Yeti Gear Case survives a swamping during Texas Water Safari

This Yeti Sidekick Dry Gear Case kept stuff dry even when it got swamped during the Texas Water Safari. Pam LeBlanc photo

My Yeti Sidekick Dry Gear Case held up way better than me during the Texas Water Safari two weeks ago.

I made it 154 miles into the race, then stepped out of the boat in Cheapside because I was sick and gave up. (More on that in a future blog.) The dry case stayed in the boat, made it all the way to Seadrift, and even survived a boat sinking.

The case – about the size of a hard-cover Webster’s Dictionary – is designed to hold keys, wallets, phones, and other sundries in a wet environment. It’s got an interior mesh pocket, Velcro-like hook and loop fasteners on the back that attach to other Yeti products, like coolers or backpacks, and a Super Man-strong magnetic closure along the top. You can even wear it on your belt.

In typical Yeti style, the case also comes with an impressive price tag – $50.

I strapped the case in front of my seat in the canoe during the race and loaded it with my headlamp (for paddling through the night), an extra pair of sunglasses, a spare cap, and a bunch of electrolyte caplets and supplements. I was a tad skeptical, but I’d used the bag during a training run, and it kept everything dry. I had noticed then that the magnetic closure held so well you could use the case as a small pillow – a feature that might come in handy for ultra-endurance canoe racing.

Yeti Gear Case at the Texas Water Safari

The bag got its biggest test after I left my team 32 hours into the race, at a bridge overpass in Cheapside. My team continued, and at about mile 250 of the race, their boat got swamped in rough water in San Antonio Bay. At one point, according to my teammate Deb Richardson, the entire 40-foot boat was submerged. The paddlers lugged the boat ashore, bailed out the water, and, eventually, made it to the finish line in about 77 hours.

Related: Staring down the barrel of the hottest, most wretched Texas Water Safari ever

My Yeti case survived. The magnet held tight, and everything inside it stayed perfectly dry, including the headlamp, which still works fine.

My only complaint? Despite soapy water and scrubbing, I can’t get the surface of the case all the way clean. But hey, I’m less concerned about appearances than function. And it gets an A-plus in that department.