Video Review: Is a Ziploc Bag as Good as a Waterproof Case for Your Gadget?

Published

The beach. Water parks. The toilet. These are all places where your beloved iPhone can find itself taking a nasty, warranty-voiding bath. Several items on the market purport to keep your gadgets dry in these situations, but how well do they really work? And do you have to spend a lot to get acceptable water protection?

To find out, we put expensive gadgets into a cheap-o Waterproof Pouch from Meritline ($3.99 with free shipping, a low by $16), a slightly less cheap-o DRY-PAK Waterproof Pouch ($13.99 with free shipping, a low by $9), an Otter Box 2000 Hard Case ($10.99 with $4.99 for shipping, a low by $1), and a Ziploc Bag (free in most kitchen drawers). Then we submerged them in water for varying lengths of time. Each gadget bag took a 10-minute, 30-minute, 1-hour, and overnight dip in our science pool (read: fish tank) to test if they had what it takes to keep the evil water at bay.

So what were our results? Like we'd ever tell you! We'd show you, though! Watch the above video for all the answers.

Related features:

DealNews may be compensated by companies mentioned in this article. Please note that, although prices sometimes fluctuate or expire unexpectedly, all products and deals mentioned in this feature were available at the lowest total price we could find at the time of publication (unless otherwise specified).

Comments

Leave a comment!

or Register
6 comments
dasmb
The nice thing about the ziplock bag is that a touchscreen phone is still 100% usable while inside it. However, the plastic ruptures easily under modest wear, such as being in a pocket with a key or even a coin. When I get a wild hare and go running in the rain or mud, I protect my phone by covering it in an unlubricated Trojan ENZ condom (NEARLY clear, durable and 100% water proof), with the open end draped over the headphone cable and a twist tie around the headphone cord. Then, I tuck the jacketed phone into a silicon case for protection against drops. Even if I get drenched, the phone is fine and perfectly usable even when protected. A good barrier against sweat too.

I stole the idea from an old trick for protecting standard microphones for use underwater.
August 16, 2012
NoneTheWiser
Yeah, science!
Nice touch with the lab coat.
August 16, 2012
skaets
Double Bag It In Two Ziploc Bags And I Bet It Will Not Leak Into The Inner Bag, For The Overnight Soak.
August 13, 2012
sailow
i would have liked to see those devices turned on, or just the iphone.
August 13, 2012
portbcv
What I would have liked to have seen is all of the contraptions submerged. Those that float? Dunk 'em, and see if the somewhat pricey otterbox survives...
August 13, 2012
britmac
A company called Liquipel has a technology that waterproofs you device so you don't have to have it in a bag or container. http://www.liquipel.com/
August 13, 2012