Your phone secretly hates summer. These protective bags will store it.

We tested two phone-sized bags: the Casely Aquabatty Waterproof Bag and the Case-Mate Wavy Waterproof Bag. Here’s what we found: If you’re looking for a bag to keep your phone safe on aquatic adventures, but you want to easily reply to texts, take photos, and record videos, the AquaBuddy is a great choice.

The best…

This protective bag creates an airtight seal that keeps water, sand, and dust out without sacrificing touchscreen capabilities. It fits most smartphones, floats in water and comes with a convenient cross-body strap.

The Casely AquaBuddy Waterproof Bag uses locking hinges to create an airtight seal: when it’s locked, the bag successfully keeps out water, sand, dirt and dust particles. Even after 30 minutes of immersion in water, the pieces of paper inside the aquabudi remained boneless. In comparison, the paper towels in the case-mat wavy waterproof bag remained wet after the test.

Both the Aquabuddy and Wavy bags have smooth exteriors and show no signs of tears or microbeads after falling through a harsh sand container. Sand and dust collected around their hinges, but I was able to wipe them off before opening each bag to get to my phone. Not a single drop of sand was found in both the bags. (The zip-top bag I used as a control, on the other hand, was riddled with small tears, allowing sand to accumulate at the bottom of the bag.)

When my phone was attached to the Aquabuddy bag, it was easy to use. I could see the screen clearly even in the bag, and the plastic was flush against the screen, so I could text quickly and accurately without pressing down harder than I usually do. The touchscreen became less accurate when the bag was wet, and more force was required to press the keys.

The back of the bag has a clear plastic window that allows you to use the camera. The shots I took while my phone was inside the Aquabudi came out clear and crisp. (Remember that the touchscreen won’t respond when it’s completely submerged under water, so you’ll need to use the buttons on the side of your phone to take those pictures.)

I really liked the look of the Aquabuddy and case-mate bags. They are both short and long, about the size of a plane ticket, and come in many, shimmering colors. I was most drawn to the wavy, bright border of Case-Mate (and it was similar to Aquabuddy’s border). But in the end it was not possible to stop the water from entering the bag.

Both pouches fit most smartphones comfortably – I was able to squeeze my iPhone 15 Pro into the pouches without removing my phone case. And they have interior pockets small enough to fit a driver’s license, a few credit cards, and some cash. And with their thick, adjustable straps (which can be worn across the body or hung around your neck), these bags are easy to carry around, whether you’re running a stand-up paddleboard or lazily floating in a tube.