The Watershed Ocoee: The Dry Bag That Thinks It’s a Purse

Let’s get one thing out of the way: the Watershed Ocoee is basically a dry bag masquerading as a purse. Or, if you ask my friends, my man bag. They’ve been calling it that for years, and I’ve reached the point where I wear the title with pride.

The Ocoee is designed as a lap bag, meaning it sits comfortably between your legs while you paddle. If the thought of keeping your phone, wallet or your camera on your lap makes you a little nervous, I get it—it sounded like a terrible idea to me at first, too. But after years of paddling with it, I’ve completely forgotten it’s even there. If you’re wearing a decent spray skirt and know how to roll your kayak, it’s going absolutely nowhere.

And if everything does go spectacularly wrong and you end up swimming? No drama. It’s a dry bag. It floats. Which is exactly why I’d recommend picking one in a bright, easy-to-spot color. Trust me, fluorescent orange suddenly becomes very fashionable when your valuables are bobbing downstream.

Like everything Watershed makes, the Ocoee is built to survive far more abuse than most of us will ever throw at it. The fabric is ridiculously tough, and the famous ZipDry® closure is one of those rare pieces of gear that actually lives up to the hype. It’s quick to open, easy to close, and keeps everything inside impressively dry.

I’ve been using my first Ocoee for about four years now, and despite countless river days, road trips, camping weekends, and general outdoor neglect, it still looks almost new. This season I’m using the team bag which is the one featured on most of the photos in this post.

An Icon on the River

The Ocoee isn’t just another piece of kayaking gear—it’s an icon.

For decades, it’s been the lap bag of choice for whitewater paddlers around the world. Watch almost any classic whitewater film, expedition documentary, or big-water edit, and chances are you’ll spot one. It’s there between the paddler’s legs as they peel out into a rapid, shoulder-slung on the hike to the put-in, or casually tossed onto the riverbank while the next line gets scouted.

These bags get dragged through canyons, slammed into rocks, soaked, frozen, baked in the sun, and generally treated with the kind of disrespect only truly dependable gear receives. Yet they just keep coming back for more.

If you’re looking to earn a little river cred, an Ocoee is almost part of the uniform. Nobody buys one just to look cool—but somehow, carrying one says you’ve spent enough time on rivers to know what works.

The name itself couldn’t be more fitting. It’s borrowed from the legendary Ocoee River in Tennessee, one of the most famous whitewater playgrounds in the United States. The Ocoee is fast, playful, and endlessly fun—qualities that somehow seem to have rubbed off on the bag that bears its name.

And while the Ocoee has a playful personality, its construction is anything but playful. Watershed builds these bags to an almost military standard. The materials are incredibly tough, the craftsmanship is exceptional, and the whole thing feels reassuringly overbuilt. “Bomb-proof” is a term that gets thrown around a little too easily in the outdoor world—but in this case, it’s surprisingly close to the truth.

What’s Inside My Ocoee? I

One of the things I love most about the Ocoee is how easily it adapts to whatever kind of day I’m having on the river.

Some days I’m guiding or instructing. Other days I’m just out paddling with friends, chasing good lines and good laughs. The contents of my bag change from trip to trip—but a few things never leave it.

The first is a first aid kit. The second is a CPR face shield. Those are the two items I consider absolutely essential, and they’re always within arm’s reach. If something goes wrong, I don’t want to be digging through the back of my kayak looking for them.

Everything else depends on the mission. On a long river day, the bag might be packed with enough snacks to feed a small expedition. In colder weather, I’ll stuff an extra insulating layer inside. And when I’m heading out to shoot photos or film, the Ocoee becomes my camera bag.

Watershed even makes a dedicated camera liner (pictured above) for the Ocoee. It’s lightly padded, lined with a soft fleece-like material, and does a great job of protecting camera gear from bumps and scratches inside the bag. It’s a simple accessory, reasonably priced, and one that I genuinely recommend if you regularly bring a camera onto the river.

After years of paddling, I’ve realized there are only two pieces of gear that are always within reach in my cockpit: my throw bag and my Ocoee. One is there to help rescue others. The other carries everything I might need before, during, or after the rescue. Between the two, I rarely feel unprepared.

The Rest of the Watershed Family

While the Ocoee is probably Watershed’s best-known kayaking bag, it’s only one member of a much larger family.

If you need more space, there’s the Chattooga, a larger version of the Ocoee that works brilliantly as a lap bag for paddlers who like to carry a little extra. Beyond that, Watershed makes a range of expedition-ready duffel bags, travel bags, backpacks, and one of the nicest waterproof tote bags I’ve come across.

What they all have in common is the same philosophy: build it once, build it properly, and make it last. Every bag uses the same incredibly tough materials and the same uncompromising attention to detail. These things are made to be used, abused, and passed on—not replaced every few seasons.

One product that has really caught my attention is Watershed’s inflatable dry bag/float bag. It fits inside the stern of a kayak, where it serves as a flotation bag while also giving you dry storage for overnight gear. It’s one of those wonderfully simple ideas that makes you wonder why everyone isn’t doing it.For multi-day trips and expeditions, it seems like an incredibly smart way to make use of space that would otherwise sit empty.

Like the Ocoee, it’s a product designed by people who clearly spend a lot of time on rivers—and it shows.

A Quick Disclaimer

Before wrapping up, I want to be completely transparent.

This year, I’m proud to be a Watershed ambassador, which means the brand supports some of my adventures. That said, I’ve been using the Ocoee for years—long before any partnership existed. I bought my first bag with my own money, and it’s the one that earned my trust over countless days on the river.

Everything I’ve written in this review reflects my own experience and my honest opinion. Watershed didn’t tell me what to say, and they haven’t reviewed this article before publication.

If you’ve made it this far, you’ve probably guessed my conclusion already: I genuinely think the Ocoee is one of the best pieces of kayaking gear you can own. If you spend a lot of time on the water, I think it’s worth every penny—and yes, I think you should buy one.