Trail Gear Picks
Buying guide

The Best Waterproof Backpacks

Six packs that keep your gear dry, from a $19 roll-top sack to a submersible $325 case, in 20 to 50 liters, with what owners say about living with each one.

By Alex HartDay trails mostly, a few nights out a year, mountains when the time allows.
Updated Sep 2026·30 compared·Update log

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Rain in the forecast turns into rain on your back about an hour in, and what happens to the phone, the down jacket and the spare socks was decided in the shop. A cover thrown over an ordinary pack keeps the top dry and lets the rest in at the back panel, which is the part pressed against a wet shirt all afternoon.

We looked at 30 packs sold to American hikers and paddlers, from $14 sacks with shoulder straps up to airtight cases, and kept six. The Earth Pak Summit 35L is the one most people should buy, about $55 for a roll-top with a hip belt on it. For a full day of walking in weather, the Osprey Downburst 26 is the only one here built on a real frame, and if the pack is going in the water and not merely under the rain, the YETI Panga 28 is the only one sold to survive it.

Our picks

Earth Pak Summit 35L
Our pick
Earth Pak Summit 35L

The only pack here under $100 whose maker publishes a rating, an immersion limit and a five year warranty, and it comes with a hip belt.

Check price on Amazon$54.88 as of 10:42 AM ET
MARCHWAY Floating Dry Bag Backpack 30L
Budget pick
MARCHWAY Floating Dry Bag Backpack 30L

Welded seams and two shoulder straps for about $19, in a sack that folds away into its own pouch when the trip is dry.

Check price on Amazon$18.99 as of 10:42 AM ET
Sea to Summit Big River Dry Backpack 50L
Best harness
Sea to Summit Big River Dry Backpack 50L

A padded EVA harness and a removable hip belt on a taped-seam dry bag, plus a buckle you can swap at the put-in with a screwdriver.

Check price on Amazon$169.95 as of 10:42 AM ET
YETI Panga 28
Upgrade pick
YETI Panga 28

The only one here its maker calls submersible, and the only one that opens on a zipper instead of a roll, which is what you are paying for.

Check price on Amazon$325.00 as of 10:42 AM ET
Osprey Downburst 26
Best for hiking
Osprey Downburst 26

Welded and laminated like a dry bag, but hung on a ventilated frame, so it is the one here built to be worn from dawn to dusk.

Check price on Amazon$195.00 as of 10:42 AM ET
Osprey Ultralight Dry Stuff Pack 20L
Lightest
Osprey Ultralight Dry Stuff Pack 20L

Under half a pound, with the same IPX5 roll-top as the big Osprey, for the days you want a dry pack waiting inside the pack you already carry.

Check price on Amazon$72.93 as of 10:42 AM ET

At a glance

Product names go to Amazon. Rank numbers jump to the full write-up.

PackBest forCapacityWhat the maker promisesCarryAbout
1Earth Pak Summit 35LOne pack for rain and boats35 LIPX-6, floatsPadded straps, hip belt$55
2MARCHWAY Floating Dry Bag Backpack 30LSpending the least30 LNot for extended submersionPlain straps$19
3Sea to Summit Big River Dry Backpack 50LCarrying camp to the water50 LTaped seams, hypalon roll-topEVA harness, removable hip belt$170
4YETI Panga 28Dunkings and abuse28 LAirtight, submersiblePadded straps, removable belt$325
5Osprey Downburst 26A full day on the trail26 LIPX5, non-submersibleAirSpeed frame and hip belt$195
6Osprey Ultralight Dry Stuff Pack 20LA spare that packs away20 LIPX5, non-submersibleMesh straps, no belt$73

The packs, ranked

1One pack for rain and boats
Earth Pak Summit 35L

Earth Pak Summit 35L

The only pack here under $100 whose maker publishes a rating, an immersion limit and a five year warranty, and it comes with a hip belt.

$54.88
Price as of 10:42 AM ET
Check price on Amazon
500D PVC shell2.5 lb empty in 35 LOuter zip pocket is splash-proof onlyFive year warranty
+Read the full write-up

Why we picked it

Earth Pak is the only maker in this guide that answers the awkward question in its own FAQ. The rating is IPX-6, which it explains as protection from high pressure water aimed from any angle, and in the next line it sets the limit: the pack is built to trap air and float, so it should never sit under water for more than five to ten seconds.

