When you’re deep in the tropics with salt spray, humidity, and sideways rain hammering the coastline, preventative maintenance is required for protecting your camera gear from moisture. This post is all about the preventative steps I take to keep my camera gear dry and fungus-free without hauling extra weight or spending a fortune.
A Low-Tech Trick That Works Well
A few years ago I went on a four-day backpacking trip with my brother. One morning I was exploring coastal cliffs when the skies opened up. As I grabbed a stunning shot of waves crashing into the rock face, the drizzle turned eventually turned a full-on downpour. As soon as the rain hit, I did three things: wiped off the water from my camera with my shirt, popped my Sunday Afternoons Charter Hat on top of the camera, and kept walking back to camp with what looked like a sunhat-wearing robot in tow. That simple method kept my lens and camera body dry long enough to get it stowed safely.
Solutions That Are Ultralight and Effective
If you’re out shooting in humid or rainy climates, moisture management needs to be second nature. Here’s what I use on trips to protect my gear that are both reliable, and light enough to carry without a second thought.
I’ve used the Six Moon Designs Silver Shadow Carbon Umbrella both as a sun shield in the desert and a rain shelter during photography shoots. It deploys quickly, weighs next to nothing, and gives me enough coverage to pull out my camera without soaking it. It also doubles as trail shade, which is crucial on exposed ridgelines.
The Hyperlite Versa is my go-to for carrying camera gear in variable conditions. It’s fully Dyneema with weather-sealed zippers. But here’s the catch: if your gear is already damp, sealing it in isn’t enough. Which brings me to the next point…
Desiccant packets: the same silica packets that come with electronics are a simple solution. I toss a couple into my Hyperlite Versa. They will grab excess moisture contained in my camera pouch. After I get back from a trip, I dry them on a sunny windowsill and reuse them for the next adventure.
At home I use larger desiccant bags in my gear closet. It passively pulls moisture out of the air and into a bottom reservoir; protecting lenses, sleeping bags, and anything else prone to mold.
Why Weather Sealing Isn’t a Cure-All
Sony doesn’t really lean on the term “weather-sealed” like other brands, but if you look at their higher-end lenses, you’ll find rubber gaskets near the mounts. That’s a nice safeguard, but weather-sealed does not mean foolproof. Preventative maintenance, like drying off your gear, using desiccants, and avoiding packed-in moisture, is still the most reliable way to protect your electronics in the field.
Final Thoughts
Every piece of this workflow, from using my hat as a cover, to the Hyperlite Versa, to reusing silica packets, is cheap, ultralight, and field-proven. These methods have helped me preserve thousands of dollars of gear over years of wet-weather hiking.
Protect your gear. Keep it dry.
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