How to Make a Waterproof Seal Bag & Bottle

Summer activities such as hiking and canoeing are more enjoyable when you can stay hydrated while also keeping yourself and your belongings dry. Equipping yourself with summer adventure equipment such as dry bags and water bottles may seem as if it's expensive---but it doesn't have to be. With a little know-how ingenuity, and some inexpensive materials, you can make a waterproof dry-bag to keep your extra clothing and supplies free from water damage, as well as keep your drinking water fresh in a cheap, lightweight and recyclable non-leaking bottle.

Things You'll Need

  • 2-liter plastic soda bottle
  • Teflon plumbing tape
  • 2-yard-length, 2-foot-wide piece of heat-sealable fabric
  • 1 yard of 1-inch nylon webbing
  • 1-inch side-release buckle assembly
  • Large sewing needle
  • Nylon thread
  • Clothes iron
  • Strip of cotton fabric
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Instructions

  1. Dry Bag Construction

    • 1

      Fold the heat-sealable fabric in half so that the adhesive sides face each other and the resulting long side has a length of 3 feet.

    • 2

      Lay a strip of cotton cloth on the long edge of the folded fabric. Set an iron to the Cotton setting, and place the iron firmly on the cotton cloth for 15 seconds. Lift the iron and reapply it repeatedly along the length of the sealable fabric. Repeat the process with the other side. This will create a tube-shaped dry-bag with the bottom part the folded end, and both the bottom and the sides heat sealed.

    • 3

      Lay a 3-foot-long piece of 1-inch nylon web strap across the open end of the bag, in a such a way that the ends of the strap extend equally across the top of the bag. Sew the strap to one side only of the bag, using nylon thread. Sew the side-release buckle assembly to the ends of the nylon strap.

    • 4

      Turn the bag inside out so that the sealed seams are on the inside of the bag. The bag is now ready to use: Pack clothing in the bag two-thirds of the way full, compress bag to release excess air, then fold the top of bag down and over the strap a minimum of three times, before buckling the strap ends together to secure it.

    Leakproof Water Bottle Construction

    • 5
      Any plastic bottle manufactured for human consumption is safe to use as a DIY leakproof water bottle.

      Clean an empty 2-liter soda bottle with soap and water.

    • 6

      Fill the bottle with water. Dry the screw top of the bottle.

    • 7

      Wrap Teflon plumbing tape three times around the screw-cap threads of the bottle, then tighten the cap over the tape-covered threads. The bottle is now leakproof and ready to use.