Booē Hybrid 20 Backpack Is Amazingly Waterproof, But Light on Design

The Booē Hybrid 20 is brilliantly waterproof, but a bit bare on features. Michael Crider

How much is it worth to have a bag that’s truly 100 percent waterproof? How many features can be sacrificed on a modern bag? Reviewing the Hydro 20 makes me ask these questions.

In terms of pure design, it’s a remarkable backpack, made possible by the new TruZip toothless plastic zipper. During my testing, I found that the Booē Hybrid 20 makes good on all the promises made in its Kickstarter campaign. It’s completely waterproof, submersible, and offers floating protection for whatever you put inside it. If that’s your primary concern, buy with confidence.

By focusing on the waterproof materials, though, Booē has left out some creature comforts you’d expect in a modern backpack. Its protection (beyond water and dust) is minimal, and internal organization is clunky at best. It’s unlike anything on the market at the moment, but those looking to invest in a waterproof bag might do better to wait for a second design revision.

The Hybrid 20 backpack lying in the sand. — The Hybrid 20 claims complete protection from water and dirt when sealed. And it delivers. Michael Crider

…Off a Duck’s Back

I’ve been using “water-resistant” messenger bags from the likes of Timbuk2 and Peak Design for 15 years, and find them reliable. These designs use a heavy-duty fabric with sealing treatments to keep rain and splashes out of the interior pockets. But the Hybrid 20 puts this approach to shame in terms of water and dust protection. The TruZip zippers and heavy-duty plastic coating mean you can completely dunk this backpack in water, and not a drop will get in. Yes, really.

The TruZip toothless plastic zipper on the Hybrid 20 backpack. — The TPU-coated material repels water like an Old Testament prophet. Michael Crider

The promotional materials say you can completely submerge the Hydro 20 in up to one meter of water for 30 minutes, and none will get past the zipper seals. I placed a ream of printer paper in the main pocket and some folded paper in the smaller front pocket (I confess, I wasn’t willing to risk my laptop during testing). They were bone-dry after half an hour in my tub. Success!

The bag is equally resistant to dust and mud, as tested in the creek at my local park. The Hydro 20 would be fantastic for campers, kayakers, or anyone who spends a lot of time around or in wet locales. As a bonus, the sealed nature means it (generally) floats—as long as you leave a little air inside and didn’t stick a brick in the main pocket.

Seal It Up

One of our concerns with the TruZip waterproof zipper seal, when we saw it at CES, was how much force it took to close it completely. Booē solved that with a little quality-of-life tweak. The zippers have big, generous finger rings that give you plenty of torque, so it’s easy to get them into that crucial, completely sealed position. You can safely close the bag with only a bit more force than a conventional toothed zipper requires.

The pull ring on the TruZip toothless plastic zipper on the Hybrid 20 backpack. — The generous pull rings make opening and closing the bag easy. Michael Crider

I’m no designer, but I’ll venture that a small tweak would improve usability here. The zipper seal needs to be completely closed to be reliably waterproof, but it’s hard to tell when it is. A dot or line on the fabric that’s completely covered to indicate the zipper is fully sealed would be helpful.

Protection Is Lacking

As much as the Hydro 20 does to protect its contents from water and dirt, it doesn’t offer much protection in the more conventional sense. Aside from a comfort pad on the back and an internal sleeve for laptops and tablets, the TPU-covered fabric is the only thing between the inside and outside of the bag for the rest of the contents. And that fabric is only a single, quite thin, layer at most points.