You could get a fireproof safe bag or a waterproof outdoor dry bag. But, the ideal solution for protecting your sensitive records in both a fireproof and waterproof document bag. Even if you have a fireproof safe, using one of these gives you peace of mind and the ability to quickly grab all of your documents if you need to go. Unfortunately, there are a huge number of brands and types of bags to pick from.

This is where we come in. We’ve researched the best document bags, tested them, and now the results are in: the overall best, a budget option, and an upgrade pick. If you need to protect valuable documents, one of our suggestions will safeguard your stuff.

Contents (Jump to a Section)

The Best Document Bag

DocSafe Document Bag

Well-designed, Versatile, and Reliable

With integrated organizational pouches and a rigid shape, this bag is ideal for grab-and-go sensitive document protection.

$32* at Amazon

*Price at time of publishing; check for price changes or sales.

When it comes to organization, this bag blows the others out of the water. It’s ‘good enough’ to protect the documents. You can find heavier-weight bags that protect up to 4000°F, but you are not very likely to see that kind of heat in a house fire.

With pockets inside for cards, passports, and other small documents this thing is the ultimate grab-and-go bag when you need to evacuate.

Here is everything you get with this document bag:

• Double-layered silicone-coated fiberglass
• Fireproof, Heat Resistant (2000°F), Waterproof
• Card, passport, and document organizers
• 3-digit code lock
• 10″ W x 14″ L x 4″ D
• 1.2 pounds

With thoughtful design and excellent document protection, it’s easy to see why the DocSafe Document Bag tops the rest.

Budget Document Pouch

The Good Stuff Pouch

Inexpensive, Effective, and Lightweight

This zippered bank pouch offers reliable fire and water protection at a price that won’t burn your wallet.

$17* at Amazon

*Price at time of publishing; check for price changes or sales.

These little fiberglass zippered bank bags have been around a while and are good for stashing in a safe. The improvement over the years has been the addition of the silicone coating that adds some water resistance to the bag.

Many times house fires come hand-in-hand with water damage from putting the fire out or plumbing issues. This bag helps cover all of the bases and is inexpensive enough to get multiples of when you need more document protection or organization.

Here is how the pouch measures up:

• Double-layered silicone-coated fiberglass
• Fireproof, Heat Resistant (2000°F), Waterproof
• Zipper closure
• 10″ W x 13″ L
• 7.8 ounces

If you need a starter or budget document bag, The Good Stuff Pouch is what you’re looking for.

Upgrade Fireproof/Waterproof Bag

BuilTuff Duffel

Large, Versatile, and Dependable

Two cubic feet of waterproof and fireproof document storage is more than enough room for any size family to carry sensitive documents.

$59* at Amazon

*Price at time of publishing; check for price changes or sales.

Take your whole fireproof safe with you with this enormous fireproof/waterproof duffel. You should be able to fit all of your documents in this thing and plenty more! If you have a lot of hardcopy survival guides, you may want this duffel to transfer them from a safe to a bug out vehicle.

It’s not the most practical solution if you don’t have a lot of documents and gear that need protecting, or have a bug out plan with less carrying capacity.

Here are the specs:

• Double-layered silicone-coated fiberglass
• Fireproof, Heat Resistant (2000°F), Waterproof
• Shoulder strap, three exterior pockets
• 12″ W x 24″ L x 12″ H
• 2.6 pounds

With the largest capacity available, this BuilTuff Fireproof/Waterproof Duffel will fit pretty much anything.

Everything We Recommend

DocSafe Document Bag

With integrated organizational pouches and a rigid shape, this bag is ideal for grab-and-go sensitive document protection.

Where to Buy

$32* at Amazon

*at time of reviewing

The Good Stuff Pouch

This zippered bank pouch offers reliable fire and water protection at a price that won’t burn your wallet.

Where to Buy

$17* at Amazon

*at time of reviewing

BuilTuff Duffel

Two cubic feet of waterproof and fireproof document storage is more than enough room for any size family to carry sensitive documents.

Where to Buy

$59* at Amazon

*at time of reviewing

The Bags We Compared

Our research narrowed the field down to a few brands and types of bags, pouches, and duffels that we compared: DocSafe, The Good Stuff, BuilTuff, VEVOR, Sentry Safe, Brimstone, and more.

You can see our full list of review criteria below in the What to Look For section, with an explanation for each.

We considered a wide range of bags made of different materials. There are various levels of fire, heat, and water resistance depending on the material construction. We did not consider electronic protection, as we have a whole review on Faraday bags, and if you are anything like us, you simply keep those separate or inside of your document bag.

We’re always looking for new and better gear, so if you have a document bag that has proven its effectiveness, let us know in the comments. We review most of our tested gear annually so we can try to get it in the next roundup round and see if it will beat out our top picks.

