Make your own dry bag

Here are the two bags I made. The smallest is 9 x 30". My travel tripod, with head, is 20" and fits perfectly. The larger bag is 11.5 x 39". These are bag dimensions as they lay flat, not internal dimensions. Each bag has a 1" glue seam on one side and the bottom. A rolled up, self-inflating, 2-1/2" x 27 x 72" sleep pad fits perfectly in the larger bag. So will my larger Manfroto tripod without the geared head.

I've been canoe camping for 25 years and have always put stuff in a strong garbage bag prior to putting it into a dry bag. For my primary camping gear bag, I use the black construction trash bags. For clothing, just a big kitchen trash bag has worked fine. For cameras, I have always used a Pelican box.

My October trip will be the first time I have used a dry bag for a tripod.

Here are my costs for the below two bags:

400D fabric - $22.00 (1 yard - 36 x 58")

E6000 Glue: $5.00 (Warning: this glue does not like to be in contact with the coated side of the bag. I sanded off the coating prior to gluing the strapping at the top of the bag.)

Webbing/straping: $3.50 (11/16" tubular nylon from outdoor store @ $0.22 a foot)

Two buckles: $4.00

Hangar 9 hobby/craft sealing iron: $22.00 (Warning: at a setting of 400 degrees, the knob on the iron gets really hot. I used a temperature laser to test how hot the bottom of the iron was. At around 400 degrees, I would press down for 25 seconds, take the iron off, then press down on the heated spot with a metal ruler till it cooled a little. Overlap the previous heated area about 1/2" with the next iron press. Only burned myself once. And yes, once is enough. I used a metal straight edge to keep the seam consistent. I did a better job of making the fabric square on the larger bag and it looks better.

My household iron would not stay hot enough to melt the inside glue coating to seal the seam so I purchased the sealing iron.

HEA-45 wrote:

Thank you! You answered a question for me. I am thinking of getting a small canoe next season. Besides the great pleasure I will bring for its original purpose, I can also use it to reach previously inaccessible photographic locations on the many lakes and rivers in this area. Naturally I will need something to protect my gear- that is my DSLR, camera bag, and tripod.