Aquapac: Waterproof Cases and Drybags for UK Households

Aquapac makes waterproof cases and bags for the things you carry: phones, handheld radios, satellite communicators, first aid kits and general kit. For a UK household the appeal is simple. The items most likely to fail you in a power cut, a flood or a storm are the ones that hold your information and your contact with the outside world, and water is what kills them. A sealed case keeps a phone, a radio or a first aid kit working when everything around it is wet.

The maker's range covers four jobs a household is likely to recognise. A phone case keeps a smartphone usable in rain and near water, rated IPX8 and submersible to 10 metres¹. A first aid kit bag keeps bandages and dressings dry, rated IPX6 stormproof against high-pressure water jets². A VHF radio case protects a handheld radio, with a four-lever AQUACLIP seal and welded seams³. A drybag protects bulk kit such as spare clothes, documents or a torch, and comes in 7L, 15L and 25L sizes⁴.

None of these is a substitute for a plan. They are the containers that let the rest of your emergency kit survive the conditions it is stored for. What follows is what each type does, how the seals work, where the cases are made, and how to look after one so it still seals when you need it.

Waterproof protection for the things you carry

The logic of a waterproof case is that it protects one category of item, not everything. A phone case is sized around a phone and its armband; a first aid bag is sized around a kit; a drybag is sized around whatever you put in it. Buying the right one starts with deciding which item you cannot afford to lose to water, then matching the case to it.

The maker's own descriptions set out the intended uses plainly. The Heavyweight Waterproof Drybag is for "people who need serious gear protection in any weather", for paddling, hiking, sailing, SUP, fishing, travel or everyday outdoor use⁴. The First Aid Kit Bag is for storing first aid kits for kayaking, sailing, hiking, biking and camping, for adventure travel and expedition use, and for keeping emergency gear dry and accessible². The Armband Phone Case is also suitable for GPS and EPIRB devices, so it can keep location and safety devices dry as well as a phone¹.

That last point matters for a household. If you keep a handheld GPS or a personal locator beacon in your kit, the same case that holds a phone will hold it. The maker's advice is to use a thin bumper case inside the Aquapac to protect both your phone and the case itself¹. That is a maker's instruction for its own product, and worth following: a bare phone with sharp edges is the thing most likely to wear a hole in a soft case.

The kit, type by type

Each type in the range does a different job, and the specifications decide which one suits your household. The table sets them side by side.

Phone and device cases

The Armband Waterproof Phone Case comes with the case in a Small or Large size, an adjustable sports armband and an optional lanyard¹. It is rated IPX8, which the maker describes as keeping your device 100% waterproof to 10 metres or 30 feet¹. For a household that means rain, a flooded kitchen or a bag dropped in a river are all within its rating, provided the seal is closed. The materials are TPU with ABS and PP components¹. If your concern is keeping in touch during an outage, this is the case that protects the device you would use; our guide to staying informed and in touch covers what else to have ready.

First aid kit bag

The Waterproof First Aid Kit Bag is a 3L drybag with integrated carry handle straps that double as a carry handle, supplied with instructions for use and care². Its IPX6 rating means it is protected against high-pressure water jets, which is a lower bar than submersible but the right one for a bag that sits in a rucksack or a cupboard and gets rained on². A first aid kit that has been soaked is a first aid kit you cannot use, so the bag is doing real work. See our first aid at home guide for what the kit inside should contain.

Radio and satellite communicator cases

The Classic Waterproof VHF Case (Small) is the maker's best-selling handheld radio case, sealed with the AQUACLIP four-lever waterproof closure and high-frequency welded seams³. The case floats if dropped in the sea, depending on the weight of the radio and the air inside³. The Waterproof Satcom Phone Case is built for satellite communication devices on expeditions or marine trips, in deserts, polar regions, rainforests or wet and humid environments, and for adventure travel, search and rescue and offshore operations⁵. It floats when sealed with air inside, and the maker advises testing your device beforehand for buoyancy⁵. That instruction is worth taking literally: a case that floats with one device may sink with a heavier one.

Drybags

The Heavyweight Waterproof Drybag is a roll-top bag with a detachable shoulder strap, supplied with instructions for roll-top sealing⁴. It comes in 7L, 15L or 25L depending on the selection, in Acid Green and Cool Blue⁴. This is the general-purpose container of the range: spare clothes, documents in a plastic wallet, a torch, a battery pack. The roll-top closure is only as good as the roll, so follow the maker's sealing instructions each time rather than folding it roughly.

