We've tested some of the best dry bags available from Yeti, Watershed, SealLine, NRS and more to help keep your essentials dry, no matter the adventure
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Looking for a dry bag to keep your essentials safe in wet environments? We researched 65+ promising options before selecting the best 14 to purchase and test side-by-side. From leisurely paddles to deliberate submersions, we went out of our way to use and abuse each bag to learn which ones will truly keep your gear dry. We scrutinized features, packed and unpacked each, and evaluated how easy it is to find what you're looking for in a hurry. We carried them down trails, dragged them across beaches, strapped them to SUPs, and stuffed them into kayak hatches. We took every opportunity to load the bags to their maximum capacity to assess portability and durability. Whether you're packing for a month-long river trip or an afternoon of paddle boarding, we've found the perfect dry bag for you and your wallet.
Keeping your precious items dry isn't the only important consideration when out on the water. You're definitely going to need a good life jacket (also known as a PFD) to keep yourself safe, and a pair of the best sunglasses to protect your eyes from sun damage.
Editor's Note: Our dry bag review was updated on May 15, 2023 to ensure correct product pricing and availability.
Yeti is well-known for their rugged and durable products, and the Panga 50 does not disappoint. It's constructed from thick, laminated, high-density nylon and closes via an easy-to-use HydroLok zipper. The seams are RF welded, ensuring a practically bombproof construction that not only keeps water out but traps air in, almost guaranteeing the dryness of even the most sensitive objects — like your expensive camera or laptop. With plenty of attachment points, detachable shoulder straps, and a sleek overall design, this bag looks at home in many situations, whether lashed to your raft or stashed in the overhead compartment of a plane.
Exceptional durability and travel-ready design come at a cost. The Panga weighs 5.2 pounds when empty and costs an arm and a leg. However, these drawbacks are minor if you are transporting electronics in a super wet environment or if you simply value the versatility of one bag that can cover all your bases. Bottom line, if you are looking for a seriously waterproof, airplane-ready, cover-all-your-bases pack for your next international adventure, this one is hard to beat.
If you're on a budget and just want to keep your essentials dry and easily accessible, the SealLine Discovery View is our first recommendation. It has a double-banded fold-down closure as well as a purge valve, enabling you to squeeze all the air out of this pack. The translucent non-PVC material makes identifying what's inside your bag a breeze, and it is also more durable than other bags at a similar price. With fully welded seams and a durable buckle clip, this bag is designed for some seriously wet day adventures without busting your wallet.
Under intense pressure (i.e., a direct hose), the purge valve can allow a few water droplets into the bag. In addition, users must take an extra second to ensure their closing folds are wrinkle-free and folded three times if they want to ensure the bag is watertight when dragged through a lake. With this bit of attention to detail, this small-capacity sack is seriously waterproof. We had the Discovery clipped to our SUP as we made our way through 5 miles of class 3-4 rapids, and our spare layers and notebook remained dry inside.
.This small sack is the perfect size for your day's essentials.
The Osprey Ultralight Drysack is a simple dry bag that lives up to its name, all without breaking the bank. Made of very thin 40D ripstop nylon, this high-capacity sack weighs less than many with a quarter of the volume. Ultrathin sides allow light inside the rectangular-shaped bag, so you can more readily locate your belongings against vibrantly colored sides and a dark grey base. It lacks the extra features and frills of other options, but you won't need these with this bag stuffed inside another bag — which is how it's best used. The lack of features also keep the weight low and the bag easy to use.
Of course, by utilizing such a thin fabric, the Ultralight is not built to withstand abrasion. Up against rocks, sand, or even years of heavy backpacking use, two of the three versions of this bag that we've tested developed tiny holes. The bag still managed to retain an impressive level of water resistance, thanks to the ripstop pattern, but a hole is a hole. If you want a dry bag you can strap to your kayak deck or drag to the beach, this one isn't quite up to the task. But if you're ready to upgrade your packing system for travel, backpacking, or camping, this modestly priced ultralight dry bag is an excellent addition that we've enjoyed using for years of adventures.
