Everybody eventually learns that when you're out on a dive boat, or even on a beach dive, while your immediate goal is to be wet, your long-term goal is to be dry again. And the best way to ensure that happens is to stow your after-dive street clothes, jackets, wallets and whatnots in a bag specifically designed to keep its contents dry in a wet environment.

Three Categories, Lots of Choices

Lightweight water-resistant bags are one solution to wet towel woes.
The bags and boxes reviewed here fall into three basic categories: water-resistant bags that can be splashed, waterproof bags that can be splashed as well as temporarily dunked, and submersible bags and boxes that can actually be submerged while still keeping their contents dry.

To determine whether or not these bags and boxes could actually keep gear dry, we filled each with newspaper, sealed it according to the manufacturer's instructions and sprayed it aggressively with a garden hose. Then we dried the bag and looked inside to see if any of the newspaper got wet. If not, we resealed the bag and dunked it under water for 30 seconds, then dried and checked inside again.

The Results in a Nutshell

Each of these bags and boxes performed as advertised. Water-resistant bags were able to easily withstand a garden hose attack, but succumbed to a dunking. Waterproof bags scoffed at the water blasts and even held their breath through a brief dunking. Submersible bags and boxes weren't fazed by either hose spray or a prolonged dunking, and we got the feeling no amount of time spent under water was going to change that.

The Bags

AKONA AKB724 Dry Shoulder Bag

AKONA AKB724 Dry Shoulder Bag
The most stylish of the bags reviewed, the water-resistant AKB724 is the size of a large-volume, shoulder-slung, soft-sided briefcase. Constructed of polyurethane-double- coated 600-denier nylon, its main compartment secures with a double-pull zipper and can easily handle a jacket, extra clothes, camera and towel. An internal mesh sleeve is perfect for wallets and keys. This main compartment is protected from direct splash by an overflap that also has a zippered pocket.

The seams in this bag are thermal-welded for a waterproof bond, but the zippers are only water-resistant, and our spray test succeeded in getting a few drops inside the overflap pocket. However, the main compartment stayed dry, and was able to remain so even when lowered into water, just as long as the zipper itself wasn't submerged.

The bag comes with a nice shoulder strap plus a cross strap for additional stability. There's a pad where the bag rests on your hip that allows air to circulate.

MARINE SPORTS Dry Pak

MARINE SPORTS Dry Pak
Made of 10-ounce vinyl, the Dry Pak is a straightforward top-loading waterproof bag. It comes in three sizes. The model we looked at was the medium size. This bag is suited for stowing one thin jacket, an extra T-shirt or two and a towel, plus a camera and bagged lunch. The opening is a tad small, which prohibits packing bulky gear. The bag uses a fold-and-roll closure, with a short overflap to help protect against seepage and a strip of one-inch webbing to aid in a tight roll. The bag doesn't have any handles, but once the clips are connected, you can grab onto that.

After putting four rolls in the opening and clipping it together, the Dry Pak successfully defended its name. It easily resisted water intrusion during both spray and dunk tests. The Dry Pak is available in yellow or clear.

SEASOFT SCUBA DryBag

SEASOFT SCUBA DryBag
This water-resistant duffel-style DryBag from Seasoft (formerly Watermark) is actually designed to keep your wet gear from making a mess in your dry trunk. The idea is to exit the dive site sopping wet, step onto the provided two- by three-foot mat (permanently attached to the bag, it rolls up when not in use), shed your gear and drop it directly into the bag.

Made of polymer-impregnated vinyl with RFW (radio frequency welded) seams, this gluttonous bag--no pockets, just one large stowage compartment--can easily consume all your dripping dive gear and then neatly contain the mess. Its side-loading zippered opening is huge for easy access. It comes with double duffel handles and a removable shoulder strap. The bag's body is waterproof, but the zipper is vulnerable to spray.

STAHLSAC Bone Dry Storage Bag

STAHLSAC Bone Dry Storage Bag
This is one spiffy waterproof bag. Sporting welded seams throughout, the Bone Dry is made of 840-denier nylon with a heavy polyurethane coating. It uses a fold-and-roll closure, but with a couple of important differences. One, the initial mating of the side-loading opening involves pressing together a rubber seal like a huge Ziploc, which makes the opening watertight even without folding. Two, once you fold the sealed opening a couple times, instead of connecting the buckle clips together, you clip them to buckles on each side of the bag, then connect additional cross straps for further security. The result is a very neat waterproof container. Neither direct spray nor prolonged dunk tests could coax any water inside this bag.

The Bone Dry isn't long enough to serve as a dry suit gear bag, but it provides plenty of room for an extra change of clothes, jacket and towel, plus a camera or two and assorted small stuff. Double duffel handles make it easy to carry around. Stahlsac's lifetime warranty covers just about everything, including damage caused by airline handlers.

