The Best Dry Bags To Keep Your Gear Safe And Secure On The Water
Whether you’re inner tubing your local stream, rafting big white water, kayaking or SUPing, a reliable dry bag is one of the most crucial pieces of gear you can bring on the river. Any decent dry bag will keep your essentials safe from splashes, but it’s the moment when your boat flips—and everything is put under pressure—that the best dry bags begin to stand out.
The best dry bags protect your essentials from the elements, whether you’re kayaking, rafting or … [+]
As a gear writer and rafter with a strong social circle of long-time kayakers and river guides, I’ve thought a lot about what makes for a good dry bag. Many on this list (and a few that didn’t make the cut) I’ve tested on big adventures, including 21 days rafting the Grand Canyon. Some features of a great dry bag are personal preferences and others are trip-dependent, but across the board, the best dry bag will not only keep your interior items dry, but also have well-placed handles and lash points for hauling and rigging, be easy to get into and access your gear, and will be durable enough to withstand the elements and test of time.
Why Trust Forbes Vetted
The Forbes Vetted team and its contributors used an extensive network of testers, hands-on research and many years of experience and expertise in outdoor gear to choose the best dry bags on the market.
- This story’s author, Rachael Schultz, uses dry bags of every size and variety on ducky day floats down her local rivers in Colorado and overnight river trips in Colorado and Utah. She’s taken many of the dry bags here on big river trips, including rafting the Grand Canyon for 21 days. She’s also tapped the expertise of her friends who are long-time river guides, and her husband who is a life-long kayaker and has done self-supports across North and South America.
- Contributing Forbes Vetted editor Hayley Helms, who oversaw the editing of this piece, has spent more than a decade testing, reviewing and editing outdoor gear and its accompanying media.
- Our team consistently reviews this story to confirm our picks are still in stock and meet our selection criteria. This story was published for the first time in June 2024.
How We Chose The Best Dry Bags
As both a rafter and a gear editor, I’ve intensely tested nearly every dry bag on this list (and a lot that didn’t make the cut) on day floats down my local rivers in the Roaring Fork Valley, Colorado, as well as overnight river trips across Colorado and Utah. I took many of the dry bags here on a 21-day rafting trip down the Grand Canyon. Additionally, my husband is not only a passionate rafter, but also a life-long kayaker and has done self-supported trips across North and South America. Many of our friends are river guides on the Grand, the Colorado, in Alaska and other rivers across the Southwest. I’ve leaned on the collective knowledge of my river friends here to provide the best dry bag recommendations for every type of adventure.
What To Look For In The Best Dry Bags
There are many factors that go into choosing the best dry bag for your adventure. Whether you’re kayaking, rafting or just floating your local river, here are a few factors to consider:
Waterproof Versus Submersible
As any good gearhead knows, the language around a bag’s abilities is crucial. Dry bags come in two forms: waterproof and submersible. Waterproof means the material won’t allow water inside; these bags are generally fine for day floats or overnights with no big rapids. But if there’s any risk of your boat flipping, you’ll want a submersible dry bag, which means water won’t get inside if the bag goes underwater.
Zipper Versus Roll-Top Closure
It goes without saying that it’s very important for your dry bag to have a waterproof closure. These closures typically come in two forms: a heavy-duty, waterproof zipper or a roll top.
A zippered dry bag is comparatively easier to open and close than a roll top, but there’s more room for human error and hardware failure. You must double check that you’ve pulled the zipper completely closed every time for no water to get in (most zippers pull about 99% of the way naturally, and then require a final yank to close the last air gap). Also, if you boat frequently in places with fine sand, like the Grand Canyon, this can wiggle into the teeth of your zipper and, over time, gunk up its ability to zip smoothly. Lastly, zippers pose a higher risk of manufacturer failure; my husband took a zippered dry bag on a 21-day Grand Canyon trip and, five days in, the zipper started splitting so he couldn’t close his bag for the next 16 days.
Roll-top dry bags, meanwhile, are a little more annoying to use day in and day out, but will last for years without giving you any trouble. There is a small learning curve with a roll-top to match up the seams and ensure it’s water tight, and also choosing the best approach to get all the air out before you roll the bag tight. But we have roll-top dry bags that are two-decades old and still work perfectly.
Personally, I like a zippered dry bag for my personal day bag that I’ll be opening and closing frequently, and a roll-top for everything else for its reliance and peace of mind.
Handles And Straps
When boating, you spend a lot of time hauling, loading and passing dry bags, so you want to consider how comfortable and ergonomic the handles are.
Large dry bags (80-plus liters) should have a hefty, durably-attached handle in the middle of the bag to evenly distribute the weight for one person to haul to camp alone. Many now have backpack straps, which are nice, but can get tangled when rigging boats, so it’s nice when said backpack straps cinch together or are removable.
It’s also nice when medium- to personal-sized dry bags have long straps, or multiple kinds of straps, to allow you to both carry the bag by hand or sling it on your back.
Bag Size
Dry bags come in every shape and size. Everyone has different preferences, and the type of boat you’re on may dictate what size bag you bring, but generally people most prefer:
- 3-20 liters for organization of personal items and first aid kits, electronics, and so on.
- 15-35 liters for a day bag or your main bag on a 1-2 night trip
- 25-50 liters for a multi-day river trip
- 50-75 liters for a multi-week river trip
- 100-130 liters for large and lightweight items, like your sleeping bag, tent, camping mat and so on.
Another thing to consider in bag size is the weight of what will go inside the bag. Again, there’s a lot of hauling in rafting and kayaking, so it’s sometimes better to pack in two 40-liter bags than one 100-liter bag that’s annoyingly heavy.
Is A Dry Bag Worth It?
Whether you’re kayaking, rafting, speed boating, or inner tubing your local stream, 100% yes, a dry bag is worth bringing on any adventure on the water. It not only keeps all your essentials in one place that’s easy to attach to whatever kind of watercraft you’re on, but it gives you peace of mind that your essentials will stay dry, even against small splashes.