Material: 60% cotton/40% rayon PU-coated ripstop | Closure Type: Roll-top
REASONS TO BUY
Three bags for the price of one
No fuss
Lightweight
REASONS TO AVOID
Susceptible to abrasions
No attachment points
Taped seams may delaminate over time
The Outdoor Products 3-Pack offers excellent value for the money, giving you three dry bags for less than half what most companies charge for just one. The different dimensions are well designed for use during an afternoon trip on the lake or, better still, part of an organizational system within a larger bag.
The roll-top closure lacks any reinforcement and is not the most robust watertight design. It fails when put under pressure or if left to soak in water for a prolonged period. This product is best leveraged when part of a multi-bag system. Helpfully, since you'll have three bags, it is easy to double bag your small items that especially need to stay dry. At less than the price of a large burrito, this deal will help you keep your lunch dry on your next boating adventure.
You can expect your gear to stay dry no matter how rowdy the water gets with the Watershed Colorado Duffel. This bag is built with rugged performance in mind and was one of the few bags tested that was fully dry after prolonged submersions. Its innovative ZipDry seal closure and classic duffel design make it perfect for overnight river trips. When you are ready to set up camp, unpacking is a breeze thanks to the wide mouth, and the comfortable neoprene grip makes hauling it to shore an easy task. Six well-placed heavy-duty Duraflex D-rings provide numerous options for attaching it to your craft, and its durable material easily holds up to the wear and tear of regular use no matter your water sport. We know many river lovers with Watershed bags that are still watertight after ten years of regular use.
At 75 liters, this bag is more than a little big for day trips and takes up quite a bit of space in a kayak or on a paddleboard. It also carries a hefty price tag. However, for the serious river adventurer, the Colorado Duffel is worth the investment, especially if you plan on doing multi-day trips or carrying expensive hydrophobic equipment like a camera or electronics. This model is the perfect bag for the diehard river goer and is one of our very top products in this review.
If you're headed out on big waters for a long adventure, the NRS Expedition DriDuffel has got you covered. The watertight and easy-to-use zipper provides a wide mouth opening to this bag, enabling you to pack your winter sleeping bag, tripod, yoga mat, and ukulele without any issue. With four multi-point attachment strips, a detachable shoulder strap, and two wide handles, this could be the perfect captain's bag.
The large capacity and lack of any compartments make it difficult to stay organized with the DriDuffel unless you have a plan. We liked to supplement this bag with smaller stuff sacks to help stay organized. Although there are a few carrying options available, we wouldn't enjoy hauling this bag on our back for more than 15 minutes if fully loaded. Unless you think your bag may end up trapped underwater for prolonged periods, its thick TobaTex construction with double-sewnand welded seams will keep your things dry through most misadventures.
There are multiple secure points to attach this bag to your craft, or attach things to the exterior.
Additional attachment points to secure spare paddle or pump
See-through window
REASONS TO AVOID
Designed for very particular needs, not general purpose
Excess of features can feel cluttered
The Watershed Aleutian Deck Bag is specifically designed for the water-bound adventurer that likes to have everything readily accessible. With a handful of well-designed attachment points, the Aleutian can be secured to the deck of some kayaks, SUPs, or the thwart of a canoe. There are additional attachment points for your bilge pump or spare paddle, an adjustable mesh bag for your water bottle, and a bungee cord for further items you want to keep close at hand. The ZipDry closure is fully watertight and can be opened and closed easily to access items at will.
The plethora of features attached to this bag will make the minimalist feel cluttered. If you intend to store the Aleutian in a kayak hatch, there are other more streamlined options available. But with RF-welded seams, Watershed's impenetrable ZipDry closure, and a tough coated nylon exterior, this bag is dependable and may be a great choice for adventure enthusiasts, instructors, and guides.
The Aleutian is a great choice for keeping flares, first aid kits and maps close at hand.
Credit: Sara James
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The bags were tested on a variety of crafts and lashed in multiple creative ways in order for us to tease out which were most suitable for particular activities.
Credit: Sara James
Why You Should Trust Us
We spend hours scouring the market for new and updated products every season to find the best and most promising dry bags to test. After selecting the best and most interesting options available, we spend months testing each product in our side-by-side comparisons. We examine every detail of their waterproofness by spraying them with a hose, submerging them in bodies of water, and dragging them behind boats. We pack them full and rummage around for specific items. We take them for afternoon outings, long-distance travels, and extended trips. We check the usability of their features and use them extensively to see how well they hold up. From backpacking to paddling to traveling, we put these bags through their paces to see which ones are right for what job.
