NRS Canyon Camping Dry Box

At its heart it’s a tote—but kind of badass tote. Canyon Camping Dry box from NRS (US, Canada) appears to be made for trippers who are a little frustrated with the challenges of barrels—the thin opening, the lid clamps, the awkward round shape. It’s like someone got a little jealous of car campers with their Home Depot tote boxes and made a tough water-sealed one for tripping. This box brings the basic tote to the backcountry. 

This thing is certainly tough. When I first saw it in a YouTube video, I thought it might have a softer, foamy-like feel. But no, it’s very hard and fairly thick polyethylene. It’s a tougher kind of poly though—there’s no making scratches with just your fingernails like you can on some poly canoes. The walls have ribbing for strength, but the lid doesn't and it could have used it since if you sit on it the top the lid will start to buckle. It pops back afterwards though. If you put your feet closer to the edges, you can stand on it no problem. 

This dry box weighs 13 lbs. empty, so it’s a commitment to bring. But, it's not as bad as it sounds since this box has a 100L capacity. Compare that to a 60L barrel which weighs 8 lbs and it works out to be almost exactly the same weight to capacity ratio (0.13 lbs/L). 

The box is available in grey or yellow, but for canoeing, I always recommend 'high-viz' gear (i.e., the brightest possible) so you can find if it happens to float down the river. There is also a smaller version available which we don't have. 

The lid is secured with two canoe straps, so it’s as tight as you can pull it, but it never feels perfectly tight. I guess that’s why NRS says, “Not intended for submersion or for protecting valuable electronics.” Fair enough, but I had to try it on a whitewater trip anyway.

The lid is sealed with a strip of foam weatherstripping, so I can see why they say it’s not for submersion. We packed the box with only things that could get a little wet—kitchen gear, sealed food etc. Truthfully, it still worked like a champ. It was floating in the water for over 10 minutes and had maybe half an inch of water in the bottom. We knew ahead of time that if that box goes in, we’ll need to hurry to get it out but it performed better than expected. But still, it leaks when submerged so it’s not as dependable as a good hermetically-sealed barrel which can stay in the water indefinitely. 

But this thing is so damn great to use! It’s a joy to take the lid off and just be able to see all your stuff. The top works as a little prep surface as well, which was very handy to have on the Noire’s sandy campsites. I saw one reviewer suggest that you can flip the top over and use it as a giant dishwashing basin. Before getting one myself I thought that sounded pretty cool, but seeing this simple foam seal, I’m pretty sure utensils in the water would tear it up. Sounds like a terrible idea to me. 

The thing isn’t great to portage with as is, so I suggest adding rope handles (just put an overhand knot on either end). We found the best way to carry it is to put it on top of a small 30 L barrel that has a harness. We hold on to it with the rope handles on either side, but we made them slightly too short for comfort doing this, but it was solved by putting a carabiner on each handle for a bit of extra length. Maybe before the next big trip we’ll redo the handles. 

Overall, this is a cool piece of gear to have, but not necessary. It’s really great for carrying kitchen gear and sealed items, but nothing that a barrel couldn’t handle. It mostly solves minor inconveniences with barrels, but adds a few of its own if used in whitewater. 

Which brings me to the cost. At $249 CAD it feels pretty high for two pieces of polyethylene, two straps and some weather stripping. It appears they are still trying to get their R&D costs back. It’s not cheap but I have to remind myself that barrels are much more expensive now. I picked up mine back in 2007 for $7 each from a recycler that didn’t market to canoeists. (Later on that guy said he now only sells to an “exclusive buyer.”) I suspect other companies will come along and make cheaper versions of this concept. I already noticed a 50 dry box at MEC, which was apparently released in 2024. Maybe a trend is starting. 

So is the Canyon Dry Box recommended by Split Rock? Sure, but only if you’re a bit of a gear-head and don’t mind satiating your desire to try new gear with some cash. Basically, this box is the cost of two barrels, has 1.4x capacity of a barrel, is not hermetically sealed and is harder to carry. But it is such a pleasure to hit the site, pop this sucker open and start digging through your gear—we’ll keep bringing it on our whitewater trips. 

Retails for: 

• $249.00 CAD

• $170.00 USD