DRY STORAGE

CALL - 925.820.2628 Drybags Dry Boxes

Waterproof drybags and dry boxes for rafters and kayakers, including Pelican, NRS, AIRE, Innova, and military issue products, are in this section.

If you are looking for a waterproof camera pouch, those are on our general accessory page. We also have a number of oddball drybags in quantities too small to feature on this page, so if you want a shape, size, or style you don't see listed email us with a good description of what you are after. Some closeout bags our on our Used boat page.

Updated February 2009.

How fancy you get keeping things dry depends on what you are keeping dry, how many days you'll be paddling, and what type of boating you do. Day trips across a lake may only merit a large plastic bag, but expedition boaters running heavy seas or tough whitewater should invest a little more - especially if their gear includes down sleeping bags, tents, cameras, and the lone set of dry clothes. Regardless of how much you spend on dry storage, we urge you to use a "back-up" system. Most drybags leak eventually and they rarely do it at a convenient time. By using garbage bags for liners you need not worry about pinholes or the one rookie in the group who couldn't quite get the part about rolling down the closure. Likewise, gasket rings on dryboxes will either over-compress (store them with the lids open when they're not in use) or get sand particles embedded in them. Either way they can leak too, so a 5-cent ziplock bag is cheap insurance for your Nikon. As a general rule of thumb, "lock-top" style drybags won't be as leak proof as drybags with multiple closure straps, and new abs plastic dryboxes always seal better than old military ammo boxes.

The new Camera Shield camera cases and Aquapac Soft Cases are located on our regular All The Rest Accessory page.

Drybags

PVC & Urethane Coated-

Our simplest drybag is the Flatsacks ($9, at right), which measures 10 x 19". It is a lock-top bag made of blue, 16 oz, 800 denier PVC, with adjustable carry/tie-down cords strung through the two lower corners. Not terribly watertight compared to most of what is on this page.

Reinforced SeeThru Bags and clear XS size Glacier Bags from Seattlesports (above left) provide a nice way to always know waht's inside each bag. The clear sides of the XS Glacier's are made of unreinforced 20 mil vinyl with black reinforced bottoms, and the SeeThru's are similiar but with 1/4" spaced scrim inside the clear material. SeeThru's come in five sizes, with round bottoms: XS ($16 for either the SeeThru or Glacier bag, 6" X 11"); Small ($18, 7.5" X 14"); Medium ($24, 9.5" X 18"); Large ($27, 11.5" X 23"); and XL ($29, 12.5" X 28"). These are "lock-top" style bags where you roll the top down, and bring the male & female fastex buckles around and snap them together.

We also have Small ($24, at left in black) and Large ($43) urethane coated Cordura Lock-top bags that are identical in dimensions to their counterparts above, but in a much tougher non-transparent material.

River Packs ($59, blue & black bag just below) are 16 X 35" approximate unrolled size - or 24" to 26" rolled, and about 7200 cubic inches. This round-bottom bag is made from the same PVC coated fabric on the sides as the AIRE Tributary Strike kayaks, with an even heavier bottom. These are by far the best value going in a full size drybag, equivalent to most of what goes for $69 to $89 - though the material is slightly less shiny than some of the mroe pricey bags if that makes any difference. These have padded shoulder straps, a waist belt, and a carry handle. In sky blue as shown. The black bottom does not come up quite as far as is depicted in the photo. The River Pack comes with a nylon stuff bag to keep it clean when it's not being used.

The new System 5 drybag is about the same diameter as the 3.8 cubic foot River Pack above, but it is 13" taller, giving it nearly a five cubic foot capacity. It is a more basic design than the River Pack, having a padded shoulder sling strap, but no full-on bachpack straps or waist belt. The bottom is heavier material, but it does nto come up on the sides like the River Pack above. Still, if you use a bulky synthetic sleeping bag or need extra space for gear beyond what a normal 3.8 foot bag provides, this is a good investment. System 5's have three metal D-ring patches welded on for secure tie down in your raft. This bag is too big if you run self supported trips out of a solo inflatable kayak, but it will fit fine in a tandem model if you are alone in the boat. $67; sometimes we have these in the red as shown, and sometimes medium blue.

