Waterproof your kit with the best dry bags of 2025 – tested by our gear experts

Investing in a set of dry bags makes a lot of sense, as it gives you multiple places to store your kit and organise it in your rucksack. Of course, you just have to make sure you’re getting a bundle of practical sizes.

Luckily, that’s the case with this Sea to Summit Lightweight set. You get a 20L bag, 13L option and smaller 8L sack (a set of smaller volumes is also available), all three in different colours. That last bit is key, as it makes it easy for you to grab exactly what you want from the depths of your rucksack.

The 20L option here is a great inclusion, as it’s large enough to act as a rucksack liner if you’re using a hiking daypack. Alternatively, it’s also large enough that you should be able to fit a sleeping bag in there if you’re going wild camping and need to keep it protected.

The 70D fabric is recycled, bluesign approved and comes with a PFC-free DWR finish, so water tends to beads up on the surface. However, when the material was exposed to sustained showers there was some wetting out (though no water ingress).

One nice touch we really like is that the buckles, which already feel more durable than many others on the market, can easily be replaced simply by undoing a screw. This helps boost the lifespan of a product, reducing waste in the process.

Another plus is the white interior, which helps a little when you’re trying to locate a particular item inside.

A weight of 87g for the 20L, 73g for the 13L and 60g for the 8L is decent, though not ultralight. But then, you are getting a decent level of durability here.

Rounding off the features is a sturdy D-ring for attaching the bag to other things, plus a convenient hanging loop at the bottom for drying.

An RRP of £65 isn’t cheap, but these are quality dry bags and you can sometimes find them cheaper. If you don't need three, you can also buy them individually, with sizes ranging between 1.5L (£12) and 35L (£28).

If you want a cracking value, reliable set of bags you're not likely to get mixed up, then the Lifeventure Ultralight Dry Bags are for you.

These have proven indispensable for keeping various essentials dry in the damp conditions. The set includes 5L, 10L, and 25L bags, all made from high-tenacity ripstop nylon fabric with a siliconised outer coating and PU-coated interior, ensuring durability and waterproofing.

The roll-top closure with a lightweight Kross buckle provided a secure, watertight seal, and the elliptical shape maximized packing efficiency. Weighing just 33g, 40g, and 70g respectively, these bags added minimal weight to my pack, which is crucial for extended treks.

Priced at £36.99 for the set, the Ultralight Dry Bag Set offers excellent value for money, combining high-quality materials with practical design.

Their robust construction and reliable performance make them a worthwhile investment for any outdoor enthusiast seeking to protect their gear from the elements.

During a camping trip in Scotland, the Ortlieb Dry-Bag Light 13L was essential for keeping my down sleeping bag dry in damp and unpredictable conditions.

Made from PD350 polyester fabric with a durable PU coating, it provided completely reliable waterproofing without adding enormous bulk to my pack. It's one of those bags that just feels completely sturdy, too.

The 13L capacity was just right for compressing and protecting a reasonably sized sleeping bag, while the roll-top closure with a secure buckle ensured a watertight seal, even when heavy rain pelted our backpacks on the way to the campsite.

Weighing 220g, this isn't exactly an ultralight option, but it's entirely submersible, and kept everything drier than a sunbadger on a tanning bed.

At £24, the Dry-Bag Light offers pretty great value for money, balancing high-quality materials with a thoughtful design that prioritises practicality.

While narrow and reasonably heavy, it's incredibly sturdy it’s perfect for keeping critical gear dry and organised during outdoor adventures. For those facing wet weather, this bag is a reliable choice.

The Montane Waterproof Dry Bag 2L has proven to be an invaluable addition to our hiking bag – keeping socks, hat, and gloves dry despite snowy and damp conditions when in use.

The 40-denier siliconised nylon ripstop fabric feels sturdy yet lightweight, and the fully seam-sealed construction ensures no moisture seeps through, even after hours in a rucksack.

Its roll-top closure with an HDPE-stiffened buckle is easy to secure, creating a reliable seal that gives peace of mind. At just 25g, it adds virtually no weight to our kit, which is always a bonus on longer treks. The 2L capacity is ideal for small essentials, making it a compact and efficient addition to any kit inventory.

Priced at £12, this dry bag offers excellent value for money. While not waterproof to the point of being completely submersible, it performs perfectly for our needs, keeping spare layers or electronics ready to use. A highly recommended choice for any wet-weather adventurer.

Here’s another set of dry bags, though this time you get four (3L, 5L, 8L and 13L). With an RRP of £59 that represents pretty good value, though it’s still not as cheap as the Lifeventure set.

A weight of 58g in the 13L version puts this dry bag in lightweight territory, with no comparable size in this test weighing as little. The 3L weighs just 28g, the 5L 36g and the 8L 41g.

The outer is coated with a DWR treatment and has a hydrostatic head rating of 10,000mm, and it does a great job of shedding water. When tested in substantial downpours, the rain consistently beaded on the surface and ran off, with no noticeable wetting out.

The 70D fabric offers a good balance of durability and weight, which is perfectly adequate for use inside of rucksacks. If you’re looking for a dry bag to handle rougher treatment and lash to the outside of something, you may want something with a more robust material.

Worth noting is that the base of the dry bags is on the narrow side, so they don’t stand up very well when you pop them on the floor and search for your sandwich mid-hike.

As with many dry bags, features are pared back. There are no lash points or D-rings, but you do get a hanging loop at the bottom, while the interior is white in order to help you find key bits of kit more quickly.

Dry bags are not the sexiest of products and there’s not always a huge amount to separate one from another. Given that, it’s always exciting when there’s more going on, as there is here with the Alpkit Airlok Xtra 20L.

Handily, it comes with a detachable shoulder strap, which allows you to carry it. The strap is removable, but it can be a bit of a faff to disconnect it.

There’s also five lashing points around the bag (two on each side, one on the bottom), giving you a range of options when securing this dry bag.

For example, you could lash this bag onto the outside of your hiking backpack and store camping kit inside of it. Or you could strap it onto a pannier frame on a bike or the front of a stand-up paddleboard.

The 320D fabric has proved durable thus far and is certainly more rugged than some of the lighter options you get. If the fabric does end up with a hole after an accident, it can be repaired using the brand's Tuff Tape, which is great for reducing waste.

That comes at a sacrifice, as the Airlok Xtra 20L weighs in at 162g with the strap or 144g without.

The 20-litre version here is plenty big enough for multiple layers or a sleeping bag, but you can also get a mix of other sizes ranging from 3L to 65L.

A hydrostatic head rating of 10,000mm is decent, but we did notice some wetting out when we left the bag under a heavy downpour. Still, there are taped seams and our belongings never actually got wet.