Our testing of dry bags is divided across four different metrics:
Waterproofness (50% of overall score weighting)
Ease of Use (25% weighting)
Quality of Construction (15% weighting)
Features (10% weighting)
This review is led by lifelong water sports enthusiasts Maggie Nichols and Sara James. Maggie has spent her summers and free time on and in the water since she was a small child. From canoeing across choppy Midwestern lakes to raging down Western whitewater, exploring quiet swamps, and journeying between islands, she is critical of the gear she brings with her and the need to keep it protected. Sara has also grown up in the water, from rafting on the big water rapids of the Nile and Zambezi to whitewater kayaking trips around Europe, the Himalayas, New Zealand, and the Western States. Sara has spent a decade of summers working on the rivers in California, coaching, photo kayaking, and testing gear. In her free time, she likes to stand up paddle board on Class 3-4 rivers.
Getting serious about testing the limits of waterproofness.
No matter the conditions, this bag is ready for the ride.
Dry bags inside dry bags inside dry bags.
Analysis and Test Results
There's so much more to the performance of a dry bag than just how dry it keeps your things. We identified four metrics designed to push each contender to the breaking point. All metrics are weighted according to their importance to the performance of a dry sack. By combining these weighted scores, each model ends up with a single comparable number indicating its overall performance. In what follows, we break down every metric and discuss which bags do best in specific areas and situations.
Even in a watertight bulkhead, we prefer the extra peace of mind a dry bag brings.
Credit: Maggie Brandenburg
Value
As with any piece of gear, the cost will influence your willingness to buy it. Everyone needs something a little bit different to best suit their needs, and some products offer better performances for lower prices, making them high-value items.
The SealLine Discovery View is a seriously high-value item. It performs well across the board and costs a lot less than similarly high-performing models. The Sea to Summit Big River is another high-value dry bag. Its slightly more generic design is quite versatile, with non-submersible but high-quality protection and easy-to-use features. If you're searching for affordable organization and internal protection, the Osprey Ultralight Drysack offers quality water resistance and impressive packability inside your travel kit for a comparatively low price. The Outdoor Products 3-Pack is a very low-cost set of sacks with decent protection, great for many casual, non-technical uses.
On the flip side, sometimes you need the best of the best and want to know if it's worth the investment. If you're trying to protect large, expensive electronics — like a laptop or a DSLR camera — the large capacity Yeti Panga offers some of the best water protection around, with the Watershed Colorado running a close second. When it comes to protecting thousands of dollars of sensitive equipment through trying, wet conditions, the investment in these dry bags pays for itself.
Stay confident that the dry sack you're using is up to the challenge of whatever adventures you're taking it on.
Credit: Sara James
Waterproofness
The primary purpose of all of these products is right in their name — to keep your stuff dry. Therefore, waterproofness is by far the most heavily weighted metric in this review, and the winners in this category took home the greater share of our awards. You might assume anything carrying the name "dry bag" is intended to keep your stuff 100% dry 100% of the time, but performance in this category varies widely. While some products are designed to keep water completely out, others are meant to be splashproof and aren't rated for prolonged submersion. All the contenders we tested protect contents against the mild splashes experienced riding in small watercraft, but to really dive deep into each model's waterproofness, we pushed them farther than most are meant to go. We used them for our favorite water sports and subjected them to specific tests designed to push their limits. Some products lived up to their name, while others didn't fare quite as well.
The Yeti Panga, Watershed Colorado, Watershed Aleutian, NRS Expedition DriDuffeland NRS Ether HydroLock all kept our stuff bone dry throughout all testing. The Panga seals with a HydroLok zipper that, even after years of use, is still as waterproof as the day we first bought it. The NRS DriDuffel uses a similar zipper system with years of well-established use in drysuits. The Watershed Colorado Duffel and Aleutian Deck Bag feature a zip-top style closure (similar to the plastic baggies in your kitchen drawer). The Colorado Duffel has an extra bit of security as you can fold down the top and clip down the sides to prevent the bag from being pulled open in extreme situations. The NRS Ether HydroLock has a zip seal backed up with a basic roll-down top. If asked which dry sacks we'd be comfortable entrusting thousands of dollars of electronics to float down a river in, these are the five we'd recommend.
