Many of us can’t even pass by a glass of water or toilet without our phones leaping straight into them, causing often irreparable damage and a whole lot of irritation. So the beach, with its crashing waves and insidious sand, is a veritable wet and gritty pit of despair, waiting to claim your electronics. You can find plenty of waterproof special bags on the market, but a regular sliding bag will do the trick, too.

Our stalwart colleagues at Consumer Reports are all about testing out the best options there are. As such, they stacked up specialty bags offering maximum protection for your electronics against a Hefty Slider bag, and found that the grocery store staple did just as well as its pricier pals.

The Hefty Slider bag ($0.10 to $0.13 depending on size) was pitted against the DryCase, and larger DryCase Tablet ($29 and $38, respectively); the TrendyDigital WaterGuard Waterproof Case ($16); the Seattle Sports Dry Doc Waterproof e-Tablet Case ($16); and the Lavod LMB-011 Waterproof Bag ($19).

All of the special bags stayed nice and dry inside after a quick dunk in the water, as well as keeping sand from infiltrating the electronics’ special bits. But then again, so did the Hefty bag.

Each of the bags allowed users to swipe and press screens, as well as control volume and brightness controls. They even let testers take photos through the bags — although that’s only good if you don’t mind your photos coming out a bit cloudy.

A nice tight vacuum seal worked best for actually using the devices, some of which come with a hand pump to get the air out. Even with a normal plastic bag it’s possible to close the bag most of the way and then push the rest of the air out before closing it completely.

Bag it up if you’re going to the beach or the neighborhood pool — but remember to wipe off any sand or water clinging to the outside of the bags before taking your devices out again at home.

Protect your gadgets from sand, water, and other potential hazards [Consumer Reports]

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