Made in the UK, with materials chosen to last

Most of the range is made in the UK. The Armband Waterproof Phone Case lists its manufacturing origin as the UK¹, the Waterproof Satcom Phone Case lists its country of origin as the UK⁵, and the Classic Waterproof VHF Case (Small) lists "Made In: United Kingdom"³. The Heavyweight Waterproof Drybag is the exception: it is designed in the UK but made in China⁴. If buying British-made matters to you, that distinction is worth knowing before you choose.

The materials are chosen for durability and for what happens at the end of life. The VHF case is made from biodegradable UV-stabilised TPU, with an AQUACLIP seal made from recyclable ABS³. The Satcom case uses biodegradable UV-stabilised TPU for the case and recyclable ABS for the AQUACLIP seal⁵. The phone case uses TPU with ABS and PP components¹. In plain terms, the soft body of each case is a plastic that the maker states will biodegrade, and the hard seal components are recyclable. UV stabilisation matters because a case left in sunlight will otherwise perish; it is the reason a case can live in a car or a shed for years without going brittle.

Who uses Aquapac

The maker states that its gear has been protecting critical equipment since 1983 and is trusted by emergency services, explorers and adventurers in over 60 countries¹. The Satcom case's listed uses include search and rescue and offshore operations⁵. Those are the maker's own claims about its customers, and they are the kind of claim a buyer should read as a statement of the market the product is designed for rather than a list of named organisations.

What is documented in the pack is the wider emergency response these products sit alongside. UK ambulance services may respond in a rapid response vehicle, a cycle response unit in city centres and on beaches in summer, or the crew's own car, and may also send an air ambulance or an emergency doctor⁶. Fire and rescue services in Scotland maintain 16 High Reach Appliances for rescues, inspections or use as water towers⁷. Emergency services across the UK now use three word addresses to find and share locations in emergencies⁸. None of that is Aquapac's work, but it is the environment in which a waterproof case for a radio or a phone earns its place: responders and volunteers working in wet conditions need their equipment to keep working.

Repair kits, replacement parts and looking after a case

The maker's product pages list what comes in the box but do not list separate replacement parts for sale. The phone case includes the case, the adjustable sports armband and an optional lanyard¹. The drybag includes the bag, a detachable shoulder strap and instructions for roll-top sealing⁴. The first aid bag includes the 3L drybag, the integrated carry handle straps and instructions for use and care². If a strap or a clip is lost, the route is to ask Aquapac support rather than to substitute a part from another maker, because a seal or a strap that does not fit is worse than none.

Care is mostly about the seal. The AQUACLIP closure on the VHF and Satcom cases is a four-lever mechanism, and the welded seams are what keep water out at the joints³. The roll-top drybag depends on the roll being made correctly every time⁴. The maker's own advice for the phone case is to use a thin bumper case inside to protect both the phone and the Aquapac¹. Beyond that, the practical routine is the same for every type: close it properly, check it before you rely on it, and store it dry and out of prolonged sun.

Repairing a damaged case

A waterproof case is a single sealed unit, and the maker does not describe a user repair for a failed seal or a parted seam. What the maker does give is the construction: high-frequency welded seams and a lever closure on the radio case³, a recyclable ABS AQUACLIP seal on the Satcom case⁵, and a roll-top closure on the drybag⁴. Those are factory processes, not something to attempt at home.

So the honest answer on repair is conditional. Cleaning, correct resealing and replacing a lost strap are within a household's reach. A case that has been punctured, whose seam has parted, or whose lever no longer clamps should be treated as no longer waterproof and referred to Aquapac support. Do not rely on a repaired case for a phone you might need to call 999 with, or for a first aid kit you might need in a flood. If you are unsure whether a case is still sound, test it empty with a tissue inside before you trust it with anything that matters.

Support and special requests

Aquapac's support route is through the maker directly. The Waterproof Phone Case Extreme comes with the case, a Slide On Belt Dock, an adjustable lanyard and user instructions, and it is available in two sizes, Plus (Medium) and Plus Plus (Large)⁹. When you contact support, have the product name and the size or colour to hand, because the range repeats similar names across sizes.

For households that need extra help in an emergency more broadly, the UK arrangements are separate from any product. You can contact your utility provider directly and ask to be recorded as needing additional support¹⁰. Water companies can provide alternative water supplies to consumers, as well as command and control centres for more severe emergencies¹¹. If you need extra support because of your health or a disability, for example getting bottled water, call your water company's customer care team, and check on any vulnerable neighbours who might need help during supply problems⁹. In Northern Ireland, NI Water will try to resolve concerns by phone and, if it cannot, will arrange an appointment to visit your home¹². Our guide to extra help in an emergency sets out the registers and contacts in full.