MIL-D-3464 Desiccant

MIL-D-3464 is the United States military specification for desiccants used in packaging, storage and transport. It exists so that desiccant from any supplier can be specified, tested and compared against one common reference — covering adsorption performance, the bag or pouch material, dusting, and the test methods used to verify all of it.

Its practical value is that it replaces a vague requirement ("include some desiccant") with a measurable one. A buyer can specify a quantity of desiccant units against the spec and know what performance they are actually receiving, rather than ordering by weight and hoping.

Two desiccant bags of identical weight can take up very different amounts of water, depending on the material and how it was processed. Ordering by weight tells you what you are paying to ship, not what protection you are getting.

A desiccant unit is defined by adsorption performance at a stated relative humidity and temperature. Specifying in units makes the requirement portable across suppliers and materials, which is why defence, aerospace and export-packaging buyers work this way.

Sta-Dri packs are pure montmorillonite clay, mined in the American Southwest and packaged in the USA. Our product documentation states that Sta-Dri exceeds US military storage specifications, with a desiccant unit absorbing at least 25 grams of water vapour at 20% relative humidity.

If you are buying against a written specification, ask us for current documentation rather than working from a marketing page — we would rather you verify it. Request bulk pricing and documentation.

• Non-corrosive. No calcium chloride, so there is no brine to form and nothing to leak onto stored materiel, packaging or crate interiors.
• Safe in direct contact with metal, optics, textiles, paper and finished surfaces.
• Non-toxic and non-flammable, with no additives — relevant for mixed freight and shared storage.
• Stable across temperature swings, which matters for materiel that crosses climate zones in a sealed container.
• Rechargeable in a conventional oven for up to three cycles where packs are recovered rather than discarded.

As with any desiccant, this works on the air inside a sealed enclosure — a crate, container, barrier bag or case. It is not a warehouse dehumidifier.

Tell us what you are storing, the enclosure, and what you are specifying against. We will come back with pricing, a recommended pack size and quantity, and the documentation you need.