What To Wear For White Water Rafting - Packing List - Gemini Connect

Waterproof Camera

How does one go about taking photos and videos of a whitewater rafting trip? It’s a tricky question and it all depends on how much risk you’re willing to take on. When you go whitewater rafting, you have to prepare for the worst-case scenario: your raft flips over and you plus your camera will be plunged into water. Depending on what kind of camera you own, it might be possible to buy a waterproof housing for it. Housing are typically not cheap and they are built to conform to specific camera models. Alternatively, you can try these waterproof baggies, but…I personally wouldn’t trust my $3,000 mirrorless camera to this. If you’re hellbent on bringing a pro-grade camera, talk to your rafting guides beforehand and see if you can work something out. There might be space for a waterproof Pelican case holding your camera (although these are waterproof, they won’t float!).

For our trip, it was a tough choice, but we decided to leave our expensive mirrorless cameras at home. It simply wasn’t worth the risk, especially since we were just on vacation, not a paid assignment. Instead, we opted for our GoPro to record videos, and we borrowed a waterproof Leica point and shoot on Borrow Lenses. I also bought a waterproof case for my smartphone to have as another camera.

Best Waterproof Camera for Video

After reviewing the photos and videos from the trip, we declare the GoPro to be the best waterproof camera. It’s so small and lightweight, and the stabilized 4K video plus wide angle lens made it ideal for catching first-person points of view of the whole trip. The sound isn’t perfect, but it works. So if you need a vacation camera and intend to shoot a lot of video, get a GoPro (Hero 7 or more recent version). We used this mount to clip the GoPro to various parts of our life vests and just kept the camera rolling. We also used these cable tethers to secure the GoPro to the vest, just to make sure it wouldn’t get bumped off. The only other mount we wished we had was the GoPro 3-Way. The extending arm would have been helpful for capturing other perspectives, such as reaching out in front of the raft and shooting backwards.

Best Waterproof Camera for Still Photography

Spoiler alert — the waterproof Leica we tried was not great at photos or videos. It looks cool, but we don’t recommend it. Instead, get an Olympus Tough camera. This rad point and shoot cameras are nearly indestructible, and they shoot really really good still photos. It can also shoot 4K video, but stills are more its strong points. We were first sold on the Olympus Tough over the GoPro back in the day (we had a Hero 2), and it looks like Olympus Tough is still going strong. Check out some sample photos taken with the Olympus TG-2 here, but we warned that there’s a newer TG-6 camera out that will perform much better.

Camera Accessories

If you bring a camera (and you should!), don’t forget a few essentials including an extra-big memory card, a spare battery, an external battery charger, and a floating wrist strap.

What Not to Bring

There are a quite a few things that you shouldn’t bring on a rafting trip. The best way to think of it is this: if my raft flips over and I either lose it or the water destroys it, will I be upset? If the answer is yes, don’t bring it. This brings to mind things like valuables — jewelry, watches — and non-waterproof electronics. Leave the Netflix and Nintendo Switch home and just enjoy nature’s entertainment. It’s just for a short while, and the break from technology will do you good.

In Conclusion

There you have it! A list of what to wear for whitewater rafting, along with things to pack, and things to leave at home. Are we missing anything from the list? Let us know in the comments below.

If you want to get pumped for your next rafting trip or see how ours unfolded (yes, we vlogged it), check out our Rogue River Rafting blog.

River Rafting Packing List - Free Download

Get your free checklist here.