New- The Frodo Bag

Although this item does come in a larger size (3.6 cubic feet, $165, in green/grey), we'll only be stocking the "regular" size Frodo, which is 2.2 cubic feet and runs $139. It is the volume that will fit into the back of most inflatable kayaks, and it will tie down easily into any AIRE brand model since those kayaks come with lots of tie down loops. Note that it will not fit into AIRE's Force models however. If you want the bigger one just give us a few days notice. The larger size is more of a substitue for a standard 3.8 foot bag like the River Pack above.
The Frodo's have carry handles of course, and four tie down points on the bottom. The drysuit zippers are more convenient than having to roll down a four-strap system bag like the River Pack above, but over the long haul they may not be as waterproof and the zippers will not last indefinitely. If you use these around salt water, it is mandatory that you hose the zippers off after use. Well, unless you want to purchase a new one every two years....
The regular size 2.2 cubic foot Frodo is roughly 15" wide, 26" long, and about 9-1/2" tall. The zipper runs full length and a bit down the sides. In other words it opens plenty wide to get all your gear in.

The Innova Bag ($49, at left, 10" X 18" X 24" tall rolled), which comes with all two person Innova i.k's has a bottom and partial back panel made from the same material as the River Packs, but the rest of the body is made from black 840 denier urethane coated cordura. The result is one of the toughest drybags in it's weight range. The Innova has padded shoulder straps and a separate large front pocket (not waterproof) with a velcro closure. These are a good value and hold at least the same volume as the Standard River Pack; in a black/blue two-tone.

The new Camera Shield camera cases and Aquapac Soft Cases are located on our regular All The Rest Accessory page.

Rubber Drybags-

We have a limited supply of new Viet Nam era genuine military Black Bags and Medikit Bags (photos at right and below). Most black bags, if you can find them, are usually World War II or Korean War vintage in a severe state of decomposition, or, if they are more recent, they've been used. Not these! The standard Black Bags we have left are made of lighter than normal 22 oz/square yard rubber (as opposed to 28 oz/yard neoprene found on the "normal" black bags) and run $39.They are identical to any other black bag in every other way, and we only have a very few left at this update. One thing we need to mention here is that this particular manufacturer (several companies made black drybags) used staples rather than weights to form the creased openings on these, and therefore there are two rows of staple holes running through the prefolded area. We have filled in the holes with Aquaseal so it won't be a problem anywayl. Black Bags are 7 X 14 X 22".

The Medikit Bag ($75, the left bag in the upper photo, above right) would probably cost $150 if you had them made today, and they define "bombproof" where river gear is concerned. These are rectangular (9 X 12 X 20"), made of thick 40 oz. neoprene on the exterior, and they have both unpadded shoulder straps and a carry handle, plus three separate closure straps. The rigid base has a stiffener glued into the rubber, and the closure is an inner roll down flap with a preshaped 40 oz. outer "lid" that snugs down tight.

If you like the shape of the military style bags but want something with larger capacity, we do have a few oddball pvc & coated cordura rectangular drybags not listed here ranging from $39 to $49 - just call & ask.

Our last little item is a small military bag we call the Lunch Pouch ($12, no photo). This is a small (10 X 12"), heavy duty bag with a roll down & snap closure and a shoulder strap. These are used but in good condition and are very handy for small items. Same military neoprene as the other black bags.

Dry Boxes

A popular and economical alternative to Pelican boxes are the Lexan Boxes (below, medium size shown), which come in three nice sizes. These do not have handles like Pelican's larger boxes, but they do have two slots for running a 1" camlock strap through - very handy indeed. If, however, you loop a camstrap through these side slots, and run both halves of the camstrap underneath the box, pulling the camstrap tight will result in the sides being distorted outward. This will generally break the seal, so don't overtighten the strap if you secure the Lexan Box this way. If you need more than one box these are great because you don't have to open them to see what's inside, and Lexan Boxes have a very thick, pudgy, reversable o-ring seal so they are perfectly watertight. The three sizes are Small ($19; 3.2 X 4.3 X 6.5"), which is fairly tiny, the Medium ($25; 4 X 6 X 7.5") which is about the same size as Pelican's Guard Box, and the Large ($32; 4.3 X 8 X 9.2") which is probably the best value of the three.

The new Camera Shield camera cases and Aquapac Soft Cases are located on our regular All The Rest Accessory page.

Pelican makes cases you can rely on and are another product that could probably be called an "industry standard". All their products are watertight to a minimum of 30', feature 1/4" O-rings and pressure-equalization valves. And if a Pelican box does leak due to warpage or defects (other than the inexpensive replaceable gaskets), there's a lifetime warranty. All of the following Pelican Protector cases come with pick-n-pluck foam inserts and, except for the "PELICAN", have fold-down handles. Color is silver-grey.