DryPaks Review: Protect Your Gear for That Last Summer Beach Fling

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DryPaks Review: Protect Your Gear for That Last Summer Beach Fling

Alas, this weekend brings the end of Summer for those of us in the U.S.    Like many others, I’m trying to cram in three days of beach fun into this Labor Day weekend.   Unfortunately, duty still often calls and I still need to be ‘connected’ for work even while trying to grab some relaxation with friends and family.  Unlike last summer’s shenanigans, I made a point to take precautions and bring extra protection.

See, last summer a good friend found their phone, iPod touch and digital camera claimed by the angry sea while boating (OK, maybe it was merely the fact that electronics and water still don’t mix or play nice together).   Since my summer has luckily had some nice weekends scattered about with time away from the office grind, but still be available for calls and urgent issues, I needed a way to protect my gear.

Enter the DryPak.  Tougher and more reliable than a Zip-Lock bag, it may be the best thing you can buy now to ensure happy Summer fun.

DryPaks Review: Protect Your Gear for That Last Summer Beach Fling

Sure most people go to the beach to get away from it all, but where’s the fun in that?   If you’re going to be doing outdoor activities you are going to want to add DryPaks to your regular list of gear to take with you.  Whether it’s a pop-up rain shower, or you decide to go ahead and take that conference call from a boat (I’m guilty, but luckily the boat was docked at the time) these DryPaks will let you work and play.  Most importantly they protect your smartphones and other tech goodies from becoming drowning victims.

Here I have one of the DryPaks I purchased (I bought several, by the way, to keep friends and family members’ phones and cameras safe when we get together during the Summer).    You just slip in your electronic device — In this example I’m using an iPhone — and then secure the top closure by turning the clips to lock the DryPak.  This will ensure a water-tight seal between your device and any water for just about everything but deep-sea scuba diving. 😉

DryPaks Review: Protect Your Gear for That Last Summer Beach Fling

Looking below, you’ll see that this particular Dry-Pak includes a nice port to connect your smartphone or MP3 player to allow you to listen to your music while maintaining a water-resistant barrier between your device and the elements.

DryPaks Review: Protect Your Gear for That Last Summer Beach Fling

Once I slipped the iPhone in, it was time to put the Dry-Pak to the test and see how well the iPhone would perform submerged in a glass of water.

DryPaks Review: Protect Your Gear for That Last Summer Beach Fling

DryPaks Review: Protect Your Gear for That Last Summer Beach Fling

While you may not plan to throw your precious iPhone — or any other device — into a glass of water, it’s good to know that the Dry-Pak will provide protection from water damage.  It’s much easier to be proactive and preventative than try to remove batteries (can’t do that with an iPhone or iPod touch 🙁 ) , and then let your electronics dry out while you pray everything still works.   Sure, the dried rice trick works well, but for me I’d much rather have a Dry-Pak on hand to play it safe before any problems while enjoying the great outdoors this summer.

After using  DryPaks to keep phones, cameras — and even a MiFi dry so I had a good data connection to remain accessible while being truly mobile — I simply cannot imagine being without them.   I keep ’em stashed in my car for easy access.  They’ve become a great investment, and have made enjoying Summertime fun more enjoyable since I’m not worried about splish-splashes ruining my tech investments.

DryPaks are available from in a wide variety of shapes and sizes for your tech gear, and range in price from $10 to $45.  You can get them directly from retailers like Amazon or REI.

What I Like: Simple to use.  Portable water-proof protection for your phone, camera, MP3 player, and more.

What Needs Improvement:  With the variety of sizes and protection available, I haven’t found anything I don’t like.

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