The Yeti Panga zipper showed no signs of water penetration.
Credit: Sara James
The SealLine Boundary is also worth mentioning in this category. Made of super-thick, 1000D vinyl-coated polyester with welded seams, it's well-built and keeps moisture out via a double-banded fold-down closure system. It was able to withstand a brief submersion with no leakage — only when dragged behind our kayak did a few droplets of water get in from the sides, wetting a corner of a towel the size of a credit card.
It is essential that you get three tight folds into the closure in order to keep the interior of the Boundary dry.
Credit: Sara James
The SealLine Discovery View also utilizes a double-banded closure system that was seen to perform significantly better than similar single-banded roll-down designs on many other bags. The purge valve let in some moisture when placed under direct high pressure (i.e., sprayed with a hose), and our towels showed a damp ring just larger than a quarter.
With a double-banded roll-down closure and welded seams, the Discovery View is a reliable option if you don't expect extended submersions.
Credit: Sara James
Ultralight bags are generally not designed to be completely waterproof, but the Osprey Ultralight does a remarkable job of keeping stuff dry. While our contents got a bit moist after submerging and dragging this bag around a lake, that's not what ultralight bags like this one are made for. Instead, this bag provides a great added layer of protection if used inside a backpack in inclement weather. It is one of our favorites for keeping necessary backpacking items dry — like down jackets and first aid kits.
We recommend using this dry bag inside another bag in order to protect it from nicks and abrasions.
Credit: Sara James
Although the Outdoor Products 3-Pack did not fare that well in this metric when the bags were tested individually, the opportunity to double (or even triple!) them up with water-sensitive items boosted this product into the top-performing tier. Having a backup system for any dry bag is a great idea, particularly when using less durable bags and when carrying important items like electronics or sleeping gear.
The Outdoor Products 3-Pack are a cheap option that will provide basic protection for your important items.
Credit: Sara James
Ease of Use
Whether you're in the middle of the river or bustling about camp packing and unpacking your gear, accessing your stuff should be facilitated, not hindered, by your carrying vessel. We set out to evaluate how easy it is to pack each dry bag, how quickly the stuff inside can be found while the product is in use, how each model carries from one location to another, and how it can be secured to different water crafts.
The Yeti Panga 50 and the NRS Expedition DriDuffel took top points in this metric. Both bags have a plethora of attachment points to secure the bag to your craft or to secure additional items to your bag. Both were easy to open and quick to seal when needed. Due to the wide mouth opening, the Expedition DriDuffel is easier to pack, but the small mesh stash pockets in the Panga make it easier to locate important items like keys.
The shoulder straps on the Panga are easy to secure and detach. In addition, there are multiple attachment points on this bag, although testers noted it lacked a handle/lash point horizontally across the center panel.
Credit: Sara James
The Watershed Colorado and Watershed Aleutian excelled in this category, with well-placed attachment D rings and handles. When you lash these bags down, you can be confident that they will not burst open if dragged through some waves. In addition, the ZipDry system is simple to open and close. The large mouth opening of the Colorado makes it easier to pack and to find what you're looking for without having to rip everything out. On the other hand, the feature-rich design of the Aleutian enables you to have a specific spot for all your equipment needs.
The D-ring's on the Watershed Colorado stand out for how sturdy and well-placed they are. This is not a bag that will spring open on surprise, regardless of how the rapids may toss your boat around.
Credit: Sara James
The Sea to Summit Big River and Osprey Ultralight do very well in this category as well, with simple, straightforward designs. Neither has any additional straps for carrying, but both have a good shape and are easy to pack and close. The Big River has multiple attachment points making it easy to secure. Its white interior lining brightens the inside of the bag so you can more easily see the contents and quickly locate the item you need. That said, any bag that's taller than it is wide is more challenging to root around in and pull out something hiding in the bottom, so organization is key.
We love the white interior of the Sea to Summit Big River, which makes it easier to see inside your bag and find exactly what you're looking for.
Credit: Maggie Brandenburg
The Yeti Panga, SealLine Boundary, and NRS Bill's Bag all boast convenient backpack straps. When heavily loaded, the Boundary pack is more comfortable to carry thanks to its load-bearing waist belt (albeit a very basic non-padded one). The Bill's Bag system is fully removable, enabling you to streamline the bag if you want to lash it to a watercraft, but there are some extra loose straps are fully woven in, leaving trailing straps, something you may not want in moving water. The Bill's backpack system was the quickest to remove.