The shell is 500D PVC, the empty 35 L weighs 2.5 lb, and the same pack comes in 55 L and 85 L at 3 lb each. The hip belt is what the Summit carries over the beltless dry sacks in the same catalog, and one owner's account of trading between the two comes down to that one strap.

Who it is for

Anyone whose gear gets wet two ways in the same weekend, from the sky on the walk in and from the hull on the paddle out. At about $55 with a five year warranty behind it, it is also the least painful pack on this page to leave in a canoe.

What owners report

Across 97 owner reviews on the maker's own site, nobody reports water getting past the roll. A Florida owner names the hurricane his stayed dry through, and another crossed a river in Costa Rica with camera gear inside. Comfort under a real load comes up almost as often, including a two week canoe trip with the 85 L, and several owners put the straps and back panel level with packs that cost more.

Two of the 97 are unhappy, and neither for the reason you would expect. A buyer of the 55 L had a top clip and the chest clip break on his first trip, and blames how little surface the buckles give the load. The other bought bigger than he needed and cannot use the 85 L for what he actually does.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

  • The outside zip pocket is splash-proof and nothing more. Earth Pak ships a card in the box repeating that electronics do not go in it.
  • 2.5 lb before you pack it, and the frame that would carry that weight properly is not there. Past a full day, the Osprey Downburst 26 is the better back.
  • Those broken clips are one account out of 97, and they were the clips that hold the seal shut.
2
MARCHWAY Floating Dry Bag Backpack 30L
Spending the least

MARCHWAY Floating Dry Bag Backpack 30L

Welded seams and two shoulder straps for about $19, in a sack that folds away into its own pouch when the trip is dry.

$18.99
Price as of 10:42 AM ET
See it on Amazon
Roll it down 3 to 5 timesFloats when sealed and not overloadedTwo straps from 20 L upFolds into its own pouch
+Read the full write-up

Why we picked it

At about $19 this is the cheapest thing here that behaves like a pack rather than a bag with string on it: welded seams, a roll-top you fold down three to five times, and two shoulder straps once you are at 20 L or more. The 5 L and 10 L versions carry a single sling, which is the giveaway that the straps are the dividing line in this range.

The round base is the part worth knowing about. MARCHWAY's instructions are to spread it open before rolling so air stays trapped inside, and that air is what the company says both blocks the water and keeps the sack floating high enough to spot. It stops short of promising more: not for extended submersion, in its own words.

Buy it if

You need dry storage this month and you are not going to carry it far. It also folds into its own pouch, which is what makes it the sack that stays in the trunk between trips.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

  • No published rating at all, where every other pack here gives a number or a limit. What you have is the description of the seal and nothing to check it against.
  • Nothing on your hips, and no structure in the back panel. Loaded past a few pounds, the straps are the whole suspension.
3
Sea to Summit Big River Dry Backpack 50L
Carrying camp to the water

Sea to Summit Big River Dry Backpack 50L

A padded EVA harness and a removable hip belt on a taped-seam dry bag, plus a buckle you can swap at the put-in with a screwdriver.

$169.95
Price as of 10:42 AM ET
See it on Amazon
420D TPU-coated nylon1.7 lb empty50 L quoted at three rollsWhite laminate interior
+Read the full write-up

Why we picked it

Sea to Summit builds this one the way a serious dry bag is built and then hangs a real harness off it. The body is 420D nylon with a TPU coating and a triple coated base, the seams are double stitched and tape sealed, and the roll-top is hypalon, which the company describes as non-wicking. The harness is adjustable EVA foam with a sternum strap and a hip belt in 1.5 inch webbing that comes off when you do not want it.

Two details separate it from everything else here. The 50 L figure is quoted with the top rolled three times, which is worth holding onto before you compare it with a number somebody quoted at one roll. And the side buckles are field repair buckles, made to come off and go back on with a Philips screwdriver at the put-in, on a bag whose closure is its only seal. The whole thing weighs 1.7 lb.

