The Best Waterproof Gear Bags

Waterproof gear bags, also called dry bags or dry sacks, are key to keeping clothes, electronics and other gear dry when the weather turns inclement. They're designed for water sports or sports like backpacking where the whether can quickly turn nasty. Use a quality dry bag whenever you're toting gear into wet environs.

  1. Compressible Dry Sacks

    • Compressible dry sacks are good for clothing and other soft, flexible items. They let you quickly and efficiently compact your gear so that it will take up less space in your pack or craft. Sea to Summit's eVent Dry Sacks won a Backpacker's Editors Choice Award in 2007 thanks to their innovative construction. The bags use the waterproof/breathable quality of eVent fabric in allowing you to compress air out without a valve. Meanwhile, water won't get back in.

    Ultralight/Fastpacking Dry Sacks

    • Introduced in 2010, Granite Gear's Uberlight Dry Sacks are made from some of the lightest fabric known to man--CT3. With weights ranging from half an ounce to three-quarters of an ounce, depending upon size, these bags were already an attractive option to anyone looking to save weight. Then Granite Gear improved them with a waterproof/breathable eVent bottom. As in the Sea to Summit bag, the eVent material lets air escape, squeezing air out as you roll the top down, but keeps water out.

    Drybag Backpacks

    • Most dry sacks are designed to hold some gear and then slide into a backpack or boat but if you want to keep all the contents of your backpack dry, consider carrying them in a dry backpack. Models like the SeaLine Black Canyon and Aquapac Wet & Dry Pack attach a pair of shoulder straps to a waterproof sack and let you protect your entire load from the elements while carrying it on your back.

    Dry Trash Sack

    • The term "pack in, pack out" has a feel-good ring to it--up until you actually have to pack out slimy, dripping garbage. Unlike most dry packs, the Sea to Summit Trash Dry Sack protects from the inside out. Throw your leftover dinner scraps and other messy garbage in it; close it up and don't worry about it spilling into the rest of your backpack. Backpacker magazine tested the sack and said of its results "...it's everything you've come to expect in a lightweight dry sack, with a couple of extra features that make it earn its moniker."