Roll top vs draw string

[funbun]

Are roll top pack closing better than the draw string type? If so why?

[Hammock Hanger]

I have no idea if they are "better", but I just like them better. Takes a momment longer to close up but it holds out the debri and weather a little better. It was the roll vs draw that got me to purchase my ULA Catalyst.

Hammock Hanger w/Hattitude. (My New Red Hat Hiking Handle., cuz with Red Hatters it is all in the Hattitude!!! It was cool to see a couple of Red Hat Sisters deck out in the Red & Purple at the Trail Days Parade.)

[peter_pan]

Roll top aka canoe tops are easy to use and generally very weatherproof IMHO...

Pan

[Peaks]

I suspect that your answer depends on what are you going to be doing with your pack.

If you are canoeing, then a roll top is your first line of defense for keeping your gear dry in the event of a spill.

For backpacking, most packs have a draw string at the top. Then, a flap or top pouch goes over it. So, unless rain defies gravity, it's not going to get inside (assuming that your pack is otherwise made with waterproof materials. )

lots of people use a rain cover over their packs. So, a roll top is redundant.

[tlbj6142]

Just make the extension collar a couple of inches taller than you would otherwise and you can roll-up your drawstring closure. Especially if you have an "over-the-top" compression strap to keep the "bundle" from un-rolling.

That's what I did on my homemade pack.

[betic4lyf]

red hat....Linux?

[Seeker]

my Gust has a drawstring AND a roll top, but no top flap, so i'm not sure what you mean exactly.

i keep all my stuff in a plastic garbage bag inside the pack. i twist the neck a few times and fold it down the side to hold it that way. the pack drawstring just pulls the top of the pack shut. then i roll it up and snap the compression strap. this keeps it rolled up. very light, very waterproof. not sure that having a flap would be any more waterproof.

[sierraDoug]

red hat....Linux?

I suspect she meant this:

http://www.redhatsociety.com/

[funbun]

I suspect that your answer depends on what are you going to be doing with your pack.

I'm trying to make a light weight bicycle pannier. I'm a bicycle tourist at heart. But much of the touring community is still old skool "let's pedal 60 lbs of gear up a mountain pass" types.

I figure for long distance bicycle touring a roll top would help make it more water proof in the rain.

[Hammock Hanger]

I suspect she meant this:

http://www.redhatsociety.com/

That would be correct.

[tlbj6142]

That would be correct.

Aren't you too young for red hat? I thought you had to be 60+ before they let you into their group.

[Hammock Hanger]

Aren't you too young for red hat? I thought you had to be 60+ before they let you into their group.

Actually it is 50 and up for the official Red Hat. Under 50 is Pink. (This is the largest growing women's group in the world. What is it???? A PLAYGROUP!! Girls just want to have fun.)

[betic4lyf]

wow, i am a nerd.

[funbun]

We're all nerds

[jasonklass]

I really got used to the drawstring on my ULA P-2 just because it's easy to get in and out of the main pack bag.

[Spock]

Depends on general pack design and use. A roll top is better for flat, shallow packs because they generally hold horizontal stuff sacks. The rolled top is parallel to the stuff sacks and everything stays close to the back. Draw strings are good with barrel packs - those that are more cylindrical - because they are compatible with that shape.

This has a little, maybe, to do with how you pack your sleeping pad. If you roll it into the pack, expand it and jamb stuff inside it, then a cylindrical pack seems to make more sense. However, some of us use this packing technique with flat packs as well. The more obvious pad treatment with a flat pack is to fold the pad like a Z-Rest and put it next to the back. That is not strictly necessary, but some folks like it.