Who it is for

Canoe and raft trips where the bag gets carried between the water and the camp, over and over. If your walking is measured in portages and not in miles, this is the one.

What owners report

Of 76 owner reviews on the maker's site, most of the memorable ones involve going in the water: a paddler fording beaver dams for days, class I and II whitewater, and a family who grabbed it as an evacuation bag when Helene and Milton arrived back to back. Several owners mention the white laminate interior on its own, for making a headlamp findable in a deep bag.

The criticism to know about comes from a woman who returned hers. The straps sit badly across her chest, the harness comes one way, and she expected the men's and women's versions that other pack makers offer. Two more owners raise the single compartment, which is tall, puts a good share of the load above your shoulders and swallows small things at the bottom. One of them wants a compression strap over the roll, which the bag does not have; another finds the side buckles slow to clip and inclined to slide down the flanks.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

  • One harness, one shape. If a fixed strap width has ever caused you trouble, try it on before the trip and not on it.
  • One compartment, and a deep one. Stuff sacks inside are the fix, and they cost volume.
  • $170, which buys two Earth Paks and the hip belt on both.
4
YETI Panga 28
Dunkings and abuse

YETI Panga 28

The only one here its maker calls submersible, and the only one that opens on a zipper instead of a roll, which is what you are paying for.

$325.00
Price as of 10:42 AM ET
See it on Amazon
HydroLok zipperThickSkin TPU-laminated nylonChest strap and waist belt removeInterior sleeve and mesh pocket
+Read the full write-up

Why we picked it

Everything else here keeps water out by folding fabric over on itself. The Panga does it with a zipper, the HydroLok, and that is why YETI will use the word submersible at all. The shell is a high density nylon under thick TPU lamination, specified against punctures and abrasion, and both the chest strap and the waist belt come off when they are in the way.

A zipper also changes how you live with the bag. A roll-top makes you unbuckle, unroll and dig; this one opens flat and stays open, so it can be worked out of on a deck.

Who it is for

Anyone whose gear goes in the boat and sometimes in the water: guides, anglers, photographers on rivers. For a wet weekend carried on foot, both the weight and the price argue the other way.

What owners report

From 361 owner reviews at a national retailer, what comes back is what the bag survived. One owner had it fully under in a river and found the contents dry; a fishing guide who says he spends more than 200 days a year on salt water keeps his gear in one; several count their ownership in years. Some of those reviews carry a disclosure that they were collected as part of a promotion, so the count is worth more than the enthusiasm.

Three of the reviews are unfavorable. One owner found the mesh pocket liner inside had come unglued, on a bag that lives in a car. One thought it stiff and boxy on arrival, closer to a cabin case without wheels than to a backpack. The third filled it with ice packs, found them melted by evening, and had bought a dry bag when he wanted a cooler.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

  • $325, about six times the price of the pack we picked for the ordinary version of this job.
  • It does not soften and it does not pack down, which is the same laminate that survives the dock.
  • One report of the interior mesh pocket parting from the wall, inside the sealed compartment.
5
Osprey Downburst 26
A full day on the trail

Osprey Downburst 26

Welded and laminated like a dry bag, but hung on a ventilated frame, so it is the one here built to be worn from dawn to dusk.

$195.00$299.9535% off
Price as of 10:42 AM ET
See it on Amazon
Radio-frequency welded seams3.2 lb emptyOuter pockets are not waterproofAlso made in a 24 L women's fit
+Read the full write-up

Why we picked it

This is the only pack in the guide that was drawn as a hiking pack first. The body is radio-frequency welded and TPU laminated, rated IPX5 and openly described as non-submersible, and it hangs on Osprey's adjustable AirSpeed suspension, the tensioned mesh that holds the pack off your back. Osprey's argument for it is that the mesh dries out fast, in heat and humidity or in a downpour.

Osprey is also unusually clear about where the protection stops. The bottle pockets, the back stash pocket and the hydration sleeve are all outside the waterproof body, made in quick drying fabric on purpose. The roll-top is stiffened so it opens and closes in one motion, and there is a loop and bungee for a pole or an axe. It weighs 3.2 lb, which is the price of the frame.

