Review: Dry Case waterproof case for iPad 2

Saw this around the web and requested a review sample which Dry Case kindly sent me.  Bottom line:  it works!

This is the first completely waterproof case for the iPad/iPad 2 that I’ve seen.  The major outdoor-case maker, Otterbox, makes a couple of splash resistant cases, but nothing waterproof.  According to Dry Case, their case is waterproof up to 100 feet.

The case is a thick plastic bag with a sealing top, a one-way air evacuation valve and an sealed-in earphone jack.  Yes, you could listen to your ipod 100 feet under water with this case!

The box came with a case, a couple of lanyards that attach to the rings on the top, a rubber bulb to evacuate air (you can use your mouth if you forget to take the bulb) and a velcro arm band.  Included in the box was this card, which did give me a sense of security:

Here is a shot of the empty case from the back. You can see the slots for the arm band and the plug/wire for connecting audio and the air evacuation valve at the bottom right. The plug at the bottom is molded into the plastic of the case:

You place your iPad into the case and then snap closed the seals at the top using four snappy/pushy things:

Doing this, however, is a rather fiddly operation and I had quite a bit of trouble with it. It also requires some finger strength to snap the clasps shut, so I wouldn’t recommend the case to anyone who has arthritis.

Once closed, however, the case works like a charm. Here’s a shot of it in my bathroom sink. You can’t tell too well from the picture, but the iPad is under water. It stayed dry as a bone.

The picture at the top of the article is my iPad 2 in a huge thunderstorm which providentially started just as I began this review.

All the controls on the iPad worked fine and I had no trouble using the screen through the case. One caveat, however. Initially I evacuated too much air from the case and this caused the case to press the buttons on the iPad and send it into a reboot cycle. It’s not necessary to evacuate every atom of air. A nice thing about the air evacuation process, which is very easy, by the way, is that it is a perfect check on the seal of the case. If you loose the vacuum you know that water can get into the case.

The DryCase for the iPad sells for $59.99. Since it’s just a plastic bag – without any dedicated buttons – it will work just as well for a Kindle, Nook or Kobo reader. They make one for the iPhone/Touch which sells for $39.99. You can find all the details of the case, along with some videos, here. Recommended.