Life’s a beach, but your electronics probably wouldn’t agree. Because a carefree beach day can turn to tragedy when water and sand wreck our smartphones, tablets and MP3 players. So what’s the best way to protect our gadgets at the ocean?

Consumer Reports recently tested five special electronic protectors (some pricey, some affordable), all of which claim to offer significantly better protection for your mobile electronics than plastic zipper or slider sandwich bags. (One would hope!) The five protectors were:

• DryCASE, $29

• DryCASE Tablet, $38

• Lavod LMB-011, $19

• Seattle Sports Dry Doc, $16

• Trendy Digital WaterGuard, $16

While Consumer Reports found that the pricier, special bags kept their contents dry when dunked briefly in water, and also kept out sand sprinkled along the seals of the bags, the slider sandwich bag, which costs about 10 cents, also passed both tests.

Other findings:
• All bags allowed the user to control the devices’ key functions.
• The user could take photos while the device was inside a bag, but the pictures were cloudy.

The takeaway: Any zipper or slider bag would “probably provide passable protection,” according to Consumer Reports. But remember to place devices in the bag—whichever one you may choose—before you head out … and don’t remove them until you get home.

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Author: Jaclyn Bertner

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in a slightly different format on HellaWella, on online publication that documents the culture of healthy living.

 

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