How To Use a Dry Bag – 7 Creative Ideas

When you think of a “dry bag,” the first image that probably comes to mind is a waterproof bag that keeps your belongings safe from water.

While protecting your gear on the water is certainly a primary use, dry bags are far more versatile than that. They do much more than just safeguard your phone, wallet, or other essentials while paddleboarding. In fact, there are plenty of creative ways to use a dry bag in everyday life. If you’re looking for inventive ideas to get the most out of your dry bag, read on for some practical and unexpected tips!

1. Workout Weight

If you don’t have access to your usual gym or weights, perhaps if you’re travelling or just away from home, then using your dry bag as weight can be a great alternative! It works just like a kettlebell and you can make it as light or heavy as you want.

Simply fill it with water or sand or anything else which is unlikely to damage your bag but can add some weight. Seeing as you already know what size dry bag you own and how big it is, you can simply convert the gallons into the weight that you’re looking for and voila, you’ve got yourself a set of weights!

2. Electronics Bag

Seeing as a dry bag is so great at keeping the water out, why not use it to store your most important electronics and keep them dry? If you’re packing your backpack for the day with your cables and a bottle of water or your suitcase for a long-overdue vacation, filled with shampoo and shower gel.

Then to save the risk of your electronics getting wet, pack them in your dry bag. It’s also a great space saver for your suitcase, but more on this below…

3. Use as a packing cube or organizer in your luggage

Running out of space in your luggage? Enter your dry bag! When empty, a dry bag takes up very little space, but, when filled with your belongings (think those extra tops that you’ve packed ‘just in case’) it can be used as a compression packing cube. Perfect for packing even more ‘must haves’ in even less space!

4. Create extra storage

Most dry bags come equipped with an interlocking buckle or an attachment point, meaning if all of your belongings don’t fit in your existing bag anymore then you can simply fill up your dry bag as well and attach it to the top of your existing bag.

5. Use them to carry water

Seeing as dry bags are so waterproof, this also means that water can’t get out of them, right? If you’re looking for a way to carry extra water or maybe ice back from the ice machine to your hotel room, your dry bag is the perfect solution!

6. Use it as a pillow

Have you ever tried sleeping on an airport floor whilst you wait for your delayed flight? Or maybe you’re on a camping trip and have left your pillow on the side at home? Whatever the occasion might be, your dry bag will act as an awesome pillow because of its roll-top closure.

Ensure your dry bag is filled with air, then roll the opening three or four times and clip the buckle to seal in the air. It should create a softish pillow for a few hours, if not fill your dry bag with clothes for a slightly softer headrest.

7. Use your dry bag to separate clean and dirty clothes

There are multiple times when you might need to do this. It may be after a sweaty gym or hot yoga session where putting your worn clothes into your bag doesn’t seem like the most hygienic thing to do.

A gym bag is great, but when you are continuously throwing in your dirty shoes and clothes those odors get trapped in the fabric of your bag over time, something you most definitely do not want! Instead, throw your sweaty and dirty clothes into your dry bag to separate them from your clean items, take them home, and rinse off your bag ready for the next time.

A dry bag is so much more than just a bag to keep your belongings dry at sea (although, this is a great one), but it also has so many other uses, the ones mentioned above are just the tip of the iceberg (or the dry bag filled with ice!) So, keep experimenting with yours and see how else you can creatively use it!