What to Look For

The best document bags have a few features to look for:

1. Value
2. Flame and Heat Resistance
3. Water Resistance
4. Size & Capacity
5. Versatility

When you get the right blend of these, you can find the perfect portable protection for your documents and papers. Below, we break down what each of these features means for the bags that truly set themselves apart.

Value: Cost vs. Benefit

The amount of money you spend on something like a document bag shouldn’t blow out your entire budget. There are a wide range of prices, but they are all significantly cheaper than a safe.

You never want to spend too much money on one resource, even when it comes to safety and security. It’s better to diversify your spending to make sure you are covered for a wide range of scenarios.

Flame & Heat Resistance

Even if you are keeping your document bag in a fireproof safe, fire and heat resistance are important. We like to double up, following the ‘two is one, one is none’ rule.

You can find document bags that run the range of 1000-4000°F ratings, and house fires can typically reach about 1300°F. Less than that may work if you always have your documents with you in a go-bag, but 2000°F seems to be the sweet spot.

Water Resistance

Coating the fiberglass fabric components in a silicon treatment and adding tight zippers make most document bags water-resistant. While they won’t last long if you sink them to the bottom of a deep pond, they will make it through inclement weather, sprinklers, fire hoses, and temporary flooding.

Size & Capacity

Fireproof bags go all the way down to passport and phone size, and all the way up to our duffel upgrade pick.

The capacity of the document bag should just be for the documents you have on hand. It’s unlikely that you’ll pick up more large documents in an emergency, so unless your family is growing quickly, most people’s critical documents are relatively static.

Versatility

Organization is one of the key versatility features a document bag can bring to the table. Extra pouches, pockets, and carrying methods can all improve the usefulness of the bag.

Do Fireproof Waterproof Bags Work?

They work, but they have some fine print. Most fireproof bags stipulate that you should not have them near an open flame for very long. The bags, just like fireproof safes, are meant to buy time by protecting the contents from heat.

The waterproofness is the same way- the contents are not going to survive getting submerged deep underwater.

Cliff (The Urban Prepper) does a pretty good breakdown of the limitations of fireproof document bags:

Who Needs a Document Bag?

A document bag is one of the necessary pieces of equipment in several kits. But, while we list it out in several checklists- it’s the same kit. You simply take it with you. In a bug out or evacuation situation, you aren’t going to leave your sensitive documents behind- so you grab the pre-organized bag from your safe and add it to your mobile kit.

We consider a fireproof/waterproof document bag essential for your:

• Home Survival Kit

Your emergency plan should review who is responsible for grabbing it when you go mobile and add it to another kit:

• Bug Out Bag
• Get Home Bag
• INCH Bag

You can even use fireproof bags for other gear since they provide protection and organization. We keep a bit of ammo in some of our extras.

Sources and References

All of our experience and the testing we do to determine the best document bag are useless without listing our research sources and references. We leaned on these for the book knowledge that we paired with our hands-on testing and practical survival experience:

Malek, E., et al. (2017). Heat resistance research and surface analysis of fireproof textiles with titanium silicide coating. Procedia Structural Integrity. Volume 5. Pages 508 – 515. (Source)

Miedzińska, D., et al. (2021). Influence of Ti-Si-N Nanocomposite Coating on Heat Radiation Resistance of Fireproof Fabrics. Materials. Volume 14. Issue 13. Page 3493. (Source)

Seredina, M., et al. (2001). Characteristics of Fireproofing and Combustion of Multicomponent Fibre Systems. Fibre Chemistry. Volume 3. Pages 445 – 448. (Source)

The Final Word

Don’t just organize your documents, protect them! A safe is always a good solution, but it doesn’t solve mobility issues if you need to evacuate or bug out. A reliable fireproof and waterproof document bag fits the bill and will make transporting your documents much easier during an emergency.

Here are a few other gear reviews and guides our subscribers have found helpful:

• 10 Best Diversion Safes for Hiding Valuables in Plain Sight
• Free Survival PDFs, Manuals, and Downloads
• Home Survival Kit Guide, Gear List, and Checklist

We presented quite a lot of information, but as always: if you have any questions let us know and we would be happy to help. Our testing found the DocSafe Document Bag to be the best option given its value, flame/heat/water resistance, size/capacity, and versatility.

Keep exploring, stay prepared, and be safe.

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The post Best Fireproof and Waterproof Document Bag appeared first on TruePrepper.

By: Rusty Collins
Title: Best Fireproof and Waterproof Document Bag
Sourced From: www.trueprepper.com/best-document-bag/
Published Date: Sat, 14 Oct 2023 10:24:52 +0000

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