bioteacher Loc: Brooklyn, NY

I'll be doing some hiking around waterfalls and maybe kayaking. I was wondering if anyone could recommend a bag/backpack that would keep my equipment dry (a couple of bodies and lenses)? Thanks.

Quixdraw Loc: x

Check out Peak Designs - my daughter showed me a dandy one. Also Think Tank. Being kinda belt and suspenders, I'd put the whole setup in a dry bag.

dyximan

I too am interested in recommendations will be going to Lake Tahoe and kayaking and I would like keep my equipment safe

John N Loc: HP14 3QF Stokenchurch, UK

Get a drybag from a watersports centre and fit inside your regular rucsac. Save lots of spondoolies.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Look at Sea to Summit bags, possibly a bag just large enough for the equipment rather than an entire backpack, something in the 4- to 6-liter size for camera a few lenses, maybe even 2-liter. You can mail order from Campmor, REI, etc, but might find it easier to find the correct size by taking the equipment to a local store and test for the exact size needed.

John N Loc: HP14 3QF Stokenchurch, UK

I would consider a first rate (Olympus TG5 or the newer TG6) or similar if going kayaking but consider my general reply below. Whatever you do make sure it is secured to the kayak. I've mentioned it here before and I'll keep on mentioning it, my much loved old Pentax WP3 is at the bottom of La Jolla because the STRAP failed on a plastic moulding supposedly securing the webbing part of the strap to the corded section.

Also consider a flotation device of some kind, either a fat neoprene strap or a waterbuoy.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Seatriever-Waterbuoy/dp/B001AGZY4K

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

Any drybag (yeah they make them as backpacks too) will do that!

cytafex Loc: Clarksburg MA

Watershed makes the best dry bags in my opinion. They have an industrial type of ziplock seal that is bomb proof and don't leak!. They have many styles and sizes for many applications. I've been a raft guide for many years and my oldest Watershed bag is from 1999 and still in service. Expensive but worth it. It's what I use to hold photography gear on river trips.

sigo

Yeti has a new waterproof backpack. It gets good reviews.

Bob Link

Try the nearest REI They carry everything from dry bags to backpacks.

Retrobug

This is my first post with Ugly Hedgehog. Glad I found this place. Hope I can contribute some.

I've hiked and backpacked for a lot of years with photo gear. I get real careful about water. I've always used the suggestion CHG CANON and others made. I put my water sensitive photo gear in an ultralight dry bag, and put that inside my backpack or daypack. I usually used Sea-to-Summit, and they came from REI. They work very well. They're strong and durable enough to work inside a backpack and to use as a carry bag and set on the ground next to the tripod. They aren't abrasion resistant, but with care, they work for a long time.

I've also used double bagged freezer strength zip locks when a bigger dry bag didn't make sense. They can be real good at protecting a camera body or lenses from a fair amount of water, and they're quite cheap compared to ultralight dry bags. They'll usually stuff into the bottom of a camera or lens case, so they're there when you need them.

I will say that if you put your gear in a dry bag (or zip-lock) in humid conditions, you will trap humidity in the dry bag with your lenses. The realistic fear is the humidity trapped in the bag for an extended period would cause fungus. I seal the dry bag only during travel, and I unseal the bag once the gear is in a protected place. Also, I always see I've either unsealed the dry bag or completely removed the gear from the bag once I'm home.

As others pointed out, there are waterproof camera bags and backpacks. Depending on your budget and what you are doing, I think they can work great for some people. For me, especially in hiking and packing, they are quite a bit of extra weight, so I don't use them. For inexpensive lightweight protection that will go into the back country and protect gear well, ultralight dry bags and/or zip locks are (in my opinion) hard to beat.

I hope you will tell us what you decide to do and how it works for you.