Cheap Gear Experiements: Dry Sacks from Target

Durability is what I couldn't test in a couple of days. We'll see. As stuff sacks without water protection, they are awkward and a bit heavier than needed.

Which is key. It sounds like if you need to use dry bags all the time, buy higher quality. If you need it once in a while, the cheapo option might be good enough. I probably fall into that latter category, though that could change if retirement sees us venturing into some different and wetter places

Dredged this up to give a little durability report. I was using one of the bags as a stuff sack for my sleeping bag (not that it was necessary, but I wanted to test the idea. It didn't take long for my spouse to use the buckle as a handle while stuffing, and he ripped it almost completely off. I sewed it back on, but these are clearly not very tough. Maybe a good option if you need something for a one-time deal--usually hike in the desert but this time you're headed to the Olympics. For real use, spend the money. Or if you don't mind disposable, as Zeke says, get some 2-gallon zip-locks.

Good idea about the filter. If we go back to using one, I'll bear that in mind.


If it were more likely to rain where we are, I wouldn't compromise either. This was more of a fall-back notion after we had a day of rain last summer, and I thought about how annoying it would be if my down bag or jacket had gotten wet, just when I needed warming up. But they were deep in a pack protected by a rain cover, so it wasn't real likely. Probably a bigger danger of me screwing up and landing in a creek

Just for comparison's sake, a gallon ziplock freezer bag weighs about .5 oz. A 2 gallon weighs a little less than 1 oz. So those Zpacks cuben fiber bags are pretty competitive with zip locks, weight-wise. They cost a lot more, of course, and are significantly more waterproof in extreme conditions. (And are considerably more durable, of course.)

But I find that for clothes and a down jacket while they're in the pack (or tent), zip locks do pretty well. I always carry a few spare zip locks, because you never know what you might need one for, and because they are pretty likely to eventually fail if you're stuffing a larger item, like a down jacket, into them. (The opening eventually rips open near the edge of the zipper.)

I might eventually invest in a few of those Zpacks bags if I bother getting around to it. If my clothing were well-protected enough inside my pack, I'd probably worry a lot less about rain on the trail. (I don't generally care too much about me getting wet--but keeping spare clothes dry is a concern that borders on obsession for me.)

Lol. I got a good chuckle out of that when I saw it (and fixed it).

Boxer briefs, if you must know.

I've found the Sea2Summit Ultra Sil dry bags a good compromise for upgrading the quality compared to Target and keeping the cost down compared to Zpacks, for almost the same weight as cuben. The 8L S2S Ultra Sil weights 1.1 oz, if you go with the Nano version it weighs 0.8 oz, compared to a 9.5L Zpacks that weighs 0.95 oz and costs more.

Even better, use an ultralight cuben roll-top backpack and your whole pack interior is waterproof, no need for extra dry bags.