If left in the sun they act like a greenhouse. dark stuff heats up fast in them. The one I have seems to hold up well. I throw a towel over it when I use it in camp. It is about as big as you can get through a large hatch, so it doesn’t get used much sea kayaking.
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All good points. I received my 20l solid orange one today. I never touched a drybag, but assume all are about the same rubbery material and the seal that works by rolling a few times. I guess as long as you don’t have a pin-hole, they all should work well.
BTW, how many full (360°) rolls do you do? Mine says to do 3-4 rolls, but I’m not sure if they mean 3-4 folds (180° each) or full 360°. if the latter, that reduces the bag size quite a bit.
I only do day trips and I’m just starting. Actually I’m just starting and still wait for my kayak that I ordered. So the 20l will be enough for binoculars, towel, sweater, sunscreen and some other small items.
the items I take with me also are used for other hobbies, so I can’t just have one “boat bag” with those items (like only have 1 binoculars etc.). So seeing if I already put it all in seemed reasonable. I just got clear plastic small item storage for my garage and it is the best thing ever.
I got this in orange. it also came with a cellphone bag and even my large phone with cover fits. I have yellow shirt and PFD and wanted to add some orange to my boat for better being seen.
You need to make at least three 180 degree folds on the top for the bag to be “waterproof” and that is a relative term for all roll top dry bags. But in order to keep water out you need to keep folding until the residual air in the bag puts tension on the rolled closure. If the bag is floppy water can leak in relatively easily.
No the material dry bags are made of varies a lot as do the roll top closures. Some bags are made out of the heavy hypalon material and have thick and stiff vinyl closures. Some lightweight dry bags are made out of sil-nylon and have much lighter closures. I use the lightweight sil-nylon dry bags inside a pack. The pack itself is splash resistant but not waterproof but protects the lightweight bags. I would not put anything with sharp corners in lightweight bags of this type, but they are fine for soft or rounded items and keep gear dry and organized.
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We use the standard opaque drybags for camping, spare clothes, emergency gear, and first aid kits and such. However, my wife also carries a clear dry be for things that she might want quick access to like car keys, phone, etc. It saves you having to root around or dump everything out to find something.
Been using it for many years with no problems.
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I’ve been using a Seattle Sports Glacier clear vinyl bag for about 30 years. I carry a whole bunch of stuff in it (keys, snacks, cash, id, boating permits, space blanket, phone, leatherman tool, sunscreen,…) and the clear body makes it easier to fish out the item I’m looking for. Never had an issue with it leaking. Roll 3 times, with a little bit of air pressure, for a good seal.
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I also have a dry bag, from the late '70s and made of heavy vinyl, Brand name is Phoenix as is my first kayak. More translucent than transparent.
This is from before the days of bulkheads and hatches.
My wife and I are both clear bag fans, primarily for clothing since it allows visibility into what’s in there (and where!). We have a few different sizes. Yes, they are stickier but I’ve never found that to be a problem stuffing them into the hatches, at least not enough to outweigh the benefit of the visibility to contents. It’s not a matter of remembering what’s in there – it’s all clothing – but if I’m looking for that one bandana or lone sock or my last pair of underwear stuffed somewhere in that bag on a week-long trip, it’s nice to be able to see it’s “halfway down on the back side” rather than pulling everything else out because I can’t find what I’m looking for.
Clear bags or bags with windows do not generally last as long. Bags with purge valves half a shorter life than those without purge valves. But they last lang enough for me! I like the window and I like the purge valve and I like the rip stop nylon bags. I have some older stronger dry bags that will never fail as well. A mix is always good.
How do you know when they fail short of finding out during an actual emergency? I assume the fail will not be very apparent, but more a small leak. Do you test them annually or on some other frequency?
I was tempted (but forgot) to put my drybag in the lake yesterday to see if it is tight and floats while I didn’t have important items in it. But that wouldn’t test if it is tight while submerged for minutes.
Thanks for all the responses everyone. Good discussion.
It has been my experience that any roll top dry bag made of any material when completely submerged in current for several minutes or longer will take in some water. The more carefully you seal the top the less it will leak, but I don’t consider any of them to be absolutely waterproof under those conditions.
For protecting against splash they are fine and they usually stay dry even after floating around in water in the bottom of your boat.
If you are looking for a small leak, fill the bag with as much air as possible, dip it in soapy water, squeeze it and look for small bubbles. You can also hold the bag to you cheek and rotate it as you compress it. You will usually feel the escaping air.
Thanks, that is good information. I plan use them more like a convenience bag for up to day trips and mainly only have things in there that if they should get wet, it isn’t the end of the world. Like towel, sunscreen or food. Actually sensitive items (wallet, key) I put in a separate water-proof pouch inside the drybag. If I get into a situation where the bag is submerged for hours, I probably have other problems than wet money. A few years ago I accidentally swam with my car key in a pool and it has been fine so far. I wouldn’t recommend doing it, but short of long-term immersion we don’t talk about total losses. Surprisingly many electronics nowadays are reasonably protected by default.
You can also hold them up to a strong light and look inside the bag for pinholes and small rips that let the light shine through. I use aquaseal or something similar, and put a dab on both the inside and out for repairing them. It is often a hole, small rip, seam tape failure, or seam separation laying next to the hull that will let water into the bag rather than a tightly folded closure which sits above the hull.