TRIPLE-L Sahara

TRIPLE-L Sahara
The Sahara is kind of a combo bag. On the one hand, it has two outside pockets that are only marginally water-resistant; on the other hand, it has a roomy main compartment that's not only waterproof but submersible.

This main compartment can easily accommodate a full set of dry clothes, a camera and a handful of smaller items. It has a watertight zipper with a rubber overseal and, in the event you'd want to take the bag under water, there's an oral inflator tube to compensate for compression at depth. The rest of the bag is not suited for submersible use, however.

There are external compression straps so you can cinch down on a half-load, and the backpack is nicely contoured and padded. The bag also has straps for beach towels.

USIA Multi-Purpose Waterproof Bag

USIA Multi-Purpose Waterproof Bag
Tested to 100 feet, this tough little monkey is made of 400-denier polyurethane-coated pack cloth. It uses a dry suit-style zipper and double heat-taped seams to withstand the pressures of depth. An oral inflator allows you to inflate the bag to compensate for compression. Needless to say, our spray and dunk tests had no effect whatsoever on this rugged bag.

Although it was originally designed for the military to stow a gas mask, the bag can be used to carry small, valuable items that need to stay dry and protected. The heavy-duty zipper is long, allowing for easy loading and unloading. The bag can be threaded onto a belt, and there are two web loops that can be used as tie-down points. A 1,000- denier cordura liner bag is included.

XS SCUBA Sedona Large Dry Duffel

XS SCUBA Sedona Large Dry Duffel
This fold-and-roll duffel-style bag is perfect in design and dimensions to handle the specialized gear required for dry suit diving. A fabric dry suit, a set of woolies, an extra T-shirt and shorts, socks, a pair of deck shoes, towels and smaller items, like wallets, all fit into the Sedona with room to spare.

Made of a 600-denier nylon with a light coating of polyurethane on the outside and a double coating on the inside, Sedona has RF-welded seams and its large side-loading opening has double stiffener strips that create a tight roll without any bunching in the middle. Like Stahlsac's Bone Dry, the Sedona's security buckles clip to the ends of the bag instead of each other. Plus, there are cross straps to help secure the folded opening and snug up the load.

The bag provides double duffel straps with a Velcro wrap, plus there are attachment points for an optional shoulder strap. A small external pocket on the outside of the bag has an additional zippered sleeve, but they both got damp from direct spray, although the main compartment remained totally dry.

{mospagebreak} The Boxes

OTTER PRODUCTS 6500 Series Dry Box

OTTER PRODUCTS 6500 Series Dry Box
When it comes to protecting valuable gear, nothing beats the security of a hard case. Otter makes a full line of hard cases; the 6500 is its largest. Made of fiberglass-reinforced ABS plastic, it's equipped with compound latches and a rod hinge that runs almost the entire length of the box. The lid is fitted with a silicone gasket for a watertight seal. There's a pressure relief valve that can be totally unscrewed, which we found kind of troubling. However, the box is truly watertight; neither spray nor dunk tests could produce any moisture inside.

The test case came equipped with a detachable shoulder strap. We really liked this option. The case has a fold-down carry handle, and molded eyes are provided for a padlock. The case includes foam that can be custom cut to fit your valuables. All Otter boxes are guaranteed for life to be watertight and crushproof.

PELICAN PRODUCTS 1500 Protector Case

PELICAN PRODUCTS 1500 Protector Case
Considered the last word in unbreakable, waterproof hard cases, the Pelican 1500 Protector is one of a family of cases available in about 20 different sizes, all designed to keep valuable gear dry and in one piece. This virtually indestructible case is made of a high-impact structural copolymer polypropylene. It uses a quarter-inch neoprene O-ring for water-tightness (it floats in salt water with a 35-pound load), heavy-duty hinges, special ABS latches, molded padlock eyes for security and a purge valve that automatically equalizes the interior compartment after changes in atmospheric pressure. Needless to say, nothing we did to this box allowed any water on the inside.

The 1500 comes with foam or adjustable padded dividers to enable you to customize the box to your personal gear while protecting it all against vibration or shock. Like all Pelican hard cases, the 1500 is covered by an unconditional lifetime guarantee against breakage or defects.

For More Info:

AKONA
www.akona.com

MARINE SPORTS
www.marinesportsproducts.com

OTTER PRODUCTS
www.otterbox.com

PELICAN PRODUCTS
www.pelican.com

SEASOFT SCUBA
www.seasoftscuba.com

STAHLSAC
www.stahlsac.com

TRIPLE-L INTERNATIONAL
www.triple-l.biz

USIA
www.usia.com

XS SCUBA
www.xsscuba.com