Who it is for

The hiker who has given up on rain covers. It is a day pack, in a 26 L men's fit and a 24 L women's fit, for eight hours of weather, not for the boat.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

  • 3.2 lb empty, more than the 50 L dry bag on this page, and you carry every ounce of that frame all day.
  • The outside pockets are not waterproof and are not meant to be. A phone in the stash pocket is a phone in the rain.
6
Osprey Ultralight Dry Stuff Pack 20L
A spare that packs away

Osprey Ultralight Dry Stuff Pack 20L

Under half a pound, with the same IPX5 roll-top as the big Osprey, for the days you want a dry pack waiting inside the pack you already carry.

$72.93$80.009% off
Price as of 10:42 AM ET
See it on Amazon
0.43 lb emptyCoated fabric and coated seamsStretch side pockets17.7 in tall
+Read the full write-up

Why we picked it

This is the only pack here whose waterproofing is a coating rather than a weld or a tape: Osprey coats both the fabric and the seams, under the same IPX5 roll-top as the framed Downburst. It is also the lightest by a distance nothing else approaches, at 0.43 lb against 3.2 lb for that Downburst, seven of these to one of those.

It stands 17.7 inches tall, the side pockets stretch, and the shoulder straps are plain mesh with a sternum strap. It belongs to the same Ultralight line as Osprey's dry sacks, which start at 3 L and have no straps on them at all.

Buy it if

You already own the pack you hike in and want 20 dry liters in reserve. It is the one that rides folded inside a bigger pack when only part of the day is going to be wet.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

  • Mesh straps and nothing under them. Twenty liters of wet gear has only your shoulders to sit on.
  • $73 for 20 L is a lot next to the MARCHWAY Floating Dry Bag Backpack 30L, and what the money buys is a published rating and sealed seams.

Who this is for

Everything above closes without a rain cover and keeps water out of the main compartment by itself, in 20 to 50 L, for under $350. That covers a day on a wet trail, a night out, and gear that has to cross water.

It does not cover the multi day load. Once you are past 50 L and carrying it on foot for days, you want a framed backpacking pack with dry bags inside it, which is a different guide. It also does not cover commuting: the roll-top city packs that show up alongside these are built around a laptop and a padded sleeve, and the ones we opened publish no rating at all.

How to choose

How dry does it really have to stay?

Waterproof is not a claim anyone polices, so go looking for what the maker was willing to put in writing. Earth Pak prints IPX-6 and a ten second limit. Osprey prints IPX5 and the word non-submersible. MARCHWAY writes that it is not for extended submersion. YETI writes airtight and submersible. Those four statements are ranked, and every one of them is on the maker's own product page, where somebody had to stand behind it.

Rain, spray, or under water

Rain falls on the top and the shoulders, and any sealed roll-top here stops it. Spray and the odd wave hit the sides, which is where welded seams start to matter more than the fabric does. Full immersion, meaning the bag goes in and you go after it, is one product on this page and it costs $325. Work out which of the three you actually do, because the span between them here runs from about $19 to about $325.

How long it sits on your shoulders

A dry bag with straps is fine for a hundred yards from the car to the shore. For a portage or a campsite carry, you want load on your hips, which is where the Sea to Summit Big River Dry Backpack 50L harness and the Earth Pak Summit 35L belt come in. For a full day of walking you want a frame and a back that breathes, and only the Osprey Downburst 26 has that. The empty weights tell the same story backwards: 0.43 lb gets you nothing to carry with, 3.2 lb gets you a suspension.

What the outside pocket is really for

Almost every pack here has a handy zip pocket on the front, and on almost every one of them that pocket sits outside the seal. Earth Pak calls it splash-proof and ships a card in the box repeating the point, and Osprey builds its outer pockets from quick drying fabric on purpose, which is an admission of the same thing. Keys, a map, a snack: fine. Anything with a battery in it goes inside the roll.

The competition

Packs that came up in the search and did not make the six.

Pelican ExoDry 30L

The same 500D PVC as our pick, a translucent panel for finding things, and about the same money. Pelican writes that it is not intended for submersion but publishes no rating, and there is no hip belt, which is the pair of things the Earth Pak gets right at that price.

