Category: Gear Tests Title: Why I Finally Bought a Real Dry Bag
I still keep a completely dead phone sitting on the corner of my desk. It went into three feet of murky creek water last August because I trusted a five dollar plastic pouch I bought near a gas station register. The seal looked thick enough in the store. It even snapped shut with a loud click. It let water in the second I accidentally knocked it off my lap and over the side of the boat. I was in a slow moving section of Elm Creek and the water was entirely opaque. I spent twenty minutes fishing the pouch out of the mud with the blade of my paddle. The screen was already black by the time I pulled it up.
Now I use an actual dry bag for anything that matters. I found a faded yellow one at a thrift store in November. It was sitting in a plastic bin full of old gym backpacks. It cost six dollars and smelled heavily of damp canvas. It is made of thick, heavy vinyl with a stiff roll top closure. You have to push the air out by leaning your body weight on it, then roll the top edge down at least three times to get a proper watertight seal.
I tested it in my bathtub before I ever took it outside. I put a dry cotton towel inside, rolled the top shut, and held the entire bag underwater with my knee for five straight minutes. The towel stayed completely dry.
It is stiff and extremely annoying to open when my hands are cold. I usually just throw my car keys, my wallet, and my replacement phone in there. Then I clip the heavy plastic buckle to the seat strap so it cannot bounce out.
I still overpack my boat with extra wool sweaters and thick socks. Those can get wet if it rains or if water splashes over the edge. I do not care about wet socks. But if you carry electronics on a kayak, skip the clear plastic pouches entirely. Find a thick bag that requires actual effort to seal.