Bill's 65L Dry Bag vs Goforth Dry Duffel: which is safer?
Watershed Goforth Dry Duffel is our pick: better on PFAS and on the overall hazard picture.
NRS
Bill's 65L Dry Bag
PFAS grade
Overall grade
Verdict
Hazard flags
Material
Confidence
Reportedwater-repellent coating degradation and loss of water repellency
PossiblePVC thermal stability (heat-related decomposition)
ReportedSeam integrity and water-tightness failure
Our pick
Watershed
Goforth Dry Duffel
PFAS grade
Overall grade
Verdict
Hazard flags
Material
Confidence
PossibleAzo dyes and hazardous colorants
PossibleCoating degradation and microparticle shedding
PossibleResidual processing chemicals (waterproofing treatment)
Where these two actually differ
- We flag DWR coating degradation and loss of water repellency, PVC thermal stability (heat-related decomposition), Seam integrity and water-tightness failure and Undisclosed PFAS in DWR coating on the NRS and not on the Watershed.
- We flag Azo dyes and hazardous colorants, Coating degradation and microparticle shedding and Residual processing chemicals (waterproofing treatment) on the Watershed and not on the NRS.
- The NRS is PVC tarpaulin with DWR coating where the Watershed is Naturally textured cotton blend with proprietary waterproofing, which is most of the difference in these two grades.
- The gap is 25 points, wide enough that this is not a close call, and the Watershed is the one to buy.
- We are less certain about the NRS grade, at 45% confidence against 72%, because it discloses less.
Both products run through the same public rubric: materials, coatings, brand disclosure, lab findings, and recalls, plus a beyond-PFAS hazard analysis. Grades are model-based estimates, not lab tests. How grades work →
More waterproof bags & luggage: see the full ranking