Waterproof gear is the holy grail of travel, right? The ability to take your precious camera, backpack, shoes, or phone into a howling monsoon or a peaceful canoe trip without a hint of anxiety is practically a superpower. However, there’s a big difference between waterproof and water-resistant gear, it’s important to know the difference, and quality matters. If you’ve ever stuffed your phone into a bag of Rice-a-Roni and held an all-night silent vigil for those #lit beach pictures you didn’t get a chance to post to facebook you know the importance of quality waterproof gear. This list takes a look at some of the best waterproof backpacks, dry bags, speakers, cameras and more to keep your fragile tech safe and dry under practically any conditions.

Best Water Resistant Backpack

In addition to being the best backpack for urban travel, thanks to elegant design, top notch organization and ergonomically designed weight distribution, the Hiway waterproof dry backpacks and accessories is water resistant. Made from high end, waterproof TPU fabric, these bags provide the very best first defense against the elements while you are traveling. The Outbreaker travel backpack comes in two sizes, and the daypack is perfect for out and about adventures, rain or shine.

Best Waterproof Travel Gear

When you’re shopping for waterproof gear there’s only one metric to look for—IPX Rating. This rating tells you exactly how waterproof and/or dust proof gear is, and it’s actually one of the easier to understand consumer product ratings.

How to Read IPX Waterproof Gear Ratings

There are two types of IP ratings—one for water resistance (waterproof) and one for particle resistance (dust proof). IPX labels are always written in one of three ways, and each rating means something different:

Waterproof Rating: IPX5 — The “X” is a placeholder for the dust rating (aka “none”)

Water & Dust Rating: IP56 — The particle protection is rated “5”, and the water protection is rated “6”

Rarely, you’ll see a single number IP6 rating. This just means that both the dust and water resistance is the same, but it’s not that common, especially since dust and water have different IP max ratings (8 is the max waterproof rating, 6 is the max dust-proof rating). “IP” stands for “Ingress Protection.” The Water Resistance IP goes from 0-8, and dust goes from 0-6. Essentially:

IPX0-IPX2 is zero to minimal water protection

IPX3 provides some protection at certain angles (weird)

IPX4 protects from “splashes, IPX5 from strong splashes, and IPX 6 from “powerful jets”

IPX7 is the only true “waterproof” IPX rating, aka “submersible up to 1 meter

· IPX8 is an additional product manufacturer rating that basically says, “This gear is better than IPX7 for this reason.” That reason can be, increased depth protection (common with cameras and watches), more powerful jets of water, etc. Now you’re ready to shop for waterproof gear. The more you know, right?

· Best Waterproof Gear: Dry Bags

·  when I travel, so I always pack a waterproof dry bag. If you only take one piece of advice or gear recommendation away from this article, please let it be this: Always pack a dry bag. A well-made dry bag is insanely useful, cheap, and easy to pack—they’re designed to roll down for cryin’ out loud. When buying a dry bag look for ones made out of nylon (nylon is more durable than vinyl). Also, my personal preference is for Hypalon Roll Top closures vs. zipper seals, even if they’re treated. The roll top closure is just a great physical barrier to water that doesn’t rely on so many moving parts and chemical treatment.