wet.
This doesn’t bother you. After you throw away what is too wet to use, you eat breakfast and then take your
fishing poles out to the river. You have a blast relaxing on the boat when suddenly, you catch a bite. Excitedly, you reel in a fat catfish, which you will later eat for dinner. Sadly, during the excitement, your bag falls off the boat and into the river. After an hour taking turns diving, you finally find the bag.
Wet and a little disheartened, you go back to camp to cook the catfish, only to discover that the damp from the previous night has gotten into all of your firewood. Wet, hungry, and unable to start a fire, you finally decide to leave and find a hotel for the night. When you pull out your phone to book a room, you discover that water damage has ruined the battery.
What could you have done to have this trip turn out differently? Simple, you could have used a dry bag. A dry bag protects any item you put within it from any form of unwanted moisture; whether rain, morning dew, snow, or just regular water. The best dry bags can even be fully submerged and will still keep every one of your items as dry as when you put them in. You never know what could happen during a trip outdoors, but you can at least guarantee that your food, clothes, phone, or whatever you choose to place in it will be safe from the elements.
We realize that there are many options out there when it comes to this important item. Finding the best one for any occasion you’re planning can be difficult. To make things easier, we’ve narrowed down five top products from reputable brands with plenty of other quality products to choose from.
Price
Buying a dry bag, or any purchase for that matter, you want to be sure that you’re getting the best for the price you are willing to pay. To help you with this, we researched the best reasonably-priced dry bags available.
Dry bag prices are determined by factors such as their size, materials, and attachments. We found that a good dry bag can cost anything from $10 to about $200. While this does not cover the entire price spectrum, within this range you are sure to find a quality dry bag. While it may not be necessary to purchase the most expensive dry bags, we caution against cheap dry bags as they tend to be of very low quality.
Features
To know which dry bag best suits your needs, you need to know what features to look for and how they affect your choice. We have highlighted some of these features here:
- Material
- Size
- Closure
- Straps
- Harness
- Color
- Attachments
- Float
Let’s now look at these features in more details.
Construction and Design
A dry bag’s material is one of the main guarantees that it will effectively protect your items. Dry bags are usually made from materials like tarpaulin and laminated polyethylene. Materials like these do not have pores through which water can seep in, keeping the objects inside safe from moisture. A dry bag’s material also determines how long the dry bag will last and how well it endures during use.
Another thing to consider is the dry bag’s size, which can be considered based on storage capacity and in relation to the size of the person carrying it. It is important that you get a dry bag that is neither too big nor too small for you.
A dry bag’s closure system is also helpful in ensuring the stored items are protected from water. This system guarantees the safety of your items by tightly sealing your bag with highly resistant materials. A dry bag’s closure system will sometimes need to be sealed following some steps. These steps will be shown in the dry bag’s manual and it is important that you study them.
Dry bags are available with different strap options, including handbag, crossbody, or backpack designs. The material and level of padding on the shoulder strap are important to consider because the comfort of your bag will affect how long you can conveniently carry it. Some dry bags also come with harnesses, which provide added security to prevent accidental separation between you and your bag.
Performance and Ease of Use
Many people enjoy having the freedom to choose the color of their items. Some dry bags are sold in a wide variety of colors, so if the featured dry bag color does not appeal to you, there are alternative options to match your style and taste. Some dry bags also come with certain attachments like waist pouches, phone cases, and bottle holsters to help distribute the load. These attachments can add a great deal of convenience to your journey and can help improve organization.
For travel, there are certain dry bags that will guarantee the safety of your items during water sports like boating, rafting, and jet skiing. These dry bags will actually float along with you drop it in the water.
Now that you’ve finished reading our reviews, we hope you are informed enough to purchase a dry bag confidently. Have a great adventure!