MARCHWAY Roll Top Waterproof Backpack 20/30/45L

The same brand's newer and more serious pack at about $41, with a ventilated back panel, sternum and waist straps and a rectangular base that sits closer to your spine. It is the interesting one on paper, and it still gives you no rating to check, at twice the price of the sack we did pick.

Sea to Summit Big River Dry Backpack 75L

The same bag with 25 more liters for about $30 more. At 75 L you are packing for a group or for a week on the water, which is outside what this guide is for.

YETI Cayo 25

$250, and the wording on it is weather resistant rather than waterproof. Within the same brand, that phrase is the line between the Panga and everything else.

Fjällräven Ulvö Rolltop 30

About $170 for a roll-top that looks the part and is sold on style as much as anything. No rating, no hip belt, and the seams are not described as welded.

Chrome Industries Barrage 22L

The messenger answer, built around a welded inner liner with a cargo net over the top. The liner is the only sealed part of it, and the shape is drawn for a bike frame and a laptop.

How we picked

A closure that sealsA rating the maker publishesWelded or taped seamsTwo straps, 20 L or moreUnder $350Owner reports read

Thirty packs sold to American hikers and paddlers went on the first list, from $14 dry sacks with straps up to airtight cases. For each one we took what its maker publishes and nothing else: the closure, the rating or the immersion limit in its exact wording, the seam construction, the shell fabric, the empty weight, the capacity and what the harness consists of. Packs whose entire documentation is a marketplace listing went out, unless nothing else covered their place in the guide.

Then the owner reports, worst star first. Earth Pak and Sea to Summit publish reviews on their own product pages, 97 and 76 of them, and the YETI count of 361 comes from Walmart, whose robots file opens its review pages to readers like us. Those three are the packs with an owner section below. Where a maker closes its pages and no retailer opens them, the card sticks to what the maker documents.

The table converts nothing, because these numbers arrive comparable: liters, pounds, and the rating each company chose to print.

Common questions

Is a waterproof backpack actually waterproof?+

It depends on the number behind the word, and the makers do print one. IPX5 means jets of water from any direction and explicitly not immersion, which is what Osprey states for both of its packs here. IPX-6 is a step up, stronger jets, and Earth Pak pairs it with a five to ten second limit under water. Airtight and submersible, the YETI claim, is the only one that survives the bag going in.

Can I drop a roll-top pack in the river?+

Briefly, and only if you rolled it properly. A roll-top seals because trapped air is pushed against the fold, which is also why these packs float, but it is a seal held by pressure, not a lid. Earth Pak's own answer is five to ten seconds. If your gear is going to spend real time under water, the zipper on the YETI Panga 28 is what you are buying.

Do I still need dry bags inside?+

For anything that cannot get wet, yes, and for one reason above all: the outside pockets on most of these packs sit outside the seal. A phone in a small dry sack inside the main compartment is safe on every pack in this guide. A phone in the front pocket is only as safe as the weather is mild.

What size do I need?+

20 to 26 L is a day, and it is what the two Osprey packs give you. 30 to 35 L absorbs a change of clothes and a camp meal, which is where the Earth Pak Summit 35L sits. 50 L and up is a group's gear or a week on the water, and it is the point where the harness stops being optional. Remember that a dry bag's stated volume assumes you rolled the top down, so Sea to Summit quotes 50 L at three rolls and you get less if you roll it more.

How do I close one properly?+

Spread the mouth open before you start so some air stays inside, then fold the top over on itself at least three times, four if the bag is not full, and clip the buckles. MARCHWAY asks for three to five folds and so does Earth Pak. The air you left in there is doing the work, both sealing the fold and keeping the pack on the surface if it goes overboard.

The verdict

What to buy

The Earth Pak Summit 35L is the one to buy for about $55, because it is the only pack under $100 here that names a rating, states where that rating stops, adds a hip belt and stands behind all of it for five years. Its owners describe it coming through hurricanes and river crossings with the contents dry.

Pay more in two cases only. Walking all day in the rain is worth the frame and the ventilation in the Osprey Downburst 26, and gear that goes under water, and not merely under rain, is worth the zipper in the YETI Panga 28.

Check price on Amazon$54.88 as of 10:42 AM ET

Update log

Sep 2026First published.

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