With any paddling sport one of the obvious considerations is how to keep your gear dry. Even if you’re only doing a short trip of a few hours, you’ll still need to protect that wallet and cell phone. Today there are a variety of waterproof dry bags on the market and your selection obviously depends on the type of paddling you do. Waterproof dry bags range from duffels, packs and tuff sacks. Choose a dry bag of good quality because cheap gear really doesn’t get you much mileage in the outdoors. Look for something constructed of a heavy PVC material; larger bags are often reinforced with a heavier PVC material on the bottom to withstand dragging and dropping in the outdoors. Below is an overview of the NRS waterproof dry bags that you might consider adding to the essential gear list.
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Large dry bags like the NRS System 5, are capable of carrying enourmous amounts of gear. The System 5 was my first dry bag purchase over 10 years ago and it’s still performing for me on my canoe camping trips today, and with never a tear or puncture. The five cubic feet of space allows me to easily secure my dome tent, sleeping bag and pad, pillow, extra apparel and a few other small items. This type of bag is one great bag that any canoe camper should have. This bag is heavy duty and can easily handle just about any punishment delivered in the outdoors. The shoulder straps make carrying easy while the weather strip seal ensures your gear is dry in any wet condition. And this waterproof dry bag can be easily repaired with a PVC patch if it should puncture or tear – but it probably won’t.
The NRS KOSS Kitchen Bag is one huge bag designed to carry essential cooking gear. I don’t own one of these bags because when I pack for solo trips I can pack my cooking gear in a cooler but when packing for a larger group I always seem to struggle with packing the cooking gear and food efficiently. The KOSS Kitchen Waterproof Bag has space enough for your stove, cooksets, utensils and even dry foods. You know how it can be if not packed efficiently; you’ll end up unpacking half of your canoe just for a quick lunch or snack and that can get frustrating on a multi day trip. Well this bag is the answer to that because it’s designed to easily accommodate your cooking gear and dry foods; it efficiently packs into the canoe making a quick lunch on shore quick and easy.
The NRS Expedition DriDuffel Bag will keep your dry clothes dry. A duffel style waterproof dry bag is a must have for canoe campers because the design allows you to access your clothing without emptying teh entire contents on the ground as you would do with the standard dry bag. These bags come in a variety of styles ranging from blue to camouflage to clear designs; I don’t really like the clear design as it offers others the opportunity to inspect your gear. The duffel dry bag accompanied with a larger bag like the System 5 Bag is the perfect combination for efficient packing of all your dry apparel, camping tent, sleeping bags and other accessories.
Finally we get to the convenient Tuff Sack Dry Bag. These bags are relatively inexpensive and should be considered in the waterproof gear line up of any paddler regardless of boat type and trip duration. With this bag you can secure those essentials that you want to store close to you, such as cameras, cell phones, car keys, wallet, sunblock, extra clothing, snacks. Any they come in a range of sizes to suit your needs. These bags have the same heavy duty construction as the larger bags so you’ll get years of use.
