I’ve been looking for a Bible that’s not too big or too small, but that’s rugged enough to take camping and traveling without a lot of worry. I’m definitely not going to take my super-nice ESV Legacy to the beach! The problem is that most Bibles just can’t stand up to dirt or moisture of any kind. The good news is that the ESV Waterproof Bible from Bardin Marsee Publishing isn’t most Bibles.

My brother-in-law got me the ESV New Testament and Psalms with the camouflage cover (pictured). Excited and nervous, I decided to put the Bible to the test immediately. I unpackaged the Waterproof Bible and let my kids take it for a spin in the tub. Yes, you read correctly–I let my toddler and pre-schooler test the Bible in a bath full of soapy water.

I was impressed that all I had to do was let the book dry for a few hours, and it was like new! I brought it in to the office the next day and my coworkers could hardly believe it had been practically immersed the night before.

The secret is that the Waterproof Bible isn’t actually made out of paper, but rather plastic.

The plastic pages make sure that water and mud are no problem. They are also quite tear-resistant, and completely opaque. You know how Bible paper is often annoyingly see-through? Not a problem with the ESV Waterproof Bible. In fact, this feature means the text is amazingly clear and easy to read (although it is in a two-column setting). You can even write in it with a pencil.

The only real trade off here is that the pages in the Waterproof Bible are necessarily thick, so the New Testament with Psalms is about the thickness of most full-text thinline-Bibles. A Waterproof Bible with the whole Old and New Testaments will probably be a little inconvenient to carry around in a backpack or purse all the time.

If you’re not an ESV fan like me, you can get the Waterproof Bible in KJV, NKJV, NIV, NLT, and Spanish editions. There also a few cover designs to choose from, depending on the translation.

I love that I finally have a Bible that I throw in a backpack and not worry about. Look, the Waterproof Bible is no match for my Pitt Minion or Legacy in terms of aesthetics or craftsmanship, but it’s amazingly readable and can take a beating (or a dunk in a river). I’m sure I’ll get many years of use out it.