Taking the backpack harness off the NRS Bill's Bag is a cinch with these large, easy-to-use aluminum hooks.
Credit: Maggie Brandenburg
Quality of Construction
You can't expect your stuff to stay dry if rips and tears provide unwanted water channels. To excel at their job, these products need to be tough enough to hold up to the thrashings of your chosen adventure. We evaluated the (in)destructibility of the main compartment's material and the components of each model, such as clips and straps.
The Yeti Panga is made out of super thick laminated high-density nylon. The body of this model is built to handle rocks, tree branches, and river debris and can even stand up to the rough handling of airline baggage claims. The backpack straps are fixed with metal carabiner-type fasteners that are secured to 2-ply webbing, providing confidence that the whole package will stay in one piece no matter what conditions your journey throws at you. We've been using it for years now, with not a single issue or complaint about its durability.
The thickness of the material on the Panga means that you don't have to worry about dragging this bag over the rocks.
Credit: Sara James
The Colorado Duffel and Aleutian Deck Bag also offer outstanding durability. Their polyurethane-coated nylon is resistant to tears and scratches and has the advantage of a flexible and lightweight profile. The webbing is thick single-ply nylon, and the D-rings are made out of a beefy Duraflex polymer that puts other plastic rings to shame. Watershed has a well-established reputation for well-wearing bags; our testers have owned Watershed bags that are watertight after eight years of frequent use. Treatment with the provided 303 Rubber Seal Protectant will help to keep the seal easy to open and close and reduce UV damage to the exterior of these bags.
If you expect your bag to be frequently submerged, the Watershed bags (Colorado Duffel and Aleutian Deck Bag) are a reliable choice due to their waterproofness and durability.
Credit: Sara James
The Expedition DriDuffel is made out of intensely thick TobaTex, with beefy straps and aluminum clips designed to see you through the worst of whatever is ahead. The SealLine Boundary is built with impressively durable fabric and reinforced seams.
The NRS Bill's Bag is another seriously sturdy sack.
Credit: Maggie Brandenburg
Features
Specific features are what makes each model unique, and the manufacturers of these products have adorned them with various creative and sometimes subtle additions. We evaluated the functionality of each bag's features and kept track of the included lash points, straps, closure systems, and any other unique additions and attributes like see-through windows or purge valves. This metric is important to consider when trying to determine the perfect model for your specific needs.
The Watershed Aleutian has the most impressive bells and whistles in this category. Sporting a reliable and submersible ZipDry closure, this bag has five attachment points to secure it down and additional attachment points for your bilge pump or spare paddle. On the outside, there is a mesh bag that can be adjusted to secure a water bottle. The see-through window is designed to carry a map or other documents like permits that you may want readily accessible and watertight. Our other Watershed bag, the Colorado Duffel, also features the ZipDry closure, the best watertight closure we've seen. Either of these bags can also be easily attached to a craft using one of the 4+ D-rings securely fastened to the exterior.
The attachment points on the Aleutian are designed to keep everything you might need at hand.
To open the Colorado Duffel, make a purposeful S-kink in the seal and then pull open with the tabs. TO close, squeeze out the air and simply pinch the seal shut making, sure the grooves interlock all the way.
The Yeti Panga also shines in this category. It's built like a duffel bag but has removable backpack straps for comfortable, hands-free carrying. Most dry bags tend to be just one giant compartment, but the Panga features two internal zippered mesh pockets for stashing small items. The closure system is also the most unique of any of the products we tested. A large HydroLok zipper runs down the midline of the top of the bag — this zipper is heavy-duty, easy to close, and is simple to confirm that it has been completely sealed. Last but not least, the Panga includes six lash points made of double-stitched webbing for easy, secure attachment to any craft.
The Yeti is handy for photography work on the river as you can open and close it in a flash, guaranteeing a watertight seal with little thought.
