the only dry bag you'll ever need
When I got to Rutabaga paddle sports in March of 2022, I thought I knew my gear, having grown up in the Quetico-Superior country, developing what I thought was a refined palate for all things paddlesports. Within a few weeks, I was met with a rude awakening as the gaps in my personal knowledge became painfully apparent. While debate exists between what pack is best for backcountry canoe trips, I found that in the world of whitewater, one Asheville-based company has firmly cemented itself as the only option for paddlers.
Watershed Drybags are not technically the only bag on the market, but over the course of the last 30 years, the company has refined its product into its own class of dry bags. For over a quarter of a century, Watershed has sold its products to the United States military, acting as a monument to the company's durability and quality.
The company has also innovated by taking bow and stern float bags, commonly used in whitewater kayaking to add flotation to hulls, and retrofitting them into inflatable storage bags, revolutionizing expedition kayaking. But the keystone in Watershed’s design is the Ocoee dry bag, named after the iconic river in Tennessee. The Ocoee is an everyday bag that I have used for years, a small water-tight duffle that can fit my camera, snacks, and a multitude of other river trinkets.
About three months into my stint at Rutabaga, a couple rolled up to the store in a Toyota Highlander with extra-long Yakima bars, a telltale sign of a canoeist. The couple was from Colorado to pick up their custom Swift Canoe. As I assisted in their test paddle, the conversation quickly shifted to canoe outfitting and stories of bygone years and canoeing on the Colorado River. I was starstruck. As we were tying down their brand new vessel for its voyage back to the Rockies, the old man pulled out an original Watershed Ocoee, sun warn with two retrofitted NRS straps for handles, but still kicking, with a smile, the man told me this was an original, nearly 28 years old to the day. Watershed bags are the unique piece of gear that will be there for the rest of your life, something I think of fondly as I throw my camera and keys into my Ocoee dry bag before a day on the river.