Credit: Sara James
The Ether HydroLock is another very impressive bag. Though it appears simple, it has numerous subtle features that make it exceptionally functional. Like the Colorado Duffel, it closes with a zip-top system before rolling down and clipping like most dry bags. It has a large window on the front to easily see what you're grabbing, and the flattened shape (rather than cylindrical) further aids in locating small items quickly. The entire top is extra wide — wider than the bag itself — once again helping you more easily find what you're looking for, and a single D-ring allows it to be clipped to your boat or bag.
It is easy to see what is stashed inside with the Ether's handy clear window.
Credit: Sara James
The Sea to Summit Big River has a more common design but features four welded TPU lash patches and two plastic D-rings at the top. With such beefy lash points, you can be confident the Big River will stay attached to wherever you fasten it, as long as your rigging skills are equally matched. The bag's lip is also reinforced to form a more complete seal when rolled and secured. And one of our favorite features of this bag is the white interior, a detail that makes it much easier to see what you're looking for.
The Sea to Summit Big River has four lash points to keep it solidly attached to your boat no matter how rowdy the river.
Credit: Maggie Brandenburg
The Bill's Bag and SealLine Boundary all have comfortable backpack straps that can be removed when you don't need them. The Boundary has useful additional straps, like a sternum strap and webbing waist belt to help shoulder the load when you're transporting the bag from place to place. The Bill's Bag also has these features, but the sternum strap is so low that it's basically useless for anyone shorter than 6 feet. The Boundary's backpack harness is complicated to remove and reattach, with straps that must be unthreaded, and several straps and buckles remain on the bag after the harness is off. In contrast, the Bill's Bag's harness is easily removed by aluminum buckles, so it only takes a matter of seconds to turn your dry bag into a backpack.
The Boundary backpack provides more paddling but the backpack straps are harder to remove than other models tested.
Credit: Sara James
The SealLine Discovery View is noteworthy for its compression abilities, using a one-way valve to allow the user to force air out of the bag. When you are tight on space and want to keep your gear dry, this is a handy bag to have on hand. When packing gear into the back of a whitewater kayak, or the hatch of a touring kayak, we were grateful to have this feature on hand. This bag's translucent material aids in locating your items quickly.
The Discovery View's translucent 12oz polyurethane film body is less durable than some of the other material finishes offered by SealLine, but for the right use-case this is a great bag.
Credit: Sara James
The Sea to Summit View Dry Sack also has a convenient window. Additionally, it further helps you locate that rogue tube of Chapstick by contrasting the exterior with a white background. The Aleutian Deck Bag offers a clear window with a plastic backing on the bag's front so you can slot your map or permits in an easily viewable window.
The Sea to Summit View Dry has a clear window and white interior to make it easier to find exactly what you're looking for.
Credit: Maggie Brandenburg
Finally, the Earth Pak Original has a single adjustable (unpadded) strap that makes it easy to carry to and from the beach, hands-free. It also comes with a clear cell phone case, though it's too short for most of today's oversized smartphones. We tried both with the very tall LG V60 ThinQ and the bulky iPhone 12 Pro Max, and both were too tall to seal this little bag shut. The Outdoor Products 3-Pack is also neat because, for one of the lowest prices of any model we tested, you get not one but three dry bags. They're a little lacking in some other departments but are convenient for keeping small items contained within larger bags. The 2, 4, and 10-liter pouches allow you to choose what size you need that day, all for one minimal price.
Be ready for any adventure with the right dry bag for the job.
Credit: Maggie Brandenburg
Conclusion
From paddleboarding to whitewater expeditions, dry bags are essential to any water person's gear arsenal. Whether you are trying to protect expensive electronic equipment, need backpacking specific gear, or just want to avoid waterlogged clothes for the drive home from the lake, this review covers the ins and outs of the best models on the market. If you're a water lover, we've also tested a wide array of the best kayaks, some of the top SUP boards on the market, as well as some of the best inflatable kayaks and top-ranked inflatable SUPs, for those who don't have a large vehicle or rack for transporting large water vessels. We spent months learning everything there is to know about these products so you don't have to, and when it's time to pull the trigger and buy your own, you'll know exactly what to get so you can leave the water in the lake.
GearLab is founded on the principle of honest, objective, reviews. Our experts test thousands of products each year using thoughtful test plans that bring out key performance differences between competing products. And, to assure complete independence, we buy all the products we test ourselves. No cherry-picked units sent by manufacturers. No sponsored content. No ads. Just real, honest, side-by